Ashmolean Rooftop Restaurant

Would have been 5 stars except no soup spoon and the bill was wrong.

Fairly average if I'm brutally honest, a nice room with a good atmosphere when its busy but the menu isn't vast and when the market fish of the day is 'all gone I'm afraid' at 12.30!! the choice gets smaller.
As was the amount of fish in the fishcakes, all potato not a lot of fish, the pork belly was ok but leaning towards the fatty side. Desserts were fine and the bill wasn't unreasonable but it just needs to get its act together with the food .

Hot and noisy. Food average. OK for a casual meal without high expectations

I chose the roof restaurant for afternoon tea for my nephew who is studying there and it was his birthday. The booking process was fine. Everything was good. The food looked amazing. The value (including Prosecco) was great compared to competitors. At 4.45 less than half way through our tea, we were told the restaurant would be closing soon and then about every 3 minutes for the next 15 we were told. The last time, taking the tea plate tower away and saying they would pack the rest for us to take away with us. at no time of booking was I made aware of this and it was a rather sad and abrupt end to our experience. Food, view, tea and Prosecco were all great. Conclusion - pick your time carefully.

Not very relaxing a place. Too frenetic. Food not memorable. Too much like a cafeteria... business-like service that had no warmth. In fact, I thought the waiter might have been a bit contemptuous of our party...

Arrived at 12.45 and the only meat special - lamb confit - already finished.

We were disappointed with our visit to this restaurant purely based on the price of dishes and drinks. The food was good, as would be expected in a pub/cafe, but portions were small. The staff were friendly and the jazz music was excellent. Overall, a really pleasant experience but just too expensive for small main courses and drinks (£4.75 for a 330ml bottled beer and £7 for a 175ml glass of wine). Unfortunately, we won't be returning.

A wonderful window seat, thank you. Great place to meet friends

Food was lovely, service was patchy!! A very abrupt waitress seated us and seemed to be hurrying us to make decisions, then it took ages to get the food?!

It is a great location but the soup was disappointing and the bread on the bread platter was stale.

Good place to meet in central Oxford. Good service and food, reasonable choice.
In the summer I am sure it would be lovely to sit outside. Not rushed by staff who were attentive but not pressurising.

We enjoyed the decor and the relaxed feel of the restaurant. The service was excellent: the staff very attentive and friendly. Sadly, the music was too loud which made it difficult to talk. The large group at the table next to ours made it worse. It hasn't put us off, however. It's a great place to eat.

We were disappointed in the food. The service was excellent.

I honestly couldn't recommend this restaurant. We were shown to a table buried beneath a coat rack, and I had to ask to be moved. The service was not at all attentive.
The food was below average. The beetroot and goat's cheese starter was a mess on the plate, and not very tasty. The smoked haddock with potato was dry, and lumpy dry potato. My husbands' fish and chips was nowhere near as good as the average fish and chip shop. The bill came to £128 for four (we had 3 small drinks). Overpriced, and under average.
It's annoying to spend so much hard earned money on this standard.

Nice setting a bit quiet for early on a Friday evening we didn't need to book as plenty of free tables. Limited food choice, but very nice food, excellent friendly service.

Lovely setting and good food. Service was good too.

overcooked food.One side not delivered to table-"sorry we forgot".Not a professional set up,so shouldn't charge the prices they do.

I first visited for lunch several years ago and remember being really impressed with the food. Although it was nice on Saturday, it wasn't up to the standard I was expecting, especially for the price. It was a treat to sit out on the roof terrace and our waiter was very good. However, when my friend asked one of the waitresses to bring another drink, she pretty much glared at my friend before rushing off. I appreciate they were very busy, but this actually happened twice during the meal with the same waitress who was rather curt. My friend enjoyed it as it was her birthday treat, but I won't be going back I'm afraid. There are other places I would rather go for the price we paid.

Having visited the museum and taken afternoon tea about a year ago, and thoroughly enjoying it, I was keen to take my friend who was visiting Oxford for what I hoped would be a treat. Having booked a table for 3pm, we were seated (slightly grubby table top) and after asking for the celebration afternoon tea, we were told that the scones would be about 15 mins. Not a problem, we thought. We could hear other diners being told the same. Eventually at 3.30pm our tea arrived in very small stainless steel pots. Not the nice white tea pots I had before. After another 5-6 mins I managed to grab a waiter to ask for our milk so we could at least start drinking our tea, which was getting rather cool. Then another 5 mins before our finger sandwiches and scones arrived - slightly dry bread, and rather disappointing filling. Scones were tiny but fresh and warm, and tasty. Glasses of prosecco arrived which were not very cold and rather flat ☹️ I was so disappointed and also embarrassed for my friend as I’d said how lovely my previous experience was. The plus side was the lovely view through the window and sunny day, but we won’t be coming back.

