One of the city's gems! High quality authentic Chinese cuisine served by attentive staff in pleasant surroundings.

The Venue
Perhaps a 10 minute walk from the city centre, Paddyfields is on Hythe Bridge Street and is conveniently situated near to one of Oxford's larger car parks and five minutes from the railway station. Nearby attractions include Jongleurs comedy club, the Oxford retreat and the Bridge nightclub.

Inside it's fairly typical Chinese restaurant style with the occasional golden plastic ornament lurking in a corner. The main dining area is spacious and there are plenty of large tables if you are taking the family.

The People
The first thing that springs to your attention as you walk in is the authentic feel of the place, most of the clientele you will see are oriental which is always a good sign for a Chinese restaurant and the smell wafting from the kitchen stimulates your tastebuds instantly.

You're greeted by one of the Paddyfields exceptionally polite and respectful staff who go out of their way to make you feel welcome and surprise you with their exceptional knowledge of the menu and Chinese food in general.

The Food
There are three seperate menus available, drawing mainly on Peking, Cantonese and Szechuan cuisine but not entirely confined to these regions. There's a business lunch menu served Monday to Saturday between noon and 2.30pm. This is a subset of the main menu and offers three courses for a very pleasing £8 and up. You can choose from a range of traditional starters (spare ribs, wantons etc), add a main from a list of 15 different dishes and finish with a choice of fruit fritters or ice cream.

For the more adventurous, the dim sum menu is available daily from noon (worth noting that after 6pm a surcharge of £1 per dish is added). The dim sum menu offers an exceptional choice (no less than 75 dishes!) with everything from steamed dumplings and buns to roasted meats, congee and cheung fun dishes. Highlights include crispy squid tentacles and four treasure duck and, for the brave, there's tripe and chicken feet in a variety of sauces.

Atop the seeminly never-ending list of dishes that comprises the main menu you will see an option for the "leave it to us feast" (17.50 each), this is the perfect way to simplify your dining experience and lets you place yourself in the hands of the staff. Your waiter chats briefly to find out if you have any favourites and then tailors a set meal to your party - all you have to do is sit back and enjoy!

Of course you can still choose exactly what you want from the 150 plus dishes. Individual dishes are perhaps a little more expensive than your local takeaway with appetizers starting from £5 and main dishes from £8 but the quality and authenticity make it well worth the extra investment.

To list every dish that stands out would take a long time but a few high points include the mouthwatering fillet of beef in Cantonese sauce, the desparately delicate minced quail and the range of spicy Thai curries (not for the faint of heart). Compared to the menu as a whole there is not a massive choice for vegetarians, but you won't go hungry.

The Drink
It's the sort of choice you would expect from this sort of establishment - traditional Chinese beer and Chinese tea will satify the majority of diners but for those who like wine a good choice is available and there are a range of soft drinks for the non drinkers.

The Last Word
A large slice of China in the middle of Oxford, Paddyfields will have you coming back again and again simply to scratch the surface of the range of flavours and dishes on offer. Throw in great service, great ambience and a very reasonable weekday lunch and you have a restaurant that stands head and shoulders above the competition.

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