John's reviews
Review of Prezzo
01 Jun 08, 09:20
When's it due? 
The restaurant's based inside a nice Tudor style building, not far from the Cathedral. The food is your usual Prezzo menu, with some very good Italian dishes. I especially liked the look of some of the desserts, but alas was so full from the main course and starter that I couldn't try any of them. Service was good the Bank Holiday Monday we went. In our case we were waited on by a heavily pregnant waitress. We wondered which would come first - our food or the baby! Luckily it was the former. The restaurant also has a roof terrace which will surely make for pleasant dining when the weather's good. In our case, it was chucking it down with rain.
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Review of George Inn
01 Jun 08, 09:17
Rice is off 
My first impressions of this pub were that it was quite a classy establishment - there was a live jazz act performing and the place was pretty much packed out - normally a sign that what you're going to get is good. I was not impressed with my actual experience - the menu, while good, had next to nothing on it; the main choice of food was on a massive specials board partly obscured by the jazz act, meaning I had to get up and stand in front of the musicians, memorise the list and then relay it to the rest of our dining party. We waited nearly an hour for two chicken curries - the table next to us waited just as long and were given chips with the curry as they had run out of rice! When our curries came out (with rice) they were very good, but another meal we'd asked for came out with undercooked (or rather non cooked) veg, which we had to send back. The manager came up and said it was because they were excessively busy that Sunday night, but the staff didn't seem to be doing much rushing around to cope with demand. We got a complimentary drink and dessert for all the hassle we'd experienced. I would recommend the food, but not the service.
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Review of The Acorn
18 May 08, 09:10
Lots of food 
This pub has a good selection of food, and the portions are rather big - you could almost argue that they're too big, and that you're forced to leave food uneaten. The quality of the food is ok (although some of the veg I was served seemed rather soggy). I went in the middle of the afternoon and there wasn't much atmosphere, but that may be more about the time of day than anything else.
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Review of Penny Black
18 May 08, 08:49
Corners cut
I've always thought Wetherspoons pubs were pretty good - a sort of no frills pub, where food is cheap but passable and drink is cheap and decent too. Unfortunately in the Penny Black, tables are often sticky and dirty from previous guests's use. Service is ok but overall there isn't much warmth about the place. While Wetherspoons has a rule about having no piped music in its pubs, this one's got several TVs that are normally tuned to Sky News. This is annoying, because your attention keeps on being drawn to it!!
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Review of Bure Farm
18 May 08, 08:42
Food not great
As a pub this place works, but the food leaves a lot to be desired. It feels like shortcuts have been taken (microwave, etc) but that isn't reflected in the price, which is normally in the range you'd expect to pay for food. I thought things would improve when a new menu was brought out a few weeks back (there was a big hoarding advertising this outside) but it was the same old story inside - the food was uninspiring.
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Review of Marlborough Arms Hotel
18 May 08, 08:38
Not as posh as expected
I've been to the Marlborough both for drinks with friends and a celebratory meal with family, and the place works for both types of occasions. I'd expected the food to be quite posh, and was pleasantly surprised to find it's actually quite down to earth - even as much as serving sausage and mash (the sausages are Oxfordshire sausages, therefore supporting local food). Service was also good, although our waitress was quite nervous and giggly (think it may have been her first day).
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Review of Pizza Express Restaurants
18 May 08, 08:35
Friendly service
They say you can tell when a town's on its way up when it gets a Pizza Express, and that can only be a good thing for Bicester! Service is friendly - the waiters and waitresses were on first name terms with some of the other customers and, on our first visit, we got the same welcome.
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Review of Odeon Cinema
18 May 08, 08:21
Trip back in time
This cinema's been around for nearly a hundred years, and the inside looks like it - that is to say, the interior walls etc need a bit of repair work done. The seats are ok and comfortable enough but it does feel like the place was designed for silent movies rather than big 21st century Hollywood blockbusters.
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Review of Red Lion
18 May 08, 08:14
Good food
This pub's got its own restaurant area, separate from the main drinking area, and the food's pretty good. Because it's a bit off the beaten track, there's not often that many people in the place, so there isn't much of an atmosphere, but as village pubs go, it's pleasant enough.
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Review of Tesco Stores
18 May 08, 08:10
High tech
As convenience stores go, this one does what it says on the tin. Recently refurbished, it's now got self-service checkouts, which should speed up that quick trip for milk and bread even more. Product selection isn't great, but then what did you expect of a store this size?
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