Like Oliver Twist with his face pressed up against the window, as soon as my taxi drew up outside The Coconut Tree in St Clements, I knew it was going to be worth the journey, regardless of how cold it was outside.
This is a place where people come to have fun, let their hair down and eat some seriously good food in the meantime
For a start the place was heaving – every single table crammed with people – groups, couples, students – all chowing down on The Coconut Tree’s famous Sri Lankan street food, their tables piled high with enamel dishes of goodies as they downed exotic cocktails as if they were going out of fashion.
I followed their lead, snatching up the cocktail menu before I’d even taken off my coat and heading straight for a ‘sriki-tiki’ (gold rum, coconut rum, raspberry, pineapple and lime) followed swiftly by a ‘beach boy’ (coconut rum, coconut savour and a pineapple soda)
And with each sip the freezing winds outside were replaced by visions of white beaches, turquoise seas, a hammock or two, a beach bar, calypso music…….
This is a place where people come to have fun, let their hair down and eat some seriously good food in the meantime. And I’ve never been more game in my life.
I haven’t been to The Coconut Tree since it opened in 2017. I liked it then, but things have improved even further. The menu has been tweaked, the atmosphere has relaxed, the regulars have settled in. In short, it’s become a hub in its own right.
In the meantime, Coconut Trees have been opening up left, right and centre – two in Bristol, one in Bournemouth, Cardiff…. London being next on the Sri Lankan team’s horizons, but Oxford continues unabated, carolling happily along.
The original Coconut Tree opened in Cheltenham after five friends moved there from London and lived above a pub while they served the food they’d grown up with to an increasing army of admiring customers. Oxford was next on the list.
The decor at the St Clement’s branch only enhances the atmosphere – the bar made entirely of coins, and details like the elephant mug cocktail glasses, the lavish cushions and ornate pictures all offset against ramshackle wooden table and chairs.
The staff here are another massive attribute – relaxed and smiling but professional, they perfectly exemplify what The Coconut Tree is all about.
Explaining the extensive Sri Lankan menu in depth, despite the busy service, they had their recommendations – the Hoppers, Kotthu and devilled dishes for example, but with each guest ordering between 4-8 dishes, you can expect plentiful supplies of food.
And we weren’t disappointed.
Sri Lankan cuisine is naturally predominantly vegan and vegetarian heavy, hence the 17 vegan dishes on offer, all mixed in with meat and fish, curries and quick, fresh, wok-style cooking. The Dutch and Portuguese influence – the island’s heritage – is also evident.
Hence The Coconut Tree was a finalist in the Best Veggie/Vegan category in the Ox In A Box Food Awards.
But these worthy and timely credentials do nothing to detract from the food itself, which is just magic.
What to choose though is a different matter – there are so many delicious sounding things on the menu, so many of them novel, that you want to try them all.
Which might account for the sheer quantity of dishes that suddenly appeared on our table at once. Where to put them all?
So….what did we have? The cashew nuts and green peas soaked in coconut cream (£6), the pineapple curry also in coconut cream (£4), the chickpeas stir fried in coconut oil, onions, garlic, mustard seeds and crushed chillies (£4.50), the polenta battered, hot buttered spicy mushrooms with caramelised onions, the coconut samba – a relish blended with coconut, chillies and shallots (£4), the gova mallunn with kale – pan-fried cabbage and kale in coconut oil, the cheesy column, sticky cheese cubes, the slow cooked goat curry in Jaffna spices (£7.50) and the black pork – diced belly slow roasted in a black spice mix, and of course some hoppers – a bowl-shaped coconut milk pancake served with coconut samba, caramelised onion with cinnamon and Sri Lankan salsa with egg (£3.50).
Favourites? Which to pick? The fiery pineapple curry I’m still thinking about, the crunch of the cashew in the creamy curry sauce, the bite of the spiced chickpeas, the melt-in-the-mouth goat curry, the hoppers, folded up like little juicy pancakes and popped in the mouth. Everything really. It all blended into one wonderful feast.
Half an hour later we sat immobile, sides heaving, Sri Lankan juices dribbling down our chins, utterly stuffed, immensely satisfied, mightily impressed.
And as the DJ started up, the customers started swaying and the evening changed into night, we sat back and just soaked up all that lovely Sri Lankan hospitality.
What a place and what a wonderful attribute for Oxford. So get down there and just go with the flow.
The Coconut Tree, 76 Saint Clement’s, Oxford. OX4 1AH.
Opening Times: Monday-Sunday, noon ’til late
