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Bijoux Thai & Oriental restaurant. 15% discount on takeaway collection. |
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100 Cowley Road Useful links: Oxford Restaurants Oxford Hotels Oxford Pubs & Bars Oxford Gig venues Oxford Concert venues Ads by Daily Info:
  
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Just terrible. Though the restaurant was empty, it took forty minutes to get water and drinks and another hour to get a starter and the main courses. Our table got exactly one fill of water; further requests were acknowledged but unfulfilled through the entire evening. We love Thai and were expecting a treat. What came were bland, salty dishes featuring sour bean curd. The rich, sweet, spicy flavours characteristic of good Thai were completely absent; the imitation here is very very poor. Communication with the staff was a special experience as well. There are definite problems with the business, as the two sole employees raced in and out of the front door several times during our stay. Baffling. JS, 27/02/09 Similar to another reviewer on this page, I found the other food expensive. Also the waiter didn't check to see that we were ok or if we wanted more drinks, etc., which we may have ordered if we had been asked. Also, the tables of customers who had left were not cleared away for about half an hour. RGS, 25/06/08 Came here after being attracted from outside by the large chandelier (giving a feeling of an Amsterdam brothel - we expected it to be a bar, then it turned out to be a restaurant...). The menu was simple but because of the pricing we expected quality rather than quantity. However, we were disappointed by the portion size and found the taste rather bland. Matt S, 27/02/08 Visited this weekend for dinner after having it recommended by a friend. Overall I thought it was generally over-priced and the food inconsistent. I enjoyed it more than my dining companion who seemed to draw the short straw in his menu choices. The decor is simplistic and feels like a retro cafe more than a restaurant. There is a seating area at the front with approx 8 tables of varying size but there is more seating at the rear up the short flight of stairs. The staff were young and friendly and dressed in an all black uniform of sorts. We started with a beer each (ordered by country - we plumped for Singapore and Japan - Tiger and Asahi). The menu looked inviting with many different dishes and a good selection of starters and was well presented. I went for a Tom Yam seafood soup as I often have this dish at the oriental cafe Red Star up the road. I'm glad I did - it was very tasty with just the right amount of chilli as well as very good quality ingredients served in a small attractive square bowl. My friend didn't fare so well: his mixed starter of "chinese rolls" was very poor. 3 iceberg lettuce leaves acted as baskets for some crispy noodles, some prawns and some cheap tasting coleslaw - and all for £7! Ouch! For main, once again I did well with my frogs legs in chilli sauce. It was tasty, spicy and was served as a more than ample portion even for my large appetite. I accompanied it with a side order of good egg fried rice. My friend went for a soup-orientated dish that had both lamb and fish in. I didn't try any but my friend thought it was watery with no discerning flavour and was bulked out with far too many cheap vegetable leaves. He was further incensed by ordering a noodle dish from the same menu as my rice which came as a giant portion which was a meal in its own right. As a result he struggled to eat even half of it. It would have been nice for the waitress to have pointed out this ordering faux-pas at the start, rather than waste £7 (thats a lot for any noodle dish) as he did. I also had a slightly ropey iced tea to drink. Total bill was just over £50 for 2 courses with 2 drinks each. Not really cheap. Just as a last note - the toilets are unisex which is always interesting. Joe B, 24/02/08 We pre-booked a table for two on February 14th having been warned that central Oxford eateries might be full! It was a very good choice. Clean decor, quiet (because not crowded), attentive service from the young staff, and only a very modest £2 corkage charge on our own bottle of champagne. We enjoy Thai food, so avoiding dairy products was no bother. The food was excellent, the helpings generous, and I guess we over-ordered, but we had the whole evening (from 8 till past 10 pm) to consume as much as we wanted, at our leisure. In the circumstances our 15 minute walk back to our central hotel was welcome exercise. The bill was modest too, less than £20 a head including 10% service. Definitely recommended! If you know what you like for wine, you might well consider BYO. Daedalus Virgo, 17/02/08 Good food and great service. Will definitely keep going back. Rare to find a restaurant which serves authentic Asian food which isn't modified to suit the locals! 