Daily Info, Oxford
Bar Meze

Restaurant & Drinking Establishment

Opening hours: 11.30am-11pm Weekend 11.30am-11.30pm. Private room for hire.

146 London Road
Headington
Oxford
OX3 9ED

Headington
Telephone: 01865 761106
Menu
Map

Private room available. Cuisine: Veg/Vegan friendly & Turkish.

Children welcome, Food served, There are sofas, Cocktails & Live music events.



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Highly recommended - very friendly atmosphere and particularly accommodating with children. Our fave Headington restaurant!

wook, 22/10/08


This place is great for a relaxed drink and a few tasty snacks. Very good menu and great value especially if you come for the lunch deal or for dinner. Service is always friendly and we never feel pressured or rushed no matter how busy the restaurant and bar are. Particular food favourites are the sausage meze, houmous and chicken in onion and white wine - delicious. Great value when you take note that all mezes come with a generous portion of pitta bread to mop it all up with. Recommended wholeheartedly for relaxed evenings out.

ALS, 15/08/08


Reliably tasty and wide variety of mezes in pleasant surroundings. Drinks service can be erratic (eg. on two separate visits we requested a jug of water with our drinks, and on both occasions we had to ask again up to three times more before we actually got it), but it's worth bearing with this as the food is delicious, and arrives relatively speedily. Both times I have been in a party of four and we found that sharing 12 mezzes between us was more than enough (along with the complementary pitta bread that comes with the food order and the olives and pickles that you get given at the outset to nibble on with your drinks). The ovenbaked houmous is particularly worth a try. They have deals for different numbers of mezes (3, 6 or 9) that make each meze cheaper the more you get at once, which works well.
The standard desserts are rather heavy and overly sweet - and a bit steep at £5 each - but the fresh fruit platter and the baklava are delicious. Worth a visit.

Roo, 13/06/08


My boyfriend and I went to Bar Meze for New Year's Eve and we were both shocked by the service we received. The set menu was hugely overpriced for what it was and the service was appalling. We were completely forgotten as soon as the clock struck 12 and never received our dessert, as the waitress was too busy dancing with some of the other staff. Tired of waiting we asked for the bill, at which point the waitress snapped at my boyfriend that she hadn't been given enough time to celebrate. I had been to Bar Meze once before - when one of the waitresses spilt a hot chicken dish over a friend's lap - but thought I would give it another try. I will not be going back again.

E.R., 30/06/07


We went to Bar Meze tonight and were very disappointed. We ordered the six meze deal.
When my drink arrived, the stirrer was very dirty - sticky and covered in some old food!
The waitress then arrived with our cutlery, and noticed that one of the knives was dirty. Instead of replacing the knife, she scraped the dirt off with her nail, and then went to give us the knife. We asked for the knife to be replaced, and the waitress examined the knife as if it was clean enough!
The food was ok - small portions, but nothing special. I had the chicken wings, and thought the chicken was off - it tasted terrible. We will not be going back.

cw, 28/05/07


We visit our daughter who is a student in Oxford several times a year. One of the highlights is our regular meal at Bar Meze. Wonderful food, great ambience, friendly staff. Their Lamb Incik is always memorable!

Jadi, 19/03/07


I have eaten here 2/3 times over the last couple of years and don't feel the same as the other 2 reviews so far. Admittedly I only shared some small meze dishes each time and din't have anything more substantial, but I generally found the food to be rather run-of-the-mill and there was a longer than average wait for it. The Turkish coffee I had at the end seemed to be just an espresso made very badly (but I suppose that's what makes it authentic!). Having said all this the interior is very nice.

Joe B, 14/03/07


We stayed in Oxford recently with our 11 month old baby and saw this restaurant in the Vegetarian Grapevine guide. Although it was further from the hotel than we wanted to go we decided we would try it. We were so glad we did! The atmosphere was brilliant and our table was set up perfectly with a high chair ready for when we arrived.

Throughout our visit the staff included and spoke to our daughter. They were very understanding of her egg allergy and made us all feel very welcome.

When we asked about certain dishes they were explained proudly and even though we are small eaters, we were not pushed or felt obliged to order more than we felt we needed.

The food was delicious and well-priced and service was wonderfully attentive but never intrusive. Even though it was a busy Saturday night we were unhurried and felt very relaxed.

The decoration and character of the restaurant is an absolute delight. I would recommend it to anyone. We look forward to returning soon.

Ms KM, 20/02/06


Bar Meze is situated in the centre of Headington, next to the Post Office and opposite Bury Knowle Park.

My boyfriend and I went for a meal on a Friday evening; we had booked a table and were shown straight to it. The interior of the restaurant has quite a cosy mediterranean feel, with terracotta walls and tables, comfy chairs and cushioned benches at the front alongside a long bar which serves cocktails as well as the usual beers, wine and spirits. Behind the bar area, the restaurant has mainly circular tables, with a conservatory at the back in which the tables for two are situated. The Turkish decor is attractive, with wall-mounted and ceiling-suspended lamps, lucky charms inlaid into the tile flooring, and background music at just the right level to be heard without being intrusive. The restaurant was full (and always has been when I've visited before), so advanced booking is recommended. The separated seating areas make it ideal for both group visits and romantic dining.

The service was excellent, the waitress taking our drinks order almost immediately, and we sat contemplating the menu while munching our way through a small dish of olives, sun-dried tomatoes and chillis. We decided on the Turkish Efes beer, but can also recommend the Turkish Villa Dolluca wine from a previous visit. We chose three mezes (£3 each, or 3 for £8, 6 for £12, 9 for £16) to share as starters from their large selection of cold and hot mezes (any more than this and we tend to struggle with the main course!): Borek (filo pastry filled with feta cheese and chopped parsley), Sucuk Izgara (thin slices of spicy beef) and (my favourite!) Patlican Tava (charcoal-cooked aubergine served with a spicy tomato sauce). These were served very promptly with a basket of warm pitta bread, and devoured very quickly.

For our main courses, I had the chicken brochette (£11) and my boyfriend had the moussaka (£11). (The main courses range from £10-£14.) You also get a choice of sauté potatoes, French fries or basmati rice included in the price. Both dishes came very quickly after the starters had been cleared and were huge. My plate had six or seven big pieces of succulent chicken breast with peppers and onions sat on a pitta bread and a very fresh side salad. The moussaka was again enormous, and looked very fresh - this was also served with side salad. Both dishes were hot. The fries and rice that we chose were brought out on separate plates and again were both hot and tasty (and the rice had pine nuts in it).

Throughout the meal we were asked if everything was to our satisfaction (once by a man who I presumed was the owner).

Our plates were cleared and we were asked if we wanted desserts or coffee. We had a look, but were too full – if you still have room at this point however, I can from past experience fully recommend the baklava. Desserts weigh in at around the £5 mark. We decided to have more drinks, and moved to the front of the restaurant for these, staying for another half an hour or so before dragging ourselves away. Our total bill came to just over £48 for 3 mezes, two mains, 5 beers and a cocktail. If you wanted a slightly cheaper night, I would suggest sharing 16 mezes and a bottle of wine (total cost around £30).

The restaurant also has a jazz evening on a Monday night, and a lunchtime meal offer of 2 mezes and a glass of house wine, beer or soft drink for £6. Having visited Bar Meze several times in different contexts and found it equally enjoyable, I fully recommend you try it.

Teresa Willis, 08/11/04



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