Giraffe

The giraffe was quite a nice getaway from the rain. It was very clean and had a friendly staff.

I’ve been here once and it’s fairly unremarkable.
There’s a good selection of food and it’s perfectly affordable. I wouldn’t recommend it necessarily but for simple, casual dining this is a good time.

The food was OK but it didn’t’ rip my ass off. Portions are too small so if u hungry u might not be satisfied. Worth to try — don’t expect too much.

Came here for breakfast the morning after a long flight, and it was the perfect cure for jet lag. The food is great, and the service was very good (it helped that we were the only people there). It also felt quite homey considering its a chain.
The coffee was also very good, and good coffee can be hard to find in the UK. Would definitely return for another meal the next time I’m in Oxford.

My wife and I stopped in during a trip from NYC. Fantastic tasty and healthy options (got the smoked salmon salad and the duck stir fry). Reasonably priced, free wifi, and interesting décor. The only reason I didn’t give it five stars is cause there were a TON of kids. Could be a coincidence, or it could be a pattern — but it’s hard to enjoy a meal over that much screaming.

Giraffe is a weird place. There is no identifying cuisine — they seem to have everything from burritos to stir-​fry, from burgers to japanese chicken skewers. The décor is not particularly cozy and the tables in the back are all up in the kitchen’s face. The waitresses are somewhat attentive, but also just a bit… what’s the word… cloudy.
That being said, the food is very decent. Started off with a gin and cucumber juice cocktail… not sour enough… too much sugar… pretty bad, homegirl had a glass of white wine, she enjoyed it. Then I had a large mezze platter, which was a sexy time, and my friend had a salad that was pretty plain and boring… but I didn’t eat any of it… and to be honest I wouldn’t have chosen something called a zuma beach salad off any menu… so we’ll skip over that. For dessert I had a rocky road sunday, was exactly what it said on the menu, and it was delicious going down, but I highly regretted ice cream before stepping out into the freezing sub zero weather. The friend had the sorbets, which were delicious, but regrettably, also very cold. Overall a bit pricey for what it is but reasonable.
In the end, I’ve given giraffe a (very) generous 4 stars because they don’t have a review and I don’t want to kill off any of their business based on a single impression. I would go here if you feel like having something different, pretty tasty, and you get bored of the other highly mediocre and aggressively overpriced places on george street: cough cough jamie’s cough cough:

A cheerful little restaurant; service is good though a bit overstretched. I recommend the chicken rodeo burger.

Yes, it IS family friendly in décor and facilities. Background muzak somewhat deafening.
The menu sounded terrific, but when the food arrived it was disappointing, like the chef had run out of enthusiasm. The portions are small and not worth the money.
Avoid being seated at the back near the kitchen, it is dark and dismal.

This is in a row of restaurants on George Street. It is very family friendly with a goods kids menu (not huge portions like some places which is good). The décor is bright and cheerful and the overall environment is welcoming. The food we had was very nice, but I do think it is heading towards the pricey side.

Giraffe, Oxford
Somehow our bill for lunch for 3 adults, 1 10 year old and a baby came to £105! Could have been something to do with the very nice bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc! We did have starters — lots of delicious fried tiger prawns and chilli dip and then the fussy 10 year old wolfed down the Chicken Schnitzel Kiev, and loved it. I had duck stir fry, excellent, Neil had a steak and my daughter the best burger she had had since San Francisco. Puddings were to die for! When we arrived they put us at the back, right by the kitchen, dark, gloomy & smelly. We asked to move to the front and they wanted to take our buggy away. This was loaded with shopping so there was a bit of an argy bargy about that but we won! We sat in the front by the window, perfect because the baby had just learned to say ‘bus’ and this was opposite the bus station. The crayons and pictures to colour are always a success in these restaurants and the staff (except the argy bargy waitress) were friendly and efficient.

I have been to Giraffe a number of times now purely for the atmosphere, friendliness of staff, efficient service and of course the delicious food they have on offer! This place is unique to many Mexican (ish) restaurants there’s an element of fun involved from the minute you step in the door! This one in particular had only been open for 2 days when I made my first visit. However this wouldn’t have been noticed if it wasn’t for all the signage! It was a perfect meal out with friends, with perfect staff and perfect service throughout our meal. The Turkey Enchilada’s are something else!

I love this place. Been to more elsewhere and will keep going back. Good value and huge menu. the burgers are over the moon good and the nachos genberous and filling. Great deserts and really nice wine, best brunch going

I REALLY like Giraffe.
The food is absolutely to die for!
The staff are always friendly, attentive and very chilled. In a good way!
I could eat here everyday ;o)
Love to take the kids there, it has a much better quality of food than most other kids menu’s.
Cant rec’md enough.
GO THERE!

George Street has transformed itself (for better or worse) from a seedy place for students to get drunk to a family friendly row of restaurants. Giraffe, like many of the others on George Street, is part of a chain. Unlike some of the other predictably good (which is to say, mediocre like Zizzi) chain restaurants here, Giraffe takes a very different approach.
If you want to be critical, the packaged theme of global and tropical décor is a bit cheesy (especially the love eat live slogan) and the popularity of the place with families with small children can certainly drive some people away.
But if you’re a transplanted Californian looking for a little taste of home, this is about as close to a piece of California as you’ll find in Oxford and all I can say is Thank Goodness there are no TGIFs or Chilis in this town like there is down in the cheesy exurb of Reading.
At the end of the day, the food here is great, and the service is cheerful, and it’s a GREAT place for brunch.
PS — smoothies here are the wimpy English kind with no ice, but very tasty.