Koi is seemingly new (no reviews) and is not street level, so I was rolling the dice when I decided…read moreto lunch there. But after heading downstairs, I found a big dining room half-filled with happy Asians, so that was good news. The staff were very friendly and quick. In terms of food, they have a bunch of lunch specials, plus a regular dinner/fancier menu. Though listed by some as a Chinese eatery, the menu has a variety of pan Asian dishes. I went with a simple 4.95 beef and mushrooms with rice, which was nice. There were groups around me ordering a lot more food, family style, and seemingly enjoying their meals. I'm by no means an expert on dining in Oxford, but this place seems to be a decent choice. Don't be afraid!

We called for their pre-theatre menu before visiting the New Theatre opposite…read more For £12.80 per head we got prawn crackers, a drink, starter and a main meal. The selection of dishes was small, but everything was well cooked and tasty. Staff were friendly and the food was good, worth a visit.

For northern Chinese food, this is truly a wondrous find: On the two occasions that I had dinner…read morehere, I can tell that the chef is the real deal. In Oxford, no less! Incidentally, the Chinese ideograms for the restaurant's name actually mean "Flaming/Burning Wine," which might not be the only thing on fire, if you get my drift... My dining companion and I tried a total of five dishes over the two occasions we came here for dinner. Some were dishes that were a little off the beaten path, what with the current mania in society for "healthy foods" and all, but sometimes, you've got to live a little and relish that incomparable taste of fat that makes a dish so iconic otherwise you won't ever know what you're missing! And of all of them, I wasn't disappointed in any, which is testimony to the chef's skill. It also doesn't hurt that the owners, Shuman and Teresa are very genial hosts and bring extra warmth to the already cozy atmosphere of dark colours in a very classic Chinese setting. In the appetizer category was the Mouth Watering Chicken which was a poached chicken that was covered in a sauce of fiery chili peppers with peanuts sprinkled over it. It certainly lived up to its name. This is definitely not a dish for those with wimpy tastebuds because they're likely to have them seared off as with a blowtorch. However, for those who can handle it, it'll provide a nice "glow" in both your faces and stomachs to start the meal off. The initial foray into the forbidden began with the Shanghai Sweet Soy Braised Belly Pork dish which we had with plain white rice (in the old and traditional days, only animals were fed brown rice or unthreshed rice). With its generous cuts of fat-laced pork belly covered in a thick sweet soy sauce and with the white rice to "cut" its artery-clogging richness somewhat, I was in Seventh Heaven. This was food from my childhood when the "fat is bad" mantra just didn't exist. It was oh-so-good and brought back memories of times past and of home in Singapore. We ordered the Mapo Tofu with its classic chili and meat sauce as a sort of counterbalance. It was another dish that didn't disappoint. The ground pork swimming in that beautiful spicy sauce mixed in with the usual bowl of rice just hit the right spots where it counted. The spiciness wasn't as intense as I've had at some other restaurants and this is a good thing because it's so hard to taste something when your tongue feels like it's been run over by a lidocaine steamroller! Not to mention that drooling because your lips don't work any more is so unbecoming... On another visit, we decided to just "go gangbusters" and ordered the Shanghai Sweet Soy Pork Hock which just made my day. It was one entire pork hock that had been stewed in the traditional sweet thick soy sauce which infused the entire hock rather than just its surface. Now, the tree-hugging health nuts will probably be turning up their noses in disgust but, as I said, you haven't had true Chinese food until you've tried the richer dishes at least once (and risk your doctor going apoplectic on your next visit)! Okay, it's not something to have daily or even weekly but once in a while, to quote Gordon Gekko in "Wall Street": "Greed is good!" And amen to that. Now we come to Tofu in Crabmeat Sauce: The silky tofu cooked with the divine crabmeat made for an incomparable taste sensation that also sent shivers up my spine. Singaporeans can summarize this feeling in one word, "Shiok!" In other restaurants that I've had this dish, they skimped on the crabmeat and/or even used low-quality crabmeat, which detracted from the overall taste. But not here. At Sojo, they use a well picked-through, high quality backfin crabmeat (this is one dish where jumbo lump crabmeat would not have worked) so that you don't end up with crab shell or cartilage in your teeth nor is there a fishy flavor. Despite its reddish colouring, it has no chilli of any sort in it whatsoever, so rejoice all ye who have wimpy tastebuds or sensitive gastrointestinal systems! This is a restaurant that I am dying to return to so that I can wander through its menu searching for another "hit" of nirvanic bliss on each visit. Since I happen to live on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, I'm sure that Sir Richard Branson will be more than happy to have me add to his already bulging coffers and perhaps Virgin Galactic. Assuming his pilots park their cars on time for a change and we don't miss our departure slot again: Nothing is quite so ludicrous as hearing your flight is delayed because your pilot is looking for a parking spot for his car...it was like being stuck in an episode of Mr. Bean!

Very good chinese food in oxford.the restaurant is packed.needs to reserve if you are in big group…read more We ordered mostly spicy food.would recommend the spicy shredded pork and spicy fish in chilli oil.spicy prawns was a bit salty otherwise it would have been good.spicy fried chicken was ok.

Hugely popular Chinese restaurant-- it pays to book. They have a "normal" menu, but if you are…read moreadventurous (we are) the full menu has all kinds of delicious options like soft shell crab, for example. Some of the "English Chinese" staples like sweet and sour are pretty goopy and hum-drum. Just don't order those. On a busy night it gets very loud. Lots of hard surfaces.

