Among your traditional Café Nero, Costa, Prêt or Starbucks – located in the most beautiful buildings in Oxford, live many coffee shops, tea rooms and other places where coffee and atmosphere merge to offer a very pleasant and relaxing experience. Read on for a non-exhaustive list of some of my favourite places to hide away for a few well-deserved hours.
Blackwell’s Café Nero: the bookish coffee shop
Nestled in Blackwell’s on Broad Street lives my favourite place to enjoy a coffee. Café Nero always have amazing and charismatic locations, but this particular one has something more as it shares its walls with the largest academic and specialist bookseller in the UK. A cup of coffee in one hand, the newest bestseller in the other, and you are assured to spend the cosiest moments of all times.
My recommendation: a cappuccino and Panettone
Rating: 5/5
Address: c/o Blackwell’s Bookstore, 48 - 51 Broad St, Oxford OX1 3BQ
Opening Hours: Varies. 9/11am – 5/6pm
Vaults and Garden: the idyllic tearoom
Gifted with one of Oxford’s most stunning views on the Radcliffe Camera, Vaults and Garden is the ideal place to a unique Oxonian coffee/tea experience. The tearoom is located in a 1320 building with a beautiful vaulted ceiling and a stunning British garden lies beside it. Aside from its location, it is mostly famous for its core values of local, organic and ethically sourced goods as well as a no-waste policy and well-being focus.
My recommendation: An English Breakfast Tea and a home-made scone (served with Upper Norton clotted cream and home-made jam)
Rating: 4.5/5
Address: University Church, 1 Radcliffe Square, Oxford OX1 4AH
Opening Hours: 8am – 5:30pm
Website: https://www.thevaultsandgarden.com/
Art Café: the coffee shop with a twist
Another Oxonian landmark, the Art Café, is a cherished location for its unique snacks, lunches and hot beverages offer. Fresh, homemade and healthy are three key messages promoted by the café, with a variety of free range, organic, gluten free and vegan products, locally sourced and produced. Its unique feature, though, comes with a wish to help local artists with on-going exhibitions and art pieces scattered around the building. Art Café also offers catering for business meetings with their famous sandwich platters and pastries.
My recommendation: a café latte and a Blueberry Cheesecake Muffin
Rating: 4/5
Address: 14 New Road, Oxford OX1 1LT
Opening Hours: Varies. 7/8am – 7pm
Website: http://www.artcafeoxford.co.uk/
(Credit: Art Café)
Browns Café: the tucked-in coffee shop
One of my friends once described her experience at Browns Café as one she would have in a seaside coffee shop. Cosied away in The Covered Market, you will find in this place a very warm atmosphere. With home-made fresh products, Browns is famous for its traditional apple pies, cakes and biscuits. Its stainless-steel teapots will make you feel like you are back in the comfort of your home.
My recommendation: a cuppa and a slice of cake
Rating: 4/5
Address: 92, The Market, Oxford OX1 3DY (in The Covered Market)
Opening Hours: Varies. 8/10am – 4/5pm
Mostro Coffee: the musical scene’s coffee shop
We are now leaving Oxford City Centre to join the dynamic Cowley Road; full of shops, restaurants, bars and pubs. If you are not familiar with Mostro, it mostly is because it is hidden in a proper indie record shop. With an aim to reinforce the local community, the coffee shop seeks to source and brew the best coffee. If you wish to try new varieties of coffee as well as different processes and brewing methods, this is the perfect place for you.
My recommendation: an oat milk flat white with a pastry
Rating: 4/5
Address: 101 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1HU
Opening Hours: Varies. 8:30/11am – 5:30/6:30pm
Website: https://mostro.coffee/
(Credit: Truck Store)
Sticking to the same coffee/tea shop is so tempting (trust me, I know), especially when you have your treasured table, favourite drink and snack and even sometimes have sympathised with the staff. However, once in a while, change is great, if only to support the more local businesses.