Restaurant at the Randolph in Oxford

Well known hotel with comfortable bars and restaurants. Great service from concierge Samual aswell well as chef and service team in restaurant. The Oxford sauce, home made for ones grills chips etc is a classic.

Stayed for one night when we visited Oxford for an event in the New Theatre. Location is perfect. Central and easy to get to. Valet parking was a bonus - most city centre hotels no longer have parking, so it was convenient to not have to worry about funding somewhere to park. The hotel is in a lovely, victorian gothic style building. Felt very "on brand" for Oxford. Our room was nice. Nice, quirky decor, clean, comfortable and well-equipped. Food in the Alice was good, and the service was quick, friendly and professional. Check in/out was a breeze. 5/5 would stay again.

Wow, this location was so great. Room and bed was comfortable. Onsite restaurant was convenient, but there is a plethora of cafes just outside the door. Onsite valet parking was convenient.

Refurbished bedrooms are excellent. Somewhat let down by poor breakfast service (not enough staff?) breakfast buffet only average - poorly cooked bacon and over cooked fried eggs.

Didn't stay here (we were at The Alice restaurant inside), but it looks very spacious, had very good bars and the toilets were very clean.

Great place but service not on a 5 star level. Understaffed?

Overall I really liked the hotel. The rooms are always clean and thoroughly cleaned, which made my stay very pleasant. There is always a lot of activity in the bar in the reception hall, which creates a lively atmosphere. Although it is a bit noisy, the hotel impresses with the charm of its stylish furnishings, creating an inviting and cozy atmosphere. I'd love to come back!

Whilst it's expensive the service is impressive and the rooms are fabulous. Spacious, and extremely comfortable. Admittedly it's not the best view from the windows but everything else is great.

Perfectly good service etc. well done. Quite good cocktails too. So enjoy it for the £300 rooms But what a fake rubbish take on Victoriana but who cares eh? Good for tourists and I met some lovely tourists there bit what a theme park dump

Stay was quite nice, but overall hotel seems to be a little old. Unfortunately after service is the worst part of experience. I asked for adding company details to my invoice and clarify some discrepancies between card statement and invoice. Unfortunately I’m totally ignored since 24.09.2024.

Luxurious hotel. Very beautiful, cozy. If you want to plunge into the atmosphere, I highly recommend it. They also have a great restaurant called Alice. Excellent cuisine (try ribeye steak - delicious), also butter and sourdough bread 🤪. By the way, the SPA is recommended, but unfortunately we didn’t have time to go there. When we come back we will definitely stay here again.

We stay 1 night last winter, the room was too old but was heated by aircon which was very noisy. We heard steps from our door and from the above. But the breakfast was brilliant, best hush brown ever.

My favorite place to stay when in Oxford. Service in the restaurant is a little slow but overall it is a fantastic hotel and location

Lovely old fashioned Englisch style, cosy and romantic. Good breakfast, lovely Englisch tea time in Drawing Room. Excellent Location.

Terrible experience with Amal. He was rude, cocky, and argued with me in front of my whole family and other staff after he denied assuring me that I drink I ordered did not contain alcohol. He also ID’d my two nieces (age 9 and 12!) when I ordered drinks, which was absurd and somewhat creepy, given that it is patently obvious they are children. Moreover, he took 40 minutes to bring the sparkling water that the girls did order, and only because we asked more than three times. He also informed us that because we were sat in “the snug” - where we were directed to sit by waiters - we could not expect the same service because it wasn’t in the main bar. It does often feel like, despite the sky-high prices, dinner guests are not treated with the same courtesy as those staying over in the hotel. We come to the Randolph frequently, and it was extremely disappointing to be treated in this manner by Amal. We got the impression his colleagues had seen this kind of attitude before because they looked very embarrassed and later apologised on his behalf. Not someone who should be representing an allegedly 5 star establishment such as this.

Very grand excellent for city centre break

We visited the hotel on recommendation, and its interior really captivates you. Each space is carefully decorated. It is worth a short tour of its rooms to enjoy the emblematic English style.

Amazing place. Does the Graduate brand proud. Great people, great location.

My car had broken down outside. The night manager was extremely helpful. Prepared notices for the car to avoid a parking ticket until the AA could collect it. Allowed us to use the toilets and provided water. An absolute star.

I and my wife with a couple of friends today have an afternoon tea in this hotel. Amazing place and good food and presentation.

Great Hotel in the centre of Oxford City.Good for a City break.

Disappointing stay for the price. Inattentive and a lot of inexperienced staff, not all, but most. No great place to work from. Breakfast very disappointing and sad and same for lunch at the hotel restaurant. The service of the facilities does not live up to what you expect from the hotel.