Compared to Oxford standards, I'd say this place is 4 stars. Really tough to find good Chinese…read more(whether takeaway or authentic) in the UK. However, if this place were in a context where better abroad Chinese cuisine was available (e.g., Toronto, Brooklyn), the food here is just okay, even if the owners/cooks are Cantonese. Their dine-in choice of dishes reflect real Chinese menu items. This place is definitely one of the top most flavorful East Asian restaurants nearby. You can smell it from the outside, and you can see it in their clientele. Because of what the other options are in the area, I would definitely come again, but not that often since they are a little on the pricier side. Good size portions, though. TIP, definitely book ahead for dinner. Even at lunch time they get pretty booked up.

Love the ambience and presentation of this cozy restaurant. We shared a table on this busy day,…read morewhich was fine by me. They had specials on the board, so I chose sashimi over rice with miso soup, while my kid chose the ramen. The food is billed as homemade Japanese food. I felt their take on Japanese food was just OK, despite the presentation being beautiful. For my dish, the amount of rice was overwhelming compared to the sashimi, which was cut very thin compared to sashimi I'm used to , so the imbalance made little sense. I left a large clump of rice despite the effort. Ramen is something we've had so much of in different restaurants, but their take with their broth was below average. (I should mention my kid was very happy though. It's just my picky take) I'd say this is a fun little stop on a cute street, with food not being the star.

This was one of the greatest restaurants I visited during my time in Oxford! The staff were…read moreabsolutely lovely, and the food was amazing. Their edamame, sushi, and ramen are all divine. I cannot recommend this spot enough!

My favorite Japanese restaurant in England. Entirely…read moreauthentic, not some british rendition of Japanese staples. Some notable differences: They use the correct Japanese rice The do correct tonkatsu, have the correct bulldog tonkatsu sauce They make authentic and not bullshit western sushi rolls. Their dumplings are amazing, and my favorite dish is the chicken Chan-Chan yaki! Absolutely a must have. Literally isn't a bad thing on the menu, and they have authentic Japanese beer too which compliments the food. A bi-weekly staple for me.

The first time I heard of this place is when my friend asked me to grab lunch with him here. I am…read moreso thankful that he did. While the place is a bit small, it's clean and has really good food. I had the chicken katsu curry, and there was SO much food, especially for the price. Felt amazingly full and satisfied after the meal. Can't wait for my next visit!

Fun and festive place, with lots of colors and stuff hanging from the ceiling and walls. One table…read morelet you sit inside a boat. We stopped in since it was just across the street from our hotel. Service was not very good. Waited a long time for our server, and then our food. Our table was right next to the server station. We looked around and it a lot of people were waiting for their food and just nursing their drinks. It wasn't till I signed the bill accepting their service charge that they said anything friendly! The food was sub par for Thai food. Fairly big portions, but the best part was the spice level of my dish was legit! They didn't ask me to specify a spice level when I ordered, and I forgot to ask, so I ended up with their default. It was spicier than most westernized Thai and on the hairy edge of my tolerance, which is not low! The actual food itself I thought was just OK.

Came here when we were visiting Oxford and have not stopping thinking about this Thai restaurant…read moresince. It felt like we stepping into Thailand in a night market! The food was amazing and the service was so fast! I would anyone in town to come and check this place out!

This place is fantastic. The food is always delicious. Been here for times and never been…read moredisappointed with anything. Love the prawns! Any of them. Any style. Just get them. Delicious! Chiang Mai had been recommended to me over and over and I understand why. If you are in Oxford do yourself a favor come here.

I was walking through Oxford looking for something to eat when I came across this restaurant. I…read morewas craving some Thai and figured why not give it a try. The front door is interesting an has an interesting history with the building dating back to 1637. I was greeted when I walked upstairs and given a menu. I ordered Veggie Spring Rolls (Popia Tod), the Tom Ka with chicken and Pad See-Ew Noodles with chicken. It didn't take long to get my order and it was all still hot when I arrived back at my hotel. They also wrap it all quite tight so nothing spills out. The Spring Rolls weren't what I was expecting. I thought they were going to be fresh spring rolls but they are fried; it does say on the menu but I didn't read that part. It came with a plum sauce but would have been nicer with some hot mustard. Unfortunately, they do not do fresh spring rolls. The Tom Ka soup was quite good. It's a bit heavier than most Tom Ka soups I've had and I would have preferred it to be a bit spicy. The Pad See-Ew was fantastic. They serve a very generous portion and it's just delicious! And like the soup, it would be nice if it was a little spicy. I'm sure they can make it spicy if you ask them and I wish I would have asked. The food is very fresh and delicious and I would absolutely come back here.

In a word: Yum! The food is amazing! My wife loved it, my kids loved it, and I loved it. The soup…read moremy wife ordered (Tom Kha) was fresh-tasting and delicious. The kids split an order of chicken fried rice and they inhaled it! Service was prompt and the ambiance was quite nice. The best part? The price is quite reasonable. Recommended!

Yum, yum, yum! A tastier than average Chinese restaurant that does a stonking all you can eat…read more(although it's cooked to order, rather than buffet, so you end up feeling a bit guilty). They're good at hosting quite big groups, but it's still a nice intimate atmosphere. Apparently it's changed hands recently and although the food's still great, the service and staff friendliness has suffered. Still, go along and judge for yourself. It's good value. I recommend the deep fried bean curd - not the healthiest, but never mind!