Quod

I went for the jazz on a Sunday late afternoon & was not disappointed. It was brilliant. Only problem was all the noisy 20 year old's chatting & ignoring the music so the rest of us couldn't listen. A simple card on the table requesting customers to respect those who want to listen to the music would be a first step & then maybe gentle & respectful re-positioning by the management if people dont want to listen would make it better for the rest of us.

My pizza was great & I was happy to pay the inflated price since I got the music for free!

Deafened by Chatterers (Unverified), 30/08/10

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I've been to Quod many times, but for the atmosphere rather than the food, which is fine (if a little overpriced) but not special. Last week I ate for the first time in the bar area since there were no restaurant tables available. The food was great and well priced but the service diabolical, not because they were particularly busy, but because of the staff; 15 mins wait at the bar only to be told it was table service which was then so slow I could actually have purchased the ingredients and cooked the food myself, and it would still have been quicker.

hungry girl (Unverified), 22/05/10

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I had dinner with some colleagues here the first week I arrived to Oxford. The service was good, but for the price, I expected much better food.

I ordered the Crab Risotto, special of the day, and quite honestly not special at all. You could barely tasted any crab in it and it had a lot of small pieces (of crab shell?) which cracked with every bite, making the whole experience unpleasant. My colleagues enjoyed the Pizza though.

On the good side, the Capirinha was excellent, made with real Cashaca.

I would give Quod another shot, but I would just order pizza and drinks.

Dr. Cacahuate (DI User), 24/04/10

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Food reasonably good, portions small - overpriced - interesting artwork on display.

Daniel (Unverified), 01/01/10

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I've eaten at QUOD a couple of times in the past, and had mixed experiences: a dinner with family and friends a couple of years ago had left me a bit disappointed, but a subsequent visit for a Sunday morning cooked breakfast one time had left me thinking I'd had the best breakfast in Oxford, very good indeed. So being in the mood for a steak, we decided to give it another go..

We arrived at around 9pm on Friday evening. The place was fairly busy and it had a nice atmosphere; we were promptly shown to a table at the back of the restaurant. There was then a considerable wait of about 20 minutes before anybody came to even take a drinks order, so when our waitress finally arrived we ordered our food at the same time.

Giving the drinks menu a look over, we'd decided to have a draught beer, which seemed reasonable at £2.95; however, when it arrived (quite quickly to be fair) the beers were half pints.. making this draught Budvar £5.90 a pint, quite probably the most expensive draught beer in Oxford! Just to be clear, it does actually state in small print that it's a 30cl serving, but we'd just looked at the price and 'assumed' it was a pint, so it was our mistake - however, I doubt if we're the first to have made that error, and I don't think we'll be the last either. Bread and olive oil was served with the drinks, a nice touch.

Looking around at the other tables, the 1/2 metre sharing pizza looked good, and probably fair value at £18. The confit duck looked OK, though I didn't order it having been very disappointed the last time I'd had it here.

My colleague's starter arrived (I hadn't ordered one): onion & thyme soup with gruyère toast (£5.95). The soup was good, portion size was OK, and the flavour was pretty much what you'd expect of an onion soup; no complaints there. Our bottle of wine was served at the same time: Nero D’Avola 2008 Angelo Rocca & Figli, Sicily Igt, Italy (£18.50).The wine was correctly served, and after I'd tasted it and accepted it, the waitress decanted the wine and poured us a glass each. The wine was OK, perfectly reasonable if unremarkable.

The main dishes were served in a reasonable time. I'd ordered the steak and chips (£19.95) medium rare, my colleague had ordered the hamburger with cheese and bacon (£12.95), to be cooked medium, and we asked for a side salad to share (£3.50). The steak had been cooked more 'medium' than 'medium rare', in my opinion, but then, it's not an exact science. However, the steak had not been seasoned at all and completely lacked any flavour. It was a fairly tender peice of meat but really tasteless. The bearnaise sauce was thin and tasteless, but the chips were fine. The burger wasn't cooked medium, but rather quite well done: it was fine, nothing to complain about but not outstanding in any way. The side salad was nice, good crisp leaves, some very finely sliced onion, and with a tasty mustard dressing.

