Gusto Italian, Oxford in Oxford

Central location. with friendly and efficient staff serving good food from a primarily Italian menu. A good and reliable choice if you want to avoid the more expensive places nearby (e.g. Ivy, Quod) or the many fast food joints and cafes in the area.

We were seated promptly next to a huge window looking out onto the street that gave the feeling of sidewalk cafe without the smelly noisy outside. The service was superb and the food delightful. We ordered the lunch menu which was 3 course and some small plates, a bottle of sparkling mineral water and finished with a double espresso. Wish we room for pizza, but maybe next time.

Lovely atmosphore. Delicious italian food with varied menu great and friendly service. Prices are reasonable.

Wow! What a welcome. An adorable server who took great care of us and our baby. The meal was delicious and a special mention for their dessert to share.. we recommend ++

Nice Italian restaurant. We sat at the front on the street side, it would probably be better further back in the restaurant. The Aperol Spritz didn't feel like it had Prosecco in it, it was more like lemonade. Service was okay, nothing special.

Fantastic food and great service from Alejandra

It was really tasty. Thank you again for the incredibly great service Mr. Mihai!

In 1958, I was the Assistant Manager of the Mitre Hotel and the Dining Room (today the Gusto) was my primary focus at that time focused on quality and authenticity. Of note was one customer who was a 'regular'....several times a month when he was a speaker at several colleges. He sat in the corner of the restaurant, away from the High St window. His name, you will know, was Winston Churchill....... who arranged for us to purchase fresh vegetables from his Bleinheim Palace. Always gracious with the employees and always tipped the Maitre d'hotel 2 shillings and 6 pence!! The Beatles were also our guests, before they were famous! Our wine list was perhaps the most comprehensive in the South of England. Our Owners travelled the country attending wine auctions and shipping their purchases to our cellars.

Food was fab, the 4 of us had a mixture, all finished with empty plates. The tuna was stunning.

Perfectly nice Italian, but nothing special. Quite empty when we were there except for a table close to ours with some very loud children. The best part about the restaurant is that it is very conveniently located right on Oxford High Street.

Dropped in on a very busy Saturday and was very nicely welcomed and given a beautiful table. I am a bit wary of chain restaurants in Oxford but was blown away by this place! The decor is gorgeous, it’s huge with different areas and an open plan area where you can see the chef cook if you are seated in that area. We were served by Michal, who was lovely and welcoming, it’s rare to get genuinely good service these days but he did an ace job. We were served quickly and food came out fast which was great as we were in a hurry. The menu is amazing with so much choice for fish meat and veggie options. Kids menu was super cute with a make your own pizza option. Prices are excellent value especially when I saw the portion size- so generous. We ordered prawn dishes and the prawns were plentiful and massive - rare find these days. Food tasted amazing- the risotto was perfect and the prawn pasta was excellent. My son enjoyed his kids meal too and that was also a generous size and not a typical bland meal that some restaurants offer up. Overall this was a fantastic place to eat a breath of fresh air in terms of price, warmth and service - we will definitely be returning.

It was really tasty. The restaurant is beautifully decorated and the staff is super nice and accommodating. Absolute recommendation!

Great restaurant, great food and great staff. A special shout out to Laura who went the extra mile to make our meal extra special. Asante sana!

Had a great time at Gusto during my stay at Oxford. The food was amazing, and the staffs are friendly and communicative, make really good recommendation for the wine :)

Really good food ! Attentive table service for such a large venue.very impressed

I booked a table for a birthday meal out. We had great service, a really nice booth to sit in and I wanted everything off the menu! The food we did choose was really nice and we will definitely return.

Food was amazing but service was even better from Alejandra. Always a smile on her face and made us feel so welcome!

A fantastic experience - food was delicious, service was great (we had quite a large group and everyone was kept happy!) staff went above and beyond and were so friendly. Really impressed with the attentiveness to our table.

