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| L to R: John Tepper Marlin and Brigid Marlin. |
The Randolph is right across from the Ashmolean Museum, which has been renovated and is a popular destination–except on Mondays, when it is closed.
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| Martyrs' Memorial from the Dining Room, |
The Randolph dining room has a terrific view of the Martyrs' Memorial in St. Giles.
I was surprised to find the restaurant empty at noon and even at 12:30. We left at 1:30 pm and still there were few people at lunch.
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| My sister Brigid bearing up. |
The service was attentive at all times, so the problem is not that the hotel does not want to please its customers.
My sister and I think that the reason there are few diners is that the food doesn't keep pace with the location.
I had a disappointing minestrone soup and an avocado salad with too much inferior salad dressing. Diners expect more than that nowadays.
However, an Oxford friend says I should consider this a lapse of the Randolph most likely caused by the lingering aftermath of a fire at the Randolph on April 20, 2015 caused by too much cognac in the flambéed beef stroganoff.
So we won't go on about the poor quality of the meal.
