Reviewed
20-06-01

Cornucopia Bar & Restaurant
92 Cowley Road, Oxford
Tel: 01865 794114

This restaurant has a fresh, modern feel, reflected in the abstract art on the walls and the innovative, 'fusion' approach to the cooking. Cornucopia is, as its name suggests, offers a menu that draws plentiful inspiration from several different continents.

Staff are extremely friendly and enthusiastic, eager to talk about the sourcing of the fresh produce and the philosophy behind the restaurant, but ultimately, believe that the food will 'do the talking'. And they're right. There is an emphasis on cooking from the sub-continent- classical Indian dishes abound. Having originally ordered around any overt Indian influences, tired of Cowley Road curries, Barry, the head chef, insisted that he prepare a sample of his take on Indian food, more aromatic and spicy than he believes we southerners are used to (Barry is from Glasgow.) Our freebie was magnificent. The tandoori chicken sizzled gloriously as it was brought to our table. The flavours were colourful and alive, with a piquancy that was quite unexpected and wholly welcomed, and the meat was of the highest quality.

Having ascertained the quality of the Indian food, we turned our attention to the 'fusion' food, in the main, a playful collaboration between southeast Asian and French food- very modern, clean, exciting flavours. My tartar du salmon was a blush pink mound of raw salmon infused with a lime dressing, interesting and delicious. My friend enjoyed skate wings with a cherry tomato dressing, well presented and well cooked.

Main courses proved to be a little more problematic, with a bewildering display of influences to choose from. In the end I played safe and went for the sirloin steak with pink peppercorn sauce. Again, this had a more vibrant flavour than one might have expected for a classical French recipe, which gave the usual brandy-cream concoction a pleasant kick. My friend had salmon with five spices. The fish was perfectly cooked, again with an intriguingly zingy cream sauce.

A bottle of house white at £12.50 accompanied dinner. This together with a Budweiser and a soft drink came to £42.50. You can eat rather more cheaply- we chose from some of the more expensive items, and it seemed entirely possible to have two courses and drinks for under a tenner- a fantastic bargain, in view of the quality of the food. My only complaint would be that the pudding menu consisted of nothing but ice cream- surely scope for improvement there.

Nevertheless, this relatively small quibble aside, Cornucopia is an extremely welcome addition to the Cowley Road- relaxed, unpretentious, innovative and excellent value.


Sarah Montgomery