This hotel has spoiled us for other hotels! We had a marvelous five-night stay. It was within a ten-minute walk of anywhere we wanted to go in Oxford--university, museums, plays, concerts, lectures. It was also an easy walk from the train station. Yes, the rooms are small, but they're carefully designed to maximize space and we had plenty of shelf space and hangers to unpack. We even had a mini-refrigerator, which I was not expecting, and the usual tea kettle items you find in most English hotels. Two things I want to single out. First, the housekeeping staff was marvelous. They were very accommodating with our schedule, which changed from day to day, and came to clean when it was convenient for us. A member of the housekeeping staff and a member of the front desk staff both helped me find a sweater I had lost in the hotel. They were efficient and also kind. My husband had a great experience with the front desk staff also when he borrowed a free bicycle from the hotel. The other thing I want to mention is that the included breakfast buffet is outstanding. The service was particularly good, with the same professional wait staff working at breakfast each day we were there. The staff there have the breakfast service down to a science but still manage to make each guest feel welcome. I would love to come here again but it's far out of my price range (for this trip, someone else was paying, which was a treat). But I will always remember this hotel with great fondness and appreciation. What a special place!

I was in town for a conference and stayed her for four days. The hotel is very clean and nice. The staff were all very kind and considerate. My room wasn't huge, but it was very well-kept and had everything I needed. My bathroom was very large, clean, and modern. I had a beautiful view of the Ashmolean Museum from my window. I ate at the restaurant - the Alice - several times. The breakfast has lots of options. The menu during the rest of the day is good and the food was excellent. FYI, they don't have a gym. As someone who works out everyday, I didn't love that. But they do have cruiser bikes you can borrow for free. I took advantage of that in the mornings and found some bike trails (look for one from Linacre College to Marston called the Marston Cyclepath and another one along Marston Ferry Rd (B4495), which is also called Cherwell Dr. Looping that twice added up to about 10 miles. The photo is the view from my room.

I’m not sure what makes for a 5 Star hotel in the UK, but this would definitely not be 5 stars in the states. The room was great, the bed was comfortable, shower fantastic and great water pressure. However, the service was definitely substandard for a 5 star hotel. Once I called down for an issue with the AC and they told me someone would be up in 5 minutes. 20 minutes later i was still waiting. When i checked i was told they’d be right up. At 30 minutes I called again and was told “sorry, we’ve been very busy”. Finally, after 45 minutes someone arrived and showed me how to work the AC. Something that could have been completely avoided if they had provided information in the room or on their electronic information channel. Oh well! Off to Bath and the Francis

Sunday lunch. Cold streak. Drinks arrived AFTER food had finished. Lots of cutlery banging. Practically all staff untrained. Shame

The food came out cold, staff were rude and food was expensive. Would avoid. To give compensation they removed the optional service charge…

Horrible service and cold food, the meat tasted lovely, but was cold and service was generally horrible. We told the supervisor, but they took no accountability and had an excuse for everything. They were also banging around…

Beautiful building and setting. Upon entry, we were not welcomed, and had to ask for restaurant directions. On arriving in the restaurant, we said we booked our reservation under name ‘x’ and was told did we book under another name, which was needless as we were quite specific under the name we booked under. We were made to feel uncomfortable, and as if we did something wrong. That aside, the restaurant has a lovely interior, and grand bar area. However, the scene was quite chaotic with waiting staff being unduly noisy with the clanging of plates, cutlery, cups and the like. This problem was made worse as for some reason they have a cutlery and utensil station next to the dining tables. I can only speak for ordering the rump steak for our table, which despite a nice taste was served cold. I did not expect this from this from the restaurant. The beef while cold was served with nice potatoes and vegetables. Overall, experience was not a pleasant one, staff need retraining in service.

More expensive than usual hotel! It’s really an ancient building

My recent stay at the Randolph Hotel in Oxford was nothing short of magical! We were greeted by the warm hospitality of Jaysol, who went above and beyond to ensure our comfort. We needed a place to stay for just a few hours, and Jaysol graciously accommodated us without hesitation. His professionalism and kindness truly made our experience memorable. The Randolph Hotel itself is like stepping into a scene from Harry Potter, with its historical charm and enchanting atmosphere. Situated right across from the Ashmolean Museum, it couldn't be more perfectly located in the heart of Oxford. If you're looking for a charming and historically rich place to stay in Oxford, look no further than the Randolph Hotel. And if you're lucky, you might just encounter Jaysol, who will make your stay truly extraordinary. Highly recommended!

Thanks Phil. My TripAdvisor review. Gluten Free Heaven Having previously stayed at The Randolph, my expectations were high. I am always made to feel so welcome. This visit was no exception. The staff are genuinely lovely. We were on a golf trip with friends. In the room on the right, at the back of the hotel, I forget its name, we found a box of Trivial Pursuit. I hadn't played it for years. This was an up to date version. We formed two teams and spent a couple of hours battling it out, with cocktails being brought to us by one of the staff. On one of the evenings we sat in The Morse Bar in front of a roaring fire drinking a fantastic yet inexpensive French Bordeaux. The Alice is as grand a room as you could imagine. To have breakfast in the Oxfordshire sunshine, sat on candy floss pink leather, under crystal-glass chandeliers is a wonderful way to start the day. The scrambled egg was so light and fluffy. And the gluten free cake was delicious. Now I'm back home I wish I could have the same. I had a bath in my room which, after a long round of golf was heavenly. From the goody bag awaiting us in the room to the valet parking, this is a five star experience. Date of stay: April 2024

Its fantastic hotel, Uique and friendly and helpful hotel staff.

