RJ@21 - CLOSED Summer 2011

Had a lovely meal here - the only thing putting me off being a regular is that the menu doesn't seem to change much. Catalan chicken was delicious - but I don't want it every week!

Gordon (Unverified), 23/02/10

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Fantastic. I've had breakfast there - the full English which was excellent and more recently a group of four of us went for dinner on a Friday evening. The service and food were both outstanding as was the choice of wine. Rod Jones, the owner was our waiter for the evening and he was friendly and attentive without being intrusive.

An excellent place and a great dining experience. Highly recommended.

Tony Brett (DI User), 20/02/10

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The beef burger is the best in Oxford by a long way and the hand-cut chips are to die for. Very reasonable prices, excellent hospitality. Until yesterday, I did not think such a place existed in rip-off Oxford where one is regularly served lower than average quality food at extortionate prices. I really hope RJ is here to stay.

SG (Unverified), 28/11/09

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I tried my best to get the owner to divulge all his secrets for the delicious Catalan chicken they serve -- apparently he regularly gets asked. It is absolutely delicious, grilled chicken, chorizo, onions, tomatoes and garlic, but I'm sure there's something else that really makes it work so well.

At any rate I'll be back, for sure. The food is excellent, the service friendly, and the ambiance is relaxed, and all for a very reasonable price.

Also, they do £1 takeaway cappuccino, latte and espresso, I'm sure that is the cheapest in Oxford for good coffee.

catalanchickenlover (DI User), 21/11/09

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The food here is great, especially the steak! It deserves to be more highly regarded. The service is great, the restaurant itself is lovely - try it soon!

Al (Unverified), 04/09/09

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I like this place. Good brunch. Nice patio. Wine and cocktails.

Noe (Unverified), 16/04/09

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This place has a really chill yet classy atmosphere. The garden out back is a great place to eat outdoors on a sunny day - it feels miles away from Cowley back there.

I live next door to the restaurant and have gone 3 times so far, both during the day and for dinner. I wanted to write a review because I'm very impressed with the quality of the ingredients they're using, especially compared to similar restaurants in the immediate neighborhood. This is not a chain restaurant at all.

RJ 21 doesn't bill itself very loudly as an organic/locally sourced venue, but yet the owner chatted to me at length about the small local farms that provide almost every item on their menu. The people who own this place know their food and take the quality of their meats and other ingredients seriously, and it shows.

If you're looking for high-quality ingredients at a reasonable price, yummily prepared, this is probably the best option on Cowley. As a dinner venue it's classy and pretty yet not overly expensive. I recommend it!

Mary (DI User), 25/03/09

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You must try RJ@21 - I'm so glad it's come to the Cowley Road. Fresh food cooked daily which is rare these days! The steak was cooked to perfection with real fries. Great choice of wines at affordable prices - go and try it for yourself. Bon Appetit!

Suzan (Unverified), 08/11/08

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This little corner of the Cowley Road was once home to Joe’s, a long-running Oxford breakfast institution which one can’t help thinking might have been squeezed out by slicker competition from surrounding restaurants. RJ@21 would seem, at first glance, to be entering the slickness battle with enthusiasm, its light décor, bland music and nibbly food, but I’m not sure that this first impression is ultimately born out by the end product.

At first glance, the Spanish/Catalan-themed menu is slightly confusing (at least to my untrained eye). Starters aren’t offered as such; and the menu is made up of a selection of bar snacks, salads, upmarket ‘pub lunch’ options, main courses and desserts. The selection of manchego cheese with olive oil and pine nuts, Spanish salami and warm bread we had to begin with were lovely; simple, well-presented and delicious, if a little hard to eat tidily. We were more disappointed with the main courses. The grilled swordfish came with some rather strange textured mashed potatoes, and the steak frites, though a perfectly nice portion of rib-eye, didn’t quite seem to justify the price tag of £13.50, though this is possibly more a presentation problem. Pudding was more in line with the starters for simplicity and flavour: vanilla ice cream with a shot of Pedro Ximinez sherry is something I will definitely be having again, and a delicate coca tart with ice cream was great: light pastry, not too sweet. We paid £67.50 for three courses, coffee and wine, which wasn’t outrageous, but not fantastic value either. The staff were nice, competent and friendly, but in the subdued atmosphere of the place seemed strangely lacking in energy.

It’s a pity, because there’s some good stuff going on here, but this place doesn’t seem to know quite what it wants to be. It’s unfair to say a place lacks atmosphere when it hasn’t yet had chance to attract a chattering clientele in an area already pretty well saturated with places to eat, and I do think that if it had been a bit more lively we’d have let our hair down and not noticed the minor causes for complaint. It might also be worth going in for either a light bite or a main meal, rather than trying to combine the two in a way the menu doesn’t seem to be designed for. Worth a try, but choose carefully.

Susie Cogan (DI Staff), 31/10/08

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The steak is one of the best in Oxford. Any meat lover will be blown away, as I was!!!!!!

Janet (Unverified), 31/10/08

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