The Grand Café, with its opulent – some might say a touch overdone – décor, unintrusive background music, and friendly staff, has an atmosphere a world away from the bustle and dust of the High Street outside. Breakfast is served in the morning, brunch from mid-morning onwards, and afternoon tea from 2 until 5.
With the residing atmosphere being either that of a literary salon or a colonial tea house, the Grand Café is perhaps the last bastion of Oxonian decadence. Chandeliers hang for the ceiling, Earl Grey and lashings of clotted cream fill the menu, and old ladies from North Oxford meet regularly to discuss the latest goings-on at the Conservative club or how their grandson is doing at the Dragon School. All in all, a fine example of good old bourgeois frivolity.
Arriving a little past midday, my boyfriend and I gravitated toward the brunch menu, which at £6 for most dishes is a little more expensive than my typical post-lecture sandwich. The food was, however, utterly worth it. I ordered the kedgeree, a substantial portion of curried rice and peas with delicious, firm chunks of smoked haddock, topped with a knob of butter which melted into the dish as I ate. My companion’s smoked salmon bagel with scrambled eggs was even more tasty; the bagel toasted just right, the smoked salmon perfect.
Desserts, too, come highly recommended, my chocolate cake neither too dry nor too moist, and the Belgian waffles well-dressed with maple syrup and ice-cream. The pot of Darjeeling that accompanied our meal was good, but the Grand Café excels in its cocktails, which are half-price after 7pm. The brandy Alexander looked as appetising as it tasted, the elderflower Collins was refreshingly minty, and, best of all, even champagne cocktails are included in the half-price offer.
The service was discreet enough that I felt relaxed, but our attentive waitress noticed, without fail, when our teapot was empty and our plates needed to be cleared.
In the evening, the tables are adorned with candles, and even when my friend managed to knock one over and spill wax on a chair, the staff were good-humoured and patient concerned only that he might have burnt himself. While the tables are perhaps a little too small to accommodate the medical textbooks I prepare essays with, at least one table was occupied by a student, his cup of tea, and a book that looked far too boring to be read for pleasure. I almost expected to look over my shoulder and see a huddle of long coated intellectuals.
While the café was busy, it was quiet enough to make it not only an attractive lunch venue, but an ideal venue for a date or meeting. With cocktails as cheap as £3.50 in the evening, the Grand Café has the potential to rival even the illustrious Duke of Cambridge, not least due to its more central location. And the food is as fine as the drinks – while the prices make lunch here a luxury, treat yourself to it at least once; it’s worth it.
