The Oxford Brasserie in Southampton

Restaurant was closed and apparently has been for weeks. Unsure when it will re-open.

We only had one night in Southampton and really wanted to see what the local cuisine was like. Based on Yelp reviews, we decided to try The Oxford. Dinner was wonderful. The seafood linguine was fantastic. A very generous portion and the sauce was not like anything I'd had before. It was flavorful with a kick. As other reviews mentioned, it was not busy but we could not understand why. The atmosphere was lovely, service was good and dinner was great. If we get to Southampton again, we will surely return to The Oxford.

Booked and had confirmation of the booking on the night. We turned up and the restaurant was closed so things don’t look too good, especially with the other recent reviews. Fortunately we were able to get a table elsewhere so our night wasn’t a disaster

We had an extremely disappointing experience during our recent visit, despite having pre-booked a table for an early evening meal with drinks. Upon arrival, the atmosphere was unsettling, with the restaurant nearly empty, which felt strange given how busy Oxford Street was after the Saints’ home game. It almost seemed as if the restaurant was on the verge of closing down - which probably wouldn’t be a bad idea at this point… Once seated, we had a front-row seat to watch the night unravel into chaos. Drinks orders were repeatedly forgotten, and food service was delayed to the point that we witnessed at least four tables walking out in frustration, another two tables complain about the poor service and continue to walk out. The waitstaff informed people that they had run out of certain popular wines - a shocking oversight for a Saturday night. Worse yet, pre-booked tables were turned away at the door, due to “limited stock,” and “we didn’t know you were coming” statements. The drinks wine board also had more items crossed off than were actually available. To top it all off, the card machines broke down, adding to the growing list of issues. Throughout this fiasco, not a single gesture was made to offer a discount or any form of compensation for the dismal service. We simply received excuses as to how things “were not their fault”. We ended up staying, but only because it was almost too late to leave having had our starters and to some degree we felt sorry for the two overwhelmed ‘waitresses’ trying to manage the evening. The only saving grace of the evening was that we arrived early enough to actually receive our food, which was, in fairness to the chefs, perfectly cooked and delicious. *This review does not reflect on the chefs abilities* However, the overall experience was atrocious. This is a far cry from the Oxford Brasserie of the past. Until there is a complete overhaul of management and staffing, this place is best avoided. We won’t be returning and strongly recommend booking elsewhere.

Uses to be superb brasserie, with friendly staff, food above average, good wine and cocktails /mocktails. Worth a detour !! Unfortunately,the whole concept has changed, and not for the better. ( new owner apparently) Atmosphere, terras, service, food-and drink offer below standard .. Under those conditions I would no longer advise to book a table there.

Terrible service, poor start staff didn’t know we were arriving and had pre booked food! Place looks like it’s shutting down. Avoid at all costs had to move venue. Poor staff haven’t even been paid in weeks

Staff fantastic couldn’t have been more personal and attentive felt very welcome and the food was just amazing would highly recommend as meal out with friends or like us as a family.

We sat outside and could've been in a Mediterranean city, the maitre de (Tina) was very welcoming. I had the black pudding scotch eggs to start which was full of flavour and texture, followed by the sunday roast belly of pork. Both dishes were a good sized portion and tasted amazing. I could barely manage a pudding so opted for the sorbet, again I was not disappointed with the quality of the food. The Argentinan Malbec was served at the perfect temperature and was absolutely delightful. High praise to the chef, and to Tina who made the whole experience very enjoyable.

When we got there for our dinner at 7:30pm (which we had pre booked). The members of staff at the counter were fumbling about trying to find us a table, even though the restaurant was half empty. We were then seated 10 mins later, not given any menus to look at, no water. Left for 15 minutes without being talked to. When we finally got some menus we saw that 75% of the wine had been crossed off the menu. It took them another 10 minutes for someone to come back and take our drink order, by which time the table across from us left before even ordering. (we should have walked then too). The drinks took ages and the glasses were dirty. When ordering our starters, the waitress wasn't even listening, and had to come back to confirm our order (spolier, she still got it wrong and we ended up with incorrect food). The starters took 1 hour to arrive. And even if they weren't correct, the food was actually lovely. But we were frustrated and over hungry by this point. When our starters were finally cleared we had asked them if we would receive our mains quickly as our taxi was booked for 10pm and it was now 9:15pm !!! (nearly 2 hours and only a starter) Our mains came at 9:50pm and we had all of 5 minutes to try and scoff what was barely mediocre food. The owner was sat round the corner, drinking wine whilst his restaurant looked disgusting, a bar covered in dirty glasses and food still on the tables. The young waiter was lovely and apologetic but unfortunately due to extreme mad management this restaurant goes into one of the worst I have ever been to. Avoid at all costs!

