Turf Tavern — Restaurant in Oxford

Visited on Sunday the 13th April 2025. Great location and old school vibes. Food was reasonably good but certainly not anything amazing by British Sunday Pub Roast standards. Prices about par for a city centre and, considering it's Oxford, they are certainly not outrageous. Honestly, I quite liked the place. Staff generally all great but had a really bad experience with a younger American gentleman working there who gave us some surprising attitude. Booked a table beforehand and it was available for us as arranged but was really quite small given the number of our group (we mentioned the group size when booking). No problem, we were flexible and it was also the case that there was another table available nearby. When we asked if we could just add a chair on the end of the 'new choice' table the young guy flatly refused in a rude way, mentioning a fire exit....okay, fair enough. We then asked if we could just push up the free single table next to ours instead and he replied that was not possible as the other table was reserved saying 'You can either take this or that' (referring to the original table which was too small or the new table) ...wow! Had I not been there with my wife, guests and son, I would have had to have a very stern word with him, however I decided to take the higher ground. He badly needs some training. The sign on that reserved single table clearly showed 3:30pm but this was midday so they didn't need the single table for another 3 1/2 hours, it was an easy request to facilitate, and so the other servers/waiting staff easily agreed to us doing so. the other staff were lovely. No other problems. I usually only leave mostly positive reviews but really felt quite taken aback on this point. Agree with the other reviewers who have stated the ordering is really a bigger issue than the owners might realise. Several customers (complete strangers to me) were all heard saying the same. Literally waiting ages as the whole customer base queues around the tiny main bar (with people squeezing the already tiny spot into a smaller one coming through the main door) to eventually meet with one guy taking an order for every single drink and food item for a large group several rooms away as he operates his one screen till loudly stating to the whole line of us 'I'm not very good with this, just hang on a minute' is neither effective nor confidence inspiring. I know the owners will say 'there's an app if you just scan this QR code' etc but a lot of people really do not wish to do that, especially in a post covid context and there were nearly ten servers standing around bunched up near our table doing nothing presumably getting paid anyway so the attempt to run this alternative modern 'app based' system really missed the mark and the point (especially given the classic, cramped old British pub layout). Also do not agree with the owner's response to a similar complaint on this point made by some nice American customers whereby the answer for them was along the lines of 'this is normal for UK pubs'....if that were true, there wouldn't have been so many surprised British customers left...

We generally enjoyed our lunch here, with the rich history of the establishment differentiating the experience from a typical pub or tavern experience. Food was fairly good, but inconsistent and not necessarily remarkable, and service was fine if not a bit inconvenient.

When we entered on a late weekday afternoon, it was quite busy and you had to hunt for an open table which took about 15 mins. Once you're sat, it isn't immediately clear that there is actually no table service; you have to go back to the front of the restaurant at the bar, wait in line, and order your food and drinks from two separate people. The food gets delivered to your table later, like a fast casual restaurant. A bit bizarre and not a very efficient experience, and wholly unintuitive which is poor especially considering the place is frequented by first time visitors.

We started with the Loaded Nachos (Home fried nachos topped with nacho cheese sauce & 1833 Barber’s Vintage Cheddar, guacamole, sour cream, pickled red onions and sliced red chilies) and they were disappointing. Nothing distinctive about any of the flavors, and oddly proportioned and thinly so for the vital ingredient for "loaded" nachos. We left most of it on the plate.

As for the entrees, I enjoyed my house tavern burger overall (glazed linseed bun, aged beef burger, crispy confit pork belly, apple BBQ sauce, drenched in burger cheese sauce and pickled red onion. Served with house seasoned fries and East Coast IPA BBQ relish) though it did not live up to the promise of the extravagant ingredients and could have been juicier.

My niece enjoyed the Vintage Cheddar Mac & Cheese (With 1833 Barber’s Vintage Cheddar) and said it was one of the better she's had.

My daughter found the size of the fish from the fish and chips a bit intimidating but enjoyed what she tried. BTW, they list a kid menu on the web site but remarked they haven't had a kids menu available for a while.

The fries were great.

The Bloody Mary was utterly disappointing, just watery and flavorless. For comparison, the one at Dishoom in Kensington is superb.

If you go here for the ambience, you'll enjoy the experience I trust, but your mileage will vary with the food and customer-unfriendly...

Fair prices for drinks. We came here because it was touted as a not-to-be-missed when in Oxford.

Food was okay, the mash potato in the Bangers and Mash was incredibly thick. Prices were again, okay but on the higher end for pub-food.

The wait for the bar was a little bit excruciating. Especially when it was nearing the time for the kitchen to close. Some most drinks were also not available to order on the app, hence we had to order at the bar. (E.g., Hazy Lager, Butterbeer, some other ales)

I was in line for about 10 minutes before I was 2nd in line where staff asked me very politely if I minded if some customers behind me were served first to ensure their food orders were put in before the kitchen closed (as i was only ordering drinks). It's hard to decline when three parties behind you in the queue are waiting for you to answer, without sounding like an (censored). Luckily, another staff member took my drink order. While I'm sure staff were doing their best for all customers, this left me rather annoyed having patiently waited in line for drinks since there was only 1 till.

Not worth the hype in our experience unfortunately.

Better food and drinks available in other areas in Oxford, I suppose unfortunately if you become popular, the top-notch service and food as advertised falters.

Pea soup was the highlight, very yummy.

Butterbeer was almost room temperature and extremely...