À la carte in the comfort on your own home is the way forward it seems. We want to treat ourselves, we deserve it and what better way than eating the best food you can buy, delivered to your door, by No1 Ship Street?
The steak was ‘out of this world’, beautifully cooked, tender and delicious
Yes, one of our favourite Oxford’s restaurants (No1 Ship Street was awarded our Ox In A Box Best Restaurant Award earlier this year) is doing takeaways and deliveries, including starters, mains, desserts and even wine.
Having opened two years ago in central Oxford, No1 Ship Street quickly established itself as THE place to eat, but the coronavirus crisis changed that in an instant and Ross, his wife Alexia and head chef Owen Little had to come up with a plan of action.
Instead of closing their doors, they decided to launch an à la carte delivery service with wine, enabling their customers to still enjoy Owen’s wonderful cooking and luxurious ingredients, and the bookings are flooding in.
And we know, because Ox In A Box has tried their gourmet delivery service, and what a feast it was. From lobster to steak, pate to salads, mac’n’cheese to risotto and brownies, No1 Ship Street really went to town.
“There are very few of us still open in Central Oxford and we sincerely hope people understand that we are open for takeaways and deliveries, in order to survive.”
But then its takeaway menu is hard to resist. We started (yes started) with little pots of arancini (risotto rice balls) with wild mushrooms, truffle, parmesan and nut free pesto, plus a healthy slice of the chicken, duck and foie gras terrine, complete with toast and pickles, which was thick and dense with game.
Then the dry aged rib of beef (for 2) with bone marrow and fries. The steak was ‘out of this world’, beautifully cooked, tender and delicious.
The half lobsters with garlic butter and fries followed; fleshy, clean and dripping, they were such a treat and felt terribly decadent.
We all enjoyed the purple sprouting and Ticklemore salad with quince, mint and almonds, and the smoky mac’n’cheese with its hints of truffle. Everything here has a luxurious twist.
Our vegetarian daughter loved the spring vegetable risotto with wild garlic and a poached egg which arrived complete!!!!!! Plus prawns in a little pot to add at whim.
Only the fries were slightly cold, but considering No1 Ship Street usually delivers within a five mile radius, and we were more than double that, it was of little concern.
“We have worked hard, through some tough times and will continue fighting on”
The brownies we heated up in the microwave until they were hot and soft and added a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and Bob’s your uncle. It really was a feast.
So it’s little surprise to find out how busy Ross has been. But then he acted quickly, launching the Takeaway/Delivery service ahead of Boris’ announcement, having delivered 2000 flyers around parts of Oxford just in time, the rest dispersed in Bonners in The Covered Market’s delivery boxes.
Since then Ross has taken orders everyday (except Sundays) and open six days a week for as long as allowed.
So is he enjoying it? “It’s great to see people’s faces when we deliver, after pretty much being locked down for the last two weeks. They are really excited about getting something special delivered to their doors.
“Plus, the food we’re doing travels well and the feedback has been really positive, with some ordering serious bottles of wine to accompany their meals.
“If by doing this takeaway/delivery service we can bring a bit of normality to people who cannot get out, that’s the most we could hope for. “
And will it be enough to survive the current crisis? “When, at the end of this, we have managed to keep the business afloat we will have succeeded, unquestionably, more so than at any other time since we opened in 2017.
“We have worked hard, through some tough times and will continue fighting on. We’ll keep as many of our staff as we are able, and do our best to look after those having to leave us for the time being.
“There are very few of us still open in Central Oxford and we sincerely hope people understand that we are open for takeaways and deliveries, in order to survive.”
No1 Ship Street is open to take orders Monday-Saturday from midday. Collection and Delivery from 4pm-9pm. Ring 01865 806637 to go to www.no1shipstreet.co.uk
