The Folly Restaurant

In the heart of the city, there’s a space for you to carve out special moments. The Folly.

Celebrations with friends. Special occasions with loved ones. Or simply a place to press pause. To savour the moment and enjoy food made with love.

At The Folly, the aim is simple: to give you the time, and the space, to let the everyday slip away. Spending time together matters and The Folly will make it special.

The Folly relishes its status as one of Oxford’s few independent, family owned restaurants. It strives to offer an excellent dining experience in a unique location as well as providing wonderfully unusual experiences such as the Cruise and Dine package, Afternoon Tea parties, and year round outdoor dining on the floating river terrace.

Whilst The Folly is proud of its AA Rosette and Tripadvisor Travellor’s Choice Award, what makes it stand apart is the team’s belief in genuine hospitality. They have created a special place for diners where the goal is for you to enjoy a real treat.

The site of the restaurant is a key part of Oxford history, providing the location for the birth place of Alice in Wonderland. The book’s author, Lewis Carroll would regularly bring Alice and her sisters down to the site of the restaurant on Folly Bridge and hire a small rowing boat to explore the waterways around the city. It was on one such trip on July 4th 1862 that, to entertain the rather bored children, he began a story beginning with Alice pursuing a white rabbit down a hole in the river bank. The rest of course is history…

The Folly strives to be a sustainable business and offers a constantly evolving seasonal menu to take advantage of the freshest glorious local produce that is right on its doorstep, and to reduce ‘food miles’ as much as possible.