Among the primary exponents of traditional English breakfast food in Oxford are The Excelsior on the Cowley Road, Brown's in the Covered Market and the recently re-opened St Giles Café. (There's also Mick's Caff behind the train station, but beware that this is of the opening early, closing early - 1.30pm - variety). Start here, and then move on to the following: |
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Tick Tock Café, 3-5 Cowley Road
Four breakfasts are available, the Special, the Veggie, the Light (or something like that - it has olives, anyway, and I remember that it sounded quite original) and the Friday Fried, which is much like a special, but with fried bread. Prices range from £4.50 - £6 per fast broken. And the owner would like us to mention that they've also started doing soup, in addition to the exhaustive menu of breakfasty, sandwichy and snacky items. Ian Threadgill, 13/10/09 The Big Bang, Walton St There are several versions of the All Day available, hidden away in the menus which are stuck inside old hardback novels. I think the novels we had were chosen more for their looks than their literary merits, but across the cafe we could hear people deciding what to have interspersed with short readings... Anyway, the breakfast comes in Big, Baby and Veggie varieties. My co-breakfaster and I chose the Big and a gluten-free version of the Baby. We both got bacon, grilled tomato, beans, sauteed mushrooms and tea or coffee. Where I got one fried egg and one sausage he got two, and he also got fruit juice and toast. My sausage was not the usual Cumberland, but a gluten-free venison sausage. Normally both breakfasts come with hash brown, but they couldn't guarantee gluten-free-ness so his did and mine didn't. Instead I ordered chips, for which I was not charged extra, either through kindness to special diets or through happy oversight! The chips tasted very home-made, and were much appreciated. I'm not normally much of a mushroom fan but these were delicious! Delicately herbed, and cooked to an ideal mushroom texture. The venison sausage is a hearty beast, and nicely robust of taste. It may not be standard breakfast fare but went down very well. Everything was well but not over cooked, and despite my breakfast being officially small we did not quite manage to finish everything between us. Coffee drinkers seem to do better than the tea drinkers, as I got a whole cafetiere, while the tea drinker got a small teapot. It is possible that he might have got a refill had we asked. As it was he cheerfully moved onto the coffee once the tea was gone. There was plenty to send both of us buzzing into the world again. We felt extremely well-fed, and All Day is right - after this meal at around noon we only just managed supper at around 11 after a busy afternoon and an evening at the theatre. For £11.90 between us we reckoned that wasn't bad. All in all highly recommended, as long as you've got some time afterwards to lounge around and digest! Jen Pawsey, 30/06/09 Heroes Sandwich Bar All Day Breakfast A welcome break from the chaos of Cornmarket St. Good things about Heroes include: fast service, good bacon and free refills of tea/coffee after 3pm. Veggie option with falafel, egg & mushrooms is good (if on the small side), with passable sausages and toast in both veggie and carnivorous breakfasts. On the downside the decor looks like your Gran's kitchen and the rear views command a wide range of pigeons and air conditioning units. Bottom line - does it pass the "Am I full?" test? Yes! But worth finishing up with a caramel slice if, like me, you're addicted to processed sugar. 7/10. Jen and Ian, 28/05/09 Joe’s Café, 21 Cowley Road, OX4 1HP. Tel: 201120 Joe’s is a fraction too posh to really get into the spirit of the All Day Breakfast. Their offering is perfectly nice, with quality ingredients, but it’s just not quite big enough. For £8 or thereabouts, you really need a heaped and groaning platter which muscles its way onto your table as if it would really rather have its own chair. By the time you’ve added a cup of tea, which really ought to be included, you’ve spent the best part of a tenner, and while you’ve had nice food, you really aren’t set up for the day in the way you should be. 3/5 Port Mahon, 82 St Clement’s. Tel: 202067 This was perfectly satisfactory. Both veggie and carnivore receive a fairly well prepared selection of the usual stuff. The only problem is that the plates were too big, leaving the occasional unfortunate gap where a tomato had ended and before an egg began. There shouldn’t be gaps in a breakfast. It invites melancholy, a sort of “Has it come to this?” feeling. Overall, nothing one could fairly complain about for a fiver, merely a sense of competence rather than inspiration. 3½/5 Reviewed May-July 2006 Mr T, 12/07/06 The Excelsior I had a great breakfast here for £4! 2 eggs, 2 bacon, 2 sausages, beans, tomatoes, 2 slices of toast and some chips thrown in for free! It's an old style cafe a bit like the one in the covered market. The staff were friendly and polite and the service was quick and efficient. If you just want a good, well-cooked, cheap, filling meal this is the place to go! bacon lover, 21/06/06 |
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