Gee's Restaurant - Oxford

An Oxford institution about ten minutes from the city centre, Gee's is famous for its capacious Victorian conservatory – a dramatic light-filled space full of cane chairs and fronds of foliage. (The building was once a floristry business, owned by the Gee family – hence the restaurant's name).

Beef from owner Jeremy Mogford's own farm, Durroc pork from Suffolk and all kinds of seafood freighted in from Jersey form the backbone of Gee's seasonal menus, which might run along the lines of seared scallops with carrot rémoulade, pancetta and lime, roast corn-fed duck breast with lentils and herb oil, and grilled halibut with braised chicory, watercress and butter sauce. Desserts keep it simple with lemon tart or steamed Seville orange marmalade pudding. Set lunches and pre-theatre suppers (6.00 – 7.00pm Mon-Fri) are excellent value and the short, no-frills wine list offers decent drinking at affordable prices.

Gee's holds live jazz sessions every Sunday evening; also look out for 'A Sea of Difference' (a four-course tasting menu served on Thursday nights from March to September).