I am both embarrassed and proud to say that I am a regular here. No, I'll just admit it...I am…read moremostly proud. I wouldn't be surprised if they know me by name. This place probably has half of my student loan in its register. It's tucked away between Cornmarket Street and the historic Covered Market so most people miss out on this little gem. However, it is a cozy little two-story establishment with both indoor and outdoor seating which is really great for lunch. The menu is inventive and handy. There are a variety of combinations, each bearing a name of a city or region. For instance, 'The Chicago' consists of salt beef, whole grain mustard, and delicious red chutney. The 'New York' is chicken and sweetcorn 'Madrid' is involves chorizo, the 'Alaska' is cream cheese and salmon. I think the 'Naples' is blue cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. You get the idea. What's more, you can have this on either a jacket potato, baguette, or panini. Mix and match! Also, each dish comes with a generous side-salad with creamy dressing. All this for £5.95! I would personally suggest the potato as it's the best, but I don't think you can go wrong. The breakfast is good as well, especially the full fry-up, although a bit pricey for the first meal of the day. The shakes and coffee are good and I am yet to try a smoothie. I am not a tourist and have pretty much gotten all my friends hooked!

This is one of those nice cafes that has fallen victim to being an Oxford cafe with tourists and…read morerich students, and has unjustifiably high prices and poor service. You have to queue to place your order, so you're often left wondering if you'll have anywhere to sit. I went in as a group of 5 and we were told to wait in a corner until a table was free, even though we could see two smaller tables near each other. We really felt in the way and even when we were sitting down, there was the constant feeling of waitresses rushing past and people trying to squeeze through. The paninis are nice and there are some good fruit juices, although I suspect they are from concentrate, which again is not good for the price. If you don't mind hustle and bustle or you're going at a quieter time, it's good quality, but you can get a lot more for your money elsewhere.

Eugh. Misery incarnate. Dour staff throwing together your MSG-laden slopwich with less enthusiasm…read morethan you might think possible to see in sentient life. A confusing morass of incompatible offers limits your choices more than expands them and you're made to feel an idiot with every exchange. Of the three people in the shop when I went in, three had poor experiences before even getting their food. Then left, muttering. Myself included. It is also in Slough, which does not help.

One of the best places for students to eat. Vege options are limited so Ive only ever had a tuna…read moresub which is very nice despite what all the carnivores say. Seeing your food prepared infront of you should be nice but can sometimes be slightly cringeworthy when you see bits of food falling into other containers. The food you would think is very healthy bu dont be fooled, some research has shown it is very misleading. If you dont like baguettes you can chane you sub into a tortilla style wrap but this is at extra cost and so I wouldnt reccommend it. he service is friendly and personal although sometimes not as swift as you would hope. There is a little outdoor eating area nice for the summer and they also give vouchers out frequenly.

The boo and I spent this past Sunday at Oxford exploring the campus and town. After a morning of…read moremuseums, we decided to wander into the Covered Market in search of noms. Because it was Sunday, a lot of places were unfortunately closed. But we wandered past Brothers Cafe and there were a decent number of people eating there so we decided to check it out. We shared the Brie, Cranberry, Turkey Panini; Goat Cheese and Pesto Panini; and Pineapple Smoothie. The portions were excellent and the food was tasty. They did not skimp on the cheese, which was perfectly melted. The cranberry sauce and pesto added the perfect touch to our sandwiches. And it was nice to get some field greens on the side, even if it was dressing-less. And the smoothie was excellent. They were out of mango so we added some strawberries to it instead and loved it. The only downside is that service is poor. The staff does seem to be running around so they aren't the friendliest bunch. They also didn't give us the student discount even after looking at my student ID. Our waitress told us that it was only 10% off and that it was a pain to do and then just charged us full price. Considering the fact that so many students go there, I'm surprised they would say that. But anyways, the food was very reasonably priced and delicious so we left happy and full.

Stopped off at this place in the Covered Market in Oxford. I ordered Bangers and Mash and I was…read moreblown away. The sausage and gravy was awesome and the cranberry sauce on the side gave it some extra sweetness. Definitely one of the best meals I had while while in England.

A French bakery and coffee shop, with meal I ptions for breakfast, lunch or dinner, Le Pain is in…read morethe Westgate shopping complex. Since Oxford University draws people world-round, it's hard to tell if the French accents and real or for the benefit of patrons. Several of the waitstaff and counter staff in the bakery/coffee bar did their best to make us wonder. I had scrambled eggs, done perfectly evenly yellow, with crispy ham and a crusty whole wheat toast. Full coffee options from Americano to Espresso we're available, but I chose an pot of breakfast tea. Their handless cups are Belgian tradition, and the cups for coffee are and closer to a bowl. A great way to warm hands while sipping. Breakfast options include Shakshuka, avocado toast, baked eggs and salmon, and many traditional and healthy options. As we and others were taken to tables, we wondered about their "system" as couples were sometimes seated at small tables, and sometimes at a large "community" table in the middle. Initial service was fast and food was also delivered quickly, but we saw at least four table who had to approach their server to ask for the bill, and as we grew weary waiting, I did the same. Perhaps they don't want to rush people as the restaurant had ample open tables, but it seemed like a general lack of attention. We returned later for take away, and I recommend a visit, but you too may need to ask for the check when you are ready to pay.