Great location, Near shops and restaurants and bars. All staff were very friendly.

Well appointed hotel. Lovely receptionist!

Beautiful place to eat and relax

Could have been better, room was ok, had space but so dark and the shower was so small. The room was so far from the lifts , must have been an extension to the original hotel. Nice location but not a hotel to remember.

Delicious food and excellent service, all the staff were very friendly and attentive. We had an amazing evening and cannot wait to be back.

table for 4 at Acanthus Oxford. booking messed up because staff spelt name wrong. however were given a nice table so forgave . excellent meal ( we had 2 courses), nicely presented . ( only 1 very small complaint. 'espresso cafe' was TEPID and the smallest I've ever seen (I know you dont get a cupful of espresso) absolutely tiny,our french guests were amazed . despite this we all enoyed our evening .

We loved our visit. Beautifully decorated restaurant. Friendly service. We loved the food and wine. We are coming back soon.

Delicious food, great presentation, good wine, very helpful, friendly, knowledgeable and efficient staff.

La comida era excelente, pero los precios del menú no reflejaban los precios en la factura (por ejemplo, el carpaccio de ternera era 4 más caro de lo que se indicaba en el menú al hacer el pedido). Incluso después de resaltar el hecho de que la factura nos cobró de más, la camarera no se disculpó y, en cambio, afirmó que los precios de la caja eran correctos. Luego procedimos a eliminar una libra del cargo por servicio discrecional que la camarera también solicitó nuevamente por separado. En general, una práctica comercial extremadamente deficiente y una experiencia incómoda para el cliente. Si tuviera tiempo, denunciaría el restaurante para su procesamiento, ya que no cumple con los estándares comerciales.

We had a lovely dinner for two. We were seated in front of one of the big windows - a great spot which made for a lovely photo. 2 courses and two glasses of wine and 2 cocktails came to about £110 but I had the steak. Nice ambience and social distancing in place. A great place where you can dress up or wear jeans - there was a mix of everything.

We opted for the 3 course dinner inclusive offer for our stay at The Randolph and found the selection to be very good. The staff were very helpful and covid aware whilst serving us. The food was delicious - superbly cooked and larger portions than I was expecting. The restaurant decor is classic of a building like this - wouldnt change that at all - and wonderful views out as well! Will definitely visit again.

Not the most extensive menu but very good smoked salmon, sirloin steak and fish and chips. Accompanying wine is on the pricier side but then you are in the Randolph. Excellent service.

We chose this restaurant based on other positive reviews and were not disappointed. Food was excellent and fairly priced. We thought the wine was expensive. They add an "optional" service charge which we paid but it does make you think when 60% of our bill was for the bottle of wine, so most of that significant service charge was generated by them simply putting a single bottle on our table. Overall a good experience and we would happily dine there again if in Oxford. On a different note, it is disappointing that Oxford City Council charges £4.60 for evening parking nearby, which doesn't really encourage us to patronise local restaurants.

Excellent evening meal, wonderful service and attentive staff. The wine selection is good and reasonably priced. Would recommend a pre-dinner cocktail in the Morse Bar.

Really good (and surpassing expectations too): a couple of great starters, a tasty and well cooked steak, a great risotto and a couple of drinks went down easily. The service was great and we enjoyed an excellent meal in comfortable surroundings. And it felt safe too - an important consideration in summer 2020 - while efforts had gone into the safety procedures not getting in the way of a great evening.