It's a fantastic place to dine, the food... cooked to order, fantastic flavours and honestly as it should be. Can't believe its quiet... if you want proper food with fantastic flavour book here.

Didn't realise it had moved premises..lost charm and ambiance it held previously. Greeted warmly and service was great, food was lovely too. Would like to see premises updated.

Booked a table for an early dinner for date night before the cinema and, at first, things seemed ok. We were checked in and given drinks menus. It’s a good job we didn’t want wine as the menu had more crossings out and scribbles over it than actual wines. We ordered two Vodka, Lime and Lemonades only for the waitress to return to us and inform us they didn’t have any lemonade. It was a Saturday evening!! We sat there for 30 minutes without anyone acknowledging except for the drinks whilst no-one bought us any menus for food or offered us anything. In the end, we left. Went to the bar and fed everything back and the lady seemed genuinely shocked. She asked me if I’d definitely booked and told them I had when I arrived which was surprising as I could see my name in the diary from where I was standing. The lady who originally sat us down then came over and said that she HAD asked if we wanted food and we said no - no such conversation had taken place and she was clearly trying to cover for herself. The two drinks we had cost me £21 which is disgusting! This restaurant used to be great and felt exclusive. Now it is awful and has gone massively downhill.

Went for dinner tonight (saturday evening) staff were rude and not very attentive at all. 2 out of 5 of the meals were wrong then came out and weren’t great.

Booked a table for 5pm. Arrived and told they wouldn’t be able to even take an order until 6pm (we could see 4 empty tables from the reception area). Seemed irrelevant we had booked and the very unhelpful woman at reception just looked at us as though we had maybe imagined we were at a restaurant we had booked a table at.

Decent food at fair prices.Friendly staff but 50 minutes between finishing starters and mains arriving is not great for a restaurant with only 3 groups dining. Having said that, the food is high quality and certainly would return. Espresso served in an espresso cup filled to the top was slightly surprising, but I am guess a newbie was on coffees that evening.

Great food, we focused more on fish, and the scallops, mackerel, mussels very good. Bouillabase was nice, but not really right from many dishes we have eaten in Europe. All in all food good and reasonably priced but service was VERY slow on a v quiet night for Saturday night. Took nearly an hour for mains to come out with no apology or explanation, but felt they enjoyed the fact it meant we drank a bottle of wine before mains, so had to order another. Despite food being good, we wouldn't go back in a rush because of the service

Perfect experience - food was fantastic, service great and alcohol reasonably priced.

Visited with family, received a friendly welcome on arrival and service throughout the evening was excellent. Selection of dishes was varied and of very high quality. Would highly recommend and shall be dining here again.

My wife and I took her daughter and her daughters boyfriend for a meal and drinks. The food was excellent, service was excellent and prices were very good. Will definitely be dining here again.

Amazing food Amazing service Amazing people!

First time visit, really friendly staff and the food was delicious.

Tapas Wednesday bloody lovely was so good

Recommend - great service and food was brilliant too. Came here for a birthday meal. Jerry (our server) was great

My Daughter booked here for Mother's Day. Had a wonderful welcome, seated straight away. All 3 courses were taken and drinks. The 3 courses had just the right times in between to give us a rest before the next. They didn't rush us to leave and were very chatty. Would definitely recommend 👌

Top drawer, if you like your seafood and drinks are important then this place has you covered, I had the chateaubriand last time too, I'm a massive fan of this place

Good vegan options and decent portions. Friendly service

Lovely meal out for my birthday. Staff were very helpful with giving options for the vegan and gluten free members of our party.

