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• Restaurant

Reviews

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The Hawk March 22, 2007

What a delicious surprise to find such irresistible personal charm alongside memorable food at the Cafe Rouge on Little Clarendon Street last night. Hard to believe that this is part of a chain of eating places, when it has the feel of a privately-nurtured specialist French restaurant. Not having been there before, my mother and I were as graciously received by the staff as we might have been had we patronized the restaurant for years. Our prawns in tomato and garlic, haddock pancake, and then the "special" fish casserole, and then a delectable creme brulee, were all dishes to which we would gladly return. It is a splendid discovery to find that there is a little bit of the best of France so near to one's doorstep.

It had been a while since I last visited that Cafe Rouge, and the meal then had been fine. As others have noted, things have changed. Nowadays the food seems both overpriced and badly prepared. Neither my friend who accompanied me nor I will be going there again. Give it a miss.

David42 5 Oct 2016

Not what it was. Cafe Rouge used to be a good place for a bavette steak and cheerful service, but the bavettes have gone, and the service is cold. After an hour and a quarter's wait for our food we mentioned to the waitress that we had been there a long time, and her response was 'kitchen is busy'. Our side plates had greasy fingermarks all over them. This is a real shame, and I hope to see it change.

jaws 18 Jan 2016

I was delighted by the changes they have made here recently. Went for a magnificent lunch the other day and sat in the back garden underneath olive trees whilst the staff ran about making sure we were looked after. I had a beautiful baked camembert followed by a perfect steak and really can't praise the place enough right now. After a few ropey years Café Rouge has gone back to exactly what it was supposed to be, a bit of French sunshine on Little Clarendon street. I dont know if they do a Theatre Menu or not but that will be my next endeavour and in the meantime I implore anyone in the area to just drop in and spend a few hours in the med; it did me the power of good. Another one of Oxford's little islands of calm.

Count Bruno 18 May 2011

March 2011: we were told to return 30 minutes after we arrived as nothing was available. Came back 30 minutes later and were greeted by 'I said 30 minutes' and then after waiting 5 more minutes were taken to one of the many empty tables. Over half an hour to take an order, over an hour to start delivering food. We were around 3 1/2 hours from arriving to leaving as it was so desperately slow. They gave us a bottle of cheap plonk as an apology. We won't be going back.

Dyson 12 Apr 2011

On 15/04/2008 I wrote…”Had a splendid 3-course lunch here the other week and food & service were very good. This restaurant went downhill a couple of years ago but perhaps management and a few chefs have changed as it is much improved. Well worth a visit.” And we’ve had good meals since but Saturday night was different… it was bad.

I asked for a medium rare steak and got one that would literally have been shown the griddle for 10 seconds per side. Yuck! Got an alternate which was OK and many apologies from the staff. Same staff then left us for AGES before taking our dessert order and 25 minutes later said that order wasn’t available. Oh and I forgot, the deep fried cheese starter was swimming in redcurrant sauce which was a shame as it was a good sized portion.

During the evening the temperature inside went up and up and we had the feeling of being gently broiled, most uncomfortable. Poor service, not attentive. Now I’d not seen so much cause for complaint at Café Rouge before and it doesn’t bode well.

Hopefully a temporary aberration. One disaster doesn’t mean that CR has gone downhill but watch this space else you too will be thinking… not now Cato!

B Cooper 25 Oct 2010

Have had a few meals at Café Rouge, both times being excellent.

The deep-fried brie was delicious as a starter, as were the mussels.

I had the demi-poulet, and the other half tried the steak. Both were very nicely cooked and seasoned, with generous portions.

Having already demolished two courses, we were unsure about dessert, but the menu did look enticing. Completing the meal with their trio of desserts was just divine. The creme-brulée cracked nicely, and the flour-free chocolate cake was just delicious.

With a nice bottle of wine, the three course a la carte meal came to just over £80 for two, with tip.

The service was consistently impeccable. Possibly because the restaurant was fairly quiet, we were well looked after without feeling smothered.

Not "fine-dining" but a great place to go for a nice meal out.

28 Apr 2008

Had a splendid 3-course lunch here the other week and food & service were very good. This restaurant went downhill a couple of years ago but perhaps management and a few chefs have changed as it is much improved. Well worth a visit.

B Cooper 14 Apr 2008

Fantastic location, brilliant service and excellent food. We had to wait for 30 mins for our main course, which was not a problem as we were all enjoying our time chatting, and when the bill arrived they had not charged us for the coffees and brandy, apologising for having to wait for our main course. This restaurant is a must and we will go back reguarly as we know we are guaranteed a good night of excellence. Many thanks to all.

maggy 14 Feb 2008

It's very upsetting that a so-called French restaurant can't handle making a croque madame...they seem to be under the impression that it constitutes a fried egg slapped on some toast. Don't be fooled - this is just another chain with bland food for the unsophisticated palate. It just so happens to also have accordion music and mass-produced 'cute' bistro decor. C'est dommage!

6 Feb 2008

It’s nice to have a bolt hole. Somewhere comforting and cosy you can retreat to when winter becomes insufferable and you want to be transported away from it all. It’s also nice to have a friendly welcome at said bolt hole with good food, plentiful wine and frenzied utterly ludicrous background music that makes you cry with laughter. Well, I like it anyway. Café Rouge is splendid. Though perhaps not the best restaurant if you’re seeking gastronomic heaven, it does offer all of the above and remains one of my favourite places to dine out in Oxford.

