h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I don't know if this place is still going, as I ate there back in 1999 (gosh.... almost 6 years ago ). It was called Edamame, and I remember it being somewhere around Broad Street. My uni housemate at the time was studying hotel management and had to do a project with a couple of other students on the food of different cultures, and decided to do Japanese food. They just invited me along as I was curious!

It was fairly small, but really good. It provided proper Japanese food and drink - i.e., the food the Japanese actually eat, rather than sushi and tempura. The service was really good and friendly, and they were really helpful - they even allowed us to have a selection of dishes (which worked out as a mix of starters and main courses) to share between us, and a selection of drinks to try.

The price was fantastic; I paid just over £15 for my share of the food and drink. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to go again .

Absolutely right - this is an excellent little place. Little is the operative word - there are about six tables, and you can't book so you have to queue outside until people have finished their meals. You may end up sharing a table with people you've never met before, but this actually makes the atmosphere convivial and friendly.

Highly recommended, and you can track it down here:

http://www.touchoxford.com/comdir/roadmap.cfm?clist=629336&ziplist=OX1+3SA

Enjoy!

Thanks! I'll have to make the trip down there soon.

I'm glad someone else has been - makes me feel less like I was imagining it .

Going back a bit longer, there used to be an Indonesian restaurant called Munchy-Munchy (honest) on Park End Street, towards the station. It opened in 1978 and my future wife and I chanced on it and become early devotees. Within a couple of years, it made quite a few guides (including Egon Ronay if I'm not mistaken) but never lost it's quality. It just got a lot harder to get a table, so the first-weeks patronage became quite an asset.
The proprieters were called Ken and Ethel. Lovely people. Wonderful food.

Having said that, Oxford in the seventies was a town full of superb restaurants, and I bet it still is. The original Quat' Saisons in Summertown (not the Manoir, the first one!) was quite an experience. The Bleu-Blanc-Rouge and the Elizabeth were splendid. Browns and the Cherwell Boathouse served a perfect lunch. I could go on. In fact I've come over all wistful just thinking about it.