The Oxford Tavern

American Bar Bar Food Booze Cocktails Dessert Eat & Drink Pub Bistro

Jackie McMillan
January 15, 2014

With any luck, the super cute five-buck Cheeseburger ($5) here – sandwiching beef, mustard, crunchy pickles, ketchup and gooey cheese between soft, sweet brioche buns – will be the death knell for Stanmore McDonalds. Just ‘round the corner, this Michael Delany remodelling of Petersham’s infamous pole dancing and jelly wrestling venue is now the most family-friendly of the Drink’n’Dine venues, which include The Abercrombie, Santa Barbara and most recently House of Crabs. If you do park in the beer garden with little people, you might want to think up an age-appropriate explanation of their only dessert – The Jelly Wrestle ($20) – that comes with gloves not cutlery. Being kid-free, I availed myself of a Swinging Tit ($9) instead. With Kraken Spiced Rum juxtaposed with pink jellied foam that’s sprayed onto your arm, it’s another nice nod to the building’s former occupants. Buffalo Cauliflower Balls ($14) with hot sauce and blue cheese sauce stick to your ribs if you’re settling in for a dive bar drinking session with a Crystal Street Hurricane ($25/jug). Less alcohol-fuelled eating might include their accessible Ceviche ($16) on sweet cassava crackers, followed by a full-size smokey Hickory Burger ($18). Drinking a schooner of Kosciuszko ($6.50) might suffice, though beer made me hanker for their upcoming American BBQ…