We were offered the dessert menus - not being dessert fans, we chose a plate of cheese to share: Isle of Mull cheddar, pear & oatcakes (£6.00) to go with the rest of the wine. The portion was fair though not generous; this is a very tasty cheese, served with a piece of pair and a handful of walnuts, very good.

Despite the restaurant being quite empty by this time (10:20pm) it took a long time to get the attention of the server in order to get the bill. The total was £72.75 plus service, making this a £40 per head dinner.. at that price I really think you should expect a lot more. It took even longer for the server to come and collect the money, and an age to bring the change.

Overall QUOD was a disappointment again.. for £20 you'd expect a succelent and truly tasty steak. This was bland and uninteresting. The rest of the food was OK, but not exceptional in any way, so overall I'd give this place 6.5 out of 10: overpriced, unattentive staff, and probably the most expensive draught beer in Oxford. Will I go back again? Not in a hurry, no; I'll continue my search for a decent steak in Oxford elsewhere..

oxford-steak-critic (Unverified), 14/11/09

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I've not eaten there. I just don't like their policy of not taking bookings for large parties. How on earth can they expect to seat a table of 11 off the cuff on a Saturday night? Do they think their food is so good they need not worry about bookings and expect footfall alone to keep them in business. I hope that the dinner that I'll never eat is truly special!

Sparky (Unverified), 03/11/09

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We had our second visit to Quod for a Sunday breakfast just this morning (Sunday, 26 July 2009); we came back due to the successfulness of our first. I had been looking forward to trying dinner there on the beautiful garden terrace in back. The first wait person, a very charming young woman, was professional, classy, abundantly helpful, patient, and especially gracious. The entire mealtime experience was lovely. This morning we had the waiter from hell - the waiter who seems to believe that his being a waiter is beneath him and he that must take it out on you, the unfortunates who happened to find themselves in his designated section. A few communicative glitches could have easily been the opening for a pleasant exchange between mutually respectful human beings; instead, some basic questions were answered with open rudeness. We guests conversed about complaining to the manager, but each of us recalled that the greet at the door and escort to the table had been less than perfunctory and decided to just enjoy the food and resign as far as the rest went.

Quod is beautiful and the setting is lovely and inviting. Perhaps we caught them on an off day today. Perhaps we were just lucky the first time around. Today we left with bad tastes in our respective mouths and it was not due to the quality of the food. I am not sure that we will return for that dinner.

26/07/09

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We had a lovely experience at Quod, when looking for a quick meal before going to the theatre. The Maitre d' assured us it would be possible, passed on our requirements to the waiter discreetly and efficiently and showed us to a table on the terrace.

The restaurant itself was fairly empty but only because everyone was outside, sipping drinks by the tinkly fountain. The terrace is aesthetically a bit confused, with the view of Merton Chapel masquerading as an English village church and clashing with the Italian aims, and the kitchen noises drifting out through the open window. It may be incongruous but it's also surprisingly relaxing, and although we were in a hurry we didn't feel like it.

We intended to start with drinks and olives, but olives no longer feature on any menu, apparently. So we had drinks, bread and atmosphere instead. It was very pleasant in the shade, listening to the conversations of high finance and exams.

Our margarita pizza and spring vegetable risotto did appear impressively quickly, and were voted very good. The risotto was subtle but delicious and embedded with plenty of peas and asparagus. It tasted of fresh vegetables and I was most impressed. The pizza was served on a big wooden board and I was informed it tasted, as well as looked, the part.

We left in record time, feeling relaxed and refreshed, and just full enough. Altogether we were impressed by the helpfulness of the staff and also by the strange oasis of calm they've created, so close to the High St.

