The award-winning Back Lane Tavern in Woodstock is opening new restaurant OXTWO in Summertown Wine Bar, with executive chef Johnny Parke at the helm.
OXTWO is expected to open in late February 2025 with a tapas style sharing plate menu largely cooked over charcoal.
The venture is a 50/50 collaboration between Summertown Wine Bar and Brewmish (who run The Back Lane Tavern and The Duke in Woodstock), and both parties are delighted about the new opening.
Summertown Wine Bar will be renamed OXTWO ready for the February opening, and a new kitchen is now being built to accommodate Johnny and his team.
Johnny Parke says: “We’re so excited to be opening OXTWO at Summertown Wine Bar and doing something a bit different there. Everything will be made from scratch and its all about flavour, as well as speed and precision in the kitchen. But it will be totally different to what we offer at The Back Lane. Think new menu and smaller dishes because we want people to try a bit of everything.
“Obviously The Back Lane will remain unchanged and while I help set up OXTWO for three months I will still be designing the menus and collating the dishes on all the sites. My amazing kitchen team at The Back Lane have been with me for 3-6 years so I will oversee them and split my time between the two, but I have the utmost faith in my team.”
Is it a risk? I don’t want to be cocky but we have such a good reputation at The Back Lane and The Duke and with Michael and Graeme’s wine expertise, we think we can create something really special at OXTWO.
“So yes it’s a big deal and a lot rests on our shoulders but we cannot wait to open and bring something unique to Oxford. We are over the moon about it.”
The new menu boasts dishes such as coconut lobster bisque with lemongrass and kaffir lime (£7), Colchester oyster with ponzu and sambal, roasted cauliflower with sheeps cheese and chicken skin (£6), rare breed Tamworth pork taco (£10), Cotswold lamb rib and chimichurri (£9), roasted peppers with tapenade and monks beard (£7) or banana tart tatin with yoghurt ice cream (£9).
There will also be a full vegan and kids menu as well as an extensive bar menu, a big Sunday roast offering and Sunday night raclettes.
Brewmish, headed up by Chris Brewster, Mish Pharaon and Hugo Kelly have been looking for a new site for 18 months. So when the opportunity arose to provide a food offering at Summertown Wine Bar, the Brewmish team jumped at the chance.
“This is an incredible opportunity to create something really exciting in the OX2 area. We want to be pioneers of small plates, wine, food and music,” Brewmish MD Chris Brewster says. “Johnny is a genius when creating menus and we can’t believe what he has achieved at The Back Lane, so we can’t wait to introduce his food to Summertown.
“And with Graeme and Michael’s wine knowledge it just seems like the perfect combination, so the bar area will remain as a space for wine lovers and the restaurant will horseshoe around the sides and back.”
Graeme Woodward and Michael Jelley who run Grape Minds wine shop just around the corner from OXTWO, opened Summertown Wine Bar in April 2023 https://oxinabox.co.uk/its-been-a-labour-of-love-summertown-wine-bar-celebrates-its-one-year-anniversary-and-youre-invited/.
Graeme and Michael said: “It’s such a fantastic opportunity to really turbocharge our offering at Summertown Wine Bar, and to be able to do it with friends is a dream come true.
“There is a huge appetite for what we offer here, but we know our customers would like a better food offering, so to bring Johnny and his team on site is so exciting because Summertown doesn’t have anything like OXTWO and we can’t wait to bring something new to the community here.
And with new GM Jamie Threlfall appointed, previously at Oxfordshire’s Double Red Duke, the OXTWO team is coming together nicely.
Jamie says: “I went for lunch at The Back Lane Tavern and it was one of the best meals I’ve ever had. So I emailed Brewmish the next day, because they have exactly the right ethos; a slick, friendly operation with great staff and incredible food. And here we are. So I’m very proud to be part of the new team and looking forward to bringing something new to Summertown.”
Which means it’s all systems go, and until the OXTWO changeover next year in the former Laura Ashley shop, Summertown Wine Bar will remain open, culminating in a massive New Years Eve Party to mark the end of the first chapter.
Brewmish partner Hugo Kelly says: “We have wanted to open in Oxford for a long time as we all grew up here, so being offered the chance to bring all our collective hospitality experience together in such a stand out venue is such an exciting opportunity.
“We have known and worked with Grape Minds for years so it feels like coming full circle. We are just champing at the bit to open now and are ready for the challenge ahead.
“But we wouldn’t be in this position now if it wasn’t for the success of the Back Lane and the welcome we received in Woodstock, because the pub gets more and more popular as the years go by and we are so thankful for that. And while Johnny’s food is the big attraction we have such a great team there.
So whether its a romantic dinner, an after school supper, a special occasion, a quick nibble after work, a proper Sunday roast or just a glass of wine, OXTWO will have it covered, and with up to 80 dining covers is more than capable of ensuring that as many people as possible can enjoy Johnny’s food
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