Gino's

You're walking down Gloucester Green, that pedestrianised stretch between the city centre and the Bodleian, when you spot the warm glow of Gino's. Inside, it's narrow, unpretentious, and packed with the kind of people who've been coming here since the 90s. The menu reads like a greatest hits of Italian classics: handmade pasta, proper risottos, seafood that doesn't mess about. What makes it work is the lack of faffing—fresh ingredients, simple technique, portions that actually satisfy. It's the sort of place where you see college professors next to tourists next to locals who treat it like their living room.