I have come here few times always had great services , dog friendly . Service from waiter man bun is always been polite and great with everyone . Always feel u been looked after when y go there. The food has always been great.

Great atmosphere, great food and fabulous staff.

Fantastic place for lunch or dinner, great food & lovely staff. We will definitely be going back.

Amazing as always, yummy food and excellent service

I have seen some mixed reviews about this restaurant especially about rude staff online but I've still decided to book our special Christmas Dinner for 25th of December. Our Christmas was ruined. As we've arrived for our booking which was confirmed just fwe hours earlier, the waiter and waitress looked at us as if what are you doing here. At this point my mum and sister went outside as they already felt uncomfortable and unwelcome. The waiter then proceeds to tell us that our booking wasn't confirmed and therefore they won't serve us as kitchen is closed. This was at 4:30 pm, my booking was for 5pm. When I tried ti explain I have booked he just said no and GOODBYE. We had no Christmas Dinner and were made feel really bad by rude staff. Don't go here, very rude staff. Many other lovely places on Oxford Street with nice staff.

Christmas Day lunch. Delicious. Thank you.

Sadly the food was not up to standard. Edible but not great.

Work Xmas dinner! Amazing food!

Lovely food. Great selection. Average prices for this quality restaurant. Very friendly staff.

We had dinner with our friends on Friday last week and every dish was amazing - I would highly recommend this restaurant . Our waitress was also very friendly and helpful

We came here as a large table of 10, both adults and children and were all really happy with the food. We came here on a Sunday so a lot of the table did have Sunday Roasts, but it was the best roast I have had out. They offer Sirloin Of Beef, Chicken & Lamb, I had lamb & chicken. Highly recommend visiting for a Sunday lunch! Crisp potatoes, lovely vegetable selection, multiple meat choices, a big Yorkshire and great gravy! Thank you!

Family lunch on a Saturday lunchtime. Welcoming on arrival. Good choice on the menu: Food - tasty-looking mains and a good range of drinks. Decent pint of Moretti. Service was attentive and professional. The thai-inspired swordfish on the mains was excellent - would happily recommend. Good atmosphere. The marinated pork chop was delicious. Facilities were clean and fresh. Thanks for a lovely occasion.

fantastic, amazing food great host well worth the money

Stopped off here on my way to the cruise terminal for lunch and very glad I did! I just had the rib-eye steak with a Stilton sauce, came with salad snd triple cooked chips which were excellent. Pint of Moretti to wash it down, a very good lunch and highly recommended. A very attentive host who was genuine and friendly. I hope the food on the ship is as good as this was!

Fabulous dinner. Presentation superb. Broad bean salad was ingenious. Celeriac remoulade was the highlight for me. Steak was perfect and belly pork divine. Good wine list. Excellent service. Will def recommend and return.

Attentive staff, wonderful food - what's not to love!

Great local bistro, so worth a try. Lovely food with an interesting menu and service excellent. Be aware of nibbles as most are like starters but we were warned of this :) Altogether a lovely visit and will be back again.

Poor hygiene of the restaurant,english front of house are horrible towards us they are not friendly and not approachable. I dont like the service because we wait for ages for food to serve and then i order medium steak but they gave me rare and then chef named Dave i guess he approached us in very bad manner and he is stinky and the uniform is dirty so the place is unhygienic. I dont recommend this place anymore ,if you dont want to poison yourself choose different restaurants. Worst experience ever .

It's fabulous here lovely food and great friendly efficient service

스테이크 생선요리 등등 다 맛있었어요 6개 시켰는데 실패한게 없습니다

Wonderful food!, we happened upon the bistro during our visit to the boat show. The food was so good we decided to eat here a twice and we were not disappointed. The first evening we had mussels and fries ( delicious Thai inspired sauce) The following evening ,We both had the special which was stuffed squid and to follow the pan fried cod with buttery mash and Crispy samphire both of which were wonderful . The staff are friendly and welcoming. It’s so nice to report such a find! Try it I’m sure you will enjoy it.

