Bannister's in Oxford

My go-to brunch place in Oxford. The truffle ketchup is the stuff dreams are made of. Quality can be slightly variable, but never bad. Expect slow service, but lovely wait staff. Lovely atmosphere, even when it's quiet - and of a weekend, it's rarely quiet.

I had a disappointing experience at this cafe this morning with a friend. We ordered two teas that arrived in old, stained mugs, although we did enjoy the French toast. After finishing our meal, the waitress brought the bill without us asking, which felt rude since we wanted to order more drinks. When we expressed our desire to stay, she insisted we move to a much smaller table due to a group of five waiting outside. If there was an issue with a party of two sitting at a larger table, they perhaps shouldn’t have allowed us to sit there in the first place... The manager came over and reinforced that we had to move if we wanted to order anything else, stating the cafe depends on business. This felt confrontational and unwelcoming. The owner also then approached us and suggested we should have volunteered to move upon seeing others waiting, which added to our disappointment. While we understand the challenges of running a small business, the attitudes of the staff left a very negative impression. We would not recommend this cafe based on how we were treated by multiple staff members.

Ended up leaving as I waited plenty to order food.

Great food and service. We loved the sweetcorn fritters.

This place serves really good food, you just won’t get to eat it. Unfortunately the service is just inadequate for the number of customers. Even when moderately busy (think Saturday morning) you can expect to have to find yourself a seat, find yourself a menu, and wait for 30 mins to order and an hour for food. We really hope they employ more staff for serving, because the French toast is AMAZING! I’m just not willing to wait an hour and a bit to eat it. Please please please bannisters sort out your service

Nice place and nice environment. But, to be honest, it's not English breakfast. Bacon is as hard as a rock. Beans are undercooked while the sausage is not cooked properly. A bit disaster.

I’m really disappointed by this place. We had to wait 45 minutes for simply bad full English’s - literally two teaspoons of weirdly made sweet beans, one very tasteless sausage and stale bread. Service charge was added on the end too.

Great eggs benedict. Great Full English. Everything fresh. Great bread. Super service. We highly recommend Bannister.

Exceptional - the avocado on toast and salmon is impeccable. Tasted great and sensibly priced. The service with a smile, cheery and super thoughtful and extra clean. Incredibly quick and amazing all the way.

Great, cozy spot to hide from the rain. I had the full english veg and it his the spot--proper fuel for a day of walking around Oxford. Coffee was nice too! Lovely baristas, very attentive.

One staff member was really rude! It seemed like they were jealous of how much more clients the buniness next door had...the food was okay much I experienced much better a while ago...I don't know if the owner changed but this place was amazing before and now the service really takes them down!

It's delicious, just the way I like it, but the bacon is dry

Nice looking cozy caffè. Unfortunately the brunch's quality was quite low, I was served toasted stale brown bread, I am unsure what was done to the baked beans but it tasted quite sour and unpleasant. The rest of the dish was poorly cooked and not good, and I wanted to raise concerns with the waitress but it felt like she was not going to respond well to negative feedback. The waitress also charged me a 10% service charge without my consent, they added it on my card and I noticed it just now on my bank statement. Not recommended, I'm afraid.

Quaint cafe serving excellent breakfast and brunch items with great attention to detail. My meal was warm, hearty and clear made with love.

Best gluten free pancakes in Oxford :)

Utterly lovely - delicious food and friendly unobtrusive service. A friend and I popped in after a dog walk. Both dogs were welcomed, which is always really accommodating. We ordered the Nduja hash and sweet corn fritters. Both were fresh, fresh, fresh and perfectly cooked. Expert poached eggs! All topped off with great coffee. I’ve been meaning to come here for ages, I wish I had done it sooner.

We waited for 45 minutes and had to go and ask ourselves for food to arrive: homemade beans barely cooked (very hard in the middle, see video) with off-putting ketchup that had too much acid, the potato pave failing in texture (soggy and slimy) and greasy. The Gloucester old spot sausage badly cooked, dry and no aroma. Understood there was an attempt to put a twist on English breakfast, but honestly it just didn’t hit the spot. The price was atrocious for the food and service we got—living in London we’ve had much better breakfast experience in so many other places for smaller prices (or at least well worth £14 a plate). Left in a bad mood & didn’t want to pay extra service—it was non existent (our table wasn’t even cleaned). Staff was very friendly but slow and not quite attentive. A real shame.

