Cherwell Boathouse
Restaurant & Drinking Establishment
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Punt Station: 01865 515978 |
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A wonderful place to while away a couple of hours, with a punting expedition down the Cherwell for some post-prandial exercise. Great atmosphere, friendly service and great location too - but the setting is in my opinion more exciting than the cooking. Though the menu is appealing and well balanced, when it came to the dishes themselves, the flavours somehow didn't seem to shine through brightly enough. My crab starter, for example, was pleasant but had in essense little flavour to it - and my salmon main was a tad overcooked and dry and the accompanying Hollandaise was once again a bit too subtle and lacking the velvety richness usually associated with the sauce. A main of a hake Nicoise was the size of a starter and a dish of duck, though fine, was "nothing to write home about". I love clean, simple food but I wish a bit more "chutzpah" and "oomph" had gone into the cooking of our lunch to give it the little something which makes something good into something great. This could be Oxford's best restaurant but I fear it does not quite live up to the hype. Perhaps our expectations had been too high, or maybe it was just an off day for the kitchen - we'll have to come back another time to find out! Pamplemousse, 06/07/08 We had a lovely night at Cherwell Boat House this week and I can't wait to go back. Despite our late arrival after underestimating the time to walk there, the staff were absolutely lovely and accommodated our request to sit outside. The food was delicious and arrived promptly. My squid salad starter melted in the mouth and I would find it hard to order anything else next time - I hope it stays on the menu for a bit longer. The three of us chose three different mains so as to share and all were beautifully presented and very tasty. Likewise, we chose three desserts although I was reluctant to share my pineapple tart with coconut pastry and pineapple relish. The location is delightful and we watched ducks gliding past and were impressed by the skill of the punters. It wasn't until one of us popped inside the restaurant that we discovered we were the last people there, which we were embarrassed by, but the staff reassured us that there was no rush for us to leave. Like the previous reviewer, Cherwell Boathouse has become my favourite restaurant in Oxford. We will be sure to leave home a little earlier next time so as not to be late ! Annie, 05/07/08 This was really rather stunning. A new chef and a lot of dedication have turned this into my new favourite Oxford restaurant. We added a person to our booking an hour before we arrived, turned up a bit early, chose our meals over our drinks so that the kitchen didn't have the usual 10 minutes' grace after we were seated and decided to dine outside by the river when everyone else was in the main restaurant. At no point were we made to feel that we were being even faintly irritating. One was given the impression not that the staff didn't care, but that they felt we were being perfectly within our rights and that they were entirely equipped to deal with it. An obvious prerequisite, perhaps, but really sadly rare. It was lovely to have very direct service: not smarmy and not inattentive, just considerate and honest. The food is amazing: very good ingredients, skillfully prepared, beautifully presented, with attention given to the combination of flavours in each dish. While it's definitely upmarket food, the design doesn't go overboard into culinary silliness. While we waited we were given (on the house) some shotglasses of creamy, young, green brocolli soup, each with a dab of sour cream and a tiny nut. I then had a slice of ham-hock-and-parsley terrine - nibblable, farmhousey and rustic, enlivened by the mustard dressing and bitter salad leaves. My friend's pork belly terrine was softer, fattier, more mushroomy, but essentially the same kind of thing. Other starters included the pan-fried haddock with pesto lentils: the fish was aromatic, moist and tender and the earthy lentils set it off rather well. My main was baby-tender lamb with perfectly-cooked brocolli, a sweet, strong, dark, sticky gravy and heavenly potato gratin. My mother had expressed regret, on ordering, that the spinach with her salmon was being made with tomatoes tonight rather than with the garlic on the menu. The waiter made no comment at the time, but, with a really pleasing considerateness, when the dish was brought, the spinach had been made specially with garlic, and had a little arrangement of garlic flowers on the plate. The crisp cylinder of saffron-infused potato mash that came with her (perfectly cooked) salmon was lovely: really strongly scented. My partner had the calves' liver, which was apparently very good if you like liver (I don't). And my third companion enjoyed his (free range) chicken so much that by the time I'd stopped being engrossed with the lamb, there was none left to try. The portion sizes are adequate but not huge - something we initially regretted when everything turned out so tasty. But it actually makes loads of sense: we genuinely wanted dessert, and thoroughly enjoyed it when it came, without ending up bloated and sad. We had two iced passionfruit souffles (intense, fluffy, zestful) and two chocolate mousses, the top of each of which was thick, bitter and dark and the bottom creamy, soft, sweet and white, and complemented beautifully by the understated lavender syrup and honeycomb meringue crumbs. We had some Hook Nortons, gin and tonics (Bombay Sapphire, Gordon's and Tanqueray were on offer, and 2 bottles of a lovely floral Gewurtztraminer chosen from a careful and extensive wine list. Altogether, the bill (which came without any automatic service charge) was £188, at least £70 of which will have been drinks. The set menu is £24.50 and the a la carte around £30 for 3 courses: really very good value for the quality