After three years, I’ve realised that I am nowhere close to completing the Oxford formal challenge. But luckily, my friends and I collectively only lack five colleges, all of which are postgrad, and one of which is All Souls. Here is our ranking – we only include normal formals to even out intra-formal disparities. For the formals I haven’t been to, Max and Juliette have compared them to colleges where we overlap. Our ranking criteria are: 1) food quality, 2) ambience including themes, and 3) price. Just a note, there are no PPHs on our list – sorry, Regents!
Top 5:
- St Peter’s – Amazing! They make unique combinations like chocolate and butternut squash work, and have never lacked in seasoning. Their bread is also the best – no notes! They have an interesting penchant for honeycomb shaped things on desserts. Their custom mint chocolate is also unforgettable.
- Worcester – Good food and pretty hall. The bread never misses, the gardens are lovely for pre-dinner views, and I still think of the crunchy topping on the leek soup I had one time.
- St Anne’s – the ambience is unexpectedly nice, given it’s Anne’s. And there’s candelabras! Points have been deducted though for assigned seating. The food is always nice; the duck and red meat always tastes good. I even had prosciutto as an appetiser once!
- Trinity – The fried brie with cranberry sauce on steak nights is my favourite appetiser to have at formals. Once, they even had scallops. Looks much better now that it is not in a tent!
- St John’s – Unbeatable for getting your money’s worth. Food is reliably tasty, you don’t pay that much, and you can bring lots of friends. International themed formals are well-intentioned and they execute them well!
Good:
Somerville – The food was indeed good; the fish had crispy skin and was well-seasoned. During Trinity, the sun sets during formal and the lighting in the hall is perfect.
Exeter – Their pork belly texture was great. The braised beef had a nice red wine jus that beats other formals. Love the lighting and the portraits, and the renovated hall looks amazing.
Teddy – The food is great, given their Michelin chef, though not worth £27. The unique butters are always great. Thanksgiving formal left a bit to be desired.
Mansfield – So many points for it being in the chapel, but it doesn’t happen often, so it’s hard to get in. Max: the food was “unmemorable; not too good, but clearly not bad either.”
Kellogg – I loved the dauphinoise potatoes, and the free port and wine! Their chocolate is also nice. Assigned seating without a high table meant we sat next to a fellow, but made for a cool experience. It is a bit expensive though.
New – Almost always a hit. Only formal I’ve been to that’s served pie as a main. “Manners maketh man” is a great motto to put on plates. The duck was so good to the point that I worried I accidentally went to a guest formal.
Merton – really yummy food, and offers great gluten free food (gf dessert was a brownie rather than just fruit!). Brilliant price, and the ambience was cosy with warm lighting and plenty of arm room.
Decent:
St Hugh’s – The espresso is nice, and had one of my favorite formal desserts (a madeleine with creme brulee).
Lincoln – One time they tried to experiment with a Chinese menu, and it didn’t work. Their chicken is great though! And I still think about their mango sorbet. Added points for heated seats.
Reuben – Our starter was duck breast, main was beef rump, both perfectly cooked. Sticky toffee pudding was a bit too boozy, and the price is too high.
Magdalen – We loved the hall; it’s so pretty and bumps up the score for ambience. Max: The food is decent but not exactly special.
Keble – The kale in the main was good, but the chicken was not brilliant. I loved the panna cotta for dessert, and the giant hall is fun for people watching!
Oriel – My friend once got kicked out for wearing brown shoes with his suit. Max: The hall “gives library”, with a tapestry of books. The food was typical formal food, but done well.
Univ – The hall is so cute! Salmon was a bit bland, but the goat’s cheese salad was nice and pungent, which worked great with the rocket.
Pembroke – Juliette: I think Max’s review was a one-off bad formal – I’ve enjoyed many Pembroke formals, and can say they are great! In my opinion, it’s a consistent and reliably tasty formal, with occasional desserts like the Pembroke brownie skyrocketing my review. Max: I only went to Chinese New Year formal. The starter tasted like egg noodles from Tesco, and the main was not worth the price bump! The only reason why I wouldn’t rate it last is because it was at least served in a hall.
Harris Manchester – Max: We had guinea fowl and free wine. The hall was small, but well-designed. The food was good, but not super special.
Hit or miss:
Hertford – The Sunday formals are family style, but I went to their Thursday formal, which was great; we had a quiche followed by sticky toffee pudding with caramel. Bonus points for the view of the Rad Cam from the hall: it is gorgeous.
Queen’s – The obsession with geometric-shaped foods is, to put it nicely, odd. Sometimes, the formal is just not good. But they do know how to cook good salmon, and their chicken tends to be juicy (they also cook the skin until crispy!), and often the vegetarian meals are done very well.
St Hilda’s – Their round table concept makes it much easier to chat! I had salmon with greens, which was great. There was a tomato and mozzarella salad which was incredible. Max: The chicken was the worst chicken I’ve had at formal. (Editor’s note: Hilda’s is clearly the winner for the most inconsistent quality formal)
Brasenose – You can tell whether the formal is a hit or a miss simply by taking a look at the menu. The Brasenose brownie? Delicious. Sunday soup night? Decent. Second year’s guinea fowl with cabbage? Horrible.
Corpus Christi – Most points here are awarded for their cute hall. Max: The Chinese New Year formal is the best in Oxford (read: not horrible.) The potato balls with steamed fish were not too bland. The other formals were so-so, but you do get a decent amount of food.
Balliol – The themed formal wasn’t bad, and the pineapple kebab was good. The chicken ramen was just… weird. The pork at normal formal tastes too meaty. It would be higher up on the list if it wasn’t so expensive!
Lady Margaret Hall – Max: Not a fan of the hall and food was mid. The chicken pâté was okay, but the main had one unseasoned potato and two pieces of broccoli for vegetables. Do better.
Leaning bad:
Jesus – Max: the main was a bland, floppy turkey schnitzel. The bread was iffy. The hall bumps the score up a lot. (Can you tell that Max is here for the vibe?)
Wadham – Max: There were only two courses, and it felt like normal hall food served on a plate. But added points for the placemats, and for the attempt to make formal hall accessible.
Christ Church – Just the leftover hall food from that night, so they tend to rush, and it doesn’t feel very special. I had three servings of ONION RINGS. Unfortunately, the parameters of the review hamper Christ Church from getting any recognition it might deserve – guest nights are where it truly shines. (Max: Add points for a gorgeous hall!)
St Antony’s – Max: Overpriced, and I hate brutalist halls. The cod was overcooked. Dessert was nice. Crucially, the gazpacho was worse than the Balliol one.
St Cross – Max: I went to Japanese formal. Their miso soup didn’t taste like miso soup at all! The matcha sponge cake was decent. But it felt claustrophobic because of how tiny the hall was, and the lights were too bright.
St Catherine’s – Max: I enjoyed the old hall, but the tent is horrible. Food was not special, but not too horrible – it seemed like what they were serving in the hall that day.