We had to wait for over 40 minutes for a full English breakfast and, although the food was ok, the portion was rather small considering the price tag.

Staff were all lovely and really attentive. The gluten free pancakes were really nice and fluffy and the coffee was exceptional!

Overpriced food, and not accommodating for small bites. Coffee was great and atmosphere was nice.

Best full english ever!! Amazing food and authentic homemade taste. The cappuccino was perfect, had 2! Can't wait to visit again :)

Best place for brunch in Oxford!

What a find! Superb breakfast/brunch menu. Hearty plates of tasty home cooked style food with a bistro twist. I'd have breakfast there every Saturday if I lived nearby. The only two gripes that slightly lowered my score for service was a brusque and disinterested waitress (one of two - the other was great), and a toilet that was not cleaned or well maintained . Fix those two issues and this is the perfect place for lunch and brunch.

Brunch and breakfast so arrive before 1

Absolutely delicious Shakshouka! Pleasant decor and good service.

Very good English breakfast, perfect portion size. Cosy atmosphere!

Very popular with locals, great interpretation of the full English with a wide variety of other breakfast brunch dishes. Closes at 2 so get there before 1

Lovely clean place to visit .

A lovely brunch spot but not one for those with any sort of allergy or intolerance. A somewhat aggressive waitress informed us that due to the small kitchen, I could not be served unless I had my epipen. A valid point I hear you cry! Of course I fundamentally agree with the point yet this was followed with some rather snide remarks about carrying pens and the overwhelming inconvenience of wiping down the kitchen to avoid my untimely demise. My other less immunologically challenged companions enjoyed their brunches while I stuck to some water to avoid further burdening our waitress.

Ordered the full breakfast and croque madame with well done egg. Received a burnt dry egg with soggy bread over done with salt and cheese. The breakfast, well why ruin a classic!…beans were terrible and the twist on ketchup disgusting. Well over priced too. This is Iffley road not Jericho, keep it simple with reasonable prices and this cafe would do well. When I told the waitress the food wasn’t nice, (she didn’t ask although the whole croque madame was untouched) a man came from the back asking me what’s wrong, I repeated myself again something customers don’t like doing, he then proceeded to say oh ok and walked off… no apology and still I was charged full amount. Maybe as I was dressed casually he assumed I didn’t know my croque madame from a croque mess!… interior very poorly and cheaply done, table messy with sauce on arrival, my Mrs had to clean it 🙄. Won’t be returning.

Orange juice was nice , but the breakfast was over priced and they do home made bake beans which were awful. Bacon had more fat than meat! I will not be eating from here again.

Excellent service and food - nice to have unusual dishes as well as the classics. The shakshuka and avocado on toast were delicious!

Really enjoyed our lunch at Bannister's. The waitress was friendly and welcoming, and the food was great. The chef has obviously put effort into elevating the typical full english, and it has paid off - the mushroom puree was amazng. We also really enjoyed the corn fritters. Everything was quite reasonably priced too. My only negative comment would be about the state of the toilet facilities (no sign, no lock, a bit unkempt). But overall would highly recommend!

What was meant to be a nice lunch with friends wound up spoiled by poor service. First, they added nuts to a dish never served with them (shakshuka) and forced us to pay for the replacement when we had an allergy. On top of that we were berated for not somehow foreseeing randomly putting nuts in their food and not listing it on the menu . Then they couldn’t take card, but didn’t tell us this until check out and we did not have enough cash so had to run to a distant atm. The food was decent but not worth the trouble and being treated poorly by the staff.

Had brunch here recently and thought it was excellent. The place was pretty packed and warm but we managed to bag a roomy table by the window. The only server was kept pretty busy by the crowd but somehow managed to keep things prompt and friendly. The menu had a bunch of appealing items but had to try the eggs benedict after a recommendation, and it turned out to be excellent, perfect balance of sauce to egg and interesting nutty toast. Very nice hot choc too. Will be back for sure.