We were meeting some family we hadn't seen for a while and were really excited when we saw the menu and the staff were lovely until we were approached by one staff member who reported other customers had complained about how noisy our 2 year old was being, this staff member asked if we'd like to move. We tried to entertain our son as much as we could but he was just really excited saying hello and bye bye to everyone and anyone should know that a 2 year old has no impulse control. It was already stressful and you are already feeling judged and we even took him outside to try to calm him, If anything they should offer the people who were complaining to move. We were actually questioning if there actually was any complaints or it was just this staff member. A very upsetting experience and I'd prefer not to go back. Just be mindful if you're visiting with kids it might be worth looking somewhere else

Gusto is always enjoyable. Food good and not overly priced and we find the waiting staff very attentive.

Staff and food are incredibly amazing. Can’t thank the team enough for looking after us. Alejandra was incredible and helped me figure out what I wanted to eat.

What a BEAUTIFUL restaurant. The calamari was incredibly fresh and the lemon tasted like it had come directly from Sicily that morning. I had the carbonara and it was creamy, and smokey but not too much and the pasta was the perfect balance between al dente and cooked. Alijandra was the most wonderful server who helped us pick the best options for us and was fantastic at answering all our questions and pairing the wine to our dishes. I cannot wait to visit again, truly remarkable spot.

I had two recent experiences at Gusto Italian in Oxford. Both were amazing 😁 We have been served by the most delightful staff members. The first visit on a Monday, we had the very sweet Laura and yesterday we had the pleasure to meet the wonderful Alejandra 😄 The food is so yummy 😋 ! If you are lucky enough to get one of the private booth, you feel even better 😀 The atmosphere is great. All staff members are lovely but big thumbs up 👍 for Alejandra and Laura who we were our waitresses. Thank you, keep up the great work 💪

We had a fabulous evening with brilliant staff. Highly recommended

Thanks Jesus for the incredible service

The place itself was cute, and had tons of plants in the windows - which is what brought my partner and I in (along with a craving for a nice Caesar salad). We were seated immediately by the host, but it took our server around 15-20 minutes to even acknowledge us and take our order. He only offered us still or sparkling water choices, and we were charged for the still water, even though the table next to us was able to order tap water (which we would have been more than fine with). He didn’t allow my partner to order two starters for lunch, versus choosing a starter and a main. It was a bit confusing. So he ended up going with a carbonara and the calamari to share. I ordered the Caesar salad and was very much looking forward to it. We also got a couple of beers - and thank god for those beers in hindsight. The calamari came out first. It was a small serving and of course we weren’t given side plates so we had to awkwardly eat from the one bowl. I ended up having to hold my cutlery in my hand for so long since there was no way to rest it anywhere. Multiple servers walked by and would have noticed, but no one came by to check on us. Our actual server was completely MIA. A family came in and were sat next to us (along with side plates and tap water) and they were served faster than us, even though we had been there earlier. I had to go looking for our server when another coworker (finally) came out with our meals. He must have left for the day without saying anything. Bye I guess. My salad was probably the saddest salad I’ve ever seen. See attached photo. Words won’t do it justice. I’ve never had full blown anchovies hanging out on top of uncut Romain leaves, but here we are. I couldn’t dare to bring myself to eat the croutons, but my partner took the plunge. Lo and behold: they were soggy and soft. Not what is ever expected. My partner’s pasta was better looking but was severely undercooked and unseasoned. A travesty. This place is not worth the money. We were lucky enough to eat at some incredible restaurants with impeccable service that weren’t as pricey as this. I joked saying that we were paying for Gusto’s aesthetic washrooms. I will always make sure to read reviews on the future.

Second visit, and just as good - great food, excellent service from Alyandra.

During our stay in Oxford we (family of 4) dined at Gusto. Enjoyed an evening meal where service by our waitress Alejandro was impeccable. Perfect level of attentiveness. Food was amazing. We had the Arancini balls and bruschetta for starters. Vegetarian pasta dishes for main. Our children had the pizza. Desserts were good too. Great laid back ambience. Highly recommend Gusto. Next time we’re visiting Oxford we are sure to return.