Jenmunch (Unverified), 01/06/09

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I was very disappointed with Quod's set lunch menu: starters offered a choice of lentil soup, salad, or mushrooms on toast (no meat or fish?!). The main course was little better, with a choice of smoked haddock gratin, which was mostly potatoes in an insipid cream sauce, or root vegetables with couscous, or pasta with meatballs. Hardly inspiring! The desserts left little to be desired as well, with a choice of treacle tart (which tasted overwhelmingly of lemon, and was not sweet enough to warrant the sour cream it was served with), ice cream or cheese. It seemed to me to be a very poorly planned menu, offering little inspiration for the meat-lover, and the portions were very small. Very unimpressive - if you're looking for a decent 2 or 3 course lunch, go elsewhere!

Helen (Unverified), 28/01/09

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I have been going to Quod since it first opened some years ago and still want to believe that because of its unique location, decor and atmosphere, it has the potential to be the best restaurant in Oxford.I like the place but can no longer stomach the food or the bill.

Cooking was always Quod's weak point but it has recently become really awful and far too expensive for the quality and quantity of the ingredients used. And there are many better and cheaper Italian and Brasserie type restaurants in town.

The menu is confused and has no identity; no longer a Grill or an Italian trattoria as it claimed at its beginning, Quod has now become an ordinary brasserie, with all the usual standard pre-cooked recipes, which can neither deliver real quality nor value for money. The portions and ingredients used are stingy: fried pollock is the signature fish and the chicken is a tiny drumstick with a processed white sauce. The pizza which used to offer good value for students are more like a piece of cardboard with passatta thrown on. The first courses are all overpriced, eg cruditees at over £5 consist of a few carrot and celery sticks. The side dishes are so small, they could only do for a toddler. I could go on, my husband and I have tried every single dish.

The best is the free bread, when warm, but if you ask for a little balsamic to drizzle on it, you are told that the direction cannot afford it and you are offered spirit vinegar instead. And this is in the restaurant of the most expensive and exclusive hotel in town !

The staff are charming, the restaurant still beautiful but it is all wrong.

ikouma (Unverified), 10/01/09

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It is with great regret that I have to agree with Dan. I have always enjoyed eating at Quod and had until recently always found the standards to be extremely high but sadly my last two visits have been less than satisfactory. I am not sure whether this is due to a change in chefs or a decline in the quality of ingredients (perhaps both) but the food has been of late been far more bland and uninspiring, and I have found myself questioning whether I should keep Quod on my top 5 of favourite regular restaurants in Oxford.

My favourite starter, the Jersey Crab, which had until recently been astonishingly good and reminded me of French seafood restaurants, was bland and watery and left me rather dissatisfied. My main course of pasta did not fare much better and I left feeling rather underwhelmed. Prices seem to have gone up quite a bit too on some items and do not reflect the standards on offer at the moment.

I do hope Quod will regain its va-va-voom very soon as independent restaurants in Oxford are becoming rarer and rarer and chains are in my opinion killing the heart of the city with their bland and insipid offerings.

Could do better. Has done much, much better in the past and I sincerely hope Quod can revert to its old and much higher standards of cooking.

Pamplemousse (Unverified), 24/10/08

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I've been to Quod numerous times over the last 3 years and I am certain the quality of food is plummeting. When I first arrived in Oxford's rather sparce culinary playground Quod was at least an example of solid food, cooked well, in a cool and exciting dining room.

Perhaps then it was being in their red room (away from the vibrancy of the main room) that subtracted from the experience this time, but frankly the food was awful. A set menu - £33 once the compulsory 'service charge' was added - and only 4 options for the chefs to concern themselves with. Yet they failed to provide food even remotely close to being worth that price. Entrées of 'Hand-picked' crab that tasted like the only thing hand picked was the tin or a mushroom rissoto with a bland and dull stock as a base (and no Parmesan). I had a reasonable steak (with admittedly great chips) - but main course came with nothing else (remember this is costing £33). But dessert was appalling - a pannacotta which tasted sour, left by every one of the party who chose it. When I said (very politely) to the waitress that the pannacotta was not great (with no expectation or mention of recompense - just for feedback really) she said 'well I'm just front of house'. What?! The implication here is that Quod's kitchen is happy to churn out any old rubbish to its customers, and the staff out front are happy to take the service charge to stick it down in front of us, and nowhere in between are we (paying handsomely) expected to be involved. What a shame. Quod has fallen far......

