Queen's Lane Coffee House, Oxford

Oxford's Queen's Lane Coffee House claims to be the longest established coffee house in Europe, dating as it does from 1654. Visiting the city for the day, I wanted to avoid the usual chain coffee shops and try out an independent one for a change. Walking back to the High Street from Radcliffe Square and turning left, Queen's Lane was the first place I came to. I'm always a little hesitant about trying a new place when I'm on my own, but I convinced myself to go in. There is a dining room to the left and another smaller seating area to the right alongside the counter. I didn't know whether ... more

The Queen's Lane Coffee house is, according to the signs painted on its peachy-coloured walls, the oldest coffee house in Europe. It certainly doesn't look it - the owners have done a good job making it brightly-coloured and vaguely contemporary looking, if neither trendy nor glamorous. The food is reasonably good, pitched somewhere between bistro and greasy spoon, with lots of variety (loads of different sandwiches and cakes, as well as Greek and Italian platters and an assortment of hot dishes). The service is also quick and reliable, and prices are good for the area. However, if you've a ... more

The Queen\'s Lane Coffee house claims to be the oldest coffee house in Britain, or something along those lines. It\'s a shame then that despite years of operation, this place hasn\'t learnt how to cook or serve with a smile. The menu looks scrumptious but when the food arrived, I was very disappointed. It was more like school canteen food, with a leaf of lettuce which apparently constitutes \"salad\". Everything is overpriced and the few food items that look good certainly don\'t taste good. I don\'t quite know how they managed to make danish pastries taste bad. I suspect they\'re bought en ... more