Reviews - The Black Boy Oxford
Reviews
8.6of 10
Ratings and reviews can only be left by guests who have booked with TheFork.
HELEN H. • 1 review
17 November 2024
3.5/10We went on a Sunday and being a pescitarian I ordered the Salmon with crushed new potatoes and brocoli but when it came out it was Salmon on a bed of slushy rice, I called the waitress over and said that was not what was on the menu she took it away then came back and said oh sorry that's what we serve in the week. I waited 10 minutes whilst the rest of the table had got their food and were eating. When my plate was returned, it came with roast potatoes and brocoli. It was awful and not what I ordered. No apology given, so I will definitely not be returning or recommending. Very dissapointed as was told it was amazing.
Carolyn N. • 1 review
14 November 2024
8/10The squid starter seemed quite small for £9, the camonbert starter was really good value. All the food was delicious. We were not rushed. The wine was good too.
Joe F. • 4 reviews
10 November 2024
8/10Great food but not a lot of ambience
Nancy K. • 4 reviews
21 October 2024
6/10Food was fine, but why the service is so slow in a restaurant with only four occupied tables is a mystery.
Andy O. • 9 reviews
16 October 2024
9.5/10A welcome return to a cherished place for us, and a pleasure to introduce it to an old friend. Excellent food in convivial surroundings.
Linda H. • 1 review
30 September 2024
9.5/10Excellent food and service
Gerry H. • 1 review
29 September 2024
9/10Great place for Sunday lunch with the family
Tracey C. • 1 review
21 September 2024
10/10Lovely pub. Great food including vegan options.
Wendy W. • 1 review
15 September 2024
9/10The baked salmon with samphire and risotto was absolutely delicious
Nancy K. • 4 reviews
7 September 2024
6.5/10A friendly welcome, even to our miniature schnauzer, who was greeted with snacks and a waterbowl. Sadly, slow service for the humans followed, even in a nearly empty restaurant, all be it of delicious food.
Susan N. • 8 reviews
4 September 2024
8.5/10The service is welcoming and friendly, it makes it. I had steak and chunky chips and I was in heaven!!!
Christine C. • 1 review
23 August 2024
10/10Our party had 4 different meals and we all thought they were excellent. Well presented and the service was very good. Will definitely be visiting the Black Boy again.
Paul R. • 3 reviews
21 August 2024
7.5/10Nice place, lovely old building. Nice food and service but not great.
Susan N. • 8 reviews
31 July 2024
7.5/10The service is incredibly friendly, warm and welcoming. The food was great and of good quality. It is a fantastic place for me to take my mum. It was sad to see the special lunch set menu and the chicken dish, nolonger served.
Mike M. • 1 review
30 July 2024
7.5/10Family friendly with a good range of options and unlike many pubs a decent range of wines by the glass.
Philip M. • 2 reviews
14 July 2024
10/10Lovely Sunday roast lunch with friends. Eexcellent service and a perfect price point. Fully recommended. One of our (very) local go-to places.
Claire W. • 1 review
6 July 2024
9/10Really yummy food and good atmosphere.
Jane V. • 1 review
9 June 2024
6/10The staff were friendly, but the were a few things I would like to point out. It is not nice to see staff chewing gum when you’re being served. I know they are young , but some training is seriously needed. The Sunday roast was nice except the roast potatoes were not roast potatoes, they came out of a bag and heated up. I felt it was also over priced, I’ve had a lot better at a cheaper price . I don’t normally leave comments, but I felt this needed addressing.
Gayle S. • 1 review
17 May 2024
10/10My dad chose the black boy. For my 41 birthday weekend my dad liked the choice of food that was on the menu.
Ali M. • 2 reviews
5 May 2024
3.5/10After hearing great things about this pub we were very disappointed after what was a comical Sunday lunch service. We were greeted in a pleasant manner and from there it just went downhill. The young male waiter we had seemed to be new to the job and either nervous or just didn’t care. He didn’t seem to know the menu and took a long time taking the order with long and awkward moment of silence. He failed to take a drinks order and just asked what do we want. Not particularly friendly. He kept referring to a young child as ‘my man’ again not particularly appropriate. After taking the food order he then came back to say that one of the children couldn’t have an item off the child’s menu as it was Sunday. If that’s the case then have a separate menu for Sunday and don’t disappoint a child. When the drinks came the order was wrong which led to a conversation between two wait staff at the table with one blaming the other. We didn’t need to see or hear that. When the food came after an inordinate amount of time for a restaurant that was only half full it was just okay and bland with what seemed like key ingredients missing from menu items, such as feta cheese in a pie. The children’s mashed potato had wholegrain mustard and leeks in. Neither child ate it as they didn’t like it. The desserts were ordered and when they came the adults were served first, again maybe minor but normally the kids are served first. Overall it was pretty bad from start to finish. With what we experienced it seems overpriced and does not deserve the reputation it once had. After our visit I can’t see us returning and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone
The Black Boy Oxford • Owner
Dear Sam, we are sorry that you had a bad experience. As you clearly point out the young man that served you was in training and did not have much experience. As a company, we are keen to give local young people the opportunity to work and learn a trade that can help support them through their studies. Our staff did try their best to met your expectations. For example also providing your table with steak, chips and egg, which is also not on our Sunday menu. It’s a shame that did not speak to our team on the day as I’m sure we could have resolved some of these grievances.
Georgie B. • 1 review
2 May 2024
8/10The black boy is a lovely cosy pub. The food is quite expensive but good. The only thing that let down our evening was the service. I think our waiter was really overstretched and we were waiting for a long time.