Dan (Unverified), 31/08/08

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Excellent atmosphere, with an elegant cool dimly-lit feel. I ordered the four-cheese pizza for my dinner. It arrived very quickly and was underwhelming. The pizza itself was largish, but the cheese filled up only about 60% of the surface. So it was like eating plain toasted bread (this was a thin-crust pizza). The service was very good - we had a friendly, professional, well-mannered, and attentive waitress. But I would steer clear of the 4-cheese pizza. The puddings/desserts were so overpriced that we didn't bother ordering one (about £6 each). Therefore, service/atmosphere: 9/10. food: 6.5/10 to 7/10.

critic (Unverified), 22/06/08

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I went to Quod for the first time tonight and found the atmosphere good. You cannot pre-book but there is a queuing system where you can sit round the bar to wait for your table to be called and the cocktails are very good, even the non-alcoholic ones.

The food was excellent but I have to especially recommend the jug of prawns starter, shell-on prawns with a garlic mayo dip that you probably wont need as the prawns are delicious on their own. I also had an anchovy/chilli Pizza which was damned good.

However the meal was spoiled by water cascading through the ceiling and more worryingly through the smoke alarm. According to bar staff this is a regular thing as the 1st floor is a hotel and guests often flood their bathrooms.

In short, great food but take an umbrella and eat quickly.

Ian (Unverified), 08/06/08

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We went last Sunday evening, having not been for a few months. The atmosphere is good, the service excellent and I still enjoy staring at the artwork on the walls. I enjoyed my main too - seared sea trout served with pea puree. My only issue is that the wine is overpriced - £21 for a mediocre pinot grigio is a bit steep, even here!

Daniel (Unverified), 13/03/08

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I still love the decor and busy continental feel to Quod, but the food disappoints again. It felt like bored chefs knocking out the same old stuff in a hurry. And they must have been in a hurry - it's nice to be served quickly, but it's un-nerving when your food arrives about 3 minutes after you've ordered (no kidding). And tastes like it - totally bland linguine, stringy tasteless steak. Pity, as well as the ambience, the service was excellent, so I hope the management haven't somehow forgotten about the food.

PS (DI User), 20/02/08

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I have been to Quod a few times and every time has been fantastic. Amazing place and the service was brilliant. Food was cooked to perfection and the wine was reasonably priced. Perfect for a romantic meal, but make sure you book to get a decent table!

RS (Unverified), 18/12/07

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I just can't understand some of these reviews. Although a few are quite old. My wife and I have been visiting Quod for years, and EVERY time we have found the food/wine/service to be extremely good value. In fact, we are loath to risk going anywhere else. Whenever we go out to try a new place, we tend to go back to Quod because we know it will be good. Reliable, consistent with a great buzz.
We love it.

Tony (Unverified), 11/08/07

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Perhaps, given the tone of other reviews here, we were there on a particularly good day - but I had a splendid meal at Quod in early July.

First let me praise the daiquiris. These, like orange juice in pubs, are a good test of whether a venue is serious about what it does. I sampled both the strawberry and raspberry daiquiris. They're practically desserts: magnificently large, richly-coloured, appropriately freezing and not oversweet.

