My studenthood is betrayed in this first statement: The Magic Café is cheap in price and generous in portions. It was the first place I ever took my parents out for lunch, and for the three of us with food leftover it was barely 10 quid - more than enough reason to go!

The menu is strictly vegan/vegetarian, and features a main dish of each, It's mostly currys, salads, bakes or anything that can be kept warm in a tureen, but it's good nosh if not that adventurous, and healthy-ish. There's also assorted cakes, and a coffee machine and selection of teas to supply you with all your caffeinated needs. A further bonus is that you'll never hear “sorry, we don't have soy milk” if you're dairy-adverse.

As for the venue: when one enters the Magic Café, the feeling is less a “place of food” but more a “place of comfort”. “Make yourself at home” is the mantra for this endearingly shambolic living-room. Tables do not conform to the paradigm that they're only for one party, even a part of one, and people will join you wherever there's space. It's an incredibly un-Anglo-Saxon mentality, but it's a welcome change.

What the food lacks in diversity is made up for by the patrons that attend, and I've had conversations with everyone from game developers to priests. It's a popular place, especially on Saturdays where there's routinely live music for an hour or two, and things can become claustrophobic - a victim of its own success!

Found in the more attractive part of Magdalen Road, straddling Cowley and Iffley roads it's better to walk than drive, (good advice for all of Oxford) but if you're ever down either fancying a decent and not-too-dear-meal I highly recommend the Magic Café!

love this place, spending a lot of time there these days. some stunning original recipes plus regular favourites, and brownies to die for. a great promoter of local art, music and community events too... what more could you ask?!