Situated atop the beautiful and well known Ashmolean Museum, the cafe and restaurant attracts plenty of visitors — including tourists, scholars, and students alike. High up, there is ample natural light that flows through the big glass windows, while the rooftop terrace is home to stunning views of Oxford and a lawn that is filled with deckchairs, making it a great place to visit if you’re looking for something fun to do in the city after a visit to the museum. The cafe is open daily from 10am until 5pm, whilst the restaurant opens between 11.30am and 5pm.
Starters include the chicory salad with crumbled Stilton, mulled wine poached pear, candied walnuts, Oxfordshire honey and a cider vinegar dressing, along with a smoked mackerel pâté served with rye and sunflower croûtes, beetroot and horseradish emulsion, soused salad of capers, cornichons and cucumber. The dishes sound delicious, right? For your main, enjoy the forest mushroom Stroganoff with baked garden herb polenta, crispy courgette spaghetti and black garlic emulsion, or the Oxford pork sausages with a grain mustard mash, Savoy cabbage, red onion gravy and fried leeks.
If you are a lover of all things classically British, which you probably are if you find yourself in Oxford, then why not try the afternoon tea. It's a meal complete with sweet treats like the lemon sponge with a raspberry drizzle, a matcha and strawberry Battenberg, shortbread with Ashmolean gin and chantilly cream with blackberries, and a raspberry eclair. Scones are served on the menu, of course, and are tea infused with English clotted cream and Tiptree jam. Savoury bites include the coronation chicken and rocket mini brioche, the pulled ham, piccalilli and pickled cucumber on light rye bread, and the smoked salmon and herbed cream cheese in between a dark rye croute.