Watching a bunch of students mulling about on a Friday night deciding which bars to target, I wasn't expecting to find a hotpot place in the middle of Oxford. At first, I saw the sign up top for Opium Cafe. I didn't even want to think about it. But when my dad exclaimed that they had hotpot, I knew we weren't going to go anywhere else after that moment. He hadn't had Asian food in over a week on this UK trip. I was surprised he lasted this long. There were more patrons in there than I expected--and definitely more non-asian patrons than I expected. In fact, there were no other Asians in there. I don't know whether that attests to the non-authenticity of the food or how pricey it was. Since my dad wanted the AYCE hotpot for $25/person, we didn't have a chance to try their other dishes, so I can't say anything about whether they hold their own or not. However, the hotpot was surprisingly decent. I mean, I guess you can't really screw up chinese hotpot. You give the customers raw food and then they boil it and slather it with a bunch of sauces. Oh, this place has a heck of a lot of sauces. Like 8 different containers of them! For you beginners looking for a more authentic flavor, I would definitely do a blend of the "BBQ Sauce." By the way, it ain't your BBQ sauce you throw on that rack o' ribs in case you were wondering. I like to mix it with a bit of peanut or sesame sauce and throw in some chili oil for good measure. For ordering, you just tick off everything that you want on a little checklist. If you need to order more, they will hand you the checklist back and you can check more off. We ordered a regular variety of foods you usually find in hotpot: beef and lamb, vegetables, seafood, tofu, etc. The veges looked nice and sturdy, and the seafood didn't smell fishy (read: frozen). My only complaint was the meat slices. They were so hard to chew and didn't seem to cook well. If ayce kbbq places can offer the same price and give quality meat, I feel like my standard of expectation has been set there. I guess I don't necessarily blame this place since its in Oxford and it didn't seem like they got a lot of customers who ordered the AYCE hotpot. I bet most of them have only been exposed to Chinese food made out of a wok. Anyway, if you are looking for Chinese food in Oxford, I'd probably recommend this place. A little pricey for the AYCE hotpot for what it is, but if you are craving it, I don't see the harm of giving this place a try.

Visited Oxford on April 8, 2017 while in the U.K.. We had a wonderful lunch at the Opium Den. I had the Sichuan Spicy Beef as an appetizer and the Deep Fried shredded Chili Beef with Egg Fried. I recommend this restaurant to anyone in the area.