The Oxen Bar & Grill in Vale of White Horse

No vegan options beside a side salad, which for a chain hotel and restaurant is astonishingly poor.

I would stick to the steak, but food is good in general.

The staff were lovely but unfortunately the food was absolutely dire and not cheap either. Find it really hard to believe that you can get a burger wrong. It’s a nice place to grab a drink but as far as food goes, I’d save your money and go elsewhere.

Stayed at the hotel for two nights. On the first night Saturday, I just cannot believe the service was slow. Understood there was a Large group they have to serve but that is not an excuse to wait for 45 minutes for main course. Our main, the fries was soggy and my wife’s green beans were raw. Overall, wasn’t happy with the food and service. We did feedback on this and the next day service was slightly better. I am hoping the restaurant could keep the quality and maintain this standard.

We had one lunch and two breakfasts at the Oxen Bar and Grill over the course of our stay at Courtyard Oxford South. The food was great, and the team were friendly and kind. Kamila in particular was very attentive to our dietary requirements (gluten-free, dairy-free) and made every effort to double-check what was safe for us to eat with the kitchen and how dishes could be adapted to increase the range of options available to us.

Our family enjoyed a delightful dinner at Oxen Bar & Grill. The spacious and comfortable environment, accompanied by music, set the perfect tone for our evening. I would like to extend a special thank you to Eric for his exceptional service. He was attentive, diligent, and provided excellent recommendations, including the delicious fish and chips and creamy salmon fettuccine. The generous portions were perfect for our group of seven. Additionally, the complimentary parking was a great convenience. I highly recommend Oxen to anyone visiting Oxford, as it offers not only delicious food but also excellent amenities. Thank you once again for creating a memorable dining experience for us. We look forward to returning in the future.

We went to have Sunday lunch, overall the food was excellent (with the exception of the parsnips that were under cooked). In our local magazine R&A their advert quoted '2 people can enjoy a carvery, unlimited sides, soup and choice of dessert for just £25. Every Sunday from 12pm.' We booked for 12pm but on arrival informed they start serving from 12:30. They gave us a menu for Easter Sunday, that also quoted 12pm. (No menu for the day). When the bill came it was for £32.89 (2 Sunday Carvery 1 person @ 14.95 plus 10% Service Charge). I had planned to give £5 tip. But, the whole experience left a nasty taste in the mouth.

We went to have Sunday lunch, overall the food was excellent (with the exception of the parsnips that were under cooked). In our local magazine R&A their advert quoted '2 people can enjoy a carvery, unlimited sides, soup and choice of dessert for just £25. Every Sunday from 12pm.' We booked for 12pm but on arrival informed they start serving from 12:30. They gave us a menu for Easter Sunday, that also quoted 12pm. (No menu for the day). When the bill came it was for £32.89 (2 Sunday Carvery 1 person @ 14.95 plus 10% Service Charge). I had planned to give £5 tip. But, the whole experience left a nasty taste in the mouth.

Went for an afternoon tea with friends. It was very cold in there and there was only us and another large group men at the bar in there. The sandwiches were awful, there wasn’t a choice. They just bought them out. Pork and mustard, hummus and pepper and ham and horseradish. All sandwiches I couldn’t eat. The cakes were very small and there was one scone each. The group of men at the bar were very rowdy and this did spoil things for us. The strangest thing was a worker got out a hoover and started using it as we were eating. So with the rowdy men and the hoovering me and my friends couldn’t hear ourselves speak. The staff were nice, the man with the limp was very helpful. The afternoon tea was advertised as £14.99 but when we got the bill they added £1.49 on top of it.

We stopped here on a Monday for an unplanned afternoon tea to take a break on a long car journey. Even though we were warned that you typically need to book, the staff went out of their way to accommodate our request for a full afternoon tea. We were treated to delicious sandwiches and tasty scones with plenty of clotted cream and jam. Five star food with a five star service from our waitress Lupe. We will stop here again next time we drive through, and this time we will book!

