Cafe Loco

I’ve been wanting to try this place for a long time. Always walking by thinking that it would be nice to go in and have a quiet lunch. I finally did one day and I was so disappointed. First there is no clear indication of where you order. Do you order at your seat or at the register? There is no one to direct you to your seat which would make you think you order at the register except that all the menus are at the table and not at the register so even if you go up there to order you have no idea what to order. Really confused. I walked around the café/​take away area before someone asked me if I needed something.
I ordered something simple yet complex. Soup. Soup is one of those things that I really enjoy. Especially when it’s made correctly. My mom made soup so delicious yet simple. So I ordered a soup. It sounded nice on the menu.
It was so bad. Very bland yet very peppery. There was no flavor except pepper. My taste buds were so confused. Is this bland water with pepper thrown in? What is it??? How many was can you mess up soup? I guess many different ways.
The baguette was nice though.
Won’t be back. Sorry.

The food was not nice — (breakfast)presented in a very unappetising fashion and tasted bad. And the coffee was worse. As far as black coffee goes it made about every mistake in the book. I won’t be back.

Came here for an afternoon tea during my first and most likely only visit to oxford. It’s a pretty chic place with good service. It’s right across from Christ church.

Perfect place for afternoon tea or breakfast. Average ice coffee but quiet impressive cakes, however a way too much — overpriced. You guys cannot charge as much as places in Central London — bad practise. Fantastic ambience and great seats. Terminal processing payments too slow. Not sure if We visit again.
Daria and Milosz

I’d give this place 0 stars if I could. It honestly doesn’t matter if the coffee, food or pastries are any good when you’re treated unnecessarily rudely by staff. We are Americans living in Oxford for my husband’s job at the university. There are lots of differences but in cafes here, take away food and ‘staying in’ seem to be treated differently and charged differently. Usually this is fine. We do our best to blend in and not be touristy, but I stopped by this café on my way home from town this morning because my husband has mentioned they have good coffee and he often stops by on his way to work — though he mentioned they never charge him the same price twice for his regular Americano. I ordered on the take away side apparently and here’s what I don’t understand — she asked if it was take away. If that side is for take away only, then why did she ask? So my impression was that I could sit down in what is apparently the ‘sit and stay’ area. I mention that I plan to sit for a little while. Maybe she didn’t hear me, I don’t know.
I get the coffee in a paper cup and my pastry in a bag. I wander into the café seating area and sit where it’s EMPTY except for one girl on a laptop, 2 gentlemen chatting and another female employee writing out a chalkboard near where I decide to sit. I’m there for a few minutes settling in when I open the pastry bag which is noisy and that’s when she asks me if my order was to take away. Clearly, everything was by the look of it so I said yes. She informs me the seating area isn’t for take away, but to stay only. I’m still confused and I told her I’d mentioned to the barista I was planning to sit. She starts to say well, she shouldn’t have let you sit down or something to that effect — but the point was, she was asking me to leave. I wasn’t allowed to stay. Again — the café was empty. What did it matter? I packed up, embarrassed and left. That was completely ridiculous treatment of a customer.
I can understand this policy ONLY if there are other prices for what I ordered, which I didn’t see listed clearly though maybe they are on the table menus and if it’d been crowded, but it wasn’t. It’s a large place and there was no one in there. It’s very obvious the Brits don’t have regular customer service skills. We’ve noticed it everywhere. We aren’t demanding Americans, but we also don’t think a smile, a please and thank you are out of line when we’re bringing in our money to your establishment. So we frequent the places we’re treated well — The Jam Factory, Oxfork, Turl St. Café — the staff are pleasant and we tip — A LOT — for friendly and good service, not to mention the good quality of the food. Maybe there was a sign stating what the seating area was for, but honestly, all she had to do was be kind, explain the situation a bit more clearly to me and that it didn’t matter, I could stay — just for future reference to know their policy and it all would’ve been fine.
My husband stops by here a lot. Neither of us will be back. Clearly they don’t need our money. Great! We’ll spend it where it will be appreciated.

Positive: impressively good coffee.
Negative: Not One but Two lunch orders screwed up. Pricey for the service/​quality of the food and, let’s be honest, a tourist-​filled café is not exactly an appealing weekend lunch spot.
I was supposed to have a bagel veggie sandwich which instead was a veggie panini on fishy ciabatta bread with cheese; my friend’s ham and cheese sandwich came out as a tuna and sweetcorn melt. Mine, excusable, his, not so much.
Despite the less than lovely experience, the location is prime. Across the street is the entrance to the Corpus Christi meadow and you’re also a short distance away from the town centre. Afternoon tea looks lovely; maybe they can do something right? Who can tell? I know I won’t be.

Probably the best place in Oxford for afternoon tea. The scones and clotted cream are fantastic, and the tea is great. The view/​location is awesome — right across from Christ Church. The name is a bit strange, as it is a fairly traditional, British place — nothing «loco» about it. They have a sandwich/​take-​away bar attached to the main tea room, where they have the most delicious pastries and scones ready for you.
The service isn’t fantastic, and it took us a little while to get someone’s attention and let them know we wanted to sit and have tea, but besides that, it is absolutely a fantastic establishment. Definitely worth the stop after the inevitable tourist trip to Christ Church or a stroll in their meadow.