The restaurant itself was pretty and clean but the food was not Italian basically. One dish had no salt the second had extremely too much. The manager was not friendly and definitely i will not recommend to visit. They didn’t even apologise for the inconvenience because they were just not bothered.

The experience has been unbeatable. The meal is for 10. They have been very attentive to the specific needs and especially with the children who are allowed to make the pizza and access the kitchen to see how they put it in the oven. And even better than the food, Alejandra's service, unbeatable. He made us feel at home, helping us with everything we needed. A pleasure to be served by her.

Great Italian restaurant in a historic building on Oxford’s Main Street. The menu was quite varied and our waitress was very polite and careful to explain all the gluten free options on the menu. She continued to provide warm and friendly service for the remainder of our stay. The food was excellent. The gluten free garlic focaccia was nice and crispy while the 2 pastas, fusilli with 3 meat ragu, and fettuccine with truffle and mushrooms, were both delicious and cooked well.

I did pizza making here and it was a very good experience. This is the second time I have done this with my family. I would recommend it for any family to do, loads of fun and even get drinks.

This is a pleasant place to relax. A new restaurant in Oxford but still has the quaintness of the city's old architecture. The Arabbiata was tasty, the humous inventive presentation. The bar area nice with café jazz music to listen to.

Fantastic place, a great mix of people, quality food, and the staff always really friendly

Lovely place, nice food and good atmosphere! The waiter Jesus was amazing! Super attentive, friendly and gave me great recommendations. I will definitely come back!

We are in Oxford for three days and decided to have dinner at gusto Italian . We were made to feel very welcome on arrival our server was called Mikhil he was really good with my youngest child and was very patient with her while she was choosing her food. Nothing was too much trouble. Mikhil is a credit to your restaurant his customer service was outstanding and he made our visit a very pleasant one . Thank you Mikhil

Amazing! Everything was incredible.

The Food waiter and ambiance then it’s oxford damn the staff was so knowledgeable at this restaurant was exceptional and delicous, I personally liked the sea food risotto. Amazing choice given by Sami she was so helpful always providing attentive service with good knowledge of the menu and choices for drinks dessert that enhanced our dining experience. Highly recommended! Never disappointed.

Nice restaurant, but huge, factory like place. Overall decent food and service

Lovely atmosphere Excellent food service and staff friendly, polite and helpful.

We were served by Mihai and he was excellent. He got everything right. The food was very good and promptly served. One of our party had a birthday and her dessert acknowledged it on the plate. Nice touch.

Very nice food, very attentive and friendly staff, we had a good time.

This place is amazing,it's massive and the food is great and so are the loos etc.

Great food with brilliant service - thank you.

Excellent bottomless brunch. Mihai served us and was extremely friendly, polite and speedy.

One of the nicest Italian meals we have ever had. I had the lasagne and my mum had the crab and prawn ravioli, both were amazing. Alejandra was lovely and a credit to your organisation.

Expected a lot but was surprised at the food. Service was excellent. Atmosphere very nice. We had the lunch menu. Subtle upsells abound. Would you like sides? Would you like dessert? Would you like coffee? Up to you of course but you will be asked. So the first course of calamari came with all as described but was so chewy. I don’t think it was from frozen but in all my years, I have not had such a chewy calamari dish. I had to leave it. The pasta next was cooked very nicely but again. Something was missing. Pasta was chewy. Bucatini was sparse. Overall. Let down but they did discount our beer when we told them of our experience. So I would say go and try it. We may have just been unlucky

Jesus was our waiter and was incredible. Definitely recommend.

the service was absolutely bad We had to wait until we got seated & then we called the waiters about 5 times to the point we had to get up and walk to them just to get someone to take our order, and again, the food took so long and it wasn’t worth the wait, average at best we experienced the same -waiting for hours- problem when we tried to ask for the bill, worst service ever, average food, overpriced

Jesus took wonderful care of us, was attentive without being overbearing, and suggested the perfect red wine to complement our meal. Our food arrived as ordered, with just the right amount of time between courses. And the dessert….bambolini I believe? Perfect ending to a superb vacation. Well done!

