Quod, Oxford

Eating late is harder then you think, if you want to actually dine rather than, say, loiter with intent outside a kebab van.

Exacerbating the problem was the fact that we were trussed up like turkeys in our Sunday best, having just been to the closing catwalk show of Oxford Fashion Week and therefore needed to go somewhere we would at least blend in.

So I rang Quod, who said that although I couldn’t book because the restaurant was full, we could come down and they were sure they could fit us in eventually.

It was a beautiful autumnal evening and mercifully it wasn’t raining as we picked our way perilously from the Natural History Museum and paraded past the Radcliffe Camera and The Sheldonian, The Bodleian, Oxford looking its best to out-of-town guests as we led the way to the High Street.

Quod was lit up in front of us, full of its usual exotic and eclectic clientele, all enjoying themselves through the glass walled frontage, no one batting an eyelid as we proceeded through the packed restaurant and bar in black tie, immediately immersing us in its bonhomie.

Seated next to a girl’s large birthday party coming to the end of their evening, we fitted in perfectly, and with last orders running until 11pm were in plenty of time to fit supper in before the next party kicked off at TVC over the road.

I hadn’t been to Quod for a while and the menu had changed significantly, making it more of a communal experience. It’s also one you can dip in and out of; light, fun dishes such as pasta and pizza for those not wanting anything too formal, roast guinea fowl and confit duck leg for those who do.

We ordered starters – game terrine, avocado vinaigrette and the twice-baked cheese souffle with figs and walnuts, not realising how hungry we were until the food arrived, meaning it disappeared in an indecently short time. The cheese souffle won best dish, the avocado needing more dressing and some seasoning.

Wanting something pretty quick we opted for the new ‘pizza metro’, which is half a metre long and stretches the entire width of the table. It comes in three sections, like an old fashioned Quattro Formaggi but rectangular in shape, adorned with the three of five pizza toppings on offer. We went for a good old margherita, the spicy Italian sausage with red peppers and the pungent anchovy, olive, capers and chilli. It arrived swiftly and was comedically large, leaving us frantically trying to making room for it on our table.

It’s such a fun way to eat though, and we accompanied it with a side order of salad and one of chips and got well stuck in. Chopping and changing, trying a slice of this and that, it was like being at a buffet and standing next to the food table, or is that just me?

The bill with two bottles of wine was £130, around £40 a head, but considering our strict criteria, Quod did us proud.

When you pop in unannounced, late, dressed up and hungry, it ticks all the boxes.

Quod is at 92-94 High Street, Oxford.
Call 01865 202505

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