A fantastic 3 course dinner here, with top service from Eric. Really enjoyed it thank you!

Excellent service from Eric and Perry

Went for a family Christmas meal, it was great the staff were friendly and great service.

Visited for a family Christmas meal. Absolutely thrilled, great food, perfect service, immaculately clean. Highly recommended.

Poor restaurant in an otherwise nice hotel. On a quiet Tuesday they had run out of menus, at ordering they had run out of my starter and main. When the prawns came they were in shells, but came with no water bowl. When the steak came they forgot the peppercorn sauce.

We were seduced by the £25 Sunday roast offering for two. Why did we bother, the soup was lukewarm although tasty. The salad starter was very poor. There were 2 roasts, beef & gammon. My wife had gammon which was good but my beef had to be the cheapest cut which was over cooked. The vegetables were warm and fairly well presented. The cauliflower cheese was hot and tasty. Unfortunately the roast potatoes were not crisp and overly fragrant with rosemary, not ideal for a roast in my opinion. The yorkshires tiny and hard. The deserts were an over dry bread and butter pudding with a runny custard or cheese selection. Tea & coffee were included but here the machine only delivered half a cup of latte! Definitely not worth it, it is worth paying a bit more for a proper Sunday roast.

Go here every morning for breakfast as part of being a hotel resident. The food is really nice I am particularly fond of the hash browns crispy on the outside fluffy on the inside. A really good selection for food all round The staff are always friendly and welcoming and assist you in anything you need help with. The restaurant itself is really modern from the private TV booths to the modern decor

Went for the Sunday carvery - do not make the same mistake. The food was cold and limp to the point of being inedible. (cold) yorkshires, (cold) roast potatos which despite being described as crispy on the menu were soggy - the herbs on them were the crispiest bit, (cold) soggy roast carrots and parsnips swimming in oil and dry meat. Following a complaint the staff did offer to bring fresh food out, but by this point we were put off and left without eating.

We went to the Oxen bar and grill for a Sunday carvery arriv8ng just before 14:00. The food is served between 12:00 and 15:00 so although we were not there at the start of service we had not just arrived at the end of it. The restaurant had only one or two other diners in it, which should have been a warning. The food was such poor standard and was also all cold to the point of being inedible. (cold) yorkshires, (cold) roast potatos which despite being described as crispy on the menu were soggy (the herbs on them were the crispiest bit!!), (cold) soggy roast carrots and parsnips swimming in oil and dry meat. Following a complaint the staff did offer to bring fresh food out, but by this point we were put off and left without eating.

Carvery Sunday lunch, very good price for 3 courses and coffee, food nicely cooked. However one complaint food only lukewarm and served on cold plates. Custard ran out and quickly replaced but stone cold. I would return if these problems were rectified.

quality food, nice atmosphere. Unbeatable service and attention with Guadalupe, she helped us a lot with the translation of the letter. we will be back

A cozy restaurant, we ate a pizza that was very good and is homemade. Guadalupe took great care of us and made us feel at home. I definitely recommend it, especially for the food and the friendliness of the staff, especially Guadalupe.

The green curry was good and spicy. Service was also good. Nothing to complain.

