Wednesday, 11 September 2013

Maxwell’s: City Centre, Oxford

Maxwell’s

Date of Visit: 7th September 2013

Ambience
This restaurant is located in the heart of the city, in between shops on the main stretch of shopping ville.  We didn’t quite know what we were letting ourselves in for since you had to walk up a flight of stairs before you reach the restaurant.  As soon as we entered, the first impression was “student dig” – it reminded me a lot of Belushi’s in London.  It had very dim lighting and the whole place was set out like a student hide out: big serving area in the bar with shoulder height walls separating the bar area from the rest of the venue and tables dotted around the side.

This didn’t put us off as I had missed lunch and was starving by 5pm so it was intended for a quick snack before heading back to London.

Food
I tried a cocktail called “kiss me quick” which was essentially Malibu and apple juice and an oreo milkshake – both were ok but Malibu and pineapple is much better :)

As for food, all I had was half a rack of BBQ ribs which was served with coleslaw and Cajun chips.  I didn’t have high expectations at all but I had a feeling I made the right choice when two tables near us was served ribs too (I figured it was a popular choice as there were plenty of other things on the menu for people to choose from).  Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised that the meat was soft and almost fell off the bone with ease.  The Cajun spice sprinkled on the fries made a difference and overall, it was pretty good.



Service
No issues at all; service was quick, responsive and friendly.

Summary

Well, it has to be a thumbs down for ambience but a thumbs up for the food.  With that said, I’d say it’s ok for a casual meet-up but I would avoid it if you wanted a “nice meal out”.  I think that says it all really.

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