Gees Restaurant & Bar reopens after £1.5m refurb
Diners are now able to return to the venue following a 13-week closure while the site underwent a full refurbishment
Gees Restaurant and Bar in Oxford has officially reopened this week following an investment of more than £1.5m.
Diners are now able to return to the venue following a 13-week closure while the site underwent a full refurbishment. It now reopens with a renewed glasshouse and two new dining spaces, Secret Garden and Gees Gallery. It also features a new kitchen and repositioned bar, new roofing, plant and storage facilities as well as a total redecoration.
With the increasing demand for sitting outside post-pandemic, Gees has incorporated its new outdoor dining area to accommodate al fresco dining.
Meanwhile, the Gees Gallery will feature loaned works of art or sculpture for free display in a new rotating gallery space. These may be viewed by the public by arrangement, free of charge. Gees Gallery will also invite new artists to exhibit their work for a limited period of time to help launch their career.
The “simple, modern and airy” interior space has also been designed to accommodate lunches, dinners, drinks, parties, conferences, promotions and film shows.
The Grade II listed conservatory started as a greengrocer and florist in 1897, and was later transformed into Gees Restaurant and Bar in 1985 by Jeremy Mogford.
Mogford said: “The original Gees bar has been repositioned and lovingly reworked by Dighton, The Oxford Collection’s master builders. I bought the bar in 1978 from Malcolm Glicksten of Relic Antiques, it came from France. It was then used in the little wine bar next to Browns which was converted from the flower/plant shop.
“The bar’s adventure continued when it was recycled for the brand-new Gees opening in 1985. Now, fast forward to 2022, and it has been reconstituted in a new position. Another striking and modern bar is housed in Gees Gallery, also topped with an incredibly rare marble which resembles an artist’s palette.”
Alongside the refurbishment there will also be a new menu, as Matt Smith joins as Gees’ new head chef. The restaurant said he is taking up and developing the existing brief for Gees cooking, featuring regional dishes of Spain, Portugal and Italy using British produce, local if possible.
