The Anchor — Restaurant in Oxford

wanted to like this place, I really, really did. Made same day reservations for a Saturday evening dinner. Bottom line, okay but overpriced food, combined with a limited, rather unimaginative menu and terrible service, means I won't be returning and can't recommend the Anchor. Read on if you want details.

Arrived a few minutes early and were promptly seated at our choice of table. A different waitress came to take our order, rather quickly. We gave her our drink order (a cider and beer) and asked for a few more minutes for food. An appropriate time later another waiter came by to ask for our drink order, we advised him we had already given our drink order to the waitress but repeated it, and told him our food order. We asked to start off with the small charcuterie platter, while I would have lamb and the wife would have the risotto.

A significant time goes by and we finally get our drinks. Then, a few minutes later, the main course comes out. They had forgotten the starter. The waiter left the table before we had a chance to put a wine order in or ask about the charcuterie. We started on our dishes, though. The risotto was good, and the lamb wasn't bad but was completely overpowered by the onion in the dish. Time continued to pass with our empty dishes on the table, our attempts to flag down the waitstaff failing repeatedly until finally one decided to stop by and quickly remove our dishes. We asked for the puddings menu, which he brought out a few minutes later. We planned on after dinner tea, but over 20 minutes went by without anyone stopping by. We were on the verge of leaving a 20 on the table and just leaving when finally we were able to get the attention of another waitress. We said forget it to the after dinner drinks and just asked...

Came for a Sunday lunch. The service and atmosphere was fine. Nicely decorated. However as roasts go this was not it. I had the chicken roast. The chicken breast portion was cooked well, but it wasn’t the nicest piece of chicken, the white tenderloin was left in, which is hard not pleasant, it was also rather fatty in parts. The gravy was nice I will give credit. The roast potatoes being the part that makes me the most unhappy. More anaemic than an Irish man in Barbados. I feel so strongly about roasties getting the justice they deserve that I’m a bit annoyed😂 They were steamed more than roasted. The rest of the veg was cooked ok… a bit soggy and could have done with more time in the oven. Also could do with some god dam seasoning. This is the reason we get bantered by other countries about our cuisine. I get the fact you get gravy but flooding a plate with gravy isn’t tasteful. To summarise food was alright, but not great. Gravy was nice. Well presented but under cooked and under seasoned. The other meals purchased were cooked fine aswell but nothing great. The vegan burger apparently was good, didn’t taste...

A top-tier burger. Unpretentiously called a cheeseburger. No frills. They know what they want in a burger and they deliver it. Excellent first couple of bites. I'm pleased I chose the Dijon mustard and not my usual ketchup (I may have been converted). Splendiferous salty patty. Slight runniness of juice but no major problem there. Very pleasing handfeel. I literally didn't want to put it down. Let down by uncrisp chips (they literally waved at you) and a slightly dry toasted bun (not up to The Perch's admittedly high benchmark). Also not enough crunch. Jolly good meal alongside the scotch egg, though: a very impressive haggis specimen. My only quibble is lack of warmth. That would really push it towards perfection. Cuts exceedingly well. Nice unround shape - frankly egg-like. Superb runny yolk. Pleasing mouthfeel (apart from the unwarmth). Nevertheless a most...