This was a birthday treat for my birthday from my son. There were 5 of us and the service was very good. Menu was extensive and varied. It was very quiet when we went, probably because it was midweek lunchtime. Had a great meal and my dessert was delivered by the staff singing happy birthday. It made for a lovely day.

A decent choice for a casual lunch in a not-so-nice as there were ongoing works and a lot of shabby buildings around. Very friendly and welcoming owner and good food, with nothing special besides the generous portions.

Had an excellent meal, impressed with choices available in the menu, especially fish, very good service too. Definitely we will be back.

Return visit for family celebration, excellent food at a very reasonable price. Nut roast available, my son loved it, amazing service by Jose, very accommodating, thank you for such a lovely meal. Looking forward to coming back to try new menu, looks amazing.

Great food. Really good value for money. Not very busy so atmosphere a bit flat. Fab service too.

Great food and very nice friendly staff, the black pudding scotch egg starter was too die for and a very unusual item on the menu. Lots of lovely sea food choices.

Very helpful staff. We had a mixture of starters as nibbles as we had a few drinks. Quite expensive drinks but you would expect that in Oxford Street which is a great place to visit if you're a local or not. Great access for cruise liners! Enjoy!

We were staying in Southampton pre-cruise and, as always, I spent a bit of time reading reviews to select an authentic, local restaurant. I feel like I got this one wrong - maybe it was the time of our reservation (at opening), maybe it was an off night. We were greeted by an intoxicated patron standing around inside the entrance. The guy was trying to engage with seated guests; it felt uncomfortable. The two staff out front seemed frazzled trying to get rid of this guy while serving tables. We had an inside table, patio seating appeared to be tables of guys who had been there a while having drinks. We ordered drinks and, because of our greeting, decided to skip appetizers and order only mains. We ordered risotto and fish and chips; risotto came pipping hot, portion of fish was huge with a ‘gourmet’ flair. Food took a really long time to come out. Maybe there were kitchen issues that night too. Our clothing/jackets smelled like fried smokey food and needed to be laundered. Food was fine; experience was weird.

Birthday celebration for my husband, a couple of glasses of Prosecco on the house and a birthday plate, very much appreciated. Excellent menu with great choices, scallops to die for, stuffed squid very tasty. Seafood platter and belly of pork for mains, yummy! No room for desserts unfortunately. Pleasant and efficient service. Thank you for a special evening.

Lovely Sunday Roast, excellent value, great service, had a combination of the three roasts available.

We visited on a bustling Friday evening in the Oxford Street area and had booked the 'Oxford Brasserie' in advance. We opted for a quieter table just off the main area and it was OK if a little brightly lit and facing the toilets! Service was efficient and friendly. The rose and white wines were very drinkable and we ordered a portion of the 'Chorizo cooked in Sherry' as a nibble to start and it was exceptionally good. We both ate the starter portion of 'Moules' and they were plump and juicy in a tasty 'Mariniere' sauce with bread to dunk in the juices. My wife also opted for a starter portion of the smoked mackerel with beetroot and enjoyed this. I went for the swordfish and whereas it was OK, it was so drenched in the sweet chilli salsa that it was hard to define that it was swordfish - a little disappointing. It wasn't cheap at £123 including service but it was a nice enough meal if not memorable.

We were seated and waited 25 minutes. No more Acknowledgement, menu, drink or anything. We were simply ignored so left. Very disappointing

Have Sunday lunch with family, very tasteful, we had all three roasts available, all cooked to perfection, children had 1/2 portion, really good value for money, pleasant service. We will come back to try the new menu, looks amazing.

Visited as a family of 8 on a weekday evening. The restaurant was very helpful beforehand in agreeing and providing a set price menu for the group that was 3 courses and had both vegan and non vegan options. The choice was very good with...