Jesus was an amazing server! Very friendly and attentive!

The food was very nice and the people too, but the waiting time was pretty long.

This restaurant is definitely worth a visit. The atmosphere is great and the service is fantastic. I really felt like I was in good hands. The food is also really good and something different from the standard fare.

Our server, Jesús, was very friendly and made the experience a step above your usual high street restaurant. A nice stop for approachable dining.

Thank you to Jesús for amazing service! He was attentive and friendly Made the experience much nicer

Just very fine. The prices are not mild, but not overly expensive. Food was good, with complementary parmesan cheese. Food ordered were the chicken, lasagna, lobster tagliatelle and seafood risotto. This was all fine

Great food, perfectly friendly staff, on the hottest day of the year well cooled rooms without having freezer temperatures. Strongly recommended!

Friendly service from our waitress, Alejandra. Delicious food and nice atmosphere

Excellent service from Alejandra. Courteous, quietly efficient and attentive. And all with a warm smile.

Last dinner in Oxford We went to Gusto Started with calamari and garlic bread with mozzarella shape of a pizza Then had the duck breast with honey balsamic sauce and then finished with Italian sorbet All was very good. Great meal with wonderful company

Alyandra was a wonderful server. She checked I'm at the perfect times and was extremely quick at answering pur needs. The food was good and it was an affordable date night, especially as we had drinks. They accomodated a table for us even though we didn't book and they had a reservation for the table in 1.5hrs. Quick service meant we were able to take our time with our food and not feel rushed to leave despite needing to withing the 1.5hrs.

Atmosphere is fantastic, a bit noisy. Fantastic food!

Booked a nice cozy table which appeared not to be free on arrival. We got seated in a most annoying crampy place for two. It was loud. Not wanting to spend much time we ordered pizza. My piccante was the worst I ever had, so juicy that whatever crunch there was, it disappeared. Sun dried tomatoes 🍅 no 😟 don’t put that on a pizza. Did not even finish half. Then again Jesus (Oxford branch) yes no kidding, the waiter, was a real experience saver. He felt really sorry. I got my pizza for free, also the espresso and grappa. Yet, evening spoiled. Will I return? No, I love genuine Italian food, not prepared by youngsters who never have even visited Italy. A branch kills the original culture of food. Bye bye Gusto!

Alejandra is the best waitress ever, so helpful and available. She really made our experience better, so thank you for that! Her smile and knowledge are so valuable and I’m sure other clients in the restaurants felt the same. Go Alejandra, well done!

Gusto really performs at a very high level. Our Server Jesus was amazing - gave great suggestions, took care of my allergies and made our experience top notch. The food was very good - I loved the Honey Basalmic glazed duck breast - perfectly cooked.

Great service. Food was fabulous! Had a wonderful time. Our waiter Jesus really looked after us, especially the beautiful wine recommendation

We were welcomed and served by Jesus, who made us feel at ease and nothing was too nun of an issue. Food was delicious, left feeling very satisfied!

Great food in nice atmosphere, amazing Pizza

Jesús was amazing! We were treated as we were at home. He made us want to come again.

My pizza was absolutely delicious and Jesus's was a wonderful server. He really looked after me.

Alejandra was amazing! Great experience

Delicious meal and excellent interior

Lovely restaurant and nice staff. Food was beautifully cooked. Clean toilets. Stylish interior. Waitress Alejandra was a delight. Mum and I were very pleased at the end of our meal. Will return! Thank you

Jesus, the man who attended us was a 10! He was really nice and help us with everything

Amazing service and food is delicious

We loved our meal and the service was great!

Right in the heart of Oxford, this beautiful restaurant offers beautiful, clean, and gorgeously seasoned food. All of this is complemented by excellent service. Jesus was a particularly helpful and welcoming server.

Great atmosphere & food wonderful service. Definitely go back with friends.

