Eating Out & Places to Visit in Oxford and Chester

neverfullprice

We're hoping to visit Oxford and Chester later this year. Any suggestions for nice places to eat in and places of interest to visit gratefully received!

KeithP

Take a look here for Oxford...

http://www.visitoxford.org/see.asp

deva

I am from Chester so could give you details on most things but it would help if I knew if you were couple, family etc!
main attractions are the Zoo, Shopping, River, Walls of City and I would say pubs (the boot, the mill, telfords, marlbororough arma, bear and billet, brewery taps!)
Food wise there are many some dependent on cars but I have a few favourites including
The Red House http://www.redhousechester.com/
Siam http://www.siam-teppanyaki.co.uk/
Chez Jules http://www.chezjules.com/
the barn http://www.thebarncheshire.co.uk/
happy to answer any questions

deborahclaire31

I'd recommend both Siam and Chez Jules, Chez Jules does a great offer on a Tuesday night...three courses and half a bottle of wine for £15 but it gets very busy and you may have to wait for a table, Siam is a little more expensive but well worth it for the entertainment value...

Gal restaurant also does a good midweek deal and the food there was lovely, lol..i can't post a link but google GAL restaurant Chester and the website lists their offer menus

Shelle

Thanks for info re food in Chester.

We are staying for a week there very soon, staying very close to the centre and are looking for ideas for where to eat. We are not drinkers, so deals that include wine etc not so good for us, although they can be great for others!

Any more suggestions? Price wise, looking at main courses that are around the tenner mark. Preferably english, although it would be great to know if there are any good chinese buffet type restaurants around?

Also, any suggestions for lunches - ie sandwiches light snacks rather than meals?

StevieJ

For Chester
Love Chez Jules, cheap as chips and got a good reputation

For discussion and review of eating places
http://chesteratlarge.com/large/
And fantastic virtual tour around the city.
http://www.chesterwalls.info/chester.html

neverfullprice

Thanks, everyone, for some great suggestions!

deva: We're a couple who'll be taking along a pair of unenthusiastic 17 year olds!

Jelliebeen

Oxford:

To eat, there are plenty of chains such as Pizza Express, Tootsies (good burgers), Ask, Zizzi etc.

Cafe Coco near the train station is also good, family friendly and seems to do a bit of everything, It reallly does depend what kind of food you;re after. Al-Shami Lebanese restaurant in Walton Crescent is really good and the staff are great. Or, if you've got a car, it's worth the short drive to Sandford Lock and the King's Arms pub - really nice setting and good food: http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/pubs-bars-national/kings-arms/

Your teenagers will also appreciate G&D's ice-cream cafes. There are three to choose from and they all do great flavours!

Jelliebeen

Oh and you might also find the Daily Info website useful for planning activities and eating etc:

http://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/

Idiophreak

In terms of Oxford food:

The castle complex is pretty decent, hasla tasca, the living room, pizza express,carluccios, tootsies and a couple of other bits... las iguanos is just a short walk away.

In terms of non-chain places, I quite like the big bang on Walton Street - only does sausage and mash, but very tasty and they do some good jazz nights etc, so a bit different.

Some decent eateries on Walton Street toward Jericho, Loch Fyne, Petit Blanc and so on.

A bit further out of town, the Trout Inn at Godstow is one of my favourites - on the high side price wise (mains 10-15), but good for a nicer evening out, or great just to sit and have a drink in the summer.

Jamie Oliver's Italian on George Street is a "cut above" the other italian chains and not too much more costly...

What kinds of things are you looking to do in the daytimes?

neverfullprice

Thanks, Jelliebeen and Idiophreak. You're brilliant!

During the day we need to keep the teenagers happy ( one boy/one girl). They're at the "we're too cool to do that" sort of phase, so, I'm not too sure what we could do to make it a fun holiday for them but I'd like to try!