I do find that I tend to feel favourably towards venues that have a real tree growing through their dining room. In this respect Branca makes an excellent start.
The medium-sized Jericho restaurant is larger than you might initially think, stretching far back from Walton Street, with a pretty outdoor courtyard tacked onto the back corner. Our party of four was easily accommodated without a reservation on a balmy Wednesday evening, and seated towards the back of the bright and roomy restaurant. The tables weren’t too crowded together, though there was rather a lot of clutter on the table to peer around, including a lovely but unnecessarily-large granite cutlery pot, candle, condiments and a menu that should have been removed. The place was half-full with a chatty and lively atmosphere, though I suspect at weekend capacity the acoustics might make it a bit shouty.
Menus, water and warm rosemary focaccia were brought promptly by the friendly waiter, who was more than happy to come back numerous times when we were still undecided in our menu choices. The bread really was delicious, not too oily as is easily done, and served with big saucer of light olive oil and tangy balsamic for dipping or soaking.
The menu offers standard Italian-leaning brasserie fare, and was put together with thought and care about ten years ago. It’s all still good, but seriously, all these dishes have been on the Branca menu forever. If it ain’t broke I suppose, but some more contemporary imagination might be nice. There are a couple of pasta dishes, two risottos, a few pizzas and then a dozen or so meat and fish dishes. If you were to guess the starters you’d probably get them right too; squid, king prawns, bruschetta, pâté.
After first ordering the interesting-sounding duck breast with crispy gnocchi, curly kale and balsamic jus, I was disappointed to be told that by mid-week early evening they had already run out. Three of us ended up going for pasta mains, two from the menu and one from the board, and the fourth member ordered the butternut squash risotto. I have to say the pasta was excellent. Clearly homemade and perfectly al dente, we were all pleased with our choices. The special of tagliatelle with smoked salmon, cucumber ribbons, horseradish and dill worked really well, the cucumber adding crunch and the horseradish a peppery bite.
The linguine with tiger prawns, pistachio, rocket, chilli and lemon also went down very well. It’s a well-worn combination, but executed well, if a little watery overall, and the pistachio was particularly praised as interesting as relevant. 
There weren’t too many veggie options for our companion who is that way inclined, but the tagliatelle with chestnut mushrooms, spinach, cream and soft windrush valley goats cheese was very enthusiastically received. Described as tasty and deliciously thick and creamy, the dish was well-peppered and relievingly not over-spinached. After a late burrito lunch, the smaller portion size chosen looked generous and was apparently ideal.
The risotto was the disappointment of the quartet. Just a bit bland and uninspiring.
Our mains were in the lower half of the menu price range that starts at around £12 for pasta or pizza, rising to £23 for the steak. The accompanying special sauvignon blanc was decent, if a little tart, and averagely priced.
Empty plates say a lot and we were overall satisfied with the food, though there’s certainly room for a menu update here. Branca is probably friendlier, less rushed and more interesting than a local brasserie equivalent like Quod, in what is an underwhelming genre market in Oxford. I’d say lunchtime on the sunny patio with a small plate of the day’s special would probably provide best value and feel a little extra special. Interestingly they’ve now signed up with Deliveroo home delivery service, so if you live in the central or North Oxford areas you can now get a limited menu delivered to your door. I’d be interested in knowing how well a rare rump steak travels.
