February 7, 2007
In Oxford, a city full of eye-grabbing architecture, you are spoilt for choice as to the most picturesque place to eat your dinner. A converted chapel, a medieval grade II listed building, a former prison complex or boathouse, anyone? Gee's is a glitzy alternative: a chandelier-lit Victorian greenhouse sparkling on the northern edge of the city centre, hard to miss as you ride up Banbury Road out of town.
As mentioned already on this page, though the venue broadcasts some of its special qualities from the street, once inside there is also an attractive and art-filled bar, pretty spotlighting and fresh flowers at the tables and, on Sundays from 8pm, smooth live jazz with your steak (the steak, incidentally, being as good as you'll get in any of Oxford's top five restaurants or beyond, and currently served in a green peppercorn sauce). Plonk yourself down on the banquette seating (though wrap up warm if you're doing this at night in winter) and prepare yourself for attentive yet unobtrusive service, fine contemporary British cuisine and smart dining companions.
The wine list really is as extensive as Gee's make out on their website, but be careful, as choosing wine well still requires either a special skill or an indifference to your bank balance. Cocktails in the bar afterward are also of the London bar price rather than the Oxford bar price, and in general, expect to pay a couple of pounds more per starter or main than you might do elsewhere. Whilst the menu is not vastly extensive or surprise-laden (the trend for 'contemporary British' seeming to lend itself to a certain similarity of menu across Oxford's top-end venues at the moment), the dishes are reliably tasty (though I wasn't convinced by the supposedly 'fluffy' crab beignets, which felt a little too heavy and too much for a starter, my sea bass on langoustine risotto and fennel was a successful riot of flavours – though bring a toothpick for the fennel) and well-executed, with a good deal of care obviously going into presentation as well as production and selection of fine ingredients (again, see below). My Argentinian Pinot Gris complemented both parts of my fish dinner well, and whilst I might have done better choosing the intriguing parsnip ice cream for dessert (has someone been watching Heston Blumenthal?) instead of the absurdly filling crème brûlée, I somehow still managed to fit it all in (whilst making a mental note to eat less of their delicious fresh walnut bread first next time).
After dinner, if you can still move, you can treat yourself by adjourning in a civilised fashion for a Cuban cigar, port plate (£8.50 for a selection of 3 x 35ml), cocktail or plain old coffee in the small bar. For return visits, you have several options, including traditional roast at Sunday lunchtime (actually, until 10pm; two courses for £20 or three for £24) and express lunch/pre-theatre dinner during the week (two courses £15, or three for £19ish). Gee's in the summer too is a whole new experience - perhaps one day they will establish the huge exotic plants which would provide the final icing on the cake.
As mentioned already on this page, though the venue broadcasts some of its special qualities from the street, once inside there is also an attractive and art-filled bar, pretty spotlighting and fresh flowers at the tables and, on Sundays from 8pm, smooth live jazz with your steak (the steak, incidentally, being as good as you'll get in any of Oxford's top five restaurants or beyond, and currently served in a green peppercorn sauce). Plonk yourself down on the banquette seating (though wrap up warm if you're doing this at night in winter) and prepare yourself for attentive yet unobtrusive service, fine contemporary British cuisine and smart dining companions.
The wine list really is as extensive as Gee's make out on their website, but be careful, as choosing wine well still requires either a special skill or an indifference to your bank balance. Cocktails in the bar afterward are also of the London bar price rather than the Oxford bar price, and in general, expect to pay a couple of pounds more per starter or main than you might do elsewhere. Whilst the menu is not vastly extensive or surprise-laden (the trend for 'contemporary British' seeming to lend itself to a certain similarity of menu across Oxford's top-end venues at the moment), the dishes are reliably tasty (though I wasn't convinced by the supposedly 'fluffy' crab beignets, which felt a little too heavy and too much for a starter, my sea bass on langoustine risotto and fennel was a successful riot of flavours – though bring a toothpick for the fennel) and well-executed, with a good deal of care obviously going into presentation as well as production and selection of fine ingredients (again, see below). My Argentinian Pinot Gris complemented both parts of my fish dinner well, and whilst I might have done better choosing the intriguing parsnip ice cream for dessert (has someone been watching Heston Blumenthal?) instead of the absurdly filling crème brûlée, I somehow still managed to fit it all in (whilst making a mental note to eat less of their delicious fresh walnut bread first next time).
After dinner, if you can still move, you can treat yourself by adjourning in a civilised fashion for a Cuban cigar, port plate (£8.50 for a selection of 3 x 35ml), cocktail or plain old coffee in the small bar. For return visits, you have several options, including traditional roast at Sunday lunchtime (actually, until 10pm; two courses for £20 or three for £24) and express lunch/pre-theatre dinner during the week (two courses £15, or three for £19ish). Gee's in the summer too is a whole new experience - perhaps one day they will establish the huge exotic plants which would provide the final icing on the cake.