I don’t normally write Tripadvisor reviews but feel for a special Birthday treat I should warn others (as you can see from other reviews) this 'hotel' and restaurant are certainly not 5 star and not value for money! Lets start at the beginning....hotel arrival- no greeting or warm welcome, only 1 staff member on duty so after waiting standing with bags for some time the young receptionist who was preoccupied by the previous guests and the whole check in was cold and clinical. The walk to the room was about 10 minutes down various musty corridors and up and down stairs. The room was small including the bath and the best bit of the room was the crystal glasses! Cocktails in the Cartoon Bar were ok but took 15 mins per drink to arrive despite it not being particularly busy. On walking into the restaurant in the middle of the floor were large white sheets and a slip warning sign as there had been some leak or spillage in the middle of the restaurant! The manager looked stressed and overworked despite half the tables being empty- hate to think what his blood pressure was! Again no real welcome, felt cold and almost like we were an inconvenience. We were directed to our table for 2 with a ridiculous wobbly leg (surely the staff must notice such things!). The manager took the order himself and we ordered 2 breads but weren’t asked which type so one of each arrived (brown+white), the taste of the brown one was awful so it had to go back for another white one (which is what we would have ordered if asked in the first place). Mains came out- 2 steaks one just warm but mine was verging on cold. The garlic butter was a solid chunk like it had just come out of the refrigerator. At no point during the entire meal did anyone come over to ask how the food was (so not even a chance to express my dissatisfaction) or did anyone refill glasses from our bottle of wine in the cooler. I did it for my wife and I about 4x. As the plates were being collected there was still no asking of how the meal was so I asked to see the manager and explained what had happened and asked for the bottle of wine to become complementary, which he did. Of amusement though was that we were £1 over our DBB package of £30 per person and on checkout he had still included the £1 charge - which after all the problems one would have thought he would have just ignored that! Then comes to breakfast- put into the ‘Annex part’ with its own separate half effort to replicate the main buffet set up in the restaurant area. Sat down and not offered any extras like toast and no information on what extras were available. Asked for eggs benedict and told that was fine then after a few mins I was told the chef couldn't do it as he had no buns-I mean really for a 5 star hotel! Ordered a cheese and ham omelette which eventually came and was 'ok'. The coffee took 15 mins to arrive and the selection was so poor in the Annex there wasn't even butter available! I had to ask for it and so the waiters had to get it from the main area! The lack of food in the Annex was noted by other customers and I also heard others complaining of the lack of service and facilities in the Annex. Dirty plates were not cleared- again all things that should be commonplace in a 5 star facility. So all in all for a birthday surprise the highlight was checking out! I will be emailing the manager as well separately as I often see on these reviews management request to be contacted so I will update this review following any correspondence.

We received very good service. The food was delicious, although some portions rather small. The atmosphere was great, and the table was quiet. The only problem was the staff's ability to produce French mustard (rather than English).

The decor is awesome, the food average. The table had been pre-booked but the wait for our food was exceedingly slow.

We were a party of 12 who booked for Christmas lunch. We booked for their advertised 3.30pm sitting. two days before Christmas it became apparent that they had booked us for their earlier sitting of 12.30. After checking they emailed to say it was OK we were booked in for 3.30pm. We arrived to discover there was no 3.30pm sitting and they had been expecting us at 12.30 and considered us a no-show. They did say they could feed us. The staff all looked like they wanted to go home. Before we had even sat down and found somewhere to put our coats (no-one offered to take them) they were hovering with our starters. We asked where the champagne and canapes were that were advertised as part of their Christmas package. They took the starters away and came back and served prosecco. They should not advertise champagne and serve prosecco. The main course arrived, it was lukewarm. It consisted of some turkey breast, 3 brussel sprouts, 1 carrot, 1 pig in a blanket, 1 parsnip and 3 roast potatoes plus some rather tasteless stuffing. we had to go and find someone to open wine for us, he thought 12 people asking for a 4th bottle to be opened meant we drank a lot... The pudding arrived, it was stone cold. The coffee was at least freshly made but the mince pies that came with it were the cheapest of the cheap...thick, oversweet pastry, tasteless mincemeat. For this rip off meal they charge £135 a head plus drink. They have provided a substantial refund (after chasing), and offered one of us a free night at the Randolph hotel...another own goal,as who wants to spend a night alone in an hotel? will not be going back.

Set in a fabulous location, with classic decor and incredibly presentable service, you have high expectations for such a prestigious restaurant in a very expensive hotel....However the menu is really uninspiring, not everything was cooked well to justify the cost, and whilst the presentation of the food was fabulous, you want to be asked by your waiter if you’re food was ok and not once over our three courses was we asked if the food was good or not.The menu offers what is a selection of very obvious and British food foods, and we went for the haggis pops and leak and potato soup. For the £9 the soup was very bland, but the haggis was tasty and cooked perfectly.For mains my wife ordered the pork belly, which was very well cooked, however it came with huge soggy lumps of apple and very undercooked (and I mean almost raw) pieces of sweet potato. I ordered the hake, and wasn’t told until it arrived that they had no hake and I was getting halibut (!). Which is not a problem as I love halibut, but that was completely overcooked and almost hard like it had been left out for a while before hitting the table for my consumption.We had dessert to give the chef another chance and out came a cold rice pudding with too much jam, and a treacle tart that couldn’t be homemade, and again overcooked / warmed and was set firm and not fluffy in any way.We were very disappointed to be honest. It’s not cheap and for those prices you expect things to be cooked well. We hate to moan as you’ll see by our other reviews, and yes we eat well at very good restaurants, but the least you expect is a chef doing his/her job...

