You might come to the Oxley Public House for the Welsh rarebit and Scotch eggs, but you'll stay for the taste of the Empire you'll enjoy inside its woody, upholstered interior. So authentically British-pub is the experience at this quaint Yorkville tavern that one might imagine himself stumbling out of it onto an English high street. Inside, mirrors line one wall (behind the bar) and a vast Victorian hunting scene adorns another. A stately fireplace with an old clock on its mantel marks the passage of good times spent here, noshing on fish pie from mismatched china and knocking the head off your Guinness.more...See more text
If you ask Andrew Carter, a man named Frank Oxley is the epitome of British culture. The owner and executive chef named his restaurant after the Englishman after a chance encounter with him at the Queen and Beaver Pub on Elm Street, Andrew’s first restaurant. They got to talking and Andrew learned that Frank landed on the beaches of Normandy when he was just 15, that he’d been a prolific journalist, and that he once brought a British sports car to New York—decked out in Union Jack colours—and drove it all around the country to publicize the benefits of trading with England.
When Andrew was trying to decide on a name for his second British gastropub with co-owner Jamieson Kerr, Frank Oxley came up. “Frank encapsulated what we really wanted to do with our place, which was to produce something of style and substance, and Frank is that,” says Andrew.
He called Frank and told him he was going to name his restaurant after him. “That was the first and only time the guy has been speechless in my company.”
It should come as no surprise that this British pub serves some of the best savoury pies in town. The Oxley Fish Pie is hearty and packed with lobster, scallops, salmon, mussels and more - all mixed with buttery mashed potatoes. The whole thing is served with a side of boiled peas.
Rabbit and Potato Raised Pie: Good old fashioned English pie is a speciality at this Yorkville pub. But it's a rabbit and potato raised pie ($17) that numbs us with awe. The crust alone looks like it popped out of a Rembrandt still life, with layers of beautifully spiced bunny and perfectly tender spud slices.
This British gastro pub boasts fantastically dressed rooms (even the loo is gorge) as well as a fascinating menu. Once you go, you’ll want to return straight away.
After all, where else can you find Arctic Char with Lemon Sparrow Noodles & Fava Beans ($27), Red Prawns & Dumplings with English Peas ($18), and Mushroom Pithivier & Young Leaves ($19)?