They were served with the usual side of ‘mushy peas’, a slightly salty mash of cooked garden peas. My generous piece of cod had been gently spiced, beer-battered and flash fried until flaky-tender in the kitchen that’s visible from the bar. The chips are triple cooked, rendering them fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside. On a nice day, you can take your food outside to one of the long communal tables and perhaps strike up a conversation with the students at one of the world’s most prestigious universities over a pint. If you’re tall, you may have to duck under the low, dark beams once you’re inside to get to the bar. As a university pub, it has a casual and youthful atmosphere and you can expect to find students here at all times of day and night. This is where Bill Clinton failed to inhale during his Oxford days and where fictional detective Inspector Morse often did his thinking and drinking. The Turf Tavern has been a popular watering hole since the 14th century, when it was known as the Spotted Cow. Then, suddenly, you step out into a small stone-paved courtyard surrounded by Tudor-style buildings and a low green pub entrance. Walking down this narrow lane, you may think you have taken a wrong turn and are lost in someone’s back alley, especially as you follow it through several abrupt turns. Then turn down Saint Helen’s Passage, an alley that you could mistake for simply a gap between two buildings. Go under the university’s Bridge of Sighs (an enclosed arched pass over New College Lane). But the place in Oxford where I like to go for this classic meal is so well hidden that you practically need a treasure map. Whether you prefer it wrapped in grease-soaked paper from a takeaway shop or served on a wide white plate at a chic gastropub, it’s easy to find. Fish and chips in Oxfordįish and chips is one of the UK’s signature dishes. Whether you’re looking for traditional fare or the latest offerings from the farm-to-table trend, the UK and Ireland offer a movable feast. Though the reputation may have been justified in the past, the reality in the 21st century is happily very different. British and Irish cuisines are unfairly maligned around the world, saddled with the outdated assumption that everything is bland, boiled and boring.
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