Oxford thrives on a strange antagonistic relationship between “town” and “gown” – the university and the city. In the same way that whatever the tricep on your arm does, the bicep does the opposite, so these two follow an equal yet opposite route.
So while large chunks of Oxford, owned by the university, have remained exactly as they were 400 years ago, the council and the town has leapt to the opposite extreme and attempted to destroy whatever heritage there is in the city in order to place the least attractive and least valuable use and architecture available to them at the time.
While it only just failed to destroy the lovely Jericho district with a huge road, the council did succeed in making the outskirts of Oxford hideous. It also managed to make the only large part of central Oxford available to it – from St Aldates through Thames St and Oxpens Road to the train station – a concrete wasteland. And it has allowed developers to build monstrous “luxury” flats on the only nice bits of land left. [NB: If the building actually looks like the “artist's impression” drawn up for the plans, it is, and will forever be, disgusting.]
It is with trepidation, but some relief, however that I can report this appalling trend may have been bucked – one time at least – with the new Castle renovation. The “castle” stands right in the heart of the Oxford. It used to be Oxford jail, for historic reasons, which seemed terribly wasteful. Apart from that, there was a big mound with grass on that no one is allowed near for no discernible reason and the absolutely vile concrete monstrosity that is – yes – the main council building.
But a massive renovation is under way after the Home Office sold the site and finally reached agreement with English Heritage, some European funding body *and* the city council over what exactly would be done with it. Thank god for English Heritage – who insisted the renovation be in keeping with the listed building – and for the funding body, which spoke Oxford Council's language – money.
Because the first thing to open on the site is “The Living Room” – a terrible name but a lovely venue and the newest bar/restaurant in Oxford.
The Living Room is – as usual these days – part of a chain. There are other living rooms in Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, London, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Chester, York, Glasgow and Newcastle.
It is a bit poncey. Lots of unnecessary doormen dressed very smartly, attractive but hard-ass women with clipboards, over politeness – and that's before you've even made it through the front doors. Inside, it's dark wood, high tables and chairs, moody lighting and people dressed up pretending they're slightly richer and more important than they really are.
A TV screen behind the bar is showing some weird channel that comprises entirely of models walking down catwalks and famous people talking to cameras, answering easy and fawning questions. It could very easily have been pretentious hell. And yet it was saved by the over abundance of friendly staff.
Some of the staff are inevitably going to be fired because there are simply too many of them. However, while it lasts, it is a treat. And they are all, to a woman (very few men), charming. Friendly, helpful, smiling. Maybe the management is paying over the odds. It is these folk that save the place.
But to the food. A very strange blend from Chinese (duck and pancakes) to modern (sea bass with a combination of sauces) and back to Thai. All of it – like the drinks – slightly too expensive to give a hint of exclusivity but not so much that you expect an amazing meal or never to come back.
I had spring rolls as a starter. Something easy to get wrong but difficult to make extraordinary. They were very tasty. The pastry wasn't soggy, the flavours were good, the sauce worked, I could have eaten another five and foregone the main course.
The main course was the sea bass. Aside from a very ordinary Australian white wine – the third or fourth from the top – it was very good, nicely presented and delivered promptly by a friendly and professional waitress who was chatty rather than aloof and helpful rather than snooty.
The noise was loud but dampened so you could easily chat and the only irritating thing was that the recent and mildly pointless habit of asking diners if everything is alright was forced in by no less than three roving waitresses/managers.
However it was a very pleasant dining experience – even if having to work our way through the thronging cocktail-drinking wannabes to get out left a sour note. Not cheap – £70 for two starters and main courses with wine, no dessert, no coffee – but the food was well above average and the ambience pleasant.
Just so long as the management keep the staff, and keep the staff happy, it's an excellent place for a relaxed and enjoyable meal.
The Living Room opened on Monday 22 August. It can be found at:
1 Oxford Castle
Oxford
OX1 2AY
Tel: 08701 66 22 23