I’m surprised by some of the positive reviews, here, especially from someone who visited the carvery for Sunday Roast; maybe something has fundamentally changed, recently. We visited as I heard their radio advert – “two people for £25…Succulent Beef and Chicken, crispy roast potatoes, and golden Yorkshire puddings”. Firstly, it was a very confusing arrangement and we were not the only diners to get confused. This was partly because the self-service starter was for soup, and for salad. I don’t think that anyone really understood that the salad was the starter. We had to ask for someone to come and carve the meat, which was Beef and Gammon. I think that the meats could have been OK, if they were warm (there was no form of heat to keep the meat warm) as was the case for the gravy that was in a small jug. I had both Beef and Gammon and the Carver struggled to carve the beef and then, when carving the Gammon, only managed to provide me with the fat. Things then went down-hill when we discovered the ‘roast’ potatoes and Yorkshire puddings which had clearly come from the Freezer. When I visited the vegetables, there were a couple of pieces of dried Broccoli and mixed peas and sweetcorn, which I believe had some from a tin or were from the freezer. The Yorkshire puddings were arguably golden but the roast potatoes were definitely not crispy and were what you would expect from cheap, frozen, potatoes. With the exception of the meat, the food appeared to have come from a Findus, frozen, ready-meal from one. I think that our server did her best in adverse circumstances. When we complained, she initially said that nobody else had complained. We heard several disgruntled Customers, ourselves – confusing buffet, no server, booked for Sunday roast online but arrived too late, anther confused booking, and a comment about going for a Chinese. Having spoken with the Chef (not sure why not the Manager), our server returned to explain that they were having issues and that there was a new Chef, that we did not have to pay, and that we could have any complimentary meal from the menu; we chose to leave. Our server was very apologetic. I think that the issue here is one of Management. Whatever the issues were, nothing excuses frozen and/or food and the advertising on radio is ludicrous. I hope that Marriott and/or the Oxen Bar & Grill find this useful.

We live local and thought we would try out the carvery, we wish we hadn't bothered. The food choice was very limited and warm not hot. since when was ravioli part of a carvery!. Choice of 2 meats that were cold, beef bloody and the same knife used to carve the gammon not ideal. Roast potatoes have never been roast potatoes more like soggy tastless frozen ones. Didn't have the vegetable soup starter as looked like it had been there forever and resembled baby food. All offerings were not monitored either, which was a little off-putting when children of the resident afghan families were in and out of the area. Staff friendly but slow service. 2 stars given for effort not the food

Very much enjoyed my visit here this evening. Food was good and the service was good. Overall recommend.

Excellent choice of food. Good staff who are always attentive. Food selection is great. We had the t bone steak which was nicely cooked. Good selection of drinks as well as local choices. Good to see this on the menu that reatauranf supporting local community. Will definitely visit again.

Tables are too close to the next person who you don't know, and you don't want to hear there conversations during breakfast.

We visited for the Easter Sunday carvery & buffet. Really professional and welcoming staff. Particularly Owen & Elena, who went above & beyond with an Easter Egg hunt for the kids. Well thought out, with little clues along the way. The food was absolutely delicious and fresh. The roast lamb in particular was so soft and tasty. We will definitely return.

Excellent service and food. Great kids options. Staff were really great especially PERRY. Would highly recommend.

Last minute booking - we were greeted by name at the door and seated immediately. Elana looked after us from start to finish and couldn’t have been more accommodating- glad we walked across from the beefeater at our hotel. Will prob stay here next time we travel. Thanks.

Attended for a gin journey experience although this ended up not being what I expected and we were disappointed with the array of gins available. I felt that the entrance was generally messy and poorly presented. Staff experience was so-so. This fell short of what I would expect from a Marriott and I will be unlikely to return as a result.

Food is great, I like the baby back rib.

Meh.... Tried two reds on offer and both were not great. Ordered a "super food" salad, but it came buried in far too much dressing over limp salad leaves... And a rather small portion for being a "main" on the menu. Marriott should do better, it's as if they have a captive audience. Service was good, attentive staff and genuinely concerned! That was the plus.

Decor was nice, staff seemed friendly , but the food took an hour to arrive on a quiet Tuesday night, food was very bland and under seasoned and prices overall were very steep. Would likely not return.

Went for a business meeting, food pre ordered so to be served in the lunch timeframe. Food came 20' (starters) and 30 min late (mains), dishes served about 10 min difference from each other so by the time someone finished eating someone else is just getting their plate. As expected had to run over the time slot by almost half an hour. Good presentation but lack of quality. Disappointed.

Not great, most of the menu isn’t available, what is was very average, had to ask a second time for my drink order to be provided. Staff appear disinterested. Pretty disappointing.

We were greeted at the Main Reception and told where the Restaurant was situated. We found a table. The waitress kindly explained they opened for food at midday so was able to offer us a hot drink and brought the menu. Our food arrived promptly and it was attractively served. Those serving us were very courteous and keen to please. It was a pleasure for my wife and I to take lunch here.

