The New Oxford

Got food poisoning twice here and I only went back the second time because the first time I thought it might have been a pizza slice I ate somewhere else. Even the bartender mentioned the soup was «not good.» I imagine it just sits there all day and they re-​use it. Spring rolls looked like they were straight from a box… they cut the fruit right on the bar without a cutting board where people put their money down to pay… Not sanitary. Anyways, I’m still puking. Back to the toilet I go lol

My husband and I used to love frequenting this pub for weekend brunches, but the quality of the food deteriorated and my husband got food poisoning we suspected to be from here and since then (7 or 8 months ago) we’ve only been back a couple times– unimpressed each time, as the food is just so-​so. Too bad, we had thought this could be «our place.»

I went in here to meet a friend the other day. Pub was a bit full so took a seat near the back. I waited for over 5 minutes (I know it doesn’t sound like a lot, but it feels like FOREVER when you’re waiting for initial service) and no waitress came by.
It looked like they had one waitress serving the entire place, and she was just behind the bar chatting to the barman.
It’s the sort of place where you «seat yourself», but clearly it’s not a pub that is capable of this as they don’t seem to be aware when they have a new customer.
After 5 minutes of sitting there with nothing, I left and I doubt they even noticed I was there at any point. Went to the rooftop patio at the Keg where I was served immediately upon sitting down.
For a place that is mean to be a «higher end» Donnelly pub, this is worse than many of their lower end joints. Very disappointed.

Just your typical pub but with inspiration from glorious Britannia, most notably on the exterior side facing Homer Street. Servers are friendly but service is pretty slow and they messed up my orders numerous times, which in one case I said «forget it» and just took what they got out for me. The food quality and taste here is a mixed bag. Some are good and some are just «okay» but for certainty the fries and coffee are fine. Overall, for a Yaletown establishment, it is pretty lame.
Only reason my review is surviving on 3 stars is because this place is home to the official Chelsea FC Vancouver supporter’s club, if you’re into football (or soccer for you weird people). So if you’re wondering why there’s a framed scarf saying «True Blue Through and Through», it’s that. Atmosphere during games is through the roof, even when losing (please don’t mind us shouting obscenities at the ref and/​or opposition). Members of the club get 20% off food items in this place but even so it’s still too expensive.
And yes, they’re even open during the wee morning hours for that early GMT kickoffs on the weekends. Kitchen’s closed though so you don’t have to taste their mediocrity, thank Talos.

Typical bar food and drinks can be found here. No frills service and just attentive enough to get by. I like their salad options as they are tasty and generous in portion. Also tried their sausages with custom mustards and they are good for bar snacks. They have a rack of bicycles hoisted onto the ceiling and I always wondered if it can be used or not. Otherwise nothing noteworthy in terms of décor and ambiance.

This place is lucky it played hip-​hop from the 90s and that I’m a fan or I would have gave it 2 stars.
Don’t know why there’s a cover charge to get into a bar that barely had any people in it. At least they were nice enough to return the cover charge once we realized that we were supposed to be upstairs where it’s free.
Beer is decent and food was weak. Haven’t been a fan of the donnely group at all. Vancouver really needs to step up it’s bar game.

Positives:
+ looks good from the outside.
+ looks good from the inside. They’ve done a good job with the fabricated British feel.
Negatives
— food. Overpriced, under-​flavoured. The wings were devoid of meat and the blue cheese dressing was a watered-​down ranch. The BLTA sandwich was also cold. Not cool or room temp, but cold.
— service. Slow to get drinks and any other requests, like sauces. I think the long, narrow layout doesn’t help here.
— price. Yeah it’s Yaletown, but even then this is at the pricier end of some much nicer places on Hamilton and Mainland.
On the fence
* selection of beer. Enjoyed the local seasonals, but then most places do that, right?
Go here if: you loooooovve the Donnelly Group, or Cactus Club.

$ 3.50 sleeves of local beer (P49, Howe Sound, etc) during happy hour 4−7pm. Can’t be beat, in Yaletown especially.

Tried their food many times. The place has a good vibe and ambiance is very lofty. The food is above average and their staff are good.

Good beer but appies were total garbage on st patties day. Curry fries were so nasty and I love curry but this was gross. And the cheese with bacon on toast for 9 bucks was pretty rough. Thank god for beer and fire the cook

I had food poisoning several weeks ago that I think was from a sausage patty here. Wish that hadn’t ruined the place for me, but my brain is now wired to be concerned about eating here.

Ver disappointed on my most recent visit. After brining a group of 20 – 30 people (who likely spent in excess of $ 1k) I couldn’t locate my jacket at the end if the night. In asking the manager if I could leave a contact number if my jacket was found I was all but told to ‘go f*** yourself’.
What’s the point in being so rude and dismissive especially to someone who bought in so many people and income?

Ive had mixed times with donnely group locations, sometimes awesome, sometimes bad, but I tend to notice a certain «air» about people that work at most of their locations… and this is coming from someone that used to be a server. We sat down at the tables in very comfortable yet kinda big chairs, and ask the waitress for menus. Yes it was a loud atmosphere already, yes there were like 3 of us asking for menus in a POLITE way, so I can understand that she could have been overwhelmed. That doesn’t mean you look at us and say «there are too many people talking at once» and leave our table, before introducing yourself. Bad taste already. We weren’t rude, we weren’t forward. But be nice. I understand its a busy night but I’m not coming at you like a douche, so don’t act like one to us.
That being said, the drinks were good, (the food wasn’t), and our table was never forgotten in the masses, so service was good.

