The Independent Café in Oxford

A wonderful Ham and Cheese Toasted Sandwich. Amazing decorations in the toilet very ethnic! Maybe Aboriginal or Maori!

Staff very friendly didn’t get her name but think it’s Gaby so helpful ……………………………………………………… thank you if you’ve got this far

I wish I had a different review to give and could review the tasty looking toasted sandwiches or the nice ambience and vibe. But alas after waiting in the queue with 5 other groups for 10 minutes with no acknowledgement from the staff nor anyone being served three groups left including myself - to try a different place that was more than happy to serve us and take our money. The staff could learn to smile plus a little basic customer service. Hope you have a better experience!

Here we go: 1. Served our pot of tea with a coffee cup instead of a jug for the milk. Milk spills everywhere because of this. No teaspoon to stir. Found the cutlery in the cafe ourselves but alas, no teaspoons. 3. Hubby's brie and cranberry toasty was mostly cranberry with a bit of cheese, so too sickly sweet to enjoy. There was so much cranberry sauce it squelchy out of the toasty and dripped onto the plate. No salad garnish so therefore badly put together and expensive for a small bight at £7 4. My sausage and egg roll was stacked high but served on a saucer. Not room to cut up on such a small plate, no cutlery offered anyway. No way of getting my mouth around the bap. Helped ourselves again to the cutlery we found hidden away earlier. 5. Meals arrived in an untimely fashion which meant we had already had two cups of tea each when the food arrived with nothing left to drink with the food. 5. Although pleasant staff, I got the impression that the young people working there didnt have enough guidance within their roles. More management needed here I think.

Spacious cafe with great tasting coffee and snacks. A larger food menu would top it for sure . close to the park

Great Americano and toasted sandwich for breakfast. The staff was friendly and the food was tasty. Didn’t seem overly priced, as some reviewers state, compared to other coffee shops in the area. Loved it!

We just wanted a quick bite to eat and their sourdough toasties were excellent! Got a window seat so all good.

L’endroit est charmant en face de Christ Church. La déco est cosy par contre niveau café c’est horrible. Ils étaient amer…

Had the best bacon and egg roll and coffee I've had in years. and a great place to people watch and watch the world go by loved it

Service could be friendlier. Great tasting ham and cheese toasted sandwich, but at 7 pounds and not very big, plus no garnish, it's overpriced. Coffee not the greatest in taste.

Love this place! Great coffee & atmosphere. Fantastic for studying! The employees are nice and it’s right across from Christ Church Meadow.

Pleasant sandwich. Fairly characterless cafe for position. Missing a trick here. They probably need to find an adult or somebody with reasonable eyesight to clean the toilet. The white skirting boards are black with dirt. Sink filthy. Back of loo seat covered in dirt and hairs. Come on - this is basic hygiene. Doesn’t require a degree.

I loved this place, it was a Saturday afternoon and the place was buzzing with students working away on their PC's - chatting, reading, some at large communal tables but with plenty of space between for those who were in pairs or smaller groups. The coffee was great and my friend and I bacon butties on soft white baps, reasonably priced at £5 but they also had a good range of more adventurous sandwiches made with sourdough bread. We requested ketchup which came in an individual dish. Would have like some butter on my butty but I'm sure if I'd have asked for that also it would have been cheerfully provided. I never made it to uni, so at age 67 it was great to soak up the atmosphere and imagine what might have been. No-one batted an eyelid at we oldies and it was a great place just to relax, people-watch and enjoy the view of Christ Church from the window.

We shared a grilled cheese sandwich here before visiting Christ Church. This place is right across the street from Christ Church. We ordered the 3 cheese blend on sourdough bread and were glad we were sharing because it was pretty big. The sandwich was amazingly delicious. Coffee was very good too. There were lots of newspapers and magazines available to read. Decor was modern, bright, and minimalistic. You order at the counter and they bring the food to your table. It appreciate to be child friendly too. Highly recommend.

The Independent is a relatively new addition to an historic building known as the Old Palace at the lower end of Oxford’s St. Aldates opposite the back entrance to Christ Church. This ancient building is now home to the most modern of coffee houses with a great selection of sandwiches and light lunches to complement a beverage. A row of cool bottles of water line a high pinewood bar. I indulged in a raspberry sorbet picked up from the small room beyond where orders are taken then brought to the comfy armchairs in which guests sit in the larger lounge.

Had expected to give more points when entering the pleasant, cool café area, with large tables and a variety of seating. Food came after a reasonable time. Drink was fine, but think the bacon was undercooked and perhaps hadn't been stored well? Didn't finish it, but what I had eaten stayed with me unpleasantly for the rest of the day. Can't be too careful with pork products!

First visit to this calming space with view of Old Tom. Tried a vegan latte for the first time (oat milk) and was blown away - will go again. Fab danish pastries too.

It's a great spot for studying and the choice of food is nice with some good ingredients, however a few times now my toastie has arrived burnt. This is quite disappointing considering it is around £6/7 with no salad on the side and for the burnt parts to be inedible it felt unfairly priced.

Good location, looks like it is used by students to study in - lots with their laptops and free Wi-Fi. Good selection of drinks and sandwiches. We had coffee and cake. Coffee was fine but the cakes were dry… could be because it was late Saturday afternoon? Good for students I would imagine