The Oxford Kitchen and Gastropub

Good food, lovely ambiance, cool place to take your friends.

We had an oxford mule, oxford gimlet, absolut tonic, Greek salad and hummus tofu for dinner. Good food and drinks, no complaints here! If you like feta cheese and acidic dressing, can't go wrong with a Greek salad!

Service could have been better, like more frequent and friendlier, but overall a pleasant dining experience. We'll return again when we're in the mood for cocktails and pub fare in Sunnyvale.

8/3/2024

The Oxford Kitchen and Gastropub
195 S Murphy Ave
Sunnyvale, CA 94086

I went there on a Saturday about 6 PM to try their version of fish and chips. It's at the south end of Murphy Ave which had a jazz band playing music for the many street diners. The adjacent city parking lots on Frances and Sunnyvale were full so I successfully tried the Caltrain structure on Evelyn, which happens to be free for the public after 6 PM.

The interior was dimly lit and had modern pub furnishings, there are two TV's at the bar. There is also outside seating. After promptly being seated inside, my server took my order and after about 15 minutes brought the Fish & Chips with condiment cups of ketchup, tartar sauce and malt vinegar. The lightly salted thick cut fries were crispy on the outside and soft and moist inside. The three hot Cod fillets had a crispy breading and the fish was moist and flaky.

The Fish N' Chips was excellent, met my expectations for UK style and one of the best in the area. Service was friendly, attentive and prompt. Although I was one of the few diners when I got there the place started filling up after 6:30. I will definitely repeat and also try the other British style pub dishes.

I absolutely love this place for brunch! I have no clue why everyone stands in line for sub-par brunch places when this one obviously rocks!

Every meal is a delight! The service is friendly with amazing ambiance reminiscent of British pubs. The food is mouthwateringly delicious! Highly recommend!

Date: Saturday, April 6th, 2024
Time: around 9:15pm
Party of: 4

*OF THE OLDER FASHION: Oxford blend of bourbons (bulliet, makers 46, knob creek, old grand dad 114), demerara, trinity bitters ($18) x2
*MANHATTAN: American whiskey blend, sweet vermouth, cherry bark vanilla bitters ($15)
*Alexander Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, CA ($17)
*Fries & Curry ($12)

Final stop on a day of birthday celebrations. Our group stopped by for one round before I headed home. We spotted The Oxford off the street and decided to check it out. Walked in and grabbed a high top in the bar area.

I got the manhattan. This was nice as I was drinking lighter alcohol all day. I'm definitely more of a dark girl. It was nicely balanced and great for sipping. Not too spirit forward from what I recall. I didn't try the fries, but they looked good. And I adore curry so I'm sure I would have enjoyed it if I tried.

I didn't stay long, but service was good. Maybe less than 30 mins. I'm normally the math person, so I wanted to pay the bill before I left. They were very quick and I was able to enjoy my drink and get everything paid and done before I left.

Great spot for a quick drink and snacks.

I'm so glad my cousin recommended we meet up here for lunch. I was worried they would be busy on a Friday - got there at 1pm and it was pretty empty. Good or bad? I think people don't realize the gem that's here and that they have a lunch menu similar to the dinner menu that's tailored for lunch crowd in terms of cost and size...

Cuz and I shared the roasted tomato soup, the chicken kebab & hummus with side order of scallion flat bread and the grilled pear and avocado salad.

First off - that ROASTED tomato soup! AMAZING - so full of flavor with a drizzle of basil and it came with a bread roll. I should of taken a picture of the bread roll opened up - it was so light and airy in the middle - a perfect vehicle for wiping up the delicious roasted tomato soup. I love tomato soup and when they roasted it - it pulls out the acidity and was deep in flavor without all that acid. THE BEST EVER!!! And did I mention that bread roll? Perfect texture - not heavy...

The grilled pear and avocado salad was refreshing, crunchy and delicious. It also include some slices of tomato and cucumber but I can't say the pear was grilled? It was like they chopped up pieces of pear and just added to the salad. Not complaining as it was still delicious but wasn't quite what I expected. I expect with grilled pear it'd be a bit softer and have more flavor but again - still delicious!! And that citrus dressing was PERFECT balance of light citrus flavor. I can't say I saw or tasted the "quinoa" that was supposedly in the salad but I can't say I missed it... wonder if it were those dots in the salad dressing?

The chicken kebab and hummus! That was a bit of a surprise. The chicken had flavor on it's own and that creamy silky hummus - when put on top of the scallion flatbread along with the chopped greens and tomatoes!! So good. Very subtle in flavor with lots of different textures!! Loved it!! I would order just the hummus if they had it along with the flatbread!

Service was nice and attentive - I think they were disappointed we didn't order drinks but hey - it was lunch time for us! LOL... maybe next time when we come during happy hour! I LOVE that they use stainless steel cups that keep the water cold. They provide cold water in a decanter at the table and will replace the decanter so that's helpful....