Work Xmas do. Good food but if your not paying top price you're sat in the guest dining room/ bar area and the automatic doors mean your very, very cold.

A very good hotel bar and restaurant.

Sparkling afternoon tea for four - Groupon £37.95 Was lovely you got 3 sandwiches ham, cheese & pickle, tuna mayo and sweetcorn. A fruit and a plain scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam. A chocolate brownie, red velvet cake and a raspberry mousse thingy. Started with a fabulous glass of prosecco. You could have either a pot of tea or coffee. For less than a tenner each I would say it was pretty good value. The only thing I think I would have changed was maybe have a small handful of crisps on the side of the sandwiches and put the scones on the same plate as the cakes.

Fantastic as always, special shout out to Mark the barman. Always helpful with food and drinks orders. Really recommend staying here for a relaxed, and comfortable stay!

The service from Sam was absolutely fantastic. He was very friendly and helpful. When asked questions he answered them promptly and honestly which I really liked. I can’t get over how incredibly welcoming he was. He is a real credit to your team. Thank you Sam!

Came here for drinks after work, Sam the bartender was fun, engaging and professional! He made us all feel at home and able to relax after a long days work. Thanks Sam!!

Sam and Mark... what can I say... just superb customer service all round. Always know what beverage I would like, true gents of the hospitality front. A*

Me and my colleagues and regulars here and the service is always amazing!! Len is an amazing chef and Sam always serves us with a smile! 100% recommend

Visited for a business meeting with colleagues, beautiful hotel and lovely service aga and Sam were amazing and full of smiles! 5/5 highly recommended

We ate here because we were staying at the hotel. The food was ok but a bit bland and not great value. We assume this might be down to kitchen restrictions in the current climate. The staff were very friendly an accommodating.

The staff and the food are amazing especially Aura and Cip couldn't do enough for me lovely people super stars

Pleasantly surprised by the food but more so the extreamly friendly staff especially aura! Will definitely be coming back here

Visited with friends some time ago. Although food and environment was good but it was bit costly than near surroundings

nicely priced....breakfast buffet was excellent. dinner was good and priced right. only recommendation is to have bar staff trained in making cocktails, but overall, very nice place.

We were going to book a table for 4 for a lunch, but having read the reviews, it seemed like it wasn't going to be busy, so didn't call (our error).Got to the restaurant at 1 and there seemed to be a load of people queuing for a buffet. Hmmmm. Walked in, and asked a waitress if the restaurant was open. No she said, just for a conference. Oh, OK. As we walked out to find somewhere else to eat there were about three tables who were perusing the menus ! Weird. We left.Might try again, but we'll call !

Really attentive staff and food was good. No long wait and table cleared quickly after each course

Decided to eat 'in house' at the Marriott on Sunday evening. Really pleasantly surprised by the variety of the menu, but the pleasure was increased by the quality of the dishes ordered. Try the scallop starter dish from the 'specials' if available, and the lamb dish from the main menu...both not far off 'fine dining' standard! Well done, chef (Marius, I believe). Truly recommended.

Very nice food but overpriced. We had the pork and lamb dishes. Really good quality meal and filling. Nice and freshly cooked (you can tell). Nice atmosphere and the place has been kept clean and presentable. The staff were really nice and helpful. I feel there could be more choices on the menu but not a big issue. If you are staying in the hotel then I would recommend this restaurant. Pretty good overall.

thoroughly enjoyed the food i had prawn and crab cocktail then salmon and to top it off the chocolate fondant all dishes were good sized portions and tasted lovely. The service was excellent perhaps that was because we were the only ones in the restaurant, which was strange as it was lunchtime. but apart from that i really enjoyed the surroundings it is boutique style

We decided it was about time we tried this local restaurant which is hidden away at the back of the new (ish) Marriott Hotel just by the Didcot junction of the A34 at Milton. We weren't disappointed. The food was absolutely delicious: the sea bream on crab risotto was particularly good. Well cooked, tasty and filling. A good mug of Starbucks coffee to round it off. The staff were really friendly and we will definitely be going back. Would definitely recommend.