Thrilled to have found somewhere that does gluten free pancakes! Not the cheapest breakfast menu but I enjoyed what I had. Would be great if they did some cakes/pastries alongside the breakfast menu.

Disappointing full English breakfast. Menu said 2 sausages and 2 slices of bacon but only one of each arrived. Eggs good

Overpriced Full English No black pudding One tiny sausage Splotch of mushroom purée Very sweet home made bake beans Eggs and bread was good

Over the years though quality is still great portion sizes have shrunk. The mushroom ketchup, the bubble and squeak and sausage small portions. Eggs nicely done. £36 got two breakfasts and two drinks. Lots of nearby competitors so will be here less often now.

We approached Carlo asking him to host and design our wedding reception, since we were regulars at Bannisters every Friday. He did us proud. We had delicious home made nibbles to start - salmon blinis, cheese and mushroom balls with the most delicious focaccia. Then (on an incredibly hot day) we sipped cooling gazpacho soup. For our main meal, slices of the tenderest Cote de Boeuf with salad or Spanish Omelette for the vegetarians. The tomato salad was particularly fine. Throughout we were made so welcome by Skye who served us and had arranged all the decorations, flowers and plants with the bunting. Finally, we’d had a fun ice cream cake from G&Ds that melted rapidly and a home made cheesecake. Thank you to Carlo for being so reassuring and welcoming. He created an outstanding meal and all the wedding guests mentioned how much they’d enjoyed themselves. Thank you too to Skye for her considerate kindness and warm sensitivity to all our guests. We had a great and very memorably happy time. We’d have no hesitation in recommending Bannisters for special evening events - and good gracious, daytime breakfasts and brunches.

Was an amazing breakfast! Eggs Ben + Salmon as well as their French toast The waiter with the glasses - great service!!!!

Great food and a nice cafe. I had the eggs benedict which was very tasty. It is quite small so by around 11 on the Sunday that we went there was a bit of a queue.

Truly fantastic. I come from Amsterdam, a city with a very strong brunch culture, but I dare say the Eggs Ben with salmon and avocado here at Bannisters were exceptional. It's all the small details - fresh rainbow-colored salmon that looks and tastes amazing thanks to the inventive beetroot and cumin combo, and that perfectly just-zesty-enough Hollandaise sauce. Plating is beautiful too. If that wasn't enough for a 5-star review, their coffee is good, and service is super friendly. Will definitely make this place my go-to when in Oxford.

How about that for eggs on toast

Very disappointing takeaway coffee. Quite expensive for a very small cup. Very weak in taste.

My daughter worked in this cafe and found the owner rude and was sacked after she complained about being shouted at and felt too intimidated to return to work. The food is pretty good, but the whole place does need a good clean, especially the loo. It’s such a shame that my daughter had such a bad experience because she was really hoping this job would work out.

Delicious vegetarian breakfast. Loved the bubble & squeak cake and the mushroom ketchup! A bit slow but worth the wait.

The whole cafe seemed to have there orders delayed, though no waiter thought it would be polite to either mention, nor apologise throughout the whole duration of the hour long wait for food. They finally communicated once we asked, though other than that they were casually leaning on the bar. Once asking for the bill, I asked if the service could be removed having been there for over an hour, and buying coffee in between that time, and had recheard them verbally discussing that we chose to do this whilst preparing to leave the cafe. Im hugely disappointed by the lack of customer service, as I had always wanted to try this cafe.

Lovely neighborhood coffee shop. Great place for brunches and catch-up with long-time-no-see friends. A bit on the pricey side, yet their full English is really good. Service is not fast but super friendly.

Had breakfast yesterday, very filling and delicious. Will definitely come back! My husband had full English breakfast and he commented how everything was so fresh and home made. I had avocado on toast with egg benedictines on olive bread - simply divine.

Varied, freshly cooked options for brunch. Smoked salmon, poached eggs and toast were all good. Sweetcorn fritters were delicious. Baby chino was a bit small, considering it was £1. My son drank two. Table service was good so happy to pay the service charge, but could of offered to get the highchair for my son rather than me having to locate it and offer to help me get my pram in the cafe.