Raia p. • 2 reviews
19 April 2024
5.5/10We were sat at a gloomy corner table at the back. I asked if the nearby wall light could be switched on. After a time the manageress woman came and took the bulb out, presumably so she could replace it. She never did and never reported back about it. I asked again and she said she couldn’t find a replacement bulb. We sat there in the gloom. But the real problem was the waiting staff. Apart from the manageress woman (who seemed very harassed and didn’t help us, and forgot to bring the sugar, and forgot to bring the bill) there were two ‘trainee’ servers. They were incompetent (didn’t offer us menus, left us for ages without taking the orders, wrote down the orders wrong so we were given wrong things, didn’t offer us pudding menus, didn’t come back to take the order). But much more importantly they didn’t greet us on arrival, and lacked friendliness, a willingness to help, the capacity to apologise for mistakes. This all marred the evening a great deal. Such a shame - the food was fine and the room potentially has a nice ambience. But the experience was terrible.
Marita W. • 1 review
31 March 2024
10/10We went for a meal here on Easter Sunday and can honestly say it was absolutely lovely. The food was very good and tasty and the staff couldn't have been more efficient and lovely. Will definitely be back.
The Black Boy Oxford • Owner
Dear Marita, thank you for taking the time to leave us a lovely review. We look forward to seeing you again soon.
Claudiu P. • 1 review
30 March 2024
10/10The food was amazing, the staff lovely, the atmosphere cozy. Nothing bad to say. We will definitely come back. Thank you!
The Black Boy Oxford • Owner
thank you for taking time to review this means a lot to us looking forward to seeing you again
Heather A. • 2 reviews
22 March 2024
9/10A very enjoyable lunch, a good atmosphere and friendly, helpful staff.
Helen A. • 3 reviews
11 March 2024
9.5/10We had a really lovely meal with great staff. We’ll definitely go back.
Carol G. • 2 reviews
5 March 2024
8.5/10We enjoyed our meal today but were shocked at the large increase in price of the set lunch menu compared to website price! Staff were very friendly.
Amy R. • 1 review
3 March 2024
5/10Disappointing! We came to scope out for a future celebration meal, after we found out The Black Boy was open again after few visits pre COVID. Many small details made the overall experience disappointing. The drinks were delivered but the wine left for us to open and pOur. The starters were good and as described. The mains- beef was nearly 50 % fat, the vegan nut roast was basically left over mushroom stroganoff (great for people with a nut allergy) and the veg was limited and maybe a little under COoked I think the icing on the cake was when the horse radish was delivered and it looked like it Was taken from someone else's table half eaten! We ate because we were hungry and it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great and we won't be taking Our larger party back. The service was average and wouldn't be surprised if someone said the whole day w new staff training day!
Clive D. • 1 review
3 March 2024
10/10Excellent Sunday lunch… Just the two of us 😁
Honor M. • 2 reviews
9 February 2024
5/10we went on Friday 9/2/24 Portions were tasty but small and the brisket could have done with more vegatables. We chose a desert which said it had a biscuit on it but when it arrived it was only half a biscuit, We mentioned this but nothing was done about it. It's a shame as previously we had found we liked it there but this time we didn't
Susan N. • 8 reviews
16 January 2024
10/10I love this place. It is friendly and welcoming which gives it something special. The food is good my favourite the paprika chicken and ailoi fries, absolute bliss. The set menu is also great value.
Simon B. • 6 reviews
13 January 2024
10/10Great service, delicious food especially the burgers and nice ambience with wood fire etc. The location is lovely too.
Graham L. • 1 review
16 December 2023
9.5/10We went for a Christmas family meal the food and the service where excellent, we had a very enjoyable evening.
Colleen H. • 3 reviews
1 December 2023
10/10We enjoy The Black Boy dining, food is always good, service is just as it should be and a nice warm atmosphere in the pub. The fire was burning brightly so lovely and warm temperature too, on an extremely cold weekend.
Colin A. • 1 review
2 December 2023
10/10We chose the setting as it was convenient for us to travel to and gather the family together. We were 4 generations and the staff were very welcoming and took great care of our differing needs. The food was lovely, especially the fish cakes as a main course. I'd recommend the pub. If their car park is full, it's well worth trying the public parking by Waitrose.
Marco P. • 1 review
11 November 2023
9/10Always an excellent place, one of few, where to entertain a conversation without having to raise your voice or talking over other guests. Food quality is good, cocktails are well made (and quite pricey), but again the atmosphere and lovely staff is what this place is for. Recommended
Alice E. • 1 review
29 October 2023
8.5/10Really lovely food and generally great but quite abrupt service
Mariam Q. • 3 reviews
6 October 2023
10/10As always not disappointed with the service and food. Accommodated last minute change in booking and had a lovely evening!
Gemma I. • 1 review
4 August 2023
4.5/10The restaurant had a nice feel, the baked Camembert was still solid in the middle and just warm, the chutney on the side tasted like branston pickle which was too strong for the cheese and not what was on the menu, the Olivie bread was nice but again looked like it had been toasted but not recently as it was cold. I had the duck salad and was so disappointed it was a tiny bowl of ‘salad’ which was rocket and watercress with ribbons of carrot and something else white. The duck was so chewy and over done I don’t know how they cooked it but some bits looked grey and old then fried up or heated. The chillis dressing tasted shop bought and just very disappointing. My Husbands fish and chips were very nice though which was the only positive.
Pilar D. • 4 reviews
27 July 2023
10/10Highly recommended!
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