A firm staple of Oxford, Dodo Pubs has one of the best pubs in the form of The Rusty Bicycle. Nestled halfway down Magdalen Road is a welcoming establishment that has proved an increasingly popular weekend destination, thanks to its pitch-perfect menu of fabulous pizzas and hearty burgers. It seemed the perfect destination for a lunchtime treat, so Daily Info headed down and dug in to their menu.

The first thing to observe is that The Rusty Bicycle can get exceptionally busy. But once we'd located a table and nestled in (the bucket of jenga bricks proved a welcome distraction for the smaller member of our party) we were able to bask in just how nice it is to be in a friendly Dodo pub.

In the hustle and bustle of a busy Sunday lunchtime we managed to miss the children's menu (on the bottom shelf of a bookcase by the bar) and there was a misordering of a pizza that required some swift topping swopping to placate a very hungry three-year-old. But these hiccups couldn't dampen the warm atmosphere The Rusty Bicycle cultivates and the food is good (even when deconstructed and reconstructed).

My partner was very impressed with the Big D burger she ordered (beef patty, cheese, streaky bacon, beer-braised onions, tomato, lettuce, Dodo burger mayo). A thick, juicy burger cooked to perfection, it often threatened to collapse under the weight of its contents but managed to remain intact, with the flavour amplified by a tangy burger mayo. My partner went as far as to place it as one of the best burgers she'd had in Oxford (stiff competition!).

As for the pizzas, we ended up with a Chorizo Piccante (with added mushroom) and Salami Get This Straight. The Chorizo Piccante is a particularly spicy variant of their pizza thanks to toppings of soft brindisa, chorizo and pickled red chilli. I enjoyed it even if at times the spice almost overwhelms everything about the pizza. The Salami Get This Straight was a big hit with my daughter (once we'd swapped out the roast sweet peppers with mushrooms) and it even enhanced her experience that she had a pizza the same size as ours. Dodo goes for a soft base pizza, making their pizzas a sloppy but wonderfully edible proposition. It also helped that the side of rosemary fries were delicious: crunchy on the outside, fluffy in the middle, proving a lovely accompaniment to our food.

Despite some hiccups caused by a slightly overwhelmed establishment, we had a great time at The Rusty Bicycle. The food is scrumptious, the staff friendly and approachable (especially the barista who snuck marshmallows to our three year old), and the atmosphere is great fun. It's good to go prepared for a busy lunchtime at the weekend but it's worth the wait and the fight for tables. It won't be long until I'm back at this fabulous pub.

The Rusty Bicycle sits in pride of place on the corner of the best two streets in Oxford (Magdalen and Hurst). It holds claim to potentially the best outdoor seating in the city, and certainly the best outdoor sheds.

Perennially busy, even early on a Tuesday, we are confined to the garden. But as I mentioned before, shed.

We peruse the menu. 50% off pizzas on Tuesday - Friday lunchtimes. But it is not just pizza. We have options. Burgers; chicken, mushroom, Angry Texan. Salads. Many a selection of sides. Truffle and cheese chips. Rosemary chips. Flatbreads. Wings.

I order my classic: vegan Mary, with cheese (and olives, chillies and capers). My familial friends get a Mr Melanzane (aubergine) and Yard Bird Burger (fried chicken with pickled red onion). Sides are discussed and discarded, but we do order rosemary chips just to be safe. And the house craft lager, because a review that ignores the reviewees' trademark is really not a review at all.

The food takes around forty minutes to arrive, but that's okay because it's warm and nice company. And when it does, it is aesthetically very exciting. Food on a tray on a wooden table always looks nice. There's been a recent revolt against tray food recently (www.wewantplates.com/) but you know what, I've read the arguments for both sides and I just don't really mind.

My non-vegan-Mary is very good, olive it. And my friends, notoriously picky, are pleased. The chicken burger in particular holds its own. Chipotle, pickled red onion, gherkin. It all works. Food. Even the fact that you can't really taste the rosemary in the chips is accepted. Because, as we note, sometimes too much rosemary makes food taste like lamb. And the Rusty lager is a great success. On the other hand, the Mr Melanzane has the right proportion of aubergine to pizza, but perhaps lacking in other toppings.

But in reality we're really scraping the barrel to try and find a negative.

In terms of value, it's pretty remarkable. In fact, the only disappointing experiences I've had concerning the food has been when the kitchen is closed. Though they do sell cakes, sausages, and scotch eggs on the side. Also massive share bags of Tyrell's crisps. I've yet to buy one but there is still time.

I can't finish my pizza because I'm weak, and so am given a box so I can take it home. I wonder whether the wewantplates brigade are also anti-box? And also - in terms of dining taxonomy - when does a plate stop being a plate? These are the type of questions that follow a successful lunch. Highly recommend.

www.wewantplates.com/