you get. If, unlike us, you weren't being particularly self-indulgent, you could expect to spend about £30 per head and eat extremely well. I will definitely be going back. Miranda Rose, 23/05/08 I went there last January for my birthday with my girlfriend. I wasn't expecting very much (I am an Italian guy from Tuscany) but I felt really surprised when I saw the menu and the excellent (and affordable) wine list. I started with a pan-fried pigeon breast in cranberry sauce followed by a rosemary roasted wild boar belly with baby potatoes. To drink I chose a nice bottle of Chianti Classico 1999 (from a farm near my parents home in Fiesole!!!). Everything was really good and fresh, especially the blueberry cake at the end. Bill for two came £80, which is absolutely fine for 3 courses a la carte menu with a good Chianti. Definitely a good spot in Oxford for a nice dinner. Lorenz, 28/10/07 I went to the Cherwell for lunch last week and chose the set menu - Roasted pepper soup to start, and roast chicken for the main course. It was really delicious. The vegetables with the chicken were white aspargus which tasted very fresh and broccoli which still had a good bite to it. In other restaurants I tend to be rather disappointed with set menus, but I felt this was very good value for money and I will definitely go back there soon. torz, 15/07/07 Poor Cherwell. It has been our favourite restaurant for years. We even held our wedding reception there, and everyone said the food was delicious. But we went back for dinner a few days ago, a Tuesday evening, and it seems to have changed. The setting is still lovely and the staff were really friendly and attentive. But the food was not just mediocre, some of it was actually horrible! We started with Fish cake in clam chowder, and Sweet potato & goat's cheese roulade. One of the 3 small clams was closed, the chowder was so salty it would have made good slug-killer, and the 'goat's cheese' appeared to be garlic pureed with supermarket cream cheese and more garlic. For his main, my husband had Ostrich steak with yam, but it turned out to be smothered in an overpowering, cloyingly sweet honey glaze, so he had to leave half of it once it became unbearable. I was luckier and had Sea bream, which was perfectly cooked and pleasant, if a little bland. We rarely complain, but since the waitress could see that we'd hardly managed to eat any of our starters, we did say that we'd found them disappointing, and so we were offered one free dessert. We had the lime panna cotta with coconut ice-cream, which was really lovely and a classic combination of flavours. I also couldn't resist the homemade 'toffee' ice-cream... but I'd misheard and she'd said 'coffee'! Luckily I like coffee ice-cream, but again it was disappointing, tasting fine but being kind of 'thin' and full of tiny ice-crystals. The bill including a bottle of house white came to £54. We hope we just hit on an off night. We'd be so sad if this lovely, characterful, and previously delicious restaurant had changed for the worse. Come on Boathouse, we want you back! Purple fox, 14/06/07 I regard the Cherwell as one of Oxford's hidden delights. The food and wine have been very good on all occasions I've visited. The wine list is extensive; and proudly advertised as the UK's number 11, which I guess is quite an accolade. The location is nothing short of superb and doubles up as one of Oxford's main punting stations which is attached to the restaurant. This gives is a variable atmosphere from tranquility in the winter months to watching lively punting antics whilst alfresco dining in the warmer months. The food was imaginative and looked and tasted great and was served by friendly and informed staff. Highly recommended. AD, 01/02/07 I love this place. The food is better than the restaurants rating in the Good Food Guide would suggest. The menu is imaginitive, the cooking is very good, and there is a good and reasonable wine list. The room is lovely, but of course even better is to eat outside in summer. I see others have criticised the staff. We have had excellent service, and average service. Probably depends a bit on who your waiter is. I have had better food here than at Gee's, though Gee's is also recommended. I prefer the atmosphere in the dining room to the glass-house at Gee's, which is a bit noisy. jc, 18/12/06 I recently went to the Cherwell Boat House restaurant for a Christmas lunch with about twelve other people from work. The best part of the afternoon was the company, seconded by the nice interior to the restaurant. The staff were brusque and rude to our one vegan guest, who had pre-ordered a vegan meal several weeks in advance only to find that the restaurant had meanwhile decided that a dessert they had said was vegan on their menu actually was not, so they said they would need to sort out a different desert. They really should have done this in advance. Her dessert turned up later than everyone else's, and turned out not to be vegan either. When she spoke to the staff about it they were quite rude and there were no apologies. She was eventually given something else but this didn't make up for the way she was treated. We had gone to this restaurant because they claimed they were experienced at catering for vegans but it didn't appear to be the case. The vegetarian meal was extremely disappointing - while meat-eaters were eating large meals, the vegetarians had a smaller dish containing three carrots, a few tiny pieces of broccoli and other small vegetables, three dumplings which were burnt on one side and very dry, and some tomato-based sauce. The vegetarian guests were still hungry afterwards. I enjoyed the starter, which was a nice onion soup, and their homemade ice cream was very nice, though nothing to rave about. But the poor main courses, and above all the surly and rude staff, have put me off visiting again. Oh, and the wine wasn't much to write home about either. Disappointed customer, 15/12/06 I recently went to the Cherwell Boat House restaurant for a Christmas