Opted for the 'Festive Lunch' menu - 3 courses plus coffee and mince pies and a glass of prosecco for £40. This restaurant used to feel opulent but it now feels a little souless - some of the windows were obscured due to work going on outside - and 'cheesey' Christmas music was playing - maybe something more gentle and genteel would be better in this sort of environment.The food was fine - albeit the turkey was quite dry.Service was OK - nothing special.Just average all round

My mum and I went to eat there on Friday night as we were a guest of the hotel. We waited half an hour for our first course. I had the calamari and my mum had the pigeon. We had sat there for an hour and a half and had only had one course. The service was terrible and the staff obviously didn’t understand us. We had to ask them to hurry the chef up with our second course, it came and was a disaster. I had the pork which was over cooked and the sweet potatoes had no seasoning what so ever. My mum had the fish which was so overcooked that it was inedible. I would NOT recommend this restaurant at all.

I have to say thank you to the team here for a brilliant family lunch we had today. We all agreed that the food was great and the staff were really helpful, especially with our daughter and we felt really well looked after. We will definitely be back soon.

Went for dinner - good range of choice with all courses and especially vegetarian options (not that many upper end restaurants do in Oxford). Lovely table next to window and we also benefited from the great service from Pedro - a star! Very pleased they not only noted the request for my daughter's birthday at the end of the meal, but also on her arrival, without prompting. Very nice touch indeed. Also had a very pleasant drink in the Morse Bar - one of the best gin martinis I've had recently. Definitely recommend!

Having lunch at Acanthus was supposed to be an experience but unfortunately it was a lesson in poor service and mediocre food. The restaurant itself is located in fantastic historic facilities and has a lot of charm but the food and staff makes you shake your head wondering why something with so much potential is done so badly.

La comida era fabulosa, el ambiente era perfecto y la habitación es impresionante, pero lo que hizo que nuestra visita fuera realmente especial fue el servicio absolutamente increíble de nuestro camarero Pedro. Muchas gracias Pedro por hacer que nuestro aniversario fuera tan especial, ¡nunca nos han tratado mejor!

Si se encuentra en la zona y tiene la suerte de cenar en este restaurante, solicite que Pedro le sirva. Un caballero encantador, que se disculpó porque se suponía que teníamos el menú fijo, pero como el jefe de cocina no estaba bien informado, tuvo que seleccionar del menú principal. Mi otra mitad y yo elegimos el bistec de solomillo después de preguntar si podíamos hacerlo, ya que era la segunda opción más cara para comer. Aparentemente, el supervisor y el gerente no estaban muy contentos con esto, pero Pedro nos aseguró que estaba bien, luchó por nosotros y por eso tuvimos una comida increíble. Además de esto, Pedro nos dio prosecco en la casa, y se ofreció a tomarnos una foto a los dos para la ocasión (nuestro tercer aniversario).

Gut zu essen und das zu, dafür dass man in einem 5 Sterne Hotel ist, recht moderaten Preisen. Tolle Atmosphäre, sowohl in der Bar, als auch im Restaurant und eine sehr freundliche Bedienung machen den Aufenthalt zu einer Freude, die sogar anhält wenn das Essen kommt. Wir hatten ein sehr gutes Chateau Briand serviert auf heißen Tellern, mit neuen, gekochten Kartoffeln....immer den Chips vorzuziehen....Sauce Béarnaise alles frisch aufgekocht.....sehr lecker. Dazu einen guten Malbec.

A pesar de la impresionante decoración de la habitación y la cálida bienvenida del personal principal del vestíbulo del hotel, el restaurante fue una decepción tan pronto como nos sentamos.

This was a haven from the bustle outside. The room was beautiful and quiet. Service was fine if a little slow. The food was traditional and good with plenty of options and a well-priced 2 and 3 course lunch menu.

My friends and had a wonderful Tea time with some nice sandwich making our English afternoon spectacular!!

Sólo. . . no. Almuerzo. No lo intentes. Tomó f o r e v e t. Podría haber hecho un mejor César. Tenía partes amargas de lechuga romana (y no mucho de eso), crutones comerciales, una pequeña cantidad de aderezo. Cassoulet de bacalao sin sabor. Se lo quitaron de la cuenta. Estaba en un grupo y tenía que estar en algún lugar; otra mujer nunca recibió su postre y tuvo que irse sin él. Estuvimos allí una hora y media. Sin embargo, el desayuno buffet estaba bien y, por lo tanto, las dos estrellas. Lástima porque es una bonita habitación.

Visited for a birthday lunch with family. The dining room is in a traditional style, with coats of arms of Oxford colleges. Ordered pan fried cod, chicken and roasted beef. All food was well prepared. Service was ok, if a little slow.