This is not a all bad review, but rather a honest one. The evening started off ok, while we were deciding what to eat or drink, the waitress has been consistently asking us what we want for every 2 minutes. I understand it is important for tablet turn around etc, but this stresses us out and not making the dining experience relaxing. When our mains started to arrive, my sister cuts her beef fillet, realising it was very overcooked as she ordered medium rare, so we decided to let the waitress knows. The waitress was really kind and has ask the kitchen staff or manager for the compliant. Nevertheless, waitress came back and insist the steak that was indeed medium rare. With such naive statements, we were very disappointed as just judging from this picture, this steak is not even well done, in fact I would call it “congratulation”. Since they insist they did the right thing and we didn’t insist neither. While my sister was having the steak for that evening, she couldn’t talk for the whole evening because she was chewing the whole time. Rest of the food were ok but at a premium price. We were fine with the price, but we expected premium price comes with premium quality. One of the waiter noticed the issue (which seems to be the manager), however did not came over and ask how was the meal etc, he even avoided eye contact with me (as in I saw him saw me). I guess this restaurant was average, if you want to settle for average, I guess this might be ok for you.

Judging by some of the Trip Advisor reviews this restaurant had a problem with service and time taken for food to be served. So this visit was to specifically verify these points. It was a lovely evening and the sun rays were inviting enough to...

We came for a Sunday roast, we had a lovely time. The food was excellent, a generous portion for the price, Roast Beef cook to perfection and Roast Pork loin very tasty and moist. Service very pleasant and genuine.

Visited Oxford Brasserie on a Friday lunchtime. Overall the food (once bought) was good but overpriced for what it was (swordfish, a few crispy potatoes - not the saffron crushed as listed and 2 bits of pac choi) lovely cooked fish but for £22 it was somewhat overpriced. In addition my mum ordered the vegetable tagine but after tasting it was curry - very hot and definitely a premade sauce of sorts. As someone sensitive to heat she was unable to eat it but the server kindly swapped out for the fish and chips which were good. The most disappointing part was the atmosphere- we could hear arguing from the back of the kitchen and there seemed to be a bad atmosphere in the room as a result.

Haven't eaten here for a while.. forgot what we were missing. Possibly the best Sunday Roast I've had out in years and Jose is such a gentleman.. thoroughly recommended on all fronts Mel & Lisa xx

The food was wonderful. The swordfish was out of this world good as was the chocolate brownie/ ice cream desert! Jenn, the pretty young manager, does a wonderful job of making everyone feel at home. The best restaurant in Southampton!!

Super leckere Muscheln, aufmerksamer und freundlicher Service

Absolutely wonderful experience! The cod fish and chips was so fresh and delicious. The sole special was great also.

Silver anniversary dinner food was absolutely to die for service was just right relaxed but no rushed and for a mid week was a very nice feel to the place

TERRIBLE CHEF. HIGHLY NOT RECOMMEND. AVOID!!!! We ordered a “medium” rib eye steak with 2 starter dishes. The STEAK was OVERCOOKED and the meat was tough and dry, was cooked as well done. We tried two bites and raised the issue to the staff. The chef came out with RUDE attitude and BLAMED us that we raised it too late and ate already. He SAID we were making EXCUSES and the steak was medium. But apparently it was overcooked, the meat was dry and cooked as well done. After some arguments, the chef agreed to cook another steak to less than medium. But when it was brought out, we tried and the “less than medium” was apparently medium. The chef REFUSED TO ADMIT his fault and put BAD ATTITUDE at his customers, even TERRIBLY BLAMED his customers. He is lack of respect to customers and professionalism, and doesn’t know what is medium.

I took my partner here for lunch on her birthday. The service was excellent and the staff friendly. We had the calamari and mussels to begin with and then we both had the hake main. All the food was excellent quality and presented nicely. Will be going back again.

A splendid lunch. Staff were friendly and helpful. I'd be happy to go back anytime.

Great food, good choice of wine. Service was good

Very delicious food! I loved their cauliflower soup of the day and the bread they gave us was absolutely amazing! The atmosphere was nice outside were I sat and the staff was very polite and considerate, asking if everything was fine. I highly recommend the place :)

Amazing 40th birthday here last night! Brilliant service and delicious food. We will be back ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Good food, great service, and will definitely return.

Bloody loved it. Great service and fantastic food. Next time we are here we will be here again...

Had a fantastic meal with a friend, We both thought the food was superb. Also enjoyed being served by the owner, such a friendly chap.