Dunno what the last review was on about. A lot of staff definitely have non-English accented speech…read morebut certainly not of the French variety. Not that it matters since this is a global chain, and I'm sure most of their food is supplied and not made in-house other than slapping sandwich ingredients together. This place has plenty of inside and outside seating, which they maximize to the point where if you're sat at one of the crowded inside tables, you'll be knocked and nudged every time a waitress or fellow patron gets up. My chair and elbows were getting knocked every 5 minutes or so, and I'm far from being hefty. Portions are very small for the price. My toasted ham & cheese croissant was an emaciated and flattened sandwich with scarcely any filling hanging out. The "mixed salad" that it came with was literally 3 tiny leaves of mixed greens. Such a sad sight. Even sadder was how chewy the croissant bottom was. A fresh croissant is light, flaky, and almost melts as it disappears in your mouth. This was more what you get when you microwave bread, dry and chewy. p.s. Gluten-free bread alternatives available.

A tiny, pokey cafe, this place is something of a hidden gem. The vast menu on a chalkboard over the…read morecounter is somewhat disconcerting, and could cause you to miss some highlights ( in between the variations on panini etc). For example, they do a good plate of ( freshly cooked) whitebait. I've never seen it not busy, except when it's closed.

A cafe and takeaway sandwich bar. Freshly cooked English breakfasts of average quality and some bog…read morestandard daily specials such as spag bol. There is the usual range of rolls available... plain, seedy, baguettes etc. The fillings are the usual bought in plastic boxes of ready-mades that we find everywhere. A cheese and tomato baguette costs £2.40 which would be reasonable if it wasn't bland grated mousetrap as usual designed to impress that you are getting more cheese than you are getting. Still feeling a little hungry after that, I bought a ham and tomato baguette, with re-formed ham, but really lots of it. The coffee is OK. The place is not bad, but its not what you'd call exceptional. The patron is polite but can be brusque with his staff who are, in fact, very pleasant and helpful. The plus to this cafe is its location at Hampton. You can eat inside, but also at the pavement which is very pleasant, the area having a quiet and picturesque village-style ambience with a small number of other shops, some upmarket. Despite the reservations, it is worth a visit if you are in the area.

[EDIT: There are two Prets in Reading on opposite ends of Broad Street. Yelp likes to merge them…read more I've stopped trying to fix this lack of logic.] I'm not sure how I've missed reviewing this Pret, which is located on Broad Street at the entrance to the Oracle Shopping Plaza. There is another Pret only 300 meters ("300 yards" in American) to the west, on the other side of the Broad Street pedestrian zone. Following the usual Pret style with a large cooler (and warmer!) of sandwiches, drinks and cakes, there is also a speedily-operated espresso machine behind the counter with young helpers making lattes, cappuccinos and the like with regular, skim or soy milk. There are 12 so tables indoors and another 10 outside. While you're not permitted to smoke inside the Pret boundary ropes, nothing stops a jerk from lighting up just outside and polluting your otherwise excellent sandwich. For the sandwiches, I really recommend the Falafel & Chunky Humous and the Mozzarella Pesto Bloomer. If you simply have to eat meat, the The New Yorker Bloomer with salted beef is a treat. All go well with the Spicy Piri Chilli Crisps!

I have a confession to make. It might not be a popular one. I sodding well love Pret A Manger. I…read moredon't care that it's a chain; I don't care that it's run by the same people as McDonald's. Every time I see one on a corner when I'm in unfamiliar territory, I heave a sigh of relief. I first fell in lust with it at Gatwick Airport when I had what purported to be a standard wrap and ended up being supreme sexyfood. They're dotted around Manchester, sure, but when I vacated the Hilton at 7am and needed somewhere to duck into with awesome coffee and free wi-fi, Spinningfields served it up to me on a platter. That's since become one of my favourite Prets. (I might even update my review. ARE YOU EXCITED?!) So I told Alexa G, if we wanted breakfast in the morning, clueless as we where to Reading and everything about it, we'd hit Pret. And hit it we did. It was a lovely sunny morning, and this particular Pret has outdoor seating cordoned off in the middle of the pedestrianised Broad Street, complete with parasols. We guzzled Americanos and Lex tucked into a savoury pastry while I made friends with a double berry muffin, and we both opted for juice. It might not be tremendously exciting, but you know what you're getting with Pret, and this one had a touch of the something special about it. Thanks for saving our white wine hangovers and allowing us to shop at full steam, Pret, we're suitably impressed.

This is part of a chain that is prominent in the area, but my experience suggests they aren't…read moreentirely uniform so I thought it deserved its own review. I go here quite often for lunch at work. The paninis are good, although in truth the whole place is kind of overpriced. This could be because its prices are pegged with the prices of the branches in central oxford. I recommend the Mexican chicken pannini. The sauce is delicious and they add mozzarella which makes it really nice. Also, good value at £3.90 with a drink and pack of crisps.

Spent the weekend in Oxford & visited the place Saturday arfternoon for coffee & cake, then Sunday…read morebrunch. It's a little pokey in the rear part but the food & service was ok, you order food at the front counter. Not to expensive in my opinion considering its a huge tourist location.

Adorable little hole in the wall sandwich shop right outside of Trinity College Oxford. I had the…read morechicken and pesto panini while my wife had the smoked salmon and creamed cheese panini. Both were well portioned and very good. We actually swapped 1/2 with each other but only 1/2 of one of their paninis would be sufficient for a light lunch. They came with a small salad (no dressing) and crisps / chips depending on if you speak British or American English.