The lamb shank was the best my companion #1 had ever had: crisp, tender and caramelly. I started with prawns served in a small silver bucket accompanied by bread and mayonnaise. This is a simple dish and could have benefitted by a more flavourful mayonnaise. It was beautifully presented and perfectly tasty, however. My companion #2 had a tiny crab terrine, which was delicate and delicious, and then gnocchi fried in butter, which were stodgy, chewy, filling and fairly bland - but then I've never had nice gnocchi. I don't know why people continue to make, sell or order them. I fared much better with a hefty grilled chicken and broad beans, bacon and peas - a summery dish that felt green and almost healthy despite the buttery richness and the portion size.

The service is impeccable - when you get it: the only hitch is a rigid system dictating that none of the staff can provide you with as much as a cheese straw unless they happen to be your designated waitingperson. But our waitress was friendly, swift, helpful and unobtrusive. Also, in passing, I like the chunky squares of wood used for bread platters: it's very bijou-rustic and makes you feel frivolous.

I will definitely go there again.

Minnie the Muncher (Unverified), 02/08/07

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What a poor show! I went here for breakfast on Saturday with two friends, We each had orange juice and scrambled eggs on toast. It cost me £34!

To add insult to injury the eggs had small specks of ham in there, meaning it had been cooked in a pan which had been used for something else.

I am a vegetarian, so was not very impressed, when i complained the same food came back just with the ham taken out and it was cold.

Over priced and poor quality, not to mention poor service.

Rosie (Unverified), 17/07/07

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Avoid the parmesan croquettes - they taste (perhaps too strong a word as they didn't really taste of anything) like they are from Iceland.

Moose (DI User), 12/07/07

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We came to Quod for a Saturday lunch at a busy time, service was prompt if a little impersonal, but the food was delicious. We both had perfect burgers with bacon and cheese, each cooked to perfection at our request of having them medium well done, and we were impressed with the presentation and general ambience. Will definitely be returning for lunch at the very least.

AS (Unverified), 03/07/07

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The food is just one step up from 'pub' food but the price is a major step! The duck was sparce and the boeuf bourginion was dry. If the wine at £12.50 per half bottle hadn't proved acceptable we would have felt disappointed with our excursion on a wet evening.

near neighbour (Unverified), 04/01/07

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This is a classic case of 'resting on one's laurels'. Quod certainly does not deserve a good reputation.

The lady who greeted us was far too busy talking with her 'pal' from wherever (about their kids and bicycles) that we were ignored for a good 5 minutes before she acknowledged our presence. Fine; it happens; it was busy but if you can't do a job properly, don't do it.

The service after this was considerably better but the layout of the restaurant couldn't help but lend itself to a chaotic, unrelaxing otherwise non-descript atmosphere.

Food was expensive for what it was (risotto in my case) but at least the portions weren't miniscule. Simply not worth the hassle of putting up with the service if you can call it that.

Re: apparent trendiness - pretentious? No, just 'naff'.

WL (Unverified), 14/12/06

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Have you ever wondered why Quod is always busy? I mean it’s a big place and therefore, given that Oxford is hardly a heaving metropolis, people must keep going back...and yet every time I eat there (and I have given it 4 goes in 4 years) the food is just, well, nothing really. Nothing has been inedible, and yet I would struggle to tell you what I had even last week, so forgettable was it (duck, possibly?). Certainly, it's fairly stylish, in a low lit kind of way, and the waiting staff have all their own teeth, but other than that you’d probably be better off eating from the kebab van down the road. One way or another, at least the food will have some effect on you.

Basically, if you want to be kind to your tummy, then go elsewhere; if you want to be kind to your wallet, then likewise, go elsewhere; but if your keen to spend a packet on food with all the charm, warmth and taste of a plasticky cheese sandwich, and you don’t mind queuing, then Quod is definitely the place for you!

21/03/06

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Not the best place for a romantic evening out but the food is always of quite high standards and the atmosphere buzzing. I have always found the service very pleasant, friendly and usually quite efficient.

A modern brasserie style restaurant with a decent varied menu. I personally love the crab salad and king prawns with garlic butter (a finger-bowl would be great though!) and the burgers and fillet steaks are very good, always cooked as ordered (in my case not for long!). I also adore the chunky chips and the bearnaise sauce.

