The Nosebag, St Michael's Street.

April 2004

The queue at this upstairs self-service restaurant with views over the Oxford Union and Michael Street can sometimes reach halfway down the stairs. Service is therefore slow - but the wait is worth it. Portion sizes here are immense, making the meals very good value, and the vast array of salads was excellent.

I had the vegetable lasagne, with a choice of three of the aforementioned salads and garlic bread. At £6.75, this is probably the best value meal, and left me feeling so full that it was difficult to move afterwards. The lasagne was tasty, homemade to the standard of my Mum's and served with plenty of vegetables, and the garlic bread substantial and filling. The salads added colour and variety; I had the crunchy red cabbage and apple (a combination new to me), curried pasta with peanuts, and complemented a mixture of onions, tomatoes, cucumber and olives.

My dining partner chose a jacket potato with cottage cheese - again this was sizeable with plenty of filling. For £4.75 this comes with a helping of salad (he chose white cabbage with mushrooms and dill) and a choice of topping (mango chutney, onion, pickle or pineapple).

The restaurant has a licence (and serves a wide variety of interesting-looking fruit wines), but we chose cool glasses of juice to accompany the meal which complemented our selections of salad. For a little more money we could have chosen from a variety of hot dishes, some served with salad, others with vegetables, such as risotto, penne pasta or armenian lamb. For a little less, salad can come on its own, or with bread, and there is always homemade soup.

I was full, but my friend had room for pudding; there is an impressive selection of cakes (I'd like to come here at tea-time!), and after being tempted by the homemade cheesecake, he chose the chocolate fudge cake which was as rich and chocolatey as any chocoholic could hope for.

This restaurant is especially good for vegetarians and represents very good value for money. Highly recommended.

The Nosebag is, as its name might suggest, the place to go for good wholesome nosh, and lots of it. Everything is deeply healthy, and the plentiful portions will fill you to the brim.

He had the beef lasagne served with three salads and garlic bread. For £5.95 this is incredible good value, as the lasagne is comfortable and filling, while the salads are substantial offerings such as pasta or potato salad, homemade coleslaw, and mixed bean salad. Put together this makes a hefty meal definitely worthy of a large hungry rowing coach. Both vegetarian and carnivore are amply catered for here, with other main courses including lentil and vegetable moussaka, seasonal vegetable curry, rosemary lamb and vegetable casserole, and chicken and leek garlic pasta.

I had a dish of five salads - you can have two, three or five choices - and a large bowl of cottage cheese. Unusual, you might murmur. But the great thing about this restaurant is that you can have something simple like this that is not expensive (five salads £3.60) and extremely satisfying. There is also soup of the day served with chunky bread (for an impossible healthy £2.45), or baked potatoes with a variety of fillings, both perfect as a warming winter lunch.

As I have mentioned, the salads are meals in themselves. The steamed wheatgrain is healthy and very filling - steamed wheatgrain with carrot, spring onion, peppers, peanuts and yoghurt and mayonnaise dressing. I also had the coleslaw, which tastes, and crunches, completely different to the manufactured version, red cabbage salad, beansprouts with sweetcorn and peppers, and green salad with walnuts. A pretty impressive salad counter if you ask me.... The cottage cheese is great as a topping for the salad or mixed into the lasagne.

We had both been eying up the cherry cheesecake since our arrival. Finally we submitted and indulged in a slice each. It proved worth a slightly pricey £2.75, having all the flavour of home baked cakes, and a proper biscuit base. There is a vast selection of homestyle desserts of this kind including shortbreads, flapjacks and other cheesecakes and tarts. The Nosebag also serve wine and beer - try the unusual elderflower wine... Make sure you're hungry, and don't miss out on the salads. Recommended.

Jane Labous