We ate at Acanthus three nights in a row while in Oxford in June 2019. The restaurant itself is beautiful, with its high ceiling and portraits. We also found the food very good--we enjoyed the seared Asian beef salad, the various steaks (tasty fries and onion rings accompany the steaks!), herb crusted lamb, the fish of the day (cod/hake with wild mushrooms/kale/chestnuts), and the roasted root vegetables (a lovely side if you like root veggies, which I do!)--all were delicious (skip the carrot cake). However, honestly, what made the experience most special to us was the wonderful service by the wait staff, and the manager, Dragos, who assiduously attended to the comfort and needs of all the guests, while simultaneously managing his staff with grace and ease. Dragos was professional, pleasant, and always present---looking to see where he could help and render assistance. His ability to multi-task, attention to detail, and obvious people skills make the restaurant run smoothly and create a great experience for the guests: That's why we returned each night we were in Oxford!

Reservamos la cena en este encantador restaurante, ya que teníamos una familia de EE. UU. Que se hospedaba con nosotros y pensamos que apreciarían la historia. Teníamos razón. Ellos lo amaron. Teníamos bebidas antes de la cena en la mesa antes de ordenar, pero eran muy caros. Todos elegimos la carne bourguignon del menú y todos estuvimos de acuerdo, ¡delicioso! Compartimos dos postres que también eran encantadores.

Twice during our stay on Oxford we dined at Acanthus ... first time on "spec"; the second time by design. The service, the food, the ambience all combinded to cap off two delightful days. Well done to Dragos and his staff.

I was staying in the hotel and ate dinner in the restaurant twice. It wasn't busy either time, but service was incredibly slow. The first night, I had the beef bourguingon, which was astoundingly good. The next time, I wanted a lighter meal, but they were out of the pasta that I wanted, so I opted for mushroom soup -- which was also astounding -- and a prawn and avocado sandwich. It came with no sauce or dressing of any kind. The prawns were icy and the sandwich was difficult to eat, as the slices of avocado kept slipping out of the bread.

I managed to book a table for one at short notice in this quite superbly decorated restaurant inside the Randolph Hotel. The service was excellent and the food was amazingly good. Try their version of a jaffa cake for pudding - it's absolutely scrumptious!

Eating at Acanthus Restaurant is the perfect complement to a stay at Macdonald Randolph Hotel. It is a good choice for experience a historical place for guests staying elsewhere. The food is excellent, fairly priced and presented. An excellent service makes the experience memorable.

Birthday dinner for my wife so looked for a good quality restaurant in Oxford. What a disappointing evening it turned out to be. The restaurant was empty when we arrived at 6:30pm for our booking. The windows were overshadowed by the scaffolding for the refurbishment underway. We knew about this. However, the room was dark, dingy and poorly lit with a decaying grandeur feel about it. The two waiters and maitre de were attentive enough for their only 2 customers. The menu was very limited and pretty uninspiring to be honest. For starters we had a giant prawn cocktail which was like something from the 1960s and smoked salmon and toast with a horseradish creme fresh dressing. This looked a bit sad and not really very appealing. For mains my wife had beef bourgiinon with mash which was OK and I had chicken escalope with a side of new potatoes. I cut into the escalope to find that the inside was pink and not quite cooked. I summoned the waiter who in turn summoned the maitre de. He took the dish back to show the chef. He then returned and apologized but said that the pink colour was due to a vein rather than under cooking but that the chef would cook another one. After about 20 -30 minutes a replacement appeared that had been cooked so much that the breadcrumb coating was bordering on burnt. The accompanying fried egg had a hard, not runny yolk. We had ice cream and sorbet dessert and then paid and left. We were not charged for the chicken escalope but then the first one was under cooked and the second one was almost burnt. I have to say I was incredibly disappointed by: the dingy, gloomy atmosphere, the lack of table linen, the dismal uninspiring menu and the alarming poor chef skills on what is real a pretty simple dish that I regularly and successfully prepare at home. I think that this hotel and it's restaurant have probably had their day. I will not be returning or recommending this place.

The star is definitely the room itself - very high ceilings, oak paneling and university coats of arms on the walls.

Tuvimos 4 malas experiencias en 2 días. La cena del día 1 fue al restaurante, que es grande, solo hay otras 2 parejas allí. Fuimos apresurados a pedido, ya que esperaban una gran fiesta (¿12?), Nos apuraron a que nos atendieran debido a la gran fiesta, pero el restaurante estaba prácticamente vacío. Mi comida estaba muy seca, me preguntaron si me gustaría un poco de salsa que me costó una edad. Nos dijeron que reconocieron que este plato estaba demasiado seco y que la próxima semana se serviría con salsa, ¿por qué esperar hasta la próxima semana?

Lo único que tienen es tortellini y ensalada. Cuando me preguntaron por el sándwich me dijeron que solo están disponibles para el almuerzo (no hay información sobre esto en el servidor o en el menú)

Mi compañero y yo comimos en el restaurante con un amigo que celebraba su cumpleaños. El restaurante es encantador, la comida era fantástica y el personal fue muy atento, pero el servicio fue increíblemente lento, incluso a través del restaurante no estaba lleno.

Food great- Service exceptional. We come each year for anniversary- last year service not wonderful. This year brilliant Thank you Dragos. We do still long for the years when the dining room was carpeted and there were white linen tablecloths but hey ho life moves on.

