Chez Gaston
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Wheelchairs accommodated by arrangement |
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6, North Parade Useful links: Oxford Restaurants Oxford Hotels Oxford Pubs & Bars Oxford Gig venues Oxford Concert venues Ads by Daily Info:
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Either Chez Gaston is Oxford's best-kept secret, or I have been talking to the wrong people for five years. As a former student at Lady Margaret Hall, just a few minutes away, I have been used to wandering past Chez Gaston on my occasional trips to the now-demolished Horse & Jockey on the Woodstock Road. Somehow I never went inside. Recently, however, a favour for some friends resulted in a meal voucher for Chez Gaston, and my wife and I headed down on a cold Sunday evening. I am by now somewhat disillusioned with starters - I feel obliged to try them at each meal for the sake of variety, but am used to seeing tiny plates arrive with hastily-arranged pieces of whatever I ordered, accompanied by a leaf salad. The mushroom-topped bruschetta sounded worth a try, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that as much effort had been put into it as if it had been a main course. The salad dressing was something special, without being overpowering (it wasn't until later that I caught sight of the blackboard offering bottles of it for £2), and the mushroom bruschetta themselves were delicious. It boded well for a good main course to come. The only wine available by the glass on this particular evening was the house red - my wife is pregnant and off the alcohol at the moment - so I was prepared for nothing too special. Their attitude to wine, however, seems to be very French - cheap plonk doesn't even make it on as a house wine. I enjoyed the wine, and didn't regret the lack of choice. For the main course I went with the spinach and blue cheese pasta - and it was lovely. All the while, we were served by an Algerian/French waiter who was really friendly without intruding on a romantic evening. We finished off with crepes, which we felt was necessary - when the flames atop my flambeed banana crepe had gone out, I had one of the best crepes I've ever enjoyed here or in France - and ended up finishing most of Caroline's too. Finally, we asked for the bill - and were very surprised. Somehow, it only came to £35 for the whole evening. By the time the meal voucher had come off that, we were a very happy couple indeed! Chez Gaston is going straight to the top of my list, and I'm hoping to book it for our office Christmas party. Al McNicoll, 19/10/08 After several years of avoiding Chez Gaston out of a vague suspicion I have of any restaurant basing itself solely upon crepes, I finally cracked a couple of nights ago and was convinced to eat there. Initially I raised an eyebrow when faced with the menu - eight pounds for a pancake? I was definitely a bit sceptical. However when the food arrived after a short wait, it was really superb. I opted for the Gaston Papa crepe (minced meat, spinach and blue cheese) which tasted great and was very filling. The wholewheat crepes were a welcome healthy balance to the other ingredients. Perhaps the only real problem I could find with the meal was the fact that we weren't given the wine we ordered off the menu. It was substituted without asking. We didn't particularly care and so didn't mention it, especially given how good the rest of the service was. All in all, it was a really pleasant meal in a nice atmosphere. GK, 07/09/07 The best place in whole Oxford when you can eat lovely food is Chez Gaston. I've been coming back in there every week and I was never disappointed. The service is always kind and very thoughtful. I took my friends in there last weekend and they said to me one word: COOL!! Lisa, 06/07/07 I have eaten at Chez Gaston 6-7 times over this year and have found it to be a lovely place to eat and visit with friends. The house salad dressing is my favourite! It's light and keeps me coming back again and again. The pastas are delicious and do fill you up to the brim. The service is always very cheerful and casual, but attentive. And I have to say they are very accommodating to children which is terrific. The pizzas are usually a big hit with my kids. A place you can take your whole family to and actually enjoy your meal as well: a true find! SB of Oxford, 11/06/07 Chez Gaston is the best restaurant I have been to in seven countries. The food has always been delicious in all the times I have visited. When I lived in England I went to Chez Gaston once a week and I was always sorry I didn't have time to go more often. I can't praise it too highly! 05/01/07 The atmosphere is nice and cosy, and although the menu hasn't changed in years, it's promising enough. Everything is somewhat overpriced. This wouldn't matter too much if what you got were nice. It was last time I went (in 2005), but yesterday we had a lousy experience: the galettes were not quite fresh, the filling used cheap, hard and tasteless outer parts of the artichoke instead of the heart, the pasta was a bit dry, the herbs not fresh. The two waitresses were not interested in us and just dumped the food etc. on our table. Maybe it was because we came during a quiet weekday night, but in terms of freshness and service Chez Gaston just wasn't up to it, not mentioning the over-pricing. Won't be going back. Nicola, 09/11/06 Walk down North Parade and you’ll come across a small brightly-lit French restaurant called Chez Gaston. This atmospheric café that genuinely captures the feel of a Parisian brasserie, without the pretention, is truly worth the walk up the Woodstock Road. Even on a dingy November evening the place gives a mediterranean feel to the tiny street, its sunny yellow walls and blue window frames reminiscent of similar