The staff was so kind and the food was lovely

I’ve been here twice. The first time it was great, the second time (like a week later) I ordered the same thing and got charged more. The food is pretty good but not spectacular. The second time our waitress wasn’t just inattentive but flat out rude. She also wanted us to do the math on splitting our bill (including the service fee) and overcharged us. I liked it enough to go back a second time but she was so awful and I hate getting overcharged so I’ll find somewhere else.

On our first day in Oxford, we made an excellent choice. The spectacular food. The atmosphere is very classic but it is still familiar. And Mr. Jesus' service was excellent, a good work team

Highly recommended. Delicious food, friendly staff. Pleasant ambience. The only point of criticism is that I did not receive a steak knife with my steak and that made it difficult to cut. But of course I forgive the service for that😉

Jesus was AWESOME and was soooooooo incredible !!!!!!!!

10/10, great customer service and the best Italian you will find in Oxford, Alejandra and her colleagues helped us and were attentive at all times, apart from recommending exquisite and good quality dishes. Affordable prices and abundant dishes, definitely a place to go without a doubt Price for two people with starter and dessert: £45 If I go back to Oxford, I will return to this place I was delighted 😍😍

The meatball starter was very good. Chicken liver pate disappointing, no chutney so rather bland to eat. Seafood risotto the best dish served for being a good portion and flavour. Lasagne disappointing and was over baked/microwaved perhaps. Served with a side of rocket - poor value for money. Perhaps to serve lasagne with garlic bread. Server very friendly and efficient.

cold plates are fine, main dishes taste AWFUL! 69£ steak hard like stone, worst steak I ever had in my life.

Gusto Italian has an interesting vibe with great decor and music, making for a pleasant atmosphere. However, the food was disappointing. We ordered the crab linguine, rocket salad, and burrata with beets. The pasta was not hot and lacked flavour, requiring us to add some of the rocket salad, salt, and pepper to make it enjoyable. Despite high hopes, the meal fell short. The highlight was the chocolate dough dessert with ice cream, which was delightful. The staff seemed overworked and rushed, likely due to being short-staffed, but they did their best to provide good service under challenging circumstances. I appreciate their effort and hope things improve soon.

The most authentic pizza you can find, offering a variety of vegetarian options as well. While the portion sizes for starters could be a bit larger, the taste is absolutely fantastic. We've enjoyed the Bruschetta, Mushroom and Truffle Fettuccine, and all the vegetarian pizzas. It's a must-try! However, the service could use some improvement. On our visit, we were served by a staff member who seemed disinterested in his work. We requested to have our pizza sliced after baking, but he claimed they don't do it due to cross-contamination concerns. This was surprising, as we had made this request before without any issues. Additionally, I asked for some chilli flakes, and he promised to bring them once the pizza was served. When the pizza arrived, he forgot or ignored the request, so I had to ask another staff member who promptly brought the chilli flakes. Overall, the food is excellent, but the service definitely has room for improvement.

Mihai was a great server. He gave great recommendations and got everything correct and out in a timely manor. He checked on us regularly and the food was phenomenal!

Great service (served by Mihai)

Excellent and great service from mihai

Laura was the best server yet! She was kind, accommodating, and recommended a flurry of amazing dishes. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience! :)

We came to Oxford for a visit and walked in as the vibe looked nice from outside. Three of us had two appetisers to share (beef tartare & fried calamari). For main, seafood risotto, tuna and pizza for each, plus a bottle of sparkling. Food was yummy, especially the seafood risotto. price were ~33/ppl, very pleased & happy customers

Our server Mihai was absolutely lovely, such a nice person, made the experience amazing!

Service was delightful - very kind and welcoming :)

Very good Italian food! Highly recommend!

Food was amazing but service was even better from Alejandra. Always a smile on her face and made us feel so welcome! Thank you again ! Xx

Wonderful restaurant. Lovely staff and excellent Sunday roast.

Great service! Especially by Jesus who gave us the best service you can get!

Jesus was a a brilliant waiter - the vegan thick rump steak was amazing 🫡