Came here for dinner on a voucher that a family member had bought us for a birthday treat but we felt a bit like they didn’t know what it was! Anyhow got our champagne and ordered our food, only had 1 vegan option so I had the superfood salad as a starter which was very nice and then Tortellini as a main and whilst I like my pasta al dente this was just slightly under cooked. My husband ordered a side which they forgot to do and I ordered a Gin was took about 20 mins also. Desserts were nice but had to wait a while. The staff were mixed the Asian lady was lovely but the other staff were a bit offhand and not very friendly. The room was lovely.

Después de leer las reseñas variadas del restaurante, reservé una cena para ver por mí mismo. Estoy tan contenta de haberlo hecho. Fue excelente Desde el frente de personal de la casa, camareros y asistentes. La comida era excelente y no podía ser criticada. Qué experiencia tan brillante y tan atractiva, también reservamos para la noche siguiente.

Went to Acanthus for lunch on a Monday with my wife and my daughter and her partner. Acanthus is set in a very nice room but is rather dimly lit; massive amounts of scaffolding around the building did not help the lighting either. Service was offhand to say the least; we were given the Christmas lunch menu when we had told the restaurant on booking that we would be eating from the a la carte menu. On request, we got the a la carte menu and were then given a long list of items that were not available, " because we were very busy over the weekend". Given the lack of choice on the a la carte menu, we chose from the Christmas menu. Food was decidedly average. Smoked salmon starter was OK; Chicken liver parfait starter was also acceptable (although in both cases they forgot to bring the accompanying bread). Roast turkey main was poorer than you'd get in almost any pub at this time of year - the turkey itself was OK but only two small roast potatoes, two tiny carrots and two sprouts (daughter was less fortunate; she had only one sprout); no stuffing, no extra gravy to add to the tiny amount on the plate. My wife's monkfish was poorly cooked. However, the gins and tonic were fine (as they should be at £8.50 a time), as was the coffee. Total bill for 4 was £189. We could have gone to any number of pubs and got a much better experience for half of that.

Sin un saludo sonriente y casi sentí que era un esfuerzo por servirnos. ¡Tuvimos que pedir que nos quitaran los abrigos! No hay ambiente en el comedor,

The breakfast buffet, two days in a row, was very nicely done. One room at the back of the dining room area was set up buffet style with meats, cheeses, breakfast biscuits/rolls, orange juice and other juices, and fruit. A second room had two long tables, set up with eggs, sausages, bacon, biscuits and (I think.._) gravy; all one could ask for. Servers were quiet, respectful, and timely with pots of hot coffee. Toast is made to order and delivered to the table. Breakfast was very good.

Although the surroundings in the restaurant are very pleasant, the room was so dark that we could not read the menus. The food is very disappointing, overpriced and bland. The first night I had the pork in breadcrumbs. It was swimming in grease and overcooked. The second night I had chicken and mash - the chicken was tiny and the mash the size of a soup spoon. Both of the tables either side of us were complaining about the food and the wine to little avail. For a 5 star hotel this restaurant is AWFUL - AVOID.

There were very few fellow diners when we visited on a Thursday lunchtime and we can understand why. The menu was OK & so was the food, but the service was unsmiling for the most part & the food unexciting. My soup was piping hot, which is not easy to do & I was very appreciative. Wine by the glass was expensive. The dining room is located in a beautiful space, but it seemed very bleak with so few diners & the windows covered with scaffolding.

The Acanthus has a great setting in the Randolph Hotel but the food is well below par. The service is patchy - the staff are friendly but not very attentive and don't appear to be very well organised. It isn't expensive but there are far better places to eat in Oxford.

Starting with the negatives: lunch at the restaurant starts at 12:30, a bit odd. I waited for half an hour for a salad, gave up and cancelled the order. Room service arrived without cutlery (first time). Second time missing the drink and bread (but with jam and butter). The food is okay but entirely forgettable . Why the empty minibar is beyond me.

A really disappointing dinner. Service offhand and patchy. Fritto misto tepid and greasy; terrine bland. Chateaubriand for 2 served with bain-marie tasting tomato, two small mushrooms, and dreadful re-fried “hand cut” chips. Beef acceptable, but with watery sauce and little evidence of basting. We decided to forgo anything else and requested the bill which arrived for 322 pounds, over double the actual amount (wine included). The person who seemed to be masquerading as a maître d’ was called, said we had been given another table’s bill and took the bill for correction. The same bill was duly brought back by a waitress with several items crossed out but the original total - 322 pounds – which the waitress then claimed was the amount owed (yes, this is true). Told that this was wrong, she took it away and returned with a bill for 149 pounds, being 133 pounds for the meal plus service charge. When I asked how much the service charge was, the waitress said 10%; when this error was pointed out, she said, well, 12 or 12.5%, not sure. She did remove the service charge when asked to do so. We paid 133 pounds and explained why the meal was sub-standard and why we were deleting the service charge. As we left, the maître d’ skulked away, seemingly to avoid contact. No apology. My summation was “disgraceful”; my companion said “atrocious”. Vale Randolph.

