The Rusty Bicycle — Restaurant in Oxford

Visited The Rusty Bicycle on Saturday with my husband and our 22 month old son. Upon arrival we were greeted by a lovely girl who explained that the only tables available at that point were not under cover, but as soon as tables under cover become available we can move to one of them. It was not an issue for us, as shortly table in the corner became available. We were super excited for our visit, as absolutely love Rusty’s burgers and have been huge fans for a very long time, so for us to visit in person was great. However shortly before moving to the table at the corner a staff member came over and quite rudely announced that table has been booked for 17:30 (time at that point was before 17:00), we were planning to place an order for burgers that come on the menu at 17:00. My husband asked if it would be possible to move the 17:30 reservation in the pod (literally next to our table)- we would have moved there ourselves, but it’s impossible to fit the pram or highchair in these, and as we had our son with us this was not an option. The guy said he will go and check if this is possible. Shortly afterwards a blonde girl came over and in very rude manner slammed her hand on the table and said to us that customers for 17:30 specifically reserved this table for their reservation. We kindly explained to her again that it’s impossible to fit in highchair in the pod, but she was having none of it and just left. We were considering to leave at that point, but table next to us kindly offered to move to the pod, so we could have their table, this was such an amazing gesture, thanks to them we were able to stay. At that point I was trying to make a food order as time was past 17:00, but burgers went back on menu not at 17:00, but about 17:10 and again not full menu was offered, chips were still missing and we lost time again looking for member of staff and alerting them of this issue to. Anyway finally we got our food, however then the nightmare continued, we were reminded numerous times that table we are now sitting is reserved for 18:00. (I will not mention that the 17:30 reservation who specifically asked for our previous table, NEVER turned up). I asked if it would be possible for the next costumers to have a different table (there were now 4 available tables) and yet again we were told no. So we ended leaving our sons pizza and chips on the table, as felt like being literally kicked out of the pub (there was a girl standing with empty food box and looking at us).The lesson for staff to learn here- you got to be be more flexible, if there are 4 available tables, ok all for example reserved for 18:00, play around with them, we were 10min away from finishing our food, but made to leave. Even though the 18:00 (the ones who had turned up) could have had one of the 4 other available tables. This was such a shame really as we are great lovers of this pub, and always in past had an amazing experience. Another thing to mention- only one option on kids menu- pizza. You used to do amazing kids burgers, I would suggest adding them back for the little people. More flexibility during these uncertain times is definitely needed and please consider children more, perhaps more staff training needed here. However massive thanks to the two staff members who brought our son a sweet. On another note food was excellent as always, just a shame we were not able...

Those like myself who live or work on Magdalen Road in East Oxford know we’ve lucked into a culinary renaissance. First it was Magdalen Arms, which notched up a 10/10 in the Guardian and remains unabashedly gastro (and in my opinion incredibly good value for world-class fare). Next it was OxFork (sadly gone to the creative eatery space in the sky). And now of course Oli’s Thai which I MUST review separately (nutshell: the hype is well placed, this is a walk-over-broken-glass league of eatery). But guess what? Amid this formidable bunch (and I haven’t mentioned Magic Cafe which is probably my favourite of the lot) the Rusty Bicycle very much holds the side up. This is a pub you want to be in. And it shows. You’re lucky if you find an easy shot at a table. Not only is the vibe Just Right (for this deeply middle aged reviewer anyway but apparently also for the education-sector’s clientele) but the brews are suitably varied and delightful and the fare is pitch-perfect. I recommend the vegetarian options not excluding the Mushroom Man. On my most recent visit (talking shop in the quiet pub garden) I had a feature salad which was just perfect —- delicious, healthy and filling. Our cup...

Visited the Rusty Bicycle with my girlfriend last night as we had been meaning to sample the delightful food here for some time prior to the epidemic. I have to say we were greeted with great welcome from the host outside of the restaurant and the safety procedures well though out. However, prior to being seated we were asked if we could share a table with another set of 2 people; normally I would be fine with this but given the current social distancing measures this was not okay. The distance between both groups would be