I honestly can't wait to go back and try their main courses - so many to choose from. May have to come back multiple times!! :)

TLDR: Excellent Tomato Soup

About 20 years ago, I visited London, and specifically tried their fish and chips. It was pretty greasy, but the fish inside was flaky. The "chips", which are really big steak potatoes, were crispy on the outside and mushy inside. I think the ones here in Oxford, does the dish justice. Here the fish is much thicker than I remember, and the batter is a bit thicker as well. But I liked them very much. They are still too greasy though. And I'm not fond of the vinegar. The entire dish is a bit too one note to be honest. I was hoping Oxford could do something more to elevate the dish. Bring it to the 21st century... something worthy of a gastropub. Or maybe I just watch too much Top Chef... :P

My wife LOVED the tomato soup however. She couldn't stop raving about it. I thought I finished my bowl... she asked for it and LITERALLY licked it clean. Then she told me, "Now THAT's a finished bowl". I'm not much of a soup guy, so I am relying on her expertise. I have never seen her act this way about a non-Chinese soup before, so this gotta be the best damn Tomato Soup in the Bay Area. For that reason alone, this place gets 4 stars.

We also ordered a Peach and Avocado Salad. It was ok. I really did enjoy the grilled peaches... However there weren't nearly enough of them. Also I think I would have preferred if the peaches were cut in bigger chunks, to REALLY get the grilled flavor in. As it was, you really only taste the vinegary dressing with rare sweet bombs (from the peaches).

The wait staff were friendly. There were several large tables when we came, but the service wasn't too slow. Again, without the soup, I think this place would be 3 stars. But the soup puts it over the top.

**Only rating drinks at the bar and service**

Came here once years and years ago, and I remember it being crowded and loud but having decent drinks.

I tried it again the other day, and I fell in love with the atmosphere and the service. Bartenders were very kind and it seems like they truly enjoy serving you, putting in care to make the drinks both taste good and look good.

Saw a lot of people coming in dressed up, some dressed casually, and singleton diners. You know a place is good when they're able to pull people of all contexts, even at 8 pm!

Looking forward to my next drink here, and maybe I'll try their food too!

Cool london booth to take pictures. I had Gnocchi pasta for lunch and it was really good. The server Sachin was also very polite & professional.

Overall a great experience.

Pub Together

We decided to celebrate Valentine's Day early and go out on the weekend, as opposed to the actual date when we're both working and exhausted. After a bit of searching, we came upon the Oxford here in Downtown Sunnyvale.

We found the Oxford intriguing, as they claim to be emulating a British-style pub, but the menu spanned mostly Asian and Indian cuisine. They also have a nice bar scene with a bevy of signature cocktails, wine, and beers--as well as a few of their own house brews on-tap.

The Good:

*Reservations available thru OpenTable

*Outdoor seating

*Great ambiance with fun but classy décor and lighting

*Daily happy hours, even on Saturdays.

*Cocktails are strong and delicious. After two, I practically had to carry Carissa to the car. :)

*And speaking of strong, their signature R2Brew2 Triple Black IPA packed a mean punch at 12%ABV. This beer is dangerous as one can hardly tell how strong it is, as it had a nice hoppy sweetness that masked its strength very well.

*Mamu Kibbeh (vegan?) was spicy, earthy, and tasted almost beefy from the mushroomy goodness inside. The concomitant sauces were also quite tasty and served as creamy and herby accompaniments.

*Shepherd's Pie was quite good; the creamy mashed taters on top had a nice crunchy crust, and the interior was packed full of lamb, carrots and peas. My one complaint was that it ate a bit dry, but otherwise nearly perfect.

*Carissa really enjoyed her Chicken Kebab & Quinoa Salad (which is really an app), and I took a few bites and approved of their smooth, tasty hummus and well-cooked chicken.

The Meh:

*While all the food was delicious, I felt like their menu was a bit all over the place. Almost like they have a bit of an identity crisis.

*And, speaking of menus, they really need to update the one on their website as it didn't reflect what we were handed at the time of our visit.

*Service was OK for the most part. They're not the friendliest lot, but hardly what I'd call grumpy. They were just kinda there and did their job with efficiency.

*Chocolate Banoffee was pretty good, but we both had a hard time tasting the banana and toffee, for that matter. It just ate like a rich chocolate torte, which isn't a bad thing, just not as advertised.

The Ugly:

*While we love Murphy Ave here in DT Sunnyvale, it can be a bit of a hassle finding parking. Luckily, we're old and like to eat early, so we had no issues. However, by the time we left, there were lots of cars circling the parking lots looking for spots

TLDR: Delicious food, a great atmosphere, fantastic drinks, and acceptable service makes this a great spot for a date night or a special occasion.

They usually have someone standing by the door to greet people as soon as they step in. The interior is pretty spacious and lots of lighting set up around, with big TVs at the bar if you're interested in the ongoing sports games.

We were informed that the oven was broken, and so some of the menu items were unavailable that night. The waiters/owner were pretty attentive, checked up on us a few times throughout the night and refilled water/drinks

Id say overall the food was good. I don't normally get british style food so it was a new experience for me. The mac n cheese bites were solid, but nothing special. I would probably order a different, more unique appetizer if i came back again.

The shepherds pie was pretty good and look aesthetically really nice. The top layer was an almost mashed potatoes, with crispy bits at the top. The under layer was minced meat (lamb i believe) with some various vegetables. Overall the flavors were really nice, however i would have preferred more bread or something else to pair the shepherds pie with.

Would recommend this place, if you're looking for british style food and because the owner/waiters were attentive and friendly