Restaurants

The Mad Hatter

43 Iffley Road, Oxford, OX4 1EA, GB

Rating: 4.3 ★ (503 ratings)

Details

The Mad Hatter presents a truly whimsical and eccentric escape in Oxford, inviting guests to tumble down the rabbit hole into an Alice in Wonderland-themed setting. This speakeasy cocktail bar and restaurant captivates with its unique character, featuring decor inspired by Lewis Carroll's tales, including rabbits in waistcoats and staff sometimes adorned as mysterious witches behind the bar. The atmosphere blends European cabaret with an American speakeasy vibe, creating a delightful sense of absurdity and a truly distinctive nocturnal adventure. Guests often find themselves solving riddles to gain entry, adding to the immersive experience. Located in the bohemian district of Cowley, to the east of Oxford's dreaming spires, it stands out as a destination venue.

Dining at The Mad Hatter offers an eclectic mix of Italian and burger-style cuisine, alongside popular afternoon tea options, all thoughtfully catering to vegan and vegetarian preferences. Patrons can enjoy inventive dishes such as the soya-based Alice burger, or savoury polpette di melanzane. The venue is particularly celebrated for its "Songs and Scones" bottomless brunch, which includes a generous afternoon tea spread of sandwiches, pastries, sweet treats, and scones, served with a cocktail teapot in a private karaoke room. The extensive cocktail menu boasts over 60 distinct concoctions, many of which are uniquely presented in teapots or laboratory flasks, with notable options like the "Tweedledee" and "Alice's Smoking Hot" cocktail. Metre-long pizzas are also available, perfect for sharing.

This quirky establishment is ideally suited for those seeking a fun, immersive experience with a touch of fantasy. It serves as an excellent choice for birthdays, celebrations, and various special occasions, providing a memorable backdrop. The Mad Hatter also excels as a private hire venue, accommodating events up to 100 guests with options for live music, DJs, and cocktail masterclasses. Furthermore, its private karaoke rooms make it a superb spot for a lively night out with friends or a unique date night, appealing to adults who are young at heart.

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Location

Opening Hours

Monday: Closed; Tuesday: Closed; Wednesday: 5:00 – 10:30 PM; Thursday: 5:00 PM – 1:00 AM; Friday: 5:00 PM – 12:30 AM; Saturday: 12:00 PM – 12:30 AM; Sunday: Closed

Contact

+44 7767 225610

Comments

Hannah Ling
29 Jun 2026
5.0 ★
Went with work colleagues for a celebration and hired a karaoke room - so much fun and helpful staff. Preordered a metre long pizza (which was great value) plus 3 baskets of fries - delicious and was plenty of food for our 7/8 people. We also preordered drinks for a good deal. When we were near the end of our room time, a staff member kindly reserved us a table in the main bar space so we could continue the fun downstairs (where you can do more karaoke!)
JEFFREY GUNTER
28 Jun 2026
5.0 ★
The Mario cart band was off the hook!!!
Amazing musicians, perfect arrangement.
4 players with 9- piece band doing the sound track.

The management is shear chaos and adorable…

Please make a detour if the Mario cart band is playing. It will be the high point of your trip….
Pavlos Hadjipavlis
27 Jun 2026
5.0 ★
Definitely not suitable if you have problems with stairs. But other than that, it's a great bargain because you are minutes away from Oxford High Street, even on foot. Also, the rooms are comfortable enough and the bathroom (toilet & big shower) was super clean. We arrived during a heat wave and the owners offered two big fans to help us through the night. TIP: there's a very fun Karaoke pub on the ground floor which is quite popular with the locals.
Gabrielle Heap
25 May 2026
5.0 ★
It was a Saturday and although it was a peak time for both dinner and social drinking, we were well looked after. We ordered both food and drink, which was promptly taken and fulfilled to the detail. When one meal was missing, we were compensated. Honestly never met staff as genuinely generous and caring. The food was delicious, considering we ordered a lot for four people, but it was wonderfully hot, perfectly cooked and even went in for a cheeky dessert. Definitely a family favourite for us. Thank you so much for taking such great care of us. A must stop visit!
Sarah H
24 Apr 2026
5.0 ★
Really cool hotel! Great vibe and decorations, good value. Very pleased there was oat milk in the room. Online check in was very easy, code access worked very well (I hadnt received my codes in the time suggested, but sent a message and got a reply very quickly). Could do with some touch ups here and there but certainly nothing to complain about!
Emily Weller
14 Mar 2026
5.0 ★
The Mad Hatter hosted my hen party on Saturday morning and we had a lovely time! The private karaoke room was the perfect space for our jewellery making class and the waiters were attentive and helpful, even bringing extra tables up to the room for us. We enjoyed a mix of alcoholic and non-alcoholic teapot cocktails, as well as the afternoon tea, all of which was delicious. They were also really helpful when arranging my booking and taking payment in advance. Thank you so much!
Effie Nikitopoulou
27 Feb 2026
5.0 ★
Amazing night at the Hatter! Me and some Friends booked a private karaoke room upstairs on Saturday the 13th of April and then we went downstairs for more Karaoke. Range of songs was great, service was very friendly and the coctails unforgettable. We will definitely go back for more similar nights. I tried the food on another occasion and it was very tasty and well made.
Anna Dashwood
17 Jan 2026
5.0 ★
We had a great afternoon at the cocktail masterclass. We were very well looked after and it was great fun, especially making our own cocktails behind the bar. Zac was knowledgeable, helpful and made the experience very enjoyable. Would recommend. Thank you!
Wei Hoang
15 Jan 2026
3.0 ★
I have been coming here for years for cocktails and it's always been great until my experience of dining here for a friend's birthday. My drink was forgotten to be delivered to me. I had to go to the bar to get it after waiting 15 minutes with no sign of it after the waiter took the order. Then after nearly 1 hour, the waiter took our food order. When it arrived, the burger was difficult to cut with a dinner knife. So it looked like it was over cooked on one side and lacked flavour. So I went to the bar to complain about it. The staff took it away and the chef came out to talk to me. This shocked me as I had never spoken to a chef about my food before in any restaurant I ate in. He explained to me the chicken burger was cooked perfectly and doesn't understand why I am complaining. I asked if he could bring the burger back so I could show him physically what I was complaining about. But he said it was put in the bin because he thought I didn't want it. So I asked what can be done about it now as I am still hungry and wanted to eat something. He replied back saying if I don't like the way he cooks, what else he can do about it. My friend overheard this and was applauded by the way the complaint was dealt with. After discussing this matter with the chef for over 5 minutes, he said we could talk to the manager. The manager apologized and offered a different dish. I have never experienced anything like this in all my years of going out to eat and was so disappointed as it was my friend's birthday celebration. I didn't want it to taint her day but at the same time I wasn't prepared to buy 2 meals as it wasn't cheap, I already spent over £15 on something I only had one small mouthful of. I hope their customer service will be improved as I wouldn't return back after being a customer for many years.
Francoise Rodrigues
7 Jan 2026
3.0 ★
The cocktails, food and vibe of the place was great. Karoke was fun. The place however seemed understaffed as service was very slow and you could only order at the bar. The staff aswell did not seem very pleased to be working there. So that could really improve to make the overall experience great.

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