Nice venue — good vibe and seating but the service is so ridiculously slow. Took 20 mins to get my Guinness and I would have ordered another but our waitress never asked if we wanted another and we just decided to quit — shame! Might go back but only as a last resort (like tonight we couldn’t find anything with free seats which is how we ended us here).

Hm, «The New Oxford»…
I really didn’t want to like this place. I’m not a fan of most chain restaurants and I will avoid them most times if I can help it. We came in for a quick (semi-​healthy) meal before going to a show at the Vogue.
The pub smelled quite rankly of stale beer and really made me ill-​at ease before ordering my food. A dirty venue can often times mean lazy/​dirty food…
BUT — I have it in my mind that Donnelly Group pubs do a decent salad and this place did not deviate from that. Grilled chicken, avocado (seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil), romaine, baby kale, red onion slivers, croutons. Simple, light, and tasty.
‘Shared this and the BLTA (added cheddar) with my partner. Man, what a perfect pairing. The fries, strangely, reminded us both of McDonald’s fries which wasn’t really welcome… but I’ve had much worse. The sandwich was crunchy, savoury and was filled with good stuff like applewood-​smoked bacon, avocado, and rosemary mayo. My goodness, I had no idea how amazing rosemary mayo would be, but now I want to eat it on everything.
The place was laid out a little strangely. Long rooms on two levels and it’s a wonder the servers get anything out to you without dropping it, going up and down those twisty stairs. Our server was a little absent, but she was ok I guess. I’ve heard from others that the service is terrible here, but I think we were lucky to come at a quieter time.
Overall, I feel this place is a 3.5, but I am giving it 4 because it’s decently priced, good food in the downtown area — which is a special thing.

Really? I’m here dropping 50+ 2 – 3 nights a week. Show up tonight (Sat) guy asks for 10 dollar cover. Bar half empty. Peace. Forever. and that adds up.

We were passing by this pub one Saturday afternoon while strolling along Homer, and its window displays really grabbed my eye: they consisted of listing just a few of the various brews on-​offer here as window art. I’m always up for a new brew, so lunch it was.
I liked the semi-​dark interior, it creates a kind of noir-​ish atmosphere without being too intimidating. Comfortable and cozy — but not like Grandma’s sitting room. We chose to sit in the nice, deep easy chairs provided around some of the tables.
They have an extensive list of draft beers on tap; however, I opted for a bottled beer called «Omission India Pale Ale» brewed in Portland, Oregon because it’s gluten-​free. (I’ve been trying to avoid gluten lately, as a naturopath determined wheat is a no-​no for me).
In scanning their menu, they also offered gluten-​free bread and buns as a substitute for their regular bread products.
The Hangover Burger caught my eye — because who doesn’t love a good burger on a sunny summer Saturday? (Especially appropriate after celebrating National Tequila Day the night before…)
Alas, they were out of gluten-​free buns. A bit of a no-​no in my mind, but I chose to go with it anyway, sans buns. I had a choice of a mixed greens salad or fries as a side, and I chose the salad.
My dining companion the Divine Ms. K. chose the beef dip and fries.
The burger arrived, resplendent with maple-​smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato and a fried egg.
The burger was pretty good, juicy, flavourful. The salad was okay, not incredible, but not bad. I asked our waitress what was in it, and she didn’t seem to know too much about it. Too bad. It contained almonds, which are another no-​no for me. To my mind, if ingredients are not listed on the menu, the staff should at least be able to tell you what’s in it.
I asked her after I’d started eating if it was goat-​cheese in it — she seemed worried that I’d ask, but I told her I liked it, and she seemed relieved and said, «I think it is.»
Hmmm…you really need to know your product better, I think.
The gluten-​free pale-​ale was quite tasty; better, in fact, than a non g-​f pale ale I’d tried the night before.
Ms. K. told me the beef dip was about a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10.
Other than not knowing much about the salad, our service was prompt and courteous (although it was not very busy in mid-​afternoon).
I’d actually like to give it a 3.5 … it’s better than a 3 but not a 4. But as I’ve said before, Unilocal’s site is not set up for half-​star ratings by reviewers.
I would go back to try some of their other brews, provided I was in the neighbourhood. But I wouldn’t make a special trip just to go there like I do for some of my favourite Vancouver and area eateries.

I really need to update.
We come here every time my pops and bro are in town and New Oxford wows me every time these days. The Korean wings and blue cheese rocked almost as much as our server! She rocked a hell of a lot more!
Good job new oxford!
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A couple of weeks ago, I went to The New Oxford with a group of girls (we were having a girls’ night out and I finally had a chance to wear my sparkly turquoise heels!). I had looked at their online menu ahead of time to check out their drink list and prices, and had planned on getting a glass or two (most likely two, since I love my wine!) of Gewürztraminer. When we got the menus, I was disappointed to see that it wasn’t on the wine list, and in fact their printed wine menu was very different than their online wine menu.
I asked the server about the differences, and she said that they had just changed their menu. As I was trying to decide what to get, the server said that they had on special glasses of house red or white for $ 5. (This was not listed on the online or printed menus, so I would not have known had the server not mentioned this.) I was in the mood for white, and while I can’t remember what kind the wine was, it wasn’t Riesling or Chardonnay (wines I don’t like), so I had a couple of glasses of $ 5 wine. I also had their rosemary garlic fries with bacon chive mayo, and at $ 7, it was both tasty and cheap.
So if you are on a budget and want to have a couple of drinks and an appetizer in Yaletown, I’d recommend this place.
Edit: the wine was Cedar Creek Proprietors Select.

The place has a great ambiance for a casual night out for beer and burgers.