There is no exact science to the rankings, except to say
that pancakes are important to me. If you don’t offer pancakes on the menu,
your review may suffer.
Disclaimer:
Obviously, the reviews are merely the opinions of two twenty-something blokes
with little to no culinary skills of our own. We love breakfast – I’ve even got
‘egg’ in my name – but you’d be silly to take our reviews too seriously.
Here’s a breakdown of the ratings:
1* - Do you
remember Mr T’s cereal? Nor do I. Forgettable.
2* - A low-fat
pop-tart. I’ll eat it, but what’s the point?
3* - A solid
bacon butty. Fresh bread. Crispy bacon. But, what? You’ve run out of ketchup?!
4* - If breakfast
is the most important meal in the day, I’m feeling galvanised. Some freshly
squeezed orange juice wouldn’t go amiss.
5* - Like Mom’s
pancake breakfast feast. Nothing better.
Breakfast 1… Tuesday
25th September, Combibos (93 Gloucester Green)
A clean and smart café with friendly staff, though with just
a hint of ‘High Street’. Waiting for Jonny, I sat and enjoyed the complimentary
paper. A nice touch.
For 8:30am, a good number of others sat sipping lattés and
cappuccinos, which must be a sign of a good place.
The Order
Jake: Blueberry Pancakes (came with a complimentary
Americano)
Jonny: Bacon Pancakes (also came with a complimentary
Americano)
The pancakes were dense and sweet, and came with a generous
amount of maple syrup. The stacked presentation of the pancakes enhanced the
experience, but they were on the small size.
Price: Around £6 including coffee – pretty reasonable.
Rating: 4* - A great start to the breakfast tour and a
winner serving pancakes, but we went away a little hungry.
Breakfast 2… Tuesday 2nd October, Jericho Café (112 Walton Street)
Jericho Café is situated in a lovely spot, just 10 minutes
outside the city centre. Walking from the station, it had a sort of small-town
continental feel to it. The café itself is characterful with a quiet
sophistication about it.
The Order
Jake: Two Croissants (one chocolate, one almond) + Water
Jonny: A Bacon Baguette + Americano (he knows what he likes)
In truth, I wasn’t feeling particularly well that morning.
The thought of a full English breakfast made my stomach… well, the less said about it the better. I
therefore went for two small and plain looking croissants, which were pleasant
enough, and some water, which was also pleasant enough.
Jonny’s breakfast was rather strange. Whilst the bacon was
freshly cooked, the baguette was cold and came with a salad garnish on the side.
Lettuce, tomato, onion… a salad! For breakfast! Perhaps the folks at Jericho
Café are keen to promote ‘5-a-day’ living, but it was simply weird, and we
couldn’t help wondering if their clock was set to the wrong time zone.
Disappointingly, the coffee was also poor.
Price: £4.25 for a bacon baguette (salad included).
Rating: 2* - Given its high reputation amongst students and
locals of Oxford, our breakfast at Jericho Café was underwhelming.
Breakfast 3… Tuesday 9th October, Brown’s Café (Covered Market)
Browns Café is the original café in the legendary market.
It describes itself as a ‘no-nonsense’ café – we agree. The décor was tired and
plain, but the service was very friendly and quick (almost suspiciously so…).
The Order
Jake: Sausage and egg bap + Latte
Jonny: Full English breakfast + Americano
I have to say, we appreciated the Brown’s experience. Our
breakfasts were pleasing, tasty, and ‘did the job.’ Other regulars to the café
seemed to think the same. The coffee was nothing to rave about though. (Where is Oxford’s good coffee?)
Price: £6.50 for the Full English (with coffee), £5.00 for a
sausage bap and a latte.
Rating: 3* - We’d certainly go back: either for the
breakfast, or certainly for the cakes we noticed on the way out!
