Any visitor to Oxford would visit the High Street and see the exquisite outlook of the Grand Cafe. One cannot miss the window sign saying "The first Coffee House in England" and an invitation to try its afternoon tea.
In contrast with the beautiful turquoise-and-gold combination on the outside, the interior decor is ancient (not in a good sense I normally think of). It's well-lit but does not scream "luxury" to me, not at all. The menu seriously is problematic: cheap-looking and boring. I decided to try Soup of the Day and intended to order some tea and cakes later. But I could not bear the thoughts of wasting any more penny on this coffee house.
The soup of the day was Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato. What did I get? A liquid-y bland soup with plenty of croutons in it, no particular natural smell of squash, lots of supermarket bread slices and butter. It meant to fill one up, rather than to please one. The two tables next to me gave out more signs of poor cooking skills. The scones and tea on the left-side table were brittle and dry. The ham sandwich on the right-side table was purely a careless throw-in of cheap bread, tomato slices and cheap ham with some salad. So disappointed, I decided not to order anything else.
Well, it seems popular due to the location and marketing. But I don't think many customers really appreciate the quality of the food. Sorry, The Grand Cafe, it was bad.
The Grand Cafe, Oxford
84 High St, Oxford OX1 4BG
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