Makan La

Can only describe as average… both food and value for money.

Not particularly good for someone who is used to authentic Malaysian food, but I think this is catered for the British taste. The special noodle has nothing special apart from being too sweet. We also ordered curry chicken, large quantity but quite plain. The mixed veg was quite good.

I’ve spent quite some time in Southeast Asia, and was keen to experience some good Malay food in the UK. We visited on Sunday 2 November 2014 and ordered nasi goreng (fried-​rice) with satay, and some Spicy Vermicelli (fried rice-​noodles). The food was average, not terrible, just average. My nasi goreng was a little bland, so I asked for some kecep manis. The Malay waitress was quite cold and impolite in her reply that she didn’t have it. This is a Malay and Indonesian sauce that is very common, and I was surprised that they didn’t have any. In any case, it was more the way that the waitress replied, not just that they didn’t have it.
Throughout the whole time we were there, she was quite bad-​tempered and impolite, not offering any kind of service that you’d expect as a paying customer.
She was the only waitress working, and the restaurant was quite quiet. It was early evening.
Went I was asked for the bill, I pointed to the ‘Optional Service Charge’ on the receipt and told her that I didn’t wish to pay it. Then she told me that it was a government requirement that I paid it. I pointed out that it is not, and that the word ‘optional’ means there is no obligation to pay. (For the record I normally pay this, but try to pay to the staff directly in cash, so the restaurant doesn’t just retain it for profit.) Eventually, but after some time, she accepted that I was within my rights not to pay the service charge, and she very moodily gave me the change.
I would highly recommend they employ some professional and polite serving staff. Until then, I won’t recommend.

I spent many years in the East and developed a taste for the food. be it Japanses, Thai, Chinese or Malay. love it all. Not that easy to find places that actually replicate the cooking over here,
BUT!!!
Salvation is here at Makan La
What a Place and Taste. just right spot on!

Excellent noodle bar, fantastic Malaysian food. The Malaysian tea drink (with milk) is amazing, the service is attentive and fast, and the atmosphere is cozy. The absolute highlight is the Mee Goreng. It is flavorful, a good sized portion, and reasonably priced. The chicken and tofu in the Mee Goreng are great. The chicken satay is a good appetizer choice, and the peanut sauce is excellent. The Malaysian iced tea is also great.

My husband and I just went to Makan La for the first time, and very much enjoyed our meal. We each had curry (he had tofu curry, and I had vegetable curry). Lots of yummy veggies in the vegetable curry; just tofu and potato in the tofu curry. It was wonderfully spiced, and came with a generous helping of rice — we got to choose between egg-​fried and boiled. For an appetizer, we had the vegetable samosas, which came with sweet chili sauce.
The service was very good, and this little restaurant is clean and inviting. We will definitely be back!

I had the seafood makan-​la dish. It was very good and very generous with the portions of seafood in the dish. Loved the squid! The service wasn’t amazing, but oh well. It took a while to get our waters refilled, which was needed for some of the spicier dishes.

The food here is wonderful. I always get a particular noodle dish (I can’t remember which), which manages to toe the line of almost-​too-​spicy just perfectly. Everyone I’ve brought here has loved their meals, and the prices are reasonable. The atmosphere leaves a bit to be desired, and the room is a bit cramped, but if you’re in the mood for tasty Malaysian, this is the place.

Malaysian Food Divine. Oh, and I think it’s «Makan La» not «Maken La», but I could be mistaken.
It is hard to find the asian food that i’m accustomed to in oxford. i won’t use the term ‘good asian food’, even though i’m thinking it.
anyhow, this place is delicious. love to share the appetizer tray for two (lots of fried goodies). all of them were authentic and delicious.
i forget what my friend ordered (always the same) but i love the lak sa!
the staff is nice? well, it depends if you catch them on a good day, in my experience at least.
so if you’re looking for some yummy malaysian food, come on over!

pleasantly surprised by my first visit to this and any malaysian restaurant, service was friendly and efficient although there was only 1 waitress she worked her socks off keeping up with a fairly busy period. curry i ordered was not over spicy but had a nice subtle flavour that differed from chinese or indian and my egg fried rice was of a good portion and i have to say very tasty, in fact i would go as far to say best i ever tasted. only thing i would give a small minus for is the simple surroundings in the restaurant but that said it is reflected in the good value prices charged so maybe not a place to go on a romantic date but certainly if tasty good value food is on the agenda then you wouldnt be going far wrong to try it out

How exciting: Malaysian food! Similar to Thai and Indian, but exotically different. Remember to leave room for the delicious cakes! (Which, incidentally, are the same as those in the Nosebag upstairs)
I don’t like spicy food, so trying new things like this is always a bit of a gamble. I found that it was easy to find dishes to suit me, and at between £3 and £6.50 for a dish, it wasn’t such a serious decision. We shared two starters (vegetarian spring rolls and satay chicken), had our own mains (chicken fried noodles and Malaysian curry) which were tasty but nothing special, and then battled our way through a shared slice of chocolate cake. One rice is definitely enough for 2 people. Our meal came to around £30.
The staff were friendly and service quick, and the main thing to remember here seems to be simplicity. It feels like a café, with small tables and simple chairs, which is nice, but not luxurious. The menu is bigger than it seems, but revolves around a few core ideas.

This is truly a one off and I think one of Oxford’s best kept secrets. You often see people come up to the window, consider it and then walk away, unsure of what Malaysian is — a real shame, as this restaurant does very tasty food at really good prices. Take a chance and give it a go — you’ll be pleasantly surprised!
I recommend the curry in particular and the starters are all great. It’s always fairly quiet in here even if there are a few otehr people in, so you can have a nice civilised meal with mates. The tables are well spaced so you can talk freely and it’s just been done up, so has a clean, fresh feel to it.
Definitely give it a try — good value and you’ll never come away anything but full up. Beware though if you don’t like spciy food very much as most dishes have a mild level of warmth

Spicy hot malaysian currys and noodles. I think its owned by the same people that own Nosebag upstairs but the foods totally different. For about a fiver you can get a big bowl of rice and a malaysian curry. They als got an assortment of soup or fried noodles. Very tasty, very filling and friendly staff.