Highlights of the menu are the king prawns and the smoked haddock pancake as starters, the spit roast chicken (tried and tested several times and always cooked and seasoned perfectly), croque monsieur and the steak are good main choices and the infamous crème brûlée to top it all off. Last time I ate there they had a cherry and almond tart on as a special which was delicious.

Minor gripes; I once ordered the sea bass, it wasn’t worth it. It had the distinct flavour of not so fresh fish. Stick to what Café Rouge does best and you should be ok. Also, they never have English mustard – fair enough some might say, as it is a “French” restaurant. But we are after all in Oxford and I do like English mustard with my steak!

One final thing – if you go in from January to March they have some cracking promotions running (think free wine, always a good thing – T&C’s apply).

Dr Mukti 7 Jan 2008

Another happy experience for me in the by me now much-tried and much-enjoyed Cafe Rouge on Little Clarendon Street. Full-to-busting early on a Saturday night, the restaurant came up trumps again in the service and in the food departments. Make sure you try "fougasse", if you like an hors d'oeuvre designed for the seriously hungry. This is a bread-based dish covered with scrumptious caramelized onions and swiss cheese. You could eat it as a small main course or a snack if your budget does not run to two courses. Prawns in garlic as a starter are a wow as well, if less enormous in proportion. Vegetarian options could do with more frequent changes; it would be more welcoming for regular veggie visitors if vegetarian options were featured on the "specials" board; a meat and a fish-eater, I usually opt for at least one item from the "specials" in order to add variation to a static main printed menu. The Cafe Rouge does one of the best creme brulees in Oxford, and the coffee is good. Only one minor grumble about this place. All the waiters ask you "how are you" as you arrive. I don't want to be asked this by anyone except close friends who expect a genuine answer. But it is clear that the staff mean well. And it is nice to be recognized in a restaurant which one visits only every six weeks or so.

May 1 Sep 2007

Horrible service, bland food. We waited over forty minutes for our mains; order came out wrong. Asked waiter to supply us with clean cutlery (my knife had food stuck to it). No replacement knife ever arrived but thirty minutes later the final main appeared - without apology. It was cold. When we asked for bill we found we were overcharged. The waiter added extra drinks to our bill that we didn't actually order or consume; we asked to speak to manager and were left waiting another 10 minutes (she was busy sorting out another set of very unhappy customers at a different table). Manager was abusive to staff and customer alike. A memorable occassion but for all the wrong reasons.

'A little bit of the best of France' on offer at the Oxford branch of this chain restaurant? Sorry but I don't think so. (describing a visit 2 years ago - won't venture back).

Ann 28 Jun 2007

Great location, nice place, excellent service, good starters but main dish (meat) really disappointing, disserts ok: so prices rather expensive I must say this place still needs some improvement.

Luigi M 15 Jun 2007

My friend and I went in to this restaurant on Saturday night mainly because I've enjoyed the menu so much in the past and, as a member of their birthday club, was also keen to get my complimentary bottle of champagne which they willingly obliged us with at the end as requested.

We found the waiters and waitresses very polite and helpful and really enjoyed our starters. But we were, however, very disappointed by the main course. We both had the Grande Steak and both had very sinewy, chewy meat which definitely wasn't worth the £14.95. We could have ate a lot better at home on this one I'm afraid. I don't think it has put me off Cafe Rouge totally but I won't be ordering the steak again! Sorry Cafe Rouge.

Jo 7 Jan 2007

The menus is tempting and the ambience is very French however lukewarm food and indifferent service made me vow to steer clear of this establishment in future. The waiters are the rudest in Oxford - it may be worth a visit to experience this!

Rachel 13 Aug 2006

With its location alongside Pierre Victoire, La Plaza and The Duke of Cambridge, Café Rouge is the sort of restaurant which really needs to set high standards in order not to be overlooked and, for the most part, I have found it to be a generally pleasant place for a meal. I have visited it on three occasions - twice on a Sunday lunchtime (where the clientele comprised mainly students out with their parents) and once on a Friday, where the place was packed with groups of friends and the odd couple enjoying the bustling atmosphere. With the beige and red interior, selection of ferns and French menu, for the duration of your meal you could almost be in a café somewhere more like Paris than Oxford.

Feeling rather peckish, my companion and I started by sharing a platter of baked breadsticks and 3 dips. These were fantastic and just about the right amount to whet our appetites for the main course. We opted for penne, with pesto and chicken and the bacon and cheese tarte which came with a portion of chips and a small salad (the dressing on which had been rather too generously applied!). I pronounced the penne to be nothing out of the ordinary, but the chicken which came on the side did provide a nice contrast, as opposed to being smothered in a sauce as it often comes. The tarte, chosen from a wide selection, suggesting something of a house special, was a little dry, and quite heavy on the stomach.

We washed down our meals with two glasses of wine from the extensive wine list, and finally greed got the better of me and I ordered a crepe with bananas and chocolate sauce and a side serving of vanilla ice cream. Unfortunately, I fear this may have suffered a small detour on its way between the kitchen and our table, as it was stone cold by the time it reached me, a good half an hour after it had been ordered. The total for a large and calorific lunch was just under £30, but given that the food was a little disappointing, and the service on my final visit was not really acceptable, this seemed less of a bargain than it might have been.

Victoria Head 8 Mar 2004