Miscellanea Spirit House on South Lamar is Oxford's first Michelin Bib Gourmand, and its bar manager won the American South's 2026 Exceptional Cocktails Award.
Miscellanea Spirit House, the speakeasy-style bar and restaurant hidden behind a clock shop at 306 S. Lamar Blvd., has been named a Michelin Bib Gourmand. It is the only Bib Gourmand in Oxford.
Its bar manager, Allison Bowen, also won the guide’s 2026 American South Exceptional Cocktails Award. Michelin announced both on Wednesday, Oct. 21, when it released its second American South selection.
What Michelin said
The Bib Gourmand is Michelin’s award for good food at a good price. The guide’s Miscellanea listing carries the Bib, rates it $$ and lists the cuisine as American and Southern.
The inspectors called it “cool and cavernous.” They noted an entrance hidden behind a bookshelf, Southern-inspired plates meant for sharing and “an ambitious, finely-honed cocktail program.”
In its article on the region’s starred restaurants, Michelin said its inspectors call Miscellanea “one of the finest warrens in the state for serious cocktails.”
Miscellanea is one of 14 new Bib Gourmands in the American South this year, Michelin said in its roundup of the region’s best-value restaurants.
The cocktail award
Michelin’s profile of Bowen describes a list that runs from classics to drinks built around seasonal Mississippi produce.
“My favorite reaction is when guests say they never imagined finding somewhere like this in Oxford,” Bowen told the guide.
The drink she said best reflects her style is the Tuesday Night. It uses cucumber and lemongrass-infused Wonderbird Dry Gin, which is made in Taylor, about six miles south of Oxford, with fresh watermelon.
Bowen said the bar set out to serve classics that “weren’t cocktails we were seeing much around Oxford,” such as the Paper Plane, Old Cuban and Southside.
Four rooms behind a clock shop
Guests walk in through a shop full of vintage clocks, books, candles and old chemistry bottles. A wardrobe and a bookshelf are the hidden doors.
Bowen described four rooms in the Michelin interview:
- The Vault: the most intimate room, with a wall of candles and red velvet couches
- The Study: bookshelves, animal decor and a bar where guests can watch a game
- The Conservatory: greenery and a communal table
- The Garden Room: the covered patio, used for brunch and drinks after dinner
The rest of Oxford’s Michelin list
Four more Oxford-area restaurants stayed in the guide as recommended restaurants, without a star or a Bib, on the guide’s Oxford page:
| Restaurant | Where | Michelin price |
|---|---|---|
| City Grocery | Oxford | $$ |
| Snackbar | Oxford | $$$ |
| Ajax Diner | Oxford | $$ |
| Taylor Grocery | Taylor, about six miles south | $ |
All four were on the guide’s first American South list in 2025, Visit Oxford said at the time. Miscellanea was not on that list.
What it means for you
- Book early. Miscellanea takes reservations 30 days ahead, its website says. Expect tables to go faster after the award, and faster still on home football weekends.
- Call: 662-715-3445.
- Planning a night out? Our date night guide and patios and outdoor dining guide list hours and booking routes for the rest of Oxford’s dining rooms.
Sources: the MICHELIN Guide’s Oxford and Taylor listings and its Oct. 21, 2026, ceremony articles; Miscellanea Spirit House’s website; Visit Oxford.
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