Welcome back to The Lifestyle Lowdown, where our brilliant team of editors offer up our words of wisdom on how best to spend your time and money in Oxford.
This week, we’re pointing you towards our favourite places to eat. With deadlines looming and social events to keep up with, eating for pleasure can often sink down the list of priorities at university, but there are so many incredible food spots in Oxford which we just don’t want you to miss out on! Take this as your sign to set aside a spare moment this week where you can treat yourself to something new and savour every bite.
Opera Café, Jericho
This vibrant, homely North African café is a veritable Jericho institution. As a Somerville student, it’s been on my doorstep for three years now and I’ve narrowed my menu selections down to a fine science.
The café’s claim to fame is their spicy chicken wrap, made special by the buttery, flaky msemen flatbread which is warmed to order. Last term I stood queueing in the lunchtime rush and listened as five people in the queue in front of me ordered the same wrap. If you struggle to handle spice, they do a delicious milder roast chicken version too.
However, what I love most about Opera Café is their amazing drinks menu, which boasts a selection of fresh and warming teas. In winter, there’s nothing more healing than the intense ginger punch packed by a steaming pot of their orange, lemon, ginger and honey tea. Or if you’re feeling indulgent, they serve the best Nutella hot chocolate I have ever tasted. Look out for seasonal drinks too — I still think about when I brought my mum last summer and she ordered a bright purple lavender lemonade.
An honourable mention should also go out to the café’s sweet treats. I’m most often tempted by the creamy burnt flavour of their Basque cheesecake or the understated richness of a pistachio cookie.
The space itself is well suited to socialise, work, or both — I was taken there by the Classicists in the year above me in college for a pep talk about my upcoming Mods exams. There’s light and lively indoor seating upstairs, a slightly gloomy basement, and best of all an enclosed outside courtyard. The best time to visit is as the sun is going down, when the translucent roof tiles filter and trap the golden light.
Izzy (she/her), Senior Editor for Lifestyle and a Classics and French student at Somerville. I’m most often spotted running somewhere late carrying a bubble tea, or curled up sheltering from the Hilary term cold and darkness with the Animal Crossing soundtrack.
Mr Wang Hot Pot, Gloucester Green
Hotpot is typically a communal dish; you get a massive pot of broth and share all the food you get, which can be very fun for small groups of close friends. However, it has its issues. Does one friend have dietary restrictions? What if one person wants it spicy and the other doesn’t? How do you split the bill? This mini hot pot establishment in Gloucester Green solves these problems, allowing everyone to make their own individual pot of delicious soup to eat.
This spot isn’t the cheapest, but compared to other hotpot restaurants it won’t break the bank, with prices ranging from £15-25 depending on how much you add to your soup. Since it’s self service, and you’re charged for the weight of all the meat and veggies together, you’re in control of how much you pay —though it is easy to underestimate how heavy your basket is.
Despite the fact that it isn’t traditional, all the flavors are excellent. With over 50 different ingredients to choose from and six different soup bases, you have the ability to create a delicious, hearty and wholesome meal however you like it. My favourite part of hotpot is making a nice spicy sesame dip to coat the ingredients of my meal with before I eat them, and since each dip ingredient (sesame sauce, chilli flakes, coriander etc.) is free, you’re able to spice up your experience however you like.
The atmosphere isn’t super warm, but it’s an excellent place to go with your friends for a celebratory meal on a cold day. I highly recommend giving it a go if you want a highly customisable experience, or are hesitant about trying a typical, full sized hot pot.
Lex (she/her). Avid philosopher and begrudging psychologist at St. Hilda’s. I’ve been with Lifestyle for a year now. You may find me wandering aimlessly around the city with takoyaki from Gloucester Green or working at my college bar. Or, more likely, I’m crashing out over my degree in my room.
LoveCoffee Co., High Street
Don’t have the budget to travel to Santorini, Mykonos, or Athens? Not to worry — you can taste the flavours of Greece on your Oxford doorstep for less than a train ticket to Heathrow. LoveCoffee Co., located on the High Street, serves delicious, traditional, high-quality Greek snacks, pastries and desserts. They import their ingredients directly from Thessaloniki, the food capital of Greece, and given that they bake their pastries fresh every day, visiting for a snack or sweet treat break is a must. I recommend the σπανακόπιτα (spanakanopita), a cheese-and-spinach pie which will satisfy any salty craving with its comforting aromas and a golden-crisp crust, and the πορτοκαλόπιτα (portokalopita), an orange syrup-soaked cake. As someone who despises anything orange-flavoured (Terry’s Chocolate Orange is a long-time antagonist of mine), the fact that portokalopita stands as my only exception to this particularity speaks for itself. And yes, you can trust me on this one — I’m Greek. If neither of these take your fancy, the baklava cheesecake offers a unique, somewhat experimental take on a Mediterranean classic and seems to be a firm favourite amongst my friends.
Ensure you complement your snacking with a ‘Freddo Cappuccino’: the infamous, COVID-19 era TikTok sensation mislabelled as ‘whipped coffee’. As the iconic form of iced coffee originating in Greece in the 1990s, decades before its popularisation on social media, LoveCoffee has mastered its creation. For those who neglected or willfully ignored online trends during that era (you’re notably stronger than me), the ‘Freddo Cappuccino’ consists of a double shot of espresso topped with thick, creamy goodness. It’s the kind of glossy froth which can be scooped up with your straw. Rich, velvety, deeply satisfying perfection.
Sophia (she/her), Junior Editor for Lifestyle and a Biochemistry student at Corpus. You can find me in the queue to buy cheese from the Covered Market for our Cheese Soc (6pm Saturday at Corpus, be there or be square xx) or in an unflattering lab coat with goggles.
Mukja, Gloucester Green Market
Corn dogs… I LOVE corn dogs. An amazing place to eat them here in Oxford is Mukja K-food stand in Gloucester Green! They offer many great flavours: sweet potato with half cheese and half sausage, classic full cheese, normal potato with full sausage, and all their possible combinations. The corn dogs are my go-to pick (if you couldn’t tell). They are typically fried right before your eyes, meaning the batter comes out satisfyingly crispy while the interior remains soft and doughy. It’s a contrasting, joyful experience in the mouth. If you want, you can sprinkle sugar on top to add a sweet edge which works great with either sausage or cheese inside. The ones with potato embedded in the crispy dough are surprisingly filling for what looks like only a ‘snack’, so be aware if you already have other food on the side.
If you are one with a large appetite, I highly recommend getting a kimbap. They offer a veggie option which, again, is surprisingly filling and unsurprisingly tasty and fresh. Salty seaweed compliments the savoury taste of the sesame oil and seeds, which is balanced by the cool taste of the vegetables inside and further complimented by the texture of the rice. Bring your veggie friends, they’ll thank you later.
David (he/they), Junior Editor for Lifestyles and Chemist at LMH. Likely eating a Korean corndog while avoiding going back to the library. Huge enjoyer of just seeing where the day takes me.