Nestled between bike shops and rows of terraced houses on Walton Street in Jericho, Barefoot Café doesn’t immediately catch your eye. Set back from the pavement and often hidden by a row of cars, the unassuming exterior gives little away. Take a look through the full-length glass windows though, and there it is. The best cake café in Oxford.
As soon as you walk through the door, you’re greeted by an enormous collection of cakes, overflowing from the sturdy counter onto high wooden crates. The sheer amount and variety of cakes is always impressive; from three-tiered sponges (often the size of small houses) and huge cupcakes to brownies, traybakes and flapjacks; from freshly baked bread and mini meringues to fruit loaves, flourless cakes and fresh croissants.
It’s widely acknowledged that quality always comes before quantity. But these cakes taste incredible too. Not only are they imaginative, but they’re also well baked – not a soggy bottom or dry sponge in sight. Their originality is refreshing; recent arrays have included a Kiwi, Courgette, Lime and Mascarpone cake, a Banana Caramel loaf, Barefoot Kisses (bite size meringues which melt in your mouth) and a Black Forest cake with Fresh Cream Ganache, Kirsch Soaked Cherries and Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting. Unsurprisingly, they’re not cheap, but they’re not unreasonable for Jericho either, with prices ranging from £2.50-3.50.
The café itself is pretty, combining large wooden surfaces with little antique chairs. It’s small, with a couple of tables for two by the counter and a space beyond with a few more tables. Fresh flowers lie scattered around, the cakes come served on tiny decorated plates, and the prices of the coffee (locally sourced) are written in white on a gold-gilded mirror; the surroundings show off the innovative character found in the cakes too.
Barefoot bears the motto “let them eat cake”, and when I sat eating my extremely satisfying Spiced Orange and Carrot cake in a post-mods haze, I thought that if this was the kind of cake Marie Antionette was flippantly referring to, I’d really have no objection at all.
