The Porterhouse Grill and Rooms

We had an absolutely exceptional stay at The Porterhouse. Unsurprisingly, the real highlight was the food. The côte de boeuf was genuinely one of the best steaks I can remember eating — beautifully cooked, deeply flavourful, perfectly crusted on the outside and tender inside. The sort of meal where you keep stopping to say, “this is ridiculous.” Whoever is in charge of the grill seriously knows what they’re doing. Everything about the place felt thoughtful, warm and high quality without being fussy. The rooms were lovely, the atmosphere downstairs was relaxed and welcoming, and the food was far beyond what we were expecting from a hotel restaurant. We’ve eaten very well throughout a month-long trip around the UK, and this meal still stood out. An outstanding final stop in Oxford and somewhere I would very happily return to.

It wouldn’t stop us staying there again if the opportunity arose, but our room was up two very steep, wonky, and narrow flights of stairs. It’s charming and typical of a building that age, but can be tricky for suitcases. The staff actually got our suitcases up the stairs for us because we arrived early and had to leave them (THANK YOU!), but getting them down the stairs again was a bit scary. I wouldn’t attempt it if I wasn’t reasonably young and able-bodied.

Great room above a moderately busy steakhouse pub. Despite being directly above the pub filled with patrons and facing the road, it was very quiet — we didn’t even know there were other guests staying here until breakfast the next morning! Very comfortable bed and amenities. The staff were also very friendly and welcoming, and we got 15% off in the restaurant. The food was also excellent, dinner (not included) and breakfast (included with room). My spouse said the steak frites were the best he’d had this trip. Easy walk into Oxford’s historic districts and other shops/restaurants too. No parking onsite, but the suggested park & ride was very affordable and a short walk (15 minutes) back to the property (if you are not a UK resident you can pay for parking at the bus depot instead of online).

Very small thing, but the faucet fixture in the bathroom was wiggly and the handle a bit stiff, so you had to hold the fixture with one hand and lever the handle with the other, otherwise it wouldn’t turn on. Just needs a bit of tightening I think.

Clean, relatively new compared to other adjacent Oxford hotels

No elevator so be ready to take your bag up in case you bring a heavy one

Location very close to station - and the dinner was delicious

It was a very hot night and there is no air con