It is a trendy place for trendy people and you will be served by trendy waiters and waitresses. This can be a bit unnerving for a very un-trendy person like myself, however the feeling does dissipate quickly.

I love its clean and modern decor and the mostly excellent art on the wall is an very good conversation point.

All in all Quod does whhat it does extremely well and is also a good place for just drink and a chat. It can get a tad too noisy due to some dodgy accoustics but remains a firm favourite even for oldies like me.

Price-wise it is not cheap but is reasonnable value when one considers the alternative.

Pamplemousse (Unverified), 14/03/06

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The service may not be amazing at Quod, but the food is decently good. I would highly recommend the prawns in garlic butter for a starter, as long as you don't expect a seafood fork with them. The steak, when ordered medium came out medium rare, but the mushrooms were exceptional.

birthday diner (Unverified), 20/02/06

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Starting off, the cocktails are pretty gorgeous and the art's a good conversation starter. Foodwise, the grilled goat's cheese salad is delicious and they're very generous with the smoked salmon. I was slightly disappointed with the pasta of the day as they were pretty stingy with some of the ingredients, but the confit of duck is excellent. Puddings are generous, I recommend sharing! The wine list is pretty good, including lots of good quality new world wines at reasonable prices. It gets very, very busy, but you can still hold a conversation over the background noise and service is pretty good.

Harriet (DI User), 26/01/06

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Set underneath the Old Bank Hotel, Quod is right in the centre of town, a pseudo-Italian wannabe posh place with plenty of ice-breaking modern art and a glass fronted kitchen. The menu hasn't changed for ages, apart from a daily specials board. Despite all of this, rather than because of it, I find myself there a lot. I'm not entirely sure why, but it happens to a lot of people I know. I think it's because it's handy, sometimes it's because the food is quite good, the square bar in the centre of the restaurant does a pretty mean cocktail and sitting outside on the sun terrace on a warm summery evening strikes me as a brilliant way to kill a few hours and a few bottles of wine. As well as this, the service can be standard (not brilliant) or very friendly (you need to go there a lot).

First off, you get the obligatory warm ciabatta and dipping oil, which is better here than I've had in most other places. While the food is as variable as the menu is predictable, it is invariably satisfactory. I have had the grilled goat cheese starter (£5.25) twice and friends seem to agree that while it is described as being served with baby spinach, sundried tomatoes and toasted walnuts, sometimes you may get two spinach leaves and a sliver of tomato, leaving you to concentrate on the golden brown grilled cheese, and sometimes it will come sitting proudly atop a sea of salad. An obligatory starter at any self-regarding Italian, the bruschetta (£3.95) is nothing more special than most people could make at home, but tasty nonetheless. The pizza buffalina (£8.45) is the kind of pizza you can eat, really enjoy and still feel as if you've eaten something healthy at the same time (it is topped with bright green rocket and fresh cherry tomatoes). I particularly like the tortelli (£8.95) - pasta stuffed with spinach and ricotta and smothered in a red pepper sauce. Risotto funghi is, I am told, great, as is gnocchi with gorgonzola and spinach, so there are a couple of more imaginative options for vegetarians, but choice is limited.

One thing to avoid is the burger. This is an Italianesque restaurant, but still they feel the urge to put burgers (£8.15) on the menu and I think they make the mistake of trying to chargrill the bun as well as the meat; it usually tastes more of carbon than of flame grilled barbecue. Pasta dishes cost around £8.95. The meat and fish mains are generally very good, seared tuna steak is cooked to order and served with fresh French beans and buttery new potatoes (£12.95). Dessert brings an array of more typically Italianesque offerings - tiramisu or panna cotta, all for about £4.65. If you don't want food, go for a few cocktails or a bottle of Merlot (£13.25). It's not gastronomically exciting, but you will leave quite contented having had a fairly good meal, no complaints.

Abby Chicken (Unverified), 11/09/03

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