Arrived in the lobby, no one to welcome me and take me to a table. So I went to the bar and asked if I could take a seat, which they confirmed.I could sit where I wanted, and I wish I had picked more wisely...!! There was a group of tourists nearby, playing pool then having dinner together... such a loud group. Absolutely no respect towards the other people in the restaurant.Shame the bar area and restaurant are not separated to limit the noise.Anyway.I had Chicken Pesto Pizza which was delish. My advice will be : serve pizza with a pizza cutter. I asked for a better knife than just butter knife, was given one with slightly bigger dents, but still wasn’t the greatest.

Excellent food... very polite staff... great ambience... have a fantastic evening...

Our team decided to visit The Oxen for a lunchtime social. Even though the menu online looked quite pricy, we were willing to give it a go for the sake of convenience. With the exception of my colleague who had a halloumi burger, we were all extremely disappointed and will certainly not be coming back anytime again.When we arrived, we spent what seemed like an age loitering in the foyer, waiting for somebody to show us to our table, before the waitress acknowledged us. We were still waiting on one person when we arrived, but the second she came, the food was brought out to us.For the price, the food was mediocre at best. The ‘superfood’ salad, whilst pleasant, despite almost non-existent quantities of broccoli and one overcooked egg, was stingy. I don’t think I’ve ever spent £14 on a salad, and well, it simply wasn’t worth it. For that price, I’d expect at least a few eggs. It was worth probably £9 (being generous). With the exception of my colleague who had the halloumi burger, we were all dissatisfied. The burger was severely overcooked, after having to be redone after the waitress knocked the top of the first one when serving the rest of us. The soup was served with butter, but no bread? When my colleague asked for some bread, we could all quite clearly hear ‘we don’t have any bread. We only have sourdough’. If you are serving soup with butter, then surely there should be some bread. When it came over some 10 minutes later, it was still frozen in the middle. When my colleague asked for it to be toasted, it was rather brown, bordering on burnt.A work lunch should not be this stressful, or expensive. The fact that a service charge was lumped onto our bill for what was frankly quite poor service – no real being asked how the food was – we felt this was unwarranted. Glad we tried it, but won’t be back until menu prices and food quality are in line with the price.

I've had the ceasar salad twice, and it's large, filling and very tasty. The fish and chips are also above average. The service is good, and they are very willing to prepare your food to take back to your room -- you must pick it up, however, as the hotel does not provide room service.

Great food and attentive service. Felt it was a bit soulless and thus a bit pricey.

Excellent Bar, prompt professional and friendly service each evening by Grace made a stay very enjoyable.

I tried the restaurant out knowing it is designed to serve the hotel business clientele. The food taste was adequate, chef is trying some different ideas, the range was steaks, pizzas, burgers and salads but did have some vegetarian. Wine list looked good and had bottles from 4 countries if I remembered correctly. Dessert menu had typical choices you find in this type of hotel restaurant.

Absolutely terrible service. The manager in particular was incredibly rude. She was so awful, I wanted to switch hotels. No salt and pepper on tables. Tap water took 30 minutes to bring to my table. Ordered was totally screwed up.

Standard food (although the fish did taste and look like it came frozen from the local supermarket) but highly priced. For what looks like a high class place the food was disappointing and the service wasn't much better (including the waiter laughing when we were actually complaining about the food). It will definitely not be somewhere we visit when we are in the area next. You can get much better food elsewhere for less. Very disappointing experience.

Enjoyed a good quality evening meal for two, food was OK - but Cameron's service was excellent. He went over and above expectations, talking us through the wine we'd chosen, and encouraged us to taste an alternative before choosing. He was very personable and helped to make it an enjoyable occasion.

