Date night in Oxford: dinner, theaters, wine bars, late spots

Last checked Oct. 12, 2026. Hours come from each restaurant’s own website where it posts them; addresses, phone numbers and booking methods come from Visit Oxford’s date night guide. The list is not a ranking. Hours change, and many kitchens open earlier on home football weekends; call ahead.

A night out in Oxford usually means dinner on or near the Square, then a show, a balcony drink or live music within walking distance. Four Oxford-area restaurants made the MICHELIN Guide’s first American South Recommended list in 2025: City Grocery, Snackbar, Ajax Diner and Taylor Grocery.

At a glance

• Book ahead: OpenTable, Tock or Resy for most of the list below
• Shows: Ford Center (Ole Miss), The Lyric, The Powerhouse
• Wine bar: The Sipp on South Lamar, from 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday
• Parking on the Square: paid until midnight Monday through Saturday; free Sundays

Dinner

City Grocery, founded by chef John Currence in 1992, serves seasonal Southern cooking; Visit Oxford singles out the shrimp and grits.

Snackbar is a Southern brasserie from the same group, known for small plates and oysters. Dinner is 5:30 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; happy hour is 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, at the bar only. It recommends reservations.

Lenora’s serves Italian dishes, steaks and seafood. It opens at 5 p.m., closing at 9 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and 10 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and opens at 4 p.m. on home football weekends, its site says.

SoLa mixes New Orleans and Southern flavors. It serves dinner Wednesday through Sunday from 5 to 9 p.m., later on select weekends, its site says.

Tico’s Steak House opened in Oxford in February 2024, Visit Oxford says. Its site lists hours of 4:30 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 4:30 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Saint Leo cooks wood-fired pizza and house-made pasta and is closed Mondays. Visit Oxford says half its seats are kept for walk-ins, so a full Resy is not the last word. Its brunch hours are on our brunch page.

Kingswood is the restaurant inside The Oliver Hotel. McEwen’s has a seasonal menu of steak and seafood with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free choices. Good Day Cafe is a small candlelit room with beer and wine only. GRIT, in Taylor south of Oxford, does farm-to-table Southern cooking, according to Visit Oxford.

Wine and cocktails

• The Sipp on South Lamar, 400 S. Lamar Blvd., Suite A2; 662-380-5402. Wine flights and small plates; it opens at 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday, its site says. Reservations on Resy.
• The Coop, the fourth-floor terrace at Graduate Oxford, 400 N. Lamar Blvd., looks over the Square at sunset.
• City Grocery Bar and Bouré’s balcony bar both look over the Square.

More bars are on our live music and nightlife page.

A show

• Ford Center for the Performing Arts, 351 University Ave., Ole Miss. Touring productions in a 1,200-seat main hall. Tickets: 662-915-2787.
• The Lyric Oxford, 1006 Van Buren Ave.; 662-234-5333. A 1913 theater, now a concert hall, a block off the Square.
• The Powerhouse, 413 S. 14th St. Theatre Oxford, Laff Co comedy and Writers in the Round in a 140-seat room; 662-236-6429.
• Thacker Mountain Radio Hour, Thursdays at 6 p.m. in fall and spring, free; next at The Powerhouse on Thursday, Oct. 15.
• Proud Larry’s, 211 S. Lamar Blvd.: a restaurant by day with several shows a week at night, Visit Oxford says; check its calendar.

Before you go

• On Ole Miss home football weekends, book early; Visit Oxford’s football weekend page has the dates.
• Parking around the Square is paid 10 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday; the upper floors of the downtown garage are free except during special events. See the Square for details.

Related: brunch, Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve and free things to do.

Frequently asked questions

Where should I go for date night in Oxford, Mississippi?

Visit Oxford’s date-night list includes City Grocery, Kingswood, McEwen’s, Good Day Cafe, Lenora’s, Saint Leo, Snackbar, SoLa, The Sipp and Tico’s Steak House, plus GRIT in nearby Taylor. Pair dinner with a show at the Ford Center or The Lyric.

Which Oxford restaurants are in the MICHELIN Guide?

City Grocery, Snackbar, Ajax Diner and Taylor Grocery were named to the MICHELIN Guide’s first American South Recommended list in 2025, Visit Oxford says.

What are Snackbar’s hours?

Snackbar, 721 N. Lamar Blvd., serves dinner 5:30 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with happy hour at the bar 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, its website says.

Do I need reservations for dinner in Oxford?

For the busier restaurants, yes, especially on Ole Miss home football weekends. City Grocery, McEwen’s and Snackbar book through OpenTable, Kingswood and Good Day Cafe through Tock, and Saint Leo and The Sipp through Resy; Lenora’s, SoLa and Tico’s take phone reservations.