Is it just me, or is people-watching the most over-rated element of eating out since smoked salmon?

It can sometimes be fascinating to gaze at the tide of humanity as you nibble away, but if you're choosing to do so in George Street, there's precious little of interest to record.

The Slug and Lettuce has vast picture windows. Yet all the average customer is likely to view through them, apart from the Old Fire Station, is the slow shuffle of sightseers clutching shopping bags. And, unless you're the vain sort that adores being an object of interest, it's disconcerting to be gawped at in turn from the street.

That said, the Slug and Lettuce is by no means an uncomfortable place to unwind, being cool and spacious, with plenty of seating - upstairs, as well as in the bar area.

This place used to be Yates's, a brand irredeemably associated with 'chavs' and Stella-fuelled excess.

Now it's got more in common with All Bar One - there's even Krug Champagne on sale at £99.95 a bottle, for heaven's sake, as if anyone's going to buy that. There weren't many people in the Slug and Lettuce on Sunday afternoon, and none looked remotely like chavs; my fellow diners included a Spanish-speaking family with a baby, young people browsing newspapers and a few middle-aged customers.

WHAT DID YOU ORDER?

Like a growing number of pubs in Oxford, the Slug has the excellent Fruli strawberry beer on tap. I plumped for a pint of this luscious beverage, which was as refreshing as it was expensive. The Goan king prawn curry caught my eye, so I asked for it with a side order of wasabi tempura vegetables - thinking that this would pose a challenge for a pub chain that has yet to win over the sceptics.

WHAT DID YOU THINK?

The food arrived within a few minutes. The side order was considerably larger than I'd expected - the bowl was the same size as the one containing the curry, and it was full.

It has to be said that, while tasty, the tempura batter was rather heavy and there was little evidence of the famously fiery wasabi, but for £1.95 the dish was excellent value - especially when an allegedly 'large' serving of chips and garlic mayo would have set me back £3.45.

The curry was mild, as the menu had stated, with only a handful of bulky prawns in a lagoon of thick sauce and sour cream. I'd not been provided with a spoon (a strange oversight, perhaps) but managed to mop up the sauce with the aid of the chipati and pilau rice that came with the course - the aromatic rice being of such a vivid yellow, it could have frightened a small child with a sensitive disposition.

Once I'd polished off the Fruli beer, I had little appetite for a dessert, but the selection offered was less than inspiring anyway: ice cream and apple tart were among the mundane sweet dishes on the menu. However, at least there was a buy-one-get-one-free deal on puds.

AND THE SERVICE AND MUSIC?

The service was amiable and polite. The music segued between upbeat jazz and disposable pop.

VERDICT: The Slug and Lettuce isn't cheap and the food is on the average side of good. But it's handy, smart and better than its predecessor.

THE BILL: Prawn curry £8.75; Pint Fruli beer £3.90; Tempura veg £1.95. TOTAL £14.60