buildings in sunbaked alleyways in the south of France. It is chic but relaxed, sophisticated but fun, with its quotations from surrealist poets on the wall, and its strains of Piaf murmuring in the background. And the food, well, I haven’t had better in France. To start, I have avocado topped with prawns and marisco sauce. It is beautifully presented on a white plate scattered with olives and prawns and powdery pepper. The avocado is just right - ripe and squidgy like it should be, and the sauce not overpowering. He has Pimiento Asados - roasted marinated red peppers served with ciabatta bread. An unusual dish, an acquired taste perhaps, but interesting. We also have an order of mozzarella garlic bread, always a winner! Having been here many times, I always try to choose something other than the grilled goats-cheese salad, but can never persuade myself that I won’t regret my decision. So I always have this dish - bistro style salad served with slices of french bread topped with hunks of goats cheese and apricot, cardamon and coriander pesto. The latter is no ordinary garnish. Its sweet/sour element perfectly complements a cheese that is somewhere between sweet and bitter. The result is positively orgasmic. He has a favourite too - Le Grand Bleu - one of the choices of crêpes salées. This is a buckwheat crêpe oozing with seafood, mushrooms and peppers with a tomato and basil sauce. Served with salad he pronounces it delicious, and a pleasant variation to your average cheese crêpe. As for dessert, Chez Gaston offer a wondrous selection of sweet crêpes, ice creams and other cakey things such as pecan pie and lemon tart. I have had the hot chocolate brownie with chocolate sauce and ice cream. This is definitely the best of its kind in Oxford - an utterly decadent, deeply chocolatey creation. However, for the authentic French experience try a crêpe sucrée. He has the Gentle Giant, a thin crêpe filled with chocolate ice cream, house chocolate sauce and pistachio nuts. I have the simply named Banana, filled with, yes, banana, with maple syrup, vanilla ice-cream, marinated sultanas, cinnamon and toasted almonds. As if that isn’t enough, it’s then flambéed in rum... If the brownie is decadent, these things are corruption itself. I like this place so much that I am loath to recommend it, in case it’s full next time I want to go. However, if you must know, it is probably the best value small restaurant in Oxford. For an intimate tête-à-tête, or a cozy chat with friends Chez Gaston is just the thing. Get a bottle of wine and let yourself sink into the atmosphere. Delicious! Jane Labous, 16/12/05 At first sight, Chez Gaston seemed promising. A stroll down North Parade on another 'hottest day of the year ever', stomachs growling and yet untempted by the stuffiness of Luna Caprese, Chez Gaston looked perfect. Small, light, French and summery, with bright colours, kitsch art and caricatures adorning the walls, it seemed the ideal place to get a bite. The menu also looked pretty appetising, with a selection of pasta dishes and the Gaston speciality - the special-salted-buckwheat-pancake. It is, in fact, primarily a crêperie. However, despite the airy summeriness the place seemed to exude, the interior was unfortunately like a sauna. Still, we thought we'd stick it out. We ordered a mozzarella garlic bread to share, at £2.95. Not bad, but nothing overly special - a few pieces of ciabatta with a smidge of cheese melted on top and a faint whiff of garlic. The 'Benjamin' cocktail I ordered with it was fantastically refreshing, but small and a tad pricey: £2.50 for a blend of orange, cranberry and lemonade. I started to feel slightly glum about the whole evening. When the main courses arrived, I perked up, my hunger having peaked. I felt obliged to try one of the savoury pancakes, a Green Peace crêpe stuffed with spinach, blue de bresse cheese, spring onions and cream (£6.95). My friend ordered Poulet Estragon, tagliatelle with chicken, mushrooms, white wine and tarragon (£7.20). I have to concede that the service was fantastic; the staff always had a smile and our courses were served quickly without being too hurried. Ever the optimist, I tucked in. It looked healthy and light, which wasn't a downside given the temperature. Sadly for me, it was possibly the richest meal I have attempted to eat in a while. Still, I can attribute that to simple misjudgement on my part. My friend however, was presented with a bowl of seriously undercooked pasta - taking 'with bite' to a whole new level. The chicken was tender, but the cream heavily overdone. Neither of us finished, having completely lost our appetites. I have since been told that this was possibly a mistake, as the crêpes suzettes are legendary; but as the sight of the bill was already a galling experience, the prospect of another £5.50 for a sweet pancake made me a little nauseous. Chez Gaston looks like a great place to have a light snack or lunch, but its prices force you to expect something more. A simple panini, although served with salad, can come in at a hefty £6.50, while a bowl of sorbet totals at £3.50. In all, it's not bad, it's just overpriced. Addendum by Dailyinfo Staff Perhaps not the best restaurant in Oxford for one of the hottest days on UK record (French food is generally known to be rich, after all!!), Chez Gaston has always served me well. Though the prices might seem a little steep when you see your plate arrive, by the time you have finished (and you need to be hungry) you won't be worrying. A decent lunch can come in at around a tenner, and the atmosphere has always been pleasant enough for me (pluses: child-friendly, friendly staff, lots of windows, cheery decor; minuses: the venue can be cramped when full). Try it when it has cooled down a little! Abby Chicken, 07/08/03
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