Moya — Restaurant in Oxford

Oh well, if I can give a 0 star if I could.

The attitude. The old English guy was literally saying Slovakian food is very different than Czech food when my fiancee was showing him a picture of what she wanted. In the end, because of he insisted, my fiancee didn't ordered the food she wanted. Well, my fiancee is a Czech, and she knows there is not too much difference. Has he ever heard of Czechoslovakia? And why would he even trying to correct an ACTUAL CZECH who knows the food more than him?

Flavour. I'm Chinese, I was seeking for a high expectation on flavours and texture. But oh god, IT HAS NO TASTE and it's far different than the original slovkian one, don't argue with me, my mother in-law is from Slovakia and she is a chef. I ordered Goulash, should be more salty as people use dumpling to dip and eat, dumpling has no flavour that's why you should make it saltier. TEXTURE wise: well, the meat, ughhh, did you marinate it or not? Beef looks like small strips, chewy like paper. Well, I sincerely suggest your chef to try and put some salt and corn flour plus egg white on the meat when marinating the meat. Then it would be soft, literally soft.

Portion, I really don't like the portion. Small, goulash is supposed to be served with 4 dumplings instead of 3. And the beef portion is way too small.

Service. No one come to ask how's the food. NO ONE. Until we pay the bill, and they saw us didn't finish the food.

I suppose a Slovakian restaurant at least should have some Slovakian or Czech people work in there but no. It's like you go to a Chinese restaurant and there is a Boris Johnson saying what would you like to have today. Disgrace, I'm really not happy about that! If you are English cook your own fish and chips. Don't make the food from other countries, because it will ended up as I'm typing the bad reviews. YOU ARE DESTROY THE REPUTATION OF THE FOOD FROM...

My partner had long been attempting to persuade me to try "Eastern European restaurant" Moya. Not my kind of thing, I'd thought, all those hearty dishes would surely be far better suited to a cold wintry night than an early spring, then midsummer evening. However, unlike Google, which focuses on the food, Moya actually styles itself as a "Slovak restaurant and (importantly) cocktail bar" which sounds far more interesting! So we booked.

Arriving on the dot of 5.30pm (which is when Moya opens) turns out to have been a pretty good move; it ensured maximum benefit from the happy hour cocktail prices and meant we could try two each (for the record, my "breakfast" martini was pretty awesome).

As for the food, I can thoroughly recommend any of the four dishes I tasted, from my (fat, juicy, tiger) prawn salad starter, via an absolutely brilliant "halušky" (teeny baby dumplings) with sauerkraut (also mine), my partner's confit duck (spicy red cabbage, creamy, garlicky gratin potatoes) all the way through to a proper pudding (ostensibly to soak up the alcohol). Said pudding was definitely hearty (we shared); a vast pallid dumpling, stuffed with plums (er, prunes) and damson jam and generously coated (swimming in) sweet, buttery, poppyseedy loveliness. Unfortunately we had to abandon the idea of a postprandial coffee as our bus was suddenly due and we had to race off to catch it. But no matter.

It's perfectly ok to rock up, park yourself at the bar and focus on cocktails-and-nibbles (another time perhaps - although that would mean passing up the opportunity to work our way through the remaining dishes on the menu). Otherwise book a table, get there early...

Moya is a charming and sophisticated restaurant in Oxford. All the staff were extremely friendly and personable, chatting to us about the food and drinks while also getting to know us. Our server Milena was lovely and really looked after us. The Eastern European cuisine was excellent and is a unique find in the city. We ordered the mushroom dumplings, and tender duck that fell off the bone, with sides of gratin and sauerkraut. It was so delicious that we also had to try the fruit dumpling and bubble cake for dessert. We paired this with a light and floral dessert wine and finished it off with a flavourful espresso. Our only regret was not ordering any appetizers too! Whether you’re visiting Oxford for the first time or a long time resident, you must try this restaurant. You may even receive an added bonus if you visit late in the evening as you might spot a professor mulling over some paperwork alongside a glass of wine. We give it 5 stars for the food, staff,...