Great experience! - we went on a Thursday night when they had live jazz playng. They got the balance just right with regards to volume and atmosphere. The food itself was lovely (we had the delicate turbot, market fish of the day) and the service was spot on! all in all a brilliant evening I would highly reccomend

I think you probably do good food but the fish and chips we had was very average and not good value. I would certainly visit the restaurant again but have something different.

It's a nice place to eat if you are visiting the museum but I wouldn't recommend it as a stand alone restaurant. I ate butternut squash risotto which was sloppy, swimming in oil and had no visible signs of squash in it, although it was tasty. There was a scattering of rocket on top which should have been more generous. My partner had fish and chips which was 6/10. Very disappointing chips - they were thin fries and very few of them, not nicely laid out either. Fish was good. Almost no greenery to accompany it - bit of lettuce. The tartare sauce was actually mayonnaise with capers and herb in it. This dish seemed expensive at £17. So overall not a fab meal.

We all enjoyed a delightful lunch and what was particularly helpful was the fact that the waiter went out of his way (Cesar, I think) to help my daughter who has multiple food intolerances. She was fine and I (generally very picky!) thoroughly enjoyed our time there. I shall certainly be back and can, without reservation, recommend the Rooftop Restaurant. Congratulations!

Shame about them using the hand towels from the toilet hand towels as serviettes! Let the overall feel of the place down...

We had booked a table which was worthwhile as it was buzzing! Very busy atmosphere, if you wanted a quiet tete a text, it wouldn’t be the ideal venue. The afternoon tea was excellent value for two people. It was a traditional tea with sandwiches, scones and little cakes. All very good. I would recommend it. We hope to visit again for an evening meal. Booking essential!

Drinks were forgotten about, food was ok but salad was not fresh. Was very busy- would go back but not on a weekend.

Lovely views and space in which to dine... but very disappointed with choice of food . No vegan main available . Was charged full amount for a salad which had its main ingredient ( haloumi ) missing in order to eat vegan.

It was a very pleasant atmosphere for the evening. It has a rather nice outside space where you can sit and enjoy the sun over looking some of the lovely Oxford buildings. The food itself was nicely presented a bit pricey for what you actually get. The valentines menu for the evening could have been a bit more imaginative but over all it was nice and most of the staff were helpful and friendly - apart from one gentleman waiter who was rather officious over where we sat outside. We chose a table outside in a quiet spot to enjoy the afternoon sun but was told we could not sit there as the table had not been cleared which I thought was a bit trivial.

Good ambience.... and staff flexible about slight adjustment to booking etc.

I'm a fairly frequent visitor. It's so convenient if you want to make an occasion of visiting the Ashmolean. The food (Haddock gratin) was fine. The service was quite patchy, the waiter didn't get our drinks order right so that took a bit of sorting. The room was really noisy -- the surfaces are hard so the sound gets quite amphlified, especially for those of with hearing difficulties. These issues won't put me off from coming again.

Our second visit, late in the lunch period, the service was a bit slower but food excellent.

The Fish dish (smoked haddock) was real good. Great place to dine, especially in a sunny day.

Very impressive - quality, fresh food, and good pleasant professional service situated in a light airy rooftop location. And to top it all you're feet away from an extraordibary art collection. A heady combo!

Great lunch , not an extensive menu but all cooked in their visible kitchen just like a Michelin star establishment. Staff just as lovely as the food.

An attractive restaurant which would be even nicer when the sun is shining and one could sit outside.

The female waiter was very friendly, helpful and will to go the extra mile for customers including myself
i'm defantly returning to this restaurant very soon.

This is a great place for our lunch, nice atmosphere, location, nice bright daylight. The food is pricey but we had two starters which suited us

We should like to praise the really professional and attentive service we received from Cesar, a tremendous asset to the restaurant. I am disabled and he was extremely helpful and courteous. He made our visit, fond as we are of dining at the Ashmolean after visiting an exhibition.

Afternoon tea at the rooftop restaurant of the Ashmolean was lovely. The tea was particularly nice, and they accommodated our requests to an extent. The venue is very nice, although don't expect a view across Oxford as it isn't too high up and surrounded by buildings, but the glass walls meant it is a lovely bright space, and not too big so it doesn't get too busy or loud. I'd say it was towards the top end of a nice afternoon tea/meal out as it had a sophisticated atmosphere but is not the cheapest.

It is in a lovely position ....bit bland . Afew plants/something to offer privacy& ambiance ,
& also sun blinds would help