Lovely breakfast and nice lovely staff members. Had the vegetarian and vegan breakfast, which were really lovely! Especially loved the mushroom ketchup. Would love to buy it!! Haha the coffee was nice but having some filter coffee options will be even lovelier. The service was quite slow so it took a while to get our dishes but when it arrived it was really nice. Having some umbrella for outside seating and heating could be lovely!

Nice little cafe, serves amazing brunch food.

Superb full English breakfast! Definitely recommend.

I absolutely loved my first visit here. My avocado on toast with poached eggs was simply delicious. Really good value for money and served by the lovely Skye. I highly recommend this friendly, clean and bright establishment. Ps ... the pic doesn't do my review justice, as I remembered two mouthfuls in!!

Brilliant cafe, probably worth booking before you go as it was nearly full from 9:30am. The Nduja hash is out of this world.

A regular feature of my brunch life. A varied menu of delicious home made plates. Always friendly and reasonably priced.

Visited with a friend for a late breakfast. The food was nice enough, but there are some issues that need attention. The cafe was generally a bit grubby. The cutlery wasn't clean and the toilet needed a deep clean. I won't be graphic, but it was dirty and it wasn't recent. I'm always dubious about the cleanliness of the kitchen when a cafe/restaurant can't manage to clean the toilet - and this is even more important at the moment, as we face rising COVID figures. My friend tried to order poached eggs on toast but was told that they could only offer what was "on the menu" - poached eggs were available, as was toast, but apparently the kitchen couldn't do this without adding avocado, spinach and feta...this is bizarre and something I haven't come across before. Extra toast was requested and never delivered - the cafe wasn't particularly busy, so I'm not sure what happened to it. £3.50 for some extra bacon (3 streaky rashers) is extortionate and almost double what we pay elsewhere. It's a shame, as the food was nice - but we wouldn't go back.

A really nice, friendly, busy cafe. There was 6 of us who had breakfast there on Sunday morning. The menu was different but still did a traditional full breakfast with their own twist. Would happily go back there again. Thanks very much to all at Bannisters, who worked on Sunday 17th October.

Really delicious food! We love the full English breakfast and the blueberry pancakes. Very friendly service!

Great vibe and even better brunch.

Lovely food as always been coming here almost 2 years great service

Came here looking for good pancakes. Got good pancakes.

Really tasty brunch, the waiter was friendly, courteous and busy! Really interesting menu, lovely food, really couldn’t fault it. Will definitely go again if in the area.

Amazing, amazing food at ridiculously low prices. Every component of the meal was a taste sensation! If you have not indulged, treat yourself! I will return (only wish l lived locally as it would be my 'go to' place for breakfast/brunch

Best Pancakes in town full stop. Avo toast also significantly better than competitors.

45 minutes for some avocado toast. not really acceptable to be honest.

Really tasty breakfast/brunch and good atmosphere at a decent price. Friendly and helpful staff too!

I came in here for lunch at the weekend. The food was lovely, I'd certainly recommend it - hence the five-star review! However, I paid by card and the transaction has come through as 'Parallel Lines Barbers'. I was quite shocked to see what I thought was a fraudulent transaction and I very nearly reported it to my bank and froze the card - obviously this would have been quite inconvenient for me! Please get this fixed.

I booked this place for my Wife's birthday based on the reviews and unfortunately it did not live up to to expectation. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't good either. The latte's and hot chocolate's were cold but the food was okay. The staff were...

Went today for breakfast. It was very busy, not surprising as it the first weekend open post lockdown. Food was fantastic I had the full English but the bubble and squeak on the vegan breakfasts looked great too. Most our party don't eat dairy and there was a lot of choice for everybody. Liked the lady that served us too. Would recommend.

The mushroom sauce is really good! Love this place.

Bad experience. Food was good, was halfway through my coffee when I was asked to leave to "clear the table." I take it this was because I was a solo diner. I had certainly not been in there any longer than other parties, in fact...