17/12/07 I have just been for dinner at this cosy yet lively little place. It’s the third time I have returned since it opened and for good reason. I have enjoyed a cross section of the menu and can say that I have been happily satisfied by the flavour and authenticity of the Thai and Chinese dishes on offer. What is most charming about the experience of eating at the A T Box is the service. The waiters and waitresses are effortlessly friendly, professional and very attentive. They seem to have that rare talent which is to be instantly on hand when you need them, but when you are happily enjoying your meal and conversation they seem to disappear. The food is simple, generous and well balanced with a genuinely authentic flavour. Perhaps a little bit pricy but still represents good value especially if you choose one of the set menus for two. I strongly recommend this place to any one who would like to enjoy great Asian cooking in an atmosphere which makes you instantly relax into lively conversation with your companions. Enjoy. N Derrington, 23/11/07 Went to A.T box with some friends last night. When we walked in, we couldn't believe how pretty it is. I would say it is the best looking restaurant in Cowley Road. It was a very high quality meal so not just a good look! Also I think it necessary to mention that we did enjoy the meal very much. Also we took a lot of pics. In short,highly recommended. ***** 20/11/07 I went here the other night with a friend, but not quite the same experience as the reveiwer before. I thought that the whole decoration of the place was rather messy, looked more like a night club reception than a place to eat. The menu was quite interesting, but that was about it. The arrival of the food definitely did not look and taste as appealing as on the menu. We had a starter of soft shell crab which was tastless and the batter was not even crispy, which meant that the crab was a bit cold in the middle. I didn't want to say anything as I didn't want to embaress my friend and thought that the main course will be better. For the main we choose two thai dishes, which again were completely bland. I definitely won't be going back, as it seems the place is just nicely dressed up without any substance. M Taylor, 02/11/07 Having waited excitedly for some time for this promising-looking new place to open its doors to the public (apparently they were delayed by plumbing problems), I finally got there with my partner last Wednesday night. The dark polished granite, huge gold-framed mirror and purple walls made me think it was going to be some exclusive new cocktail bar, but in fact this tiny little venue is an authentic Thai/Oriental crossover restaurant, with more attentive, neatly uniformed young staff than these early days of business can possibly support (you'd have thought), anxious to refill your glasses, request your suggestions and generally cater pleasantly for all your dining needs. There are only 8 little tables on the main floor (though there is a further room with a big plasma screen in it upstairs), and we made up one of the three full ones. This place is definitely going for the 'upmarket restaurant' rather than 'pack-em-in, ship-em-out' approach, but prices are not extortionate, so your average spend is likely to be somewhere between noodle bar and posh night out. The set meal on offer at the moment has to be a loss leader, as it's such good value: £12 a head for a seafood dinner consisting of deep fried soft shell crab (yes, you eat the whole thing, shell and all - it's so soft you won't notice it), tom yum goong (the trademark Thai spicy soup with nom pla fish sauce, lemongrass, baby eggplant, mussel, squid, prawn and LOTS of chili), sizzling mixed seafood (seafood and veg in a less ferocious sauce served on a hot skillet) and a huge mound of pad thai (rice noodles, beansprouts, shrimp and chicken). With drinks - a Thai beer, fizzy water and one of the delicious non-alcoholic fruit cocktails (this one was of fresh berries and kiwi, its name translating as something like 'Red Devil') - our spend was still only £41 altogether. We were stuffed, and have already been back since. All the extra touches - from staff politeness to the high quality and authenticity of the food - are, I suspect, going to combine to make this a lot of people's new favourite east Oxford, south-east Asian eaterie. I can only wish them well for when the former Elm Tree pub opposite opens up as a huge Japanese karaoke bar and restaurant! Su Jordan, 25/10/07
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