Celebrated my son’s 18th Birthday at Oxford Brassiere. Jose and the team did not disappoint, from start to finish nothing was too much trouble. The menu that was put together specially for us was great and ensured all dietary requirements were catered for with the...

This restaurant was perfect for a lunch and a catch up with a friend. The welcome was warm and the service was excellent. They offered a slightly reduced lunchtime menu which had plenty of choices and something for every taste. Prices are reasonable and the...

Absolutely brilliant food was perfect, lovely as ever u always feel so welcome coming in and food excellent

We visit over the weekend for our anniversary dinner. We haven’t been to the restaurant since COVID and sad to say, everything from the food, to service, to ambience has gone down hill. - Our food was inedible: salty, over cooked flavours were contradicting each other. Plates were cold. I can only say we enjoyed the fries. - Service was poor. We (and noticeably other guests) were neglected through out the experience. We 2 pepper shakers (no salt). Staff were not rude but they were definitely overwhelmed and over worked. - Ambience was DISTASTEFUL or felt like a cheap pub. We were sat next to guests were clearly too drunk, things got so bad that 1 even vomited all over himself. Staff took at least 20 minutes to notice the commission and didn’t even clean up. It definitely affected our moods and put a downer on our anniversary. Not worth spending a single penny in there.

Over the years this restaurant has had many different owners and some of them a few years ago almost ran this into the ground. I've been back twice since the present owners, once for a Sunday roast and the food was excellent and again this week for evening meal, again the food cooked great and the quality of the fish and meats were excellent. Atmosphere still needs building up again but I'm recommending the present owners because they are doing a great job at restoring the great restaurant.

A fantastic Sunday afternoon, so relaxed with great food and service. The calamari was cooked to perfection. The roast selection was amazing

A delicious lunch, and great service. I have not been to this restaurant in 10 years, and I was very impressed with the food and the excellent service. The staff were so friendly and the food was reasonably priced and incredibly tasty. This is a...

The best mid week meal. 3 courses for £20 and the food was amazing. Great portions and the staff were lovely. Also have a whole 3 course vegan menu. Highly recommend and will be going back!

Ottima cena, personale gentile. Locale pulito ed ordinato

We went on Friday .. the staff were very polite and helpful.. the food was absolutely amazing.. will definitely be returning.. 🤩

Service and food pretty good but quite expensive and no little touches with the bill which would have softened the blow

Food and service was lovely. Quiet atmosphere, great service and tasty food. Menu had lots of variations

The service is good. But the food I ordered wasn’t really appropriate. The red wine sauce was extremely sweet as well as the red cabbage. The pan fried scallops were too salty🥲🥲 but the service was really good.

First the food was amazing. However, when we arrived, they asked our name then rather than being taken to our table we were told," sit where you like" as the guy turned his back on us and walked off. We stood not quite knowing what...

Great food and amazing attentive service from friendly staff

We booked with the Oxford Brassiere for a party of 20 following a small family wedding. We had 5 children as part of the group and the team at OB could not have been more accommodating! They put on a set menu for us and...

Really nice food and am ambiance, had a drink outside. BUT Evening blighted by some Italian tramp called Brian pestering us and surrounding guests with stories about his sexual proclivities snd trying to bum drinks, we were told in Ritas that he is well known...

The place is nice and the food was good. We all had soup as a starter which was quite meh. Zero salt and not very flavourful. However, the main dish I took was chicken breast with gnocchi and this incredibly tasty! I devoured it in all honesty. The music was good but it was a bit random, jumping from jazz to country and so… The service was nice but the poor girl serving did not know much about anything. She had to go back and forth to the kitchen to check about our questions. It is not like the questions were difficult (e.g. what types of teas do you have?). She must have been new and she was the only one serving that night.

Really good value for money, we had Roast beef and Lamb, decent portions. One of our guests is Vegan which it was not an issue, vegan menu available too at £19.95 three courses. Service excellent as usual. Looking forward to visiting again.

Came last night as a group of 40 plus for a late works Xmas party . Food was lovely really nice staff , all food came out piping hot