John Currence is a James Beard award-winning chef, author, entrepreneur, and owner of the City Grocery Restaurant Group in Oxford, MS.
4
Busy spot on the Oxford Square came with some local recommendations.
Good- Made a reservation which was easy online. Seated promptly but even with other open tables we did not get our choice. Back waiter was prompt with water and homemade cornbread muffins. We had Ceaser Salad, Spinach/Artichoke dip, Stuff Pork Chop and a Steak.
Ceaser was great and had Katamala Olives to give it a salty vibe which was a pleasure. Spinach dip was very good and Steak was flavorful and cooked perfectly to order.
Bad- Food delivery was very slooooow. We ordered entire meal and drinks at first sighting of waiter as he took a very long time to greet us and get initial drink order.
He was super nice but had too much on his plate at one time. So no fault to him. This is a management issue.
Ugly - Service on all fronts was very slow and Pork Chop overcooked. Prices quite high for serving sizes as well
Overall food was good and location and ambiance was nice.
May or May not return in future to try again.
This place is an Oxford staple. I went with a group who were spending the week in Oxford, paid for by the group the was hosting us for meetings. That said, I can't tell you much about the menu. What I can say is that we had a special menu laid out for us, which was quite nice, and it mostly met our dietary needs (lactose intolerance, allergies, etc, but if you had issues, you were limited in choices).
I have to take into account that the place is typically busy, and we had 2-3 tables reserved for us, so the restaurant was slammed; still, we waited AN HOUR for our entrees to arrive to our tables.
Once the food got to the tables, I will definitely say that it was good (one exception: the steaks were a bit tough to cut - I don't know if that was the steak or the steak knives they brought us, which did seem on the flimsy side). The service seemed a bit slow, but some of that could have been that one-hour wait for the food.
Overall, the food was good. I'd be willing to give it another try on a less busy day.
Just missed the mark! Went for lunch on a Thursday. Had wine and prosecco. Appetizer was Duck Wontons, excellent! Then had Shrimp & Grits good but too much bacon. The bacon over powred the dish. Then we had the ham and cheese I requested fries for an extra $2. No big deal, however the waiter didn't get order to chef. When I told the food runner, I asked for fries, she took my whole plate back to the kitchen. When I got my plate back the sandwich was cold and greasy. Bummer. We had cappuccinos to go. They were cold and more like a latte. So yeah. This was my 20th wedding anniversary lunch.
Cute place on the square. White tablecloths, friendly servers(ask for Melinda) varied menu. The pork belly melt is very tasty & with crispy fries very filling. Wifey had butternut squash gnocchi which was light and creamy sauce. Recommend reservations.
The food was good, if not a bit overpriced, but i can forgive that. It was SUPER loud in the restaurant though. We had to pretty much shout just to be able to hear each other at the same table, and at many times we couldnt hear each other or our waiter. Its not like we're hard of hearing or anything, it was just that loud. It makes it hard to enjoy when you're in such an extremely loud environment. I'm not sure if its always like that, but it made us not really want to come back to find out. Everything else was good though!