The Randolph is an iconic 5 star hotel in Oxford. It's restaurant is the Acanthus. Not having visited for a very long time (we live there) and wondering what one of the few 'white linen' restaurants in Oxford was now like, my wife and I decided to have Friday lunch there to see.

We ate here to celebrate ours sons 21st Birthday. Beautiful dining room but felt let down by both service and quality of food. My husband asked for a beer the waitress took his order, left and never returned. He asked again and got his beer eventually. we noticed lots of staff coming and going, leaving the restaurant empty occasionally.we found it quite difficult to get anyone’s attention at times. The goats cheese starter my husband and I had tasted lovely but simply not enough of it, menu described tomatoe and courgette salad but only one small cherry tomatoe cut in half arrived on the plate. When we asked for some bread we were told it would take 20 minutes, so didn’t order it. The actual roast dinners were pretty poor my sons slow cooked Pork belly was not slow cooked but rather tough and hairy! The Yorkshire puddings were dry and burnt when we asked for more gravy to try and eat them were left to wait 10 minutes and dinners almost finished. The roast beef dinner was nicely cooked and would recommend this option. Our desert was nice, again quite small portion size. Overall we felt disappointed by our experience here.

We poppped in for a birthday treat for my brother as he’d eaten here before during business meetings. This time it was just for coffee and puddings as we had our children with us. As soon as you walk in it’s obvious the standards are high as staff are attentive even opening doors for our 2 boys aged 8 & 6. The staff were happy to accommodate us in the main dining restaurant for our dessert only visit. It was while we all enjoying our desserts that my brothers wife informed us she had a little extra in her dessert. A huge fly had managed to find itself into hers meaning she could eat no more. She informed the staff and they were very apologetic and adjusted the bill accordingly. Now I try and remain amicable in situations like this because it’s not really anyone’s fault the fly got in there but at the same time with what you’re charged in places such as this you expect quality. They’re happy to charge you high prices for accommodation, drinks etc so you expect quality in return. At the end of the day if you’re paying £7 for a pudding and over £4 for a coffee it’s somebodys job to check.

Do not believe the hype about this restaurant- the food is terrible. Badly cooked food and poor quality. The wine choice is limited and overpriced. The staff however are lovely and couldn’t do more for us and it seems such a shame they are let down by a bad chef. We definitely wouldn’t be eating there again.

Als velen lieten wij ons vangen in een Morse tour. Op zich was dit zeer teleurstellend. Quid. Het Randolph Hotel maakt uiteraard deel uit van het Morse gegeven. Aangezien het er leuk uitzag boekten wij een diner. Personeel was redelijk ongemotiveerd; kader is heel mooi; maar daar houdt het op. Eten was eetbaar; maar niet echt lekker. Wij hebben geen dessert en koffie meer genomen en zijn vertrokken.

We booked for an evening meal for a birthday celebration. The service was first class and the food was well presented and tasty. A good choice was offered on the menu with nice sized portions. The food was hot and the whole table got their food at the same time. The staff were attentive, and offered to take photos for us.

Acanthus is the house restaurant of the Randolph. We live in Oxford and went there for a meal. First, we had cocktails in the Morse Bar. Pricy, but an elegant place for pre dinner drinks. The Acanthus gives you a good choice of starters and main dishes, if you can navigate the menu. I enjoyed my fish and chips with a reasonably priced white wine. Service is polite and attentive. The restaurant has a high ceiling and large windows looking over Beaumont Street and St Giles. A place of cool elegance rather than warmth

Restaurante doHotel Macdonald’s. Ambiente ótimo. Muito caro. Atendimento bom. Pratos ótimos. Local fabuloso.

We had dinner at the restaurant of the MacDonald Randolph restaurant. The food was very good. We had a nice beef Wellington. The meat was very tender! Lora, our waitress did a great job. She advised us about the food and the wine. She was very pleasant and made us feel very welcome!

Ospiti del Mc Donald Randolph e stufi del caos di Oxford nei giorni delle lauree, ci siamo fermati a cena nel ristorante dell’hotel.

Julio 2018 fuimos para comida familiar después de su graduación. Sitio web mostró restaurante no tenía habitaciones libres, pero al sonar reservado en el restaurante no era fácilmente y que ocupado. Recomendamos siempre ring para comprobar. La comida era excelente y el servicio era excelente. Recomiendo encarecidamente como comida de primera clase. Los precios son de primera calidad, pero merece la pena en un entorno precioso.

No oolong tea, no green tea in a 5* establishment? Service was only average. Decor (bar area) not much changed since refurbishment! Not living up to expectations, sadly! Could be so much better! Prices are ok but not cheap!