Ashmolean Roof Top

If you want to marvel at some Egyptian mummies, check out some Chinese ceramics or study some still-life paintings, you'd go to the Ashmolean. If you want to enjoy a post-work drink with a difference, accompanied with a tapas-style bite to eat, turns out you'd go to the Ashmolean too.

A prestigious museum isn't the first place that springs to mind when you think fine dining, but in-the-know Oxford residents have been enjoying the Ashmolean's top-floor restaurant since the museum's extensive re-fit finished in 2009. With lavish lunches and afternoon teas on offer during gallery opening hours, the Ashmolean Dining Room transforms on Thursday and Friday nights. Step through the concealed doorway on St Giles and take the lift skywards: an evening on the roof terrace awaits.

The restaurant itself is full of light, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows maximising the view of the historical Randolph Hotel and beyond to Oxford's famous spires. One of these windows is a sliding door, opening onto the terrace. Thanks to our wonderful British weather, this terrace is sadly under-exploited for much of the year, but once summer rolls around (hurry up, would you?), this space is the place to be. There's an extensive area of decking with tables and chairs for informal dining, plus a patch of real grass with deck chairs that's perfect for lounging after a hard day's work.

In addition to a well-chosen wine list, a selection of wines and beers, the Roof Top menu also offers three appropriately-named cocktails: the Randolph, the Oxford Fool Sling and the Rooftop Daiquiri £6 each). N, D, M and I tested the range between us, with the vodka and cointreau Randolph and the rum-based daiquiri winning particular praise. The watermelon flavour of the Randolph makes it the perfect summer drink. Sadly the weather on our visit didn't quite fall into the 'perfect summer' category, but we didn't let a spot of rain stop us from ploughing through the entire food menu.

With dishes designed to be shared, the Roof Top's is ideal for a sociable post-work bite (or what I like to all a pre-dinner dinner). Or, if you order everything on offer as we did, you'll have more than enough for an evening meal. The select menu features a range of 'small plates', priced £4 each or 3 for £11. There are also sharing boards featuring either meat or cheese or a combination of the two for £14.50 a pop. These nibbles are definitely pricier than a bag of crisps down your local pub, but they're also a damn sight tastier – and more filling.

Meat and cheese boards

La Galleria

In the oh-so-English town of Woodstock, you'll find a little corner of Sardinia. Tucked in between the Cotswold stone shop-fronts and ivy-covered pubs stands La Galleria: a restaurant with a menu full of traditional Italian cooking; the perfect antidote to all those pizza and pasta chains.

Peeking in through the window on a Saturday evening, it may have looked a little like a living room circa 1990 (modern and minimalist La Galleria is not), but it was a living room packed with guests. Opened by Sardinian Lucio in the 1990s (perhaps explaining the decor), the restaurant is popular with both locals and visitors to Woodstock. Taking our seat at the last available table, we took in our surroundings: intimate and smart yet relaxed. The size of La Galleria helps to create a convivial atmosphere, with conversations starting up between diners at different tables as the evening progressed.

Nibbling on hunks of warm bread and sipping a far-too-drinkable glass of Sardinian Sauvignon Blanc, N and I perused our dining options. The menu begins with a selection of classic appetizers, from £5.95 for a soup to £9.50 for the calamari fritti, served with an intriguing-sounding tomato, garlic and avocado salsa. In true Italian style, the pasta and risotto selections are available both as smaller portions (£8.95) for those who want to continue their meal with some meat or fish, and in main course portions (£2 extra). All tastes are covered by the pastas, with a number of vegetarian options, as well as a nod to the owner's roots with the Sardinian malloredos pasta served with spicy sausage, broccoli, tomato and pecorino. I was pleased to note that risotto is made from scratch, but this unfortunately means that at least 2 diners must order it to make the preparation worthwhile. Next up are a selection of fish and meat options, with the latter particularly well represented: carnivores will have trouble choosing between dishes such as pollo alla salvia (boneless chicken cooked in white wine and wrapped in bacon and sage, £13.50) and spiedini di manzo kashis (baked slices of beef tenderloin skewered with onions, mushroom and peppers in a garlic sauce, £16.95).

Crab linguine

The Black Boy

It's taken almost a year, but here's my first review for the OX3 postcode. Shameful or telling? Well, Headington's not local for me and nor is it in the way of much passing trade, unlike the bar and boutique hubs of Jericho and Cowley. Tucked away from the main road, Old Headington is even less accessible. So when a restaurant located there is repeatedly recommended, it seems like you're on to a winner.

The Black Boy certainly has some champion credentials, not least a glowing review from The Observer's Jay Rayner and an appearance on the 50 best gastro pubs in the country list. Frequently billed as a gastro pub, I found the reality more akin to a restaurant: the leather-backed chairs and elaborately patterned wallpaper didn't really scream 'pub dining room' to me. Whatever bracket The Black Boy falls into, it's an inviting spot: welcoming, well-decorated and intimate without being cramped.

M and I visited on a Tuesday evening to spend a Living Social voucher valid for 2 courses and 2 glasses of wine. We chose from a set menu that was less limited than I had feared: 3 starters and 4 mains were on offer, with a meat, fish and vegetarian option for each course. I opted for a Greek salad followed by fish pie, while M chose a smoked haddock and salmon fish cake to start and bangers and mash for her main. The house wine was decent and cheap at just £3 a glass, while the rest of the wine list was varied and well-priced. The main menu is British with international influences, with starters including potted English trout and shrimp served with toasted homemade bread (£6.95) and Clonakilty black pudding with a soft poached egg and pancetta (£7.50). Starters are a little on the pricey side (mostly around the £7 mark), with mains such as roasted cod loin with spring onion and potato rosti, mussels and a cream and saffron sauce more reasonable around £12.95. There are also plenty of specials to choose from: 3 starters and 4 mains on the day we visited. At lunch time, sandwiches are also available, but don't expect a chunk of cheese wedged between hunks of bread: at £6.50 plus, these are deluxe doorstops.

Greek salad