Arbat

Arbat is a great Russian restaurant. The staff are very friendly; there are pictures on the walls of Russia. You don't wait long for the food, which is good authentic Russian.

vitya (Unverified), 08/05/12

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From the moment we entered the restaurant, it felt like us and the manager were old comrades. The vodka Russian-style was a perfect opener. Starters were beautiful, mains were expertly cooked. More vodka Russian-style for the finisher, and an icy Russian lager to wash it all down with!! A good night worth every penny. Will advise to more friends and family to visit this excellent restaurant.

Liana (Unverified), 29/01/12

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I went with friends to the Arbat for the first time on 5 November 2011. I am very surprised at the negative reviews. We found the food delicious, very authentic and certainly home made. The staff were very friendly and attentive and the meals were served promptly. We did not experience the long wait of some previous reviewers, despite it being Saturday night and very full. We thought that it was very good value for money. Most people eating there were Russian. That must in itself be a great recommendation. I will be going back soon!

Gwen (Unverified), 06/11/11

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Amazing. I have being enjoying the restaurant for a while now. Great home-made food (which feels like home) it's great and whatever people say I'm loving it. Thanks to the staff.

Creg (Unverified), 21/08/11

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Have eaten here twice now and both times had great, authentic food which is clearly home made, so we are happy to wait a little longer for a meals to come to the table, unlike some restaurants where the food is served too quickly and is obviously bought in and microwaved. Am very surprised at the comments which state it is over priced - we eat out a lot and have had many an occasion where we have paid a lot more for less quality. Great atmosphere in this restaurant - will definitely be back.

27/05/11

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So, I went back to this restaurant to give it a fair chance - but I should have learned the first time! Again, it did not meet my expectations. The house wine was good, I'll give them that. Otherwise, the food was expensive for what it was. Also there were not enough waiters (only one that night) which made service extremely slow. To wait for over an hour to get appetizers is unacceptable.

Foodie (Unverified), 04/03/11

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I totally disagree with the previous anonymous review! Me and my friends love Arbat, it is one of the best places in Oxford, where you can really enjoy delicious food. Moreover, the only restaurant that serves Russian food, which is really stunning, full of flavours!

Not only is the atmosphere very amazing, it's a really sweet and romantic restaurant, where you can really enjoy the process of dining, which is usually very hard to get in other restaurants in Oxford. In terms of service it is very welcoming and friendly, they can exactly explain what each dish means and recommend what to try if you're not familiar with Russian food.

Last week we tried their new chicken salad with apples, similar to Olivie, it was incredible I think now it is one of my favourite salads from Russian cuisine. I ordered their plov and manty, which are home made (all the food is home made - believe me, this is also amazing, since most of the restaurants today do not do that!!!). Plov (a traditional central Asian rice dish cooked with succulent lamb, spices, onion and carrot and served with salad) was full of flavours and of great taste, the best plov I have ever tried; Manty (steamed lamb dumplings with herbs and sour cream) were incredible, I just couldn't stop eating them!

They have a great variety of wines from all over the world and I adore their desserts, especially Oreshki and Medovik - best desserts on the planet!

Overall Arbat is a great experience if you want to try Russian food, but if you know how it tastes and are familiar with it, it is the best place to spend your money on food and enjoy an incredibly friendly atmosphere in the restaurant and eat home-made fresh dishes!!

Merissa (Unverified), 28/02/11

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Very sweet atmosphere, friendly service, great choice of drinks...very nice Georgian wines, special Vodkas...def coming back.

28/02/11

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I have to say I was very disappointed. Went there with a group. Although we were seated and an order was taken quite quickly- it was upsetting to see other tables that came in later get their food before us. When the food came out the presentation was good, however the food was horrible. No taste and quite frankly tasted like poor quality ingredients. The food did not taste authentically Russian either. There was only one waiter on staff so the service was slow and below standard. One of us ordered a tea with milk and the tea was cold by the time the milk arrived. The food was also overpriced given the very small portions. The house wine was fruity, so at least that was good (for those who like sweet wines).

zoineos (DI User), 20/02/11

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Love Arbat, food is amazing, high quality and very tasty! Love Russian salads especially olivie, it is really amazing, recommend to everyone. Tried all their main courses and soups - awesome, all fresh and love how they deliver them, adore kotlety po kievsky :). Not only the food is great the atmosphere inside the restaurant is amazing, it looks very posh but at the same time very sweet and warm, the service is very fast, staff is extremely funny and polite, can help you with choosing the dish and recommend according to your taste! They have a huge variety of drinks (wines and high quality Russian Vodka), which is hard to find anywhere else! I would definitely recommend Arbat to everyone, amazing and wish they open restaurant outside Oxford! Wish them all the best :). Planning to come this Saturday.

Emma (Unverified), 28/10/10

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Arbat is simply outstanding! Everything from the service to the quality of the food and drink is first class so it is surprising that this it is one of Oxford's better kept secrets.

Will be back for sure many times.

BTW - it is worth noting is that house red is a little bit special.

17/04/10

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Had a great time there, the food was delicious and atmosphere made me feel like home! Definitely coming back soon.

Max (Unverified), 21/03/10

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New experience going to a Russian restaurant. Food and service was good, and the meat was halal.

m2aka (Unverified), 17/03/10

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This is a very standard experience, and somewhat overpriced. I had to pay £9 for my main dish, a bowl of savoury pastries filled with cottage cheese- just cottage cheese- and topped with yoghurt sauce. There was nothing else- no garnish, no greens. Quite hard work trawling though such an unispiring dish. The service is fast, and polite. I however will not return as I can eat far better food on Cowley Road for less.

09/01/10

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The food is amazing- really tastes homemade...cozy atmosphere, very nice to have a Russian restaurant, especially a good one... celebrated my birthday there, and had a great time, thanks a lot

Alex (Unverified), 11/11/09

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Well there is a lot I can say about this restaurant. First, the atmosphere is stunning, I was really surprised by the posh design! Secondly: the food is delicious, I can't stop eating it and go there almost everyday. I recommend this place to everybody!  I would go for 8 out of 10 for now, however I think the guys are going to make it even better in the near future! Good luck to them ;)

Baizhik (Unverified), 13/10/09

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Good quality food, as previous reviewer below stated has homemade feel to it (although this doesn't detract from the quality). Not all main meals are the same size and thus it may be best to ask for recommendations - for instance the dish which contained Siberian dumplings was considerably smaller than the pork with cheese, tomatoes and mashed potatoes. The traditional pancakes are very nice and good value - for just over £2 you get two pancakes in a size the English are used to on pancake day (!), but of a much higher quality that most homemade ones. Friendly (and funny) staff and the price isn't too steep - two beers, two main meals, two pancakes (one with red caviar) came to £35.

Sean S (Unverified), 04/10/09

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Popped in for lunch to see what they had to offer and had a very tasty meal.

Peter (Unverified), 29/09/09

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Had a lovely meal here. The food was really tasty and had that home cooked taste and look about it. Can recommend it to anybody who wants good service, tasty food and value for money. Will definitely be returning soon!

angieblueput (Unverified), 22/09/09

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