lunch with about twelve other people from work. The best part of the afternoon was the company, seconded by the nice interior to the restaurant. The staff were brusque and rude to our one vegan guest, who had pre-ordered a vegan meal several weeks in advance only to find that the restaurant had meanwhile decided that a dessert they had said was vegan on their menu actually was not, so they said they would need to sort out a different desert. They really should have done this in advance. Her dessert turned up later than everyone else's, and turned out not to be vegan either. When she spoke to the staff about it they were quite rude and there were no apologies. She was eventually given something else but this didn't make up for the way she was treated. We had gone to this restaurant because they claimed they were experienced at catering for vegans but it didn't appear to be the case. The vegetarian meal was extremely disappointing - while meat-eaters were eating large meals, the vegetarians had a smaller dish containing three carrots, a few tiny pieces of broccoli and other small vegetables, three dumplings which were burnt on one side and very dry, and some tomato-based sauce. The vegetarian guests were still hungry afterwards. I enjoyed the starter, which was a nice onion soup, and their homemade ice cream was very nice, though nothing to rave about. But the poor main courses, and above all the surly and rude staff, have put me off visiting again. Oh, and the wine wasn't much to write home about either. Disappointed customer, 15/12/06 The reputation of the Cherwell Boathouse exceeds its performance. Our party was on a Christmas outing at £27 per head for a meal that could only be described as mediocre. Starters were good, the main courses appeared to be of the plated, pre-packaged variety and desserts were poor. Mandy, 09/12/06 The food here is good and the location is lovely. The menu is very limited and vegetarians have no choice at all, (I had to have soup on a warm August evening) but the meat eaters seemed happy and the food was well presented, imaginative and thoroughly enjoyable. In spite of the great location there is no atmosphere inside the restaurant which is too bright and the furniture is bland, although there is some interesting artwork on the walls. This is definitely a place for large groups rather than smaller parties. When we booked we were promised a table on the terrace but when we arrived (10 minutes before our reservation) we were told outdoor seating was first come first served only. The most memorable aspect of our meal here was the appalling service! When you can't get a waitress' attention to order more wine all conversation becomes dominated by the service. Not that the staff seem to care- almost all interaction with them was exasperating! When we complained to the manageress she was full of apologies but seemed disinterested. This is the second disappointing meal I have had here which is a shame since the restaurant has a good reputation. You can get a much better meal for this kind of money at many Oxford restaurants. Jen, 09/08/06 Not just “the place where you get the punts from”, the Cherwell boathouse also comprises a decent restaurant. Tables can either be inside the restaurant or, during the summer months, on the terrace. My party and I opted for the latter which, being a warm summer evening, was definitely the better option and also presented a lovely view of the river. The atmosphere was sophisticated but not pretentious and the service was incredibly welcoming and friendly, albeit a little slow. There is a set menu which changes regularly along with some daily specials. Prices vary according to the time of eating; £23.50 for evenings, £21.50 for weekend lunches and £19.50 for weekday lunches, and are extremely reasonable for the quality of food presented. The salmon, shrimp and mixed herb fish cake appeared to be the most popular starter that evening. About the size of a large scotch egg, it had a very “rustic” style, containing large chunks of fish and was complemented very well by a red pepper coulis. Another of our party opted for the char-grilled asparagus and duck egg salad. Served during the asparagus season, this dish was a real winner although the flavours were slightly overpowered by the excessive amounts of balsamic vinegar it was dressed with. I opted for the pan fried breast of wood pigeon which was cooked well and came with a thick wild mushroom sauce. My main course was the pan fried fillet of beef (special’s menu, £2.50 supp.). The horseradish mousse served with it provided an interesting alternative to the usual horseradish sauce straight out of the jar. The only criticism of this dish was the fact that I ordered it rare and it came only slightly pink: not what you would expect from a restaurant that claims to be influenced by French cooking. The slow roasted belly pork was incredibly succule nt and was served with a butternut squash mash which had a wonderful bright orange colour. The vegetarian of our group was only given one option of main course but the Roquefort cheese tart tatin she was served was large, good quality and obviously not just an afterthought as in many restaurants. The wine list was extensive and although we only opted for a bottle of the house red (£10.50 a bottle) it was of a high quality and hopefully indicative of the quality of some of the more expensive wines which cost up to £25 a bottle. Our choice of desserts were chocolate orange parfait (gorgeously rich) and a selection of British cheeses (interesting but in a slightly small portion). This restaurant was perfect for supper outside on a summer evening however, in the winter I would not rate it as highly as the interior is nothing spectacular and the restaurant is at least 15 minutes walk from the centre of town. The choice is somewhat limited but menus are available from the restaurant’s website and so there is an option of checking beforehand. Oliver Rutt, 04/11/05
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