Everything on the menu is delicious! I have tried it all! 😀 Full English has high quality and delicious ingredients and the mushroom ketchup is divine!

Best breakfast in Oxford. Have been here at least 20 times and it has been great every time.

Had a good brunch, but quite a long wait (although we were informed of this)

After spending most of my life eating my own bodyweight in pancakes, the search for the perfect ones is finally over! Homemade banana pancakes - thick, light, fluffy and bursting with bananas, served with crispy bacon and maple syrup, they seriously don't get any better than this!

I’m a regular here normally and absolutely love their food but I was a bit disappointed with the hygiene measures in place for Covid19. They didn’t have any ability to order online from the table, the staff were not wearing face masks, they didn’t say...

Offers a simple brunch menu, with delicious specials. The place is always busy with people, but when there is space, it offers the best British brunch in Iffley. Open during the lockdown, and offer reasonable takeaway brunches and coffee. Highly recommended.

I went to Bannisters today with my Dad and brother for a breakfast takeaway. The food was amazing and the welcome we got from the staff was really lovely. I had a breakfast Maple pancake and it was simply the best pancake I have ever...

Just popped in for an impromptu brunch. Fantastic pancakes and full-english. All freshly made and served hot. 100% recommend, nestled right next to the Hamblin bakery. We were also given a couple of bagels to take home! Great service. Will definitely be back.

Amazing food. Very slow service

Loved the full veggie breakfast served by the young lad!

I ordered a half pot of beans and a sausage and was very pleased when I was presented with a full veggie breakfast. I was served by a 13 year old boy that seemed to have a rolling pin shaped cavity in the side of his head but it did not curb his enthusiasm or manners. As I was tucking in to my five star meal, a real life living fox made its way to the counter. The staff dealt with it very professionally, serving it a deep fried wood pigeon and a pint of Guinness. Would recommend to anyone, great coffee

Visited Bannisters a couple of times. Each time very impressed by the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff and excellent meals from an imaginative menu range

Brekkie was like a brekkie in the cafe of Melbourne, Australia. If you know you know! Thursdate with the Mrs, great way to start your day.

Relaxed place with good coffee and food. Gets busy!

Nicely decorated small restaurant with very friendly staff. Food was well prepared and very tasty. Well worth a visit

Amazing French toast, great value for money overall

Very tasty, wholesome food, friendly staff and nice atmosphere

Awesome cafe in in Oxford. The atmosphere is great, friendly and helpful staff, beautiful decor and music. Had. Vegetarian breakfast. The mushroom ketchup was a tasty surprise.

Came here on recommendation from a colleague, I ordered a straightforward veggie breakfast but was displeased when I was instead presented with half a pot of beans and a pork sausage. When I complained the waiter swore at me so I clocked him over the head and marched into the kitchen where I was confronted by a small boy. This boy couldn't have been older than 13 but spoke as if he didn't respect me as his elder so I picked up a rolling pin and whacked him over the head. I then looked down and was disgusted to find a dead fox on the kitchen floor. No wonder they don't get any customers any more, will not be returning any time soon.

A nice little cafe with great food and fantastic staff.

This is definitely our new favourite brunch haunt!! Banana buttermilk pancakes, light and fluffy and gorgeous and served with crispy bacon and maple syrup - YUMMY!! Homemade brioche french toast, again with maple syrup - YUMMY!! Fantastic full english and veggie version too - can't...

Lovely veggie breakfast. Highly recommended

Best cafe in Oxford. Great coffee, great food and friendly staff. Fluffiest, yummiest American pancakes with maple syrup and streaky bacon (I’ve had them at least every time I’ve been). Can’t fault it.

Delicious eggs benedict on sourdough toast with smoked salmon. I will be returning!

Amazing buttermilk pancakes! Absolutely delicious! 😋

Great full English not quite sure about the mushroom ketchup but I sure it has a fan or two

Fantastic place with an imaginative menu. English breakfast with a twist - homemade beans and ketchup. Corned beef hash is the best ever. The homemade cakes...eat one and take another away. Coffee is very good. Lively with reggae music and very reasonable prices too.