The Alchemist Oxford Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "The food is of excellent quality."
• "Food was delicious. A little pricey, but well worth it for the experience."
• "The starters vegetarian gyoza was ok and the katsu curry had some rice that were under cooked which was not nice."
• "My chicken in a basket was tasty but not as hot as I would have liked."
• "The chorizo dough balls were fun to eat but the cheeseburger had no flavor whatsoever."
• "The food was genuinely delicious. Excellent flavour combinations and very well balanced taste profile."
• "The food is very good, priced reasonably, good variety and the cocktails are heavenly!"
• "The food is great. The presentation of the food makes it even better."

Cons:

• "The starters vegetarian gyoza was ok and the katsu curry had some rice that were under cooked which was not nice."
• "The fish was coated in activated charcoal - very tasty."
• "My main meal of fish and chips was meant to be this colour but did nothing for my appetite and was tasteless and limited in size."
• "The food was dry and had very little flavour."
• "We ordered a good steak as indicated on the menu, we informed the waiter that we like steak well, and we received a raw steak."
• "My fish and mushy peas were dry, didn't get asked by the waitress if everything was ok at any point during our meal."
• "The food was meh. Cocktails were ‘pre made’ and then a bit of theatre added by bar staff (smoke, bubbles etc)."
• "A friend of our had a severe allergy to seeds and ordered a sourdough breakfast and informed the staff of her allergies. The food arrived after about 35 minutes and the meal had poppy seeds in the toast."

Service Quality

Pros:

• "The customer service is consistently top-notch, and you rarely have to wait in line."
• "Great service from all staff, and the presentation of cocktails were absolutely fantastic."
• "The staff treats everyone really well."
• "Speedy and friendly service that can't be forgotten."
• "Excellent service, much better than in Pho or Mawgli nearby!"
• "Our waitress was a train person but she took my Graduation party of 13 people as a Champion!!"
• "The service was friendly, the drinks where tasty, and the pricing reasonable for the type of bar."
• "The staff are always friendly and helpful, as was this member of staff (in the picture) who was amazing!"

Cons:

• "We had to wait for a good 15 mins before being served at the bar, and there were only 2 people ahead of us."
• "Although each courses took quite a lot of time overall the service speed was adequate."
• "The staff seem fine if a little disinterested."
• "I don’t think I have ever collectively seen a group of staff as miserable as those on shift last night."
• "Hardly anyone in the bar. Had 2 people in front of us but still took about 15 minutes for the one server to get around to us."
• "The waitress reminded us of the 2hr limit on their tables still and reminded us of that 4 times! Annoying!"
• "Went hoping for some afternoon cocktails on a sunny weekend in May while celebrating our wedding anniversary. Sat there for a while being completely ignored by the staff."
• "Had to wait 40 minutes for our table, food came quickly but both my fish and mushy peas were dry, didn't get asked by the waitress if everything was ok at any point during our meal."

Atmosphere and Ambiance

Pros:

• "Well staffed, good food and good atmosphere."
• "The atmosphere of this place is outstanding while the drink is interesting."
• "The theatrics of this place are really only part of what makes it so great."
• "Nice bar and fun drinks!"
• "Nice location on top of the shopping centre, with indoor and outdoor seating."
• "Great place, lovely vibe."
• "The cocktails are fun and taste great, but are expensive."
• "Always a fun place to stop for drinks."

Cons:

• "It gets noisy there and also very dark in the evening."
• "The issue was the fact that music kept getting louder and they kept reducing the light."
• "The music at the venue was extremely loud, which made it difficult for me to enjoy myself."
• "I went out on a date and the music at the venue was extremely loud."
• "Very disappointed, used to love the alchemist when it opened in Oxford."
• "Not somewhere that I'll go to again but I'm sure that it will suit others who like a noisy party atmosphere with fun drinks."
• "The music was a bit loud making it very difficult to have a conversation."
• "We came here for my daughters 13th Birthday lunch. It was like walking into a nightclub! Loud BONGO music, just nuts."

Cocktail Quality and Presentation

Pros:

• "Cocktails are fun as well as tasty."
• "The presentation of cocktails were absolutely fantastic."
• "The cocktails are fun and taste great."
• "The cocktails here were amazing and well made."
• "The cocktails were absolutely mind blowing and non-alcoholic options are available."
• "Super fun menu and drinks pack a punch worthy of the price tag."
• "Great selection of interesting cocktails that break away from the standard selection of drinks found in most bars!"
• "Fantastic cocktail menu. Efficient and friendly staff create beautiful looking and tasting cocktails."

Cons:

• "The drinks themselves were ok, but at £15 a cocktail, they definitely weren't worth it."
• "The drinks had a theatrical touch with dry ice adding smoky atmosphere which was nice, but I think the food fell flat overall."
• "Came in for a mojito on my birthday and was so disappointed."
• "They forgot my drink at the bar and was cold when it arrived eventually."
• "The idea is great. A marketing hit. Great interior, names of drinks, graphics on menu etc. the food was meh. Cocktails were ‘pre made’ and then a bit of theatre added by bar staff (smoke, bubbles etc)."
• "The drinks are definitively impressive artistically, but they all run very sweet, not very adult."
• "The drinks are all very cool to look at and the food was delicious. I always have a great experience dining there! Just know that the alcoholic drinks aren’t very alcoholic."
• "My cocktail was flamboyant but ridiculously overpriced with an underwhelming flavour."