The Handlebar café and kitchen Reviews Summary

Quality of Food

Pros:

• "The vegetarian breakfast is also surprisingly good with proper tasting veggie sausages and home made baked beans!"
• "The pancakes and sweet potato fries were quite tasty."
• "I had the Venison Burger... absolutely delicious!"
• "Almost everything was gluten free which was good for us."
• "The pastrami itself was succulent and incredibly tasty."
• "Fish tacos were out of this world, so delicious and generous portion."
• "The quesadillas actually taste mexican!"

Cons:

• "The bread felt stale and the food was luke warm."
• "The full english breakfast was awful and i have never seen sugar syrup-dipped pancakes before."
• "Strictly mediocre food. Nothing tastes fresh or warm."
• "Too many spices for my preference and this makes the food a bit heavy."
• "The vegan breakfast was a bit under seasoned."
• "The salads were poor. The Root vegetable salad was just a few carrots, tiny bit of parsnips and mixed leaves. Bland!"
• "The rice was slightly underwhelming with an undercooked texture."

Service

Pros:

• "Cannot recommend highly enough this wonderful cafe. A hidden gem in Oxford."
• "Staff were very friendly."
• "The staff were very friendly and efficient."
• "Staff were absolutely lovely as well, they were all working hard, but the service was responsive and friendly from all the staff we encountered."
• "Quality service and lively staff."
• "Staff were very friendly and accommodating."
• "The staff couldn't have been more helpful!"

Cons:

• "We sat and waited for 20 mins without menus on the dirty table."
• "Anti laptop user signs and hurried service made me feel I should leave."
• "Very long wait once we sat down, seemed quite understaffed."
• "The attendant was very cold and unfriendly."
• "The staff clearly resented our presence."
• "Service was sooooo slow."
• "Been recommended. Sadly, very sadly been denied food in slightly rude manner."

Ambience and Location

Pros:

• "The classic cycling theme are clearly a five star combo worthy of very high praise."
• "The atmosphere is phenomenal. Light, airy, and artistically designed."
• "This isn’t your ordinary avocado on toast with coffee place, this is everything you expect from a wonderful brunch place- offering a unique menu you can’t whip up at home."
• "Feast with your eyes, stomach and soul on the food."
• "Le Bar marks its spot on the map as one of the few no-bs, modern drinking establishments in Oxford."
• "Central location down a side ally, decorated with bikes and art. Overall i had a nice brunch, but found it annoying that you couldn't make any changes to your order."
• "The place is located above a bike shop, up some stairs that have a path for you to bring your bike."

Cons:

• "Toilets without soap or toilet paper."
• "Parking is not really that easy. Preferable to walk here."
• "The place is busy with tourists, so we can see it is overhyped by the many bloggers online."
• "Unfortunately this means that if you have a push buggy, you'll have to haul this up some awkward stairs."
• "The place is a bit stuffy though."
• "Been going here for many years and it’s gone downhill massively over the last six months."
• "Won't be returning here again when I could spend the same amount almost anywhere else and get the same experience for a quarter of the price!"

Value

Pros:

• "The pricing wasn't bad either and was in par or lower than other brunch places in town."
• "There is a 20% student discount here."
• "We shared a couple of reasonably priced and tasty salads."
• "Every kind of beverage: great chai, coffee any way, booze, and juices."
• "Great vibes and great music and most importantly, some fresh, proper drinks."
• "Our daughter introduced us to this place because it was vegetarian- friendly."
• "The staff were very lovely and welcoming, creating a homely atmosphere."

Cons:

• "For a very small glass of latte for £3, it's good coffee but with the tiny amount."
• "This place used to be great (food was delicious), but menu changed recently and the quality/selection just isn’t the same."
• "When paying the bill I requested that the chips are discounted from the bill. The waiter only removed the service charge and still charged me in full for my meal despite only serving me half of it."
• "I paid £7 for a vegan tartare... I paid £7 for a raw, chopped up courgette."
• "Lovely location, lovely staff, lovely food, but dreadful and shocking value for the money."
• "I wouldn't come again. It's quite expensive."
• "The only negative thing is the price of the food, quite expensive."