Will not be back. Food was below average and prices are considerably high. Food left under heat lamp for hours, more batter than what there was fish, burnt batter and brown skin on mushy peas. Chicken club is not chicken breast but thinly sliced, packet chicken. The best part, the chips. But £31 for a handful of chips is quite a lot. Told the staff before the bill, bill comes out with no discount gesture but whacked a 10% service charge on top instead. Awful. Avoid.

Food is not worth the prices they charge. At all. All pre-cooked and reheated. There was more skin on my mushy peas than on the back of my leg. For what looks nice on the outside is extremely disappointing inside. Will not be going back, my advice is to drive straight past this place. Given 2 stars purely based on the interior.

My daughter has recently moved to the area so booked us in for dinner. The restaurant is clean and bright and although empty when we arrived at 7pm it soon began to fill. We were warmly greeted by our server Firas who was very attentive. When he was unable to answer our questions about the food he quickly found out the information and reported back to us. The menu was very varied and the food was presented well and served hot with good sized portions. Everyone in our party really enjoyed their starter, main course and dessert. I would highly recommend this restaurant for business trips or family gatherings.

Very happy to have a Europeans style restaurant in an international standard hotel (Marriott) Very nice, recommended. Darren is a great waiter.

As a regular business traveller since the hotel was opened a few months ago, the service in the restaurant has steadily improved. Served by Cameron recently he was very attentive and provided a professional acceptance of our table order (5 people) and delivery of the food.

Travelling for work and feeling comfortable having a dinner for one can be tough but at The Oxen Bar & Grill the environment is set up for the solo diner. Great service and the food was delicious - ox cheek with a glass of Shiraz - perfect home comfort meal away from home.

After a 4 hour drive, I was pretty tired the staff read this very well, and were very attentive. The food was not over complicated and was very good. Cameron my waiter was very attentive but did not overcrowd. In short Good food and atmosphere, quite a change from traditional hotel restaurants.

We have been here a few times now. My colleague is from NY and says the pizza is fantastic. Risotto is lovely as well. Ice cream is a frozen delight. Shout out to Cameron for always being a great host. Good people, good times.

My first and only visit here was very poor. I went for lunch here for the first time. Thinking it’s attached to a 4 star hotel and the food would be of a good standard. I was soon brought back to earth.

We visited the Oxen for dinner on Saturday night. Food was great, very current menu and the place looks and feels super contemporary. There’s definitely nothing like it in the local area. Would recommend 😊

Thought i'd try this place out after a noticed it opened in December.

Good food & service. Reasonably priced. i had the smoked chicken salad which was very nice. The children’s burger looked good, as our grandson demolished it. Would recommend. Will be back.

I ate at The Oxen after enjoying a meeting at the hotel.

It was our families first time at the Oxen.

Good food, but the service is slow and there's not enough staff members. Given its a brand new hotel, I expect this will improve over time

As locals to this new hotel we thought we would try the Oxen restaurant for a change. It was beautifully decorated and welcomed our family. My son and I had steak which was nicely cooked and fairly priced (not a bargain though!) and my daughter tried a pizza as they have a gas fired pizza oven which went down well. My husbands flat iron chicken was well presented and came with lovely fresh salad. Desert was delicious too including chocolate brownies for the children and a chocolate tart with caramel popcorn for my husband! Cameron served us and was a lovely local young man and a pleasure to get to know. After supper the boys were delighted that they were Able to have a quick game of pool on the pool table located adjacent to the eating area for free- whilst I had ten minutes to enjoy a coffee... a winner for all!

Popped in for a brief lunch and coffee- was pleasantly surprised by how friendly the staff were.

Food was great, dearer than the harvester next door (if staying at the hotel your'e limited for choice) but well worth spending the extra to eat here. The staff are lovely and the food was restaurant quality.

Nice hotel, shame the chef could not cook a steak to save his/her life. Oh, and dry aged steak my arse!!! Paltry amount of chips and 27 quid. Avoid anything from the grill.

We visited today to have a light lunch. The interior is stunning and the staff could not have been more helpful.

Excellent hotel, clean, new, great food and comfortable rooms!