There are tons of amazing cafés and restaurants in Oxford, and it can be hard to know which one to choose…especially if you’re just visiting for a few days and don’t have time to try them all. During my time in Oxford as a student at the university, I came to know and love many cafés throughout this city. So if you’re looking for the best cafés in Oxford, take a look at this list and find your next amazing place to have breakfast or stop for a midday coffee!
1. Vaults & Garden Café
Vaults & Garden is one of my top favorite cafés in Oxford, because of the delicious food they serve and the delightful ambiance. The café takes its name from its vaulted ceiling because of its position underneath the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, so when you step inside you feel like you’ve been transported back to the 1300s!
Because of its excellent location, you can also sit outside in the garden section with fantastic views of the Radcliffe Camera–one of the most iconic buildings in Oxford. It doesn’t get better than this!
Or does it? With organic eats and plenty delicious foods (including scones to-die-for), you really can’t go wrong with stopping in at this delightful little café!
Click here to check out the Vaults & Garden Café!
2. Turl Street Kitchen
Turl Street Kitchen is another of my favorite haunts from my time as a student at Oxford. It’s a classic café in the heart of Oxford that makes delicious breakfast options, light eats, hot chocolate, coffee, and more!
One of the things I love is that while the downstairs is a typical restaurant/café seating area, you can also take your coffee upstairs to a lounge where you can relax while you sip your drink and read! The menu changes regularly, but you can always find something delightful to eat here!
Find out more about Turl Street Kitchen!
3. Barefoot Oxford
Barefoot Bakery is perhaps my all-time favorite café in Oxford…and I dare say one of the all-time best Oxford cafés. Why? Because they serve what I’m pretty sure is the best cake in the world. No joke, I have yet to eat better cake anywhere else in the world.
Their cake offerings change day to day, but I’m a huge fan of their pear lychee cake especially. While this café isn’t in the heart of Oxford’s downtown area, it is fairly close by on Walton Street and has a small but nice seating area both inside and outside. Besides cake, they also have other delicious baked treats and tea and coffee for your enjoyment.
While eating in the café is nice, I also really enjoy getting cake as takeaway and walking to the nearby Port Meadow for an outdoor cake picnic. Doing this combines pretty much the best of everything Oxford has to offer!
Learn more about Barefoot Oxford!
4. The Missing Bean
The Missing Bean is a cult favorite in Oxford, particularly for fans of specialty and delicious coffee. Every time I walked past this coffee shop as a student it was always packed full with no seats available. And if that doesn’t tell you it’s worth stopping in, I don’t know what does!
There are also some great café foods available, including delicious pastries and sandwiches. And if you love the coffee, you can even purchase some grounds to take with you and brew at home!
Check out The Missing Bean to learn more about it!
5. The Grand Café
The Grand Café is a gilded and beautiful café on Oxford’s High Street that boasts of being the oldest coffee house in England. It was established around 1650, which makes this claim pretty likely to be true!
While there are other cafés on this list that I prefer food-wise to The Grand Café, this is a good place just to stop in and drink the coffee and get something simple like scones…especially if you feel like experiencing this bit of history by drinking coffee in the oldest coffee house in England! Where else can you drink coffee and get to say that?
Learn more about the offerings at The Grand Café!
6. Thirsty Meeples Board Game Café
Thirsty Meeples is a different type of café in Oxford…so while they do serve hot drinks, smoothies, sandwiches, and all sorts of other café foods, the real reason to come here is for the board games!
This board game café offers thousands of games for you to choose from (after paying a cover charge per person) and you can stay and play while you enjoy your food and drink. If you want to try a new game you haven’t played before, the staff can help you with setting up and learning how to play…plus it’s a great community as they run events where you can show up and meet new people who also love board games!
Discover all the fun you can have at Thirsty Meeples!
7. Ashmolean Museum Café & Restaurant
The Ashmolean Museum is a fantastic place to visit in and of itself, but it’s made even better because they have a rooftop café! If you’re looking for nice cafés in Oxford, you really can’t go wrong with this one that serves delicious foods including croissants, cakes, hot and cold lunch items, and of course coffee and other drinks.
While the food is nice (and it’s a fun place to take a break while exploring the museum) the real treat here is the view out over Oxford. There’s very few things that I love more than a great skyline view over the city, and this certainly delivers!
Find out more about the Ashmolean Café and Restaurant!
8. Gail’s Bakery
Gail’s Bakery is a London-based artisan bakery that specializes in serving breakfast foods, breads, cakes, pastries, and of course tea and coffee. I have lots of friends who absolutely adore Gail’s (although personally I find it usually is a little overpriced for the offerings). But like I said, my friends absolutely love it especially for a treat for brunch on a weekend…and it is always packed full of people!
If you’re looking for an artisan bakery to try and love lots of varied pastries and breads, then this is the perfect café to try!
Check out Gail’s Bakery in Oxford!
9. The Jericho Café
The Jericho Café is a fun little independent, family-run café in the heart of Jericho in Oxford. One of the key aspects of their business is using fresh, locally sourced ingredients…and they also serve brunch all day long!
Additionally, they offer some vegetarian, vegan, dairy, and gluten-free options so if you have an allergy or dietary restriction then this is a good café to try.
While they offer many of their own items on the menu, what isn’t from them is brought in from other great local Oxford businesses including coffee from The Missing Bean, some cakes from Barefoot, wine from the Oxford Wine Co., and more! It’s great to see a local business supporting other local businesses as well.
Discover the Jericho Café’s offerings in Oxford!
— The Jericho Cafe (@jericho_cafe) September 19, 2018
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