I stopped in here with my mom during a tour of Oxford since we were hungry and didn’t feel like grabbing sandwiches at Tesco. We walked into the bakery section first and were told there was a dining area (we were exhausted or we wouldn’t have been dumb enough to not notice it), so we wandered in there. It was packed. We were told to sit anywhere (the server was a bit rude about it but I’ll excuse her since it was hectic and she was probably a bit frazzled) and snagged a booth near the bathroom. My mom had the crayfish sandwich and I had the tea set. The sandwiches were nice and honestly, a bit better than some of the expensive tea places I visited in London. The cakes were good though a bit dry but it was the end of the day. Service was pretty fast when we could flag someone down (which was difficult because it was so crowded). My mom really enjoyed her sandwich and the hot tea was a great way to warm up. Nice little quick tea stop before heading back to London.

Probably the antithesis of its name, this place has a traditional feel and is straddling a stereotypical café and a bed and breakfast (unfortunately, sans the bed).
Café Loco is basically a two-​act eatery, giving its customers a chance to have a somewhat light, sit-​down meal or letting them opt for a quick express lunch in a pick-​up-​and-​go way. The practical thing is that it there is not just one queue. There is a separate section for those who want to grab soup/​potato, coffee, or a pastry and run. Perfect for a student having a working lunch or for those trying to grab something quickly while avoiding the lunchtime Sainsbury/‘insert-grocery-shop-here’ queues.
The atmosphere is light and casual and is nice for breakfast or brunch. However, this comfy ‘country inn’ is less than ideal for a large appetite or for those seeking more creative lunch options. The sandwiches and baguettes are nice enough but are not super filling and are fairly plain. The pastries fare better as do the soups and coffees. Also, they offer reasonably priced afternoon tea for those seeking a quiet and relaxing break from outside stress.
Nothing to complain about, but considering the assortment of gastro-​pleasing cafes in Oxford, nothing to rave about either. The location is nice, situated virtually right across Christ church and the meadows (thus probably making it a fairly popular tourist attraction). Well priced, considering the neighborhood (most lunch options being between 5.95−7.95 pounds). The staff is lovely and if you are eating in, the food arrives within 15 – 20 minutes which is a huge plus for those of us who know that time is money (or if you are running late, time means an angry tutor). Bring him back a pastry?
2.5÷5
xXx

A modern café with waitress service for plated lunches on one side, and a takeaway counter for paninis and coffee on the other. It has a modern pine interior with lots of natural light streaming in from the big windows. One of the main attractions is the view from the St Aldate’s side, where you look over into Christ Church Meadow. Unfortunately the airy interior also tends to echo screaming children around the café!
Eating in, the service is always friendly and the food is good; but not amazing when you consider that it’s quite pricey: £4−5 for soups and desserts, £6−7 for sandwiches, bagels and paninis and £7−9 for salads (as of April 2011). Probably what you would expect from somewhere smack-​bang in the middle of the tourist centre of Oxford, but it means it’s more suitable for a nice lunch with colleagues or family than a cheap baguette. I’m presuming they charge more because it’s table service, but then they seem to encourage tips as well, which can make the bill spiral a bit. The Ploughman’s lunch is particularly good and also generous. Drinks are also more normally priced.
The takeaway counter is much better value, selling sandwiches from the same kitchen at a much lower price. It’s perfect for grabbing a bite to eat and a coffee in Christ Church Meadow. The cappuccino is more like a latte, however.

I had to summon the strength to wake up at 6.30am on Sunday in order to catch an early train to Oxford for a family event. Needless to say I was in dire need of food and coffee by the time I reached Oxford (naturally I had to sprint to catch the train so no chance of a coffee in Paddington).
Unfortunately, I made the mistake of going into the first coffee shop I saw (a Coffee Republic) for a pastry and my standard double espresso. The pain au chocolat was adequate (having just come back from Paris I’m undoubtedly spoiled on pastries for the moment) and the coffee… well I think it had caffeine in it.
Luckily, I stumbled across Café Loco a few minutes later and the aroma of coffee coming from this place made me dive in for my second double espresso in 15 minutes. Thank goodness I did. The coffee was excellent and served at the perfect temperature to warm the body while not burning away any of the flavour. The french onion soup was good but could have done with a tad more salt, however the baguette and cheese toast served with it was superb.
I quite enjoyed the feel of the place, a sort of country café atmosphere where they are cheerful and friendly even to zombified strangers in suits on a Sunday morning.
If you are in Oxford and looking for a bite for breakfast, brunch, or lunch, definitely give this placea try.

Agree with previous reviews, excellent café south side of Oxford, just opposite the path gates leading to Christ Church Meadow and Broad Walk. Have your academic stroll and flop in here for a delicious choice of cakes (huge slices) and strong smooth coffee.
Try a high tea choice, sandwiches, cakes and tea or coffee, served on a cute cake stand or pop in for breakfast with really nice looking full English or eggs Benedict at reasonable prices.
The décor is unfussy and tasteful and the full waitress service is very pleasant and welcoming, quick and accommodating. Excellent — well worth building into your Oxford circuit.

Great location — bang smack opposite Christ Church. The food is of your standard café variety, but maybe a bit overpriced. Pleasant staff.

This really is a lovely little café, it’s right opposite Christ Church Meadow, so if you’re feeling hungry after your stroll pop in here you won’t be disappointed. It is a little expensive, but then isn’t everywhere in Oxford! They have a nice menu serving the usual lunch choices, and also have daily specials. The staff are very friendly and the service is very good. It’s a nice spot, far enough away from the high street but still in te town centre. They’ve recently started doing take-​aways, (next door down) the menu is a little cheaper and a good idea in the summer would be to take your food into Christ Church Meadow to have a picnic. They also sellm lovely ice-​cream perfect for summer days!