Lunch at Gees Oxford

Gees is one of those restaurants that you desperately want to be good as it is such a destination and yet for years has always disappointed.  For a very short 'hey day' Raymond Blanc made it his HQ and it was spectacular, but when he de-camped to the Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons, what followed was a poor imitation.  I read that it has been 'made-over' and everything has changed from the 'trying to be fancy' food to the 'trying to be fancy' interiors.  So we decided to check it out (I still wore some 'trying to be fancy' clothes, as there is little opportunity to dress up in Oxford)

Fabulous flowers is next door to the restaurant, and everyone stops for a bit of a browse amongst their beautiful blooms....

They can be bought online from fabulousflowers.biz and with prices around £30-£40 for a bouquet, they are just as lovely, but a lot more value than the more famous equivalents...

 These jam jar arrangements come in sets of 4 for just over 30 quid!

I wore my nude Valentino pumps, white denim leggings, silk Joseph blouse, there is one here for only £7.99, it is from the White Company and very similar, just badly displayed, so a bit of a steal.  The raspberry pink jacket is from the Helen Hospice shop, they have some beautiful proper vintage finds and since the hospice is for terminally ill kids, any purchase is justified...

My favourites were the jam jar flowers, if we could count on the weather, I would buy for an outdoor party...

And this is Gees, notice all of the bikes chained outside, you know you are in Oxford, and see a very hungry boy in a blue t shirt....

This pic is 'pre-makeover'....

Post make-over...

Hungry boy shouting 'come on' or similar as we approach the 'plant library'...

Again, only in Oxford, the plant selection is presented as books in the new lean-to entrance way....

I am taking lots of notes for my own conservatory...

I will buy some personalised planters from here...

There was a wedding in full swing at one end of the restaurant....

The bride looked beautiful in a simple silk number...

This is a wedding designed by Fabulous Flowers...

We ate burgers from the grill...

 I did the 'healthy' version and had slow roasted beetroot in place of chips...

And I am happy to report, it was DELICIOUS, back in the cottage a very full tummy later...