Restaurant Details

I’ve occasionally felt a bit let down by establishments trying to prove they’re as good as their city counter-parts without quite pulling it off - and there’s nothing worse than damning with faint praise.

The question is whether the Oxford Street Brasserie, open for eight months now under chef-proprietor David Robson after working with Michelin-starred Jeff Baker at Pool Court in Leeds, can buck the trend.

Situated atop a tall flight of stairs on the corner of Union Street and Oxford Street (very close to Debenhams side street), the space itself has been home to at least one Greek restaurant and two Indian in recent years. Even to judge by its looks, the Oxford Street Brasserie seems to have come up with the correct formula to shake off the ghosts of this location’s many pasts. Its contemporary design is modern but, thankfully, not cold - the stark glitter of glass and chrome balanced by the warmth of wood and leather, candlelit under a white ceiling studded with large, swirling cream shapes.

Clean-lined and understated, the restaurant has a feeling of stylish simplicity that runs through the service and the menu, too. Imaginative without being pretentious, the Oxford Street Brasserie sticks to good, fresh food, British (and occasionally European) ingredients supplied by local farms much of the time. Venison is a particular speciality, and the chef is no stranger to the famous “rhubarb triangle” between Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield.

With most starters in the £4.50-£6.00 price bracket and mains running on the whole from £11.95-£12.95, there’s no reason not to indulge yourself. Deciding between the fulsome specials board and a la carte wasn’t easy; my wife chose the former, I went for the latter.

After a complimentary pre-starter appetiser (tomato and roasted red pepper sorbet with a hint of hot spice) which nicely cleared the cobwebs, I enjoyed a starter of cherry vine tomato and goat’s cheese tart on a bed of rocket. It was delicious, though I glanced enviously at my partner’s bacon and white bean stew, the bacon smoked to give the flavour more depth.

Picking from the mains list was even trickier. In turn braised pork belly, pan seared calves’ liver, confit duck leg, goats cheese soufflé, 8oz rib eye steak and seared salmon fillet were all spurned with some reluctance. My wife ordered from the blackboard - butter poached monkfish with crisp ham, asparagus and sage. The asparagus was beautifully crisp while the generous portion of meaty fish was complemented wonderfully by the salt of the parma ham.

My main course couldn’t have been better - roast guinea fowl served with wild rice and parsley puree. Sinewy, moist and tender, the lightness of the breast fillet struck a winning contrast with the darker, richer, red meat of the leg.

Leaving aside the impressively chic decor, the Oxford Street Brasserie was starting to remind me of another restaurant. Remember when Carriages first opened in Knaresborough, when the food was consistently good, cooked by people who cared about what they were doing? By now I was getting precisely the same feeling about the Oxford Street Brasserie.

It was a pleasure to be seated by the massive windows, propped up above the world served by staff who were genuinely friendly and attentive, particularly front of house manager Dillon Wolfe, formerly of Harvey Nichols in Leeds, who managed to make being efficient look as easy as pie, a nice trick if you can manage it. He certainly knew his cheese and wine, too!

I sneaked a quick through the chrome hatch where the chef and his small team could be seen at work in plain view of the restaurant. All was calm. There was the same busy but cheery air about proceedings in the kitchen as elsewhere, even though the restaurant itself was by now packed and bustling and full of the chatter of happy diners. I finished off an exceptional bottle of white rioja (Lorinon Rioja Blanco 2005 - £22, though the wine list contained many cheaper bottles) while enjoying a delicious selection of ice creams and sorbets - all homemade, the blackberry and raspberry sorbet lovely in particular. My wife’s pudding was fantastic, the slight sourness of the blueberry yoghurt working well with the sweetness of the large slice of blackberry and apple frangipane.

By the end of the evening, however, the details were fast becoming irrelevant. Thanks to the team behind the Oxford Street Brasserie, it was abundantly clear that at long last this location is home to a great little restaurant whose presentation doesn’t flatter to deceive.

The Oxford Street Brasserie
Opening times: Tues-Sat (Mon – lunch only)
Lunch: noon-2.30pm. Dinner: 5.30-9.30pm.

Early bird menu: Tues-Fri 5.30-7.00pm.
(2 courses: £10/3 courses: £12.50)