Magic Cafe

Magic Café is a long-​established local café. Plenty of space and great atmosphere. Popular with mothers and children.

My kind of café! Small is beautiful. Vegetarian food, prepared by the people who owns the place and care about serving good food. Suprisingly I have not found other vegetarian places here in Oxford, although most places have vegetarian options. A good selection of salads, one was quite spicy. The owner told me that they have many families coming. The place is children friendly and prices are very reasonable.
The place itself is not very fancy, but I don’t need fancy when the food is so good.

While visiting in Oxford, I wanted to find a place that specializes only in vegetarian and vegan food, though I have been lucky to find many Oxford restaurants that provide a veg options (but vegan is difficult — veg dishes here contain cheese and eggs). I found The Magic Café after research. Showing up at 10am provided me a nice quiet place to read. The place was large and inviting and the chairs were comfortable. I ordered a twinings tea for a little over £1. At noon it was clear this place is a favorite for locals. It became extremely busy, especially with moms and their children. The atmosphere changed, so it was not a time to read. But it was time for my lunch.
The special was: Porcini mushroom risotto with bruschetta and salad £5.70
The meals of the day were:
Lentil and vegetable lasagna £3.50
Sweet potato and coconut soup £3.00
Full salad 4.50
Half plate salad 3.00
Quarter 1.50
They serve the food right from the counter. (While drinking tea earlier, they were working very diligently.)
I ordered the veggie lasagna. It contained lentils, zucchini, and carrots. It was piping warm out of the large casserole dish they serve from and had a great flavor. It was delicious!
I also ordered a brownie based on other reviews. It was tasty with a noticeable hint of espresso. The employees were sweet and the locals are friendly; I joined a pair at a table due to the place filling up fast. If I lived in Oxford I would return to this place again.

I get in here all too infrequently considering how long I’ve lived in Oxford and how good it is. Comfy with good food and drinks and laid back environment.

Just went in here today for a quick lunch and was pleasantly surprised! From the outside it looks like a shoddy, hole-​in-​the wall type of place… and I was a bit worried to be honest when I got a peep of the kitchen while I was deciding what to order. Anyway, I went with the Vegan hotplate special of the day, which was Green Vegetable Risotto with a side of salad (one of three choices) as well as baguette with fresh tomatoes/​onions on top (think crostini I suppose). I ordered a regular black coffee, which was what I really needed to wake me up! The food was good but I must say they slathered on the olive oil… I’m not sure if that’s how it is here with all vegan/​vegetarian food, but for my first meal in Oxford, I’d say it was pretty delish. Since it’s close to where I’m living, I will definitely be popping my head back in again!

Down to earth. Delicious good. Salt of the earth. Definitely recommended.

If this place was on a main drag it would be too full to get in. As it is, its probably the best place to go for a coffee or tea and a cake in Oxford, and it always has been. Don’t be put off by the ramshackle, hippyish appearance. This place does great food, has a truly welcoming atmosphere, and if not a one-​off, its certainly a rare gem.
The cakes are delicious, and the salads look too healthy to be that tasty, but they really are good. Soup a long term favourite.

I’ve lived near this place for years and always meant to go in but never got round to it until today… such a shame I waited so long! A really comfy, chilled out, friendly place (we did wonder if everyone else in there somehow knew each other… but I guess it’s just such a community round here…). Sofas and different sized tables, live music (harps today) between 1 and 2 on Saturdays, tasty vegetarian food, cakes, ice cream. Happily spent 3 hours there and definitely plan to go back for more. May take my knitting and just sit and enjoy…

Delicious, exotic vegetarian recipes. Lovely friendly and comforting atmosphere, fascinating clientele. Comfy chairs and tables, occasionaly music venues, great notice board full of lovely things to do. LOVE this place, a definite must to do if you find yourself wandering outside the centre of town. Go in there to fill up before delving into the Inner bookshop next door. Staff friendly and helpful.

A lovely laid-​back hippie-​ish café. Why don’t all cafes have sofas?! It’s pretty hard to leave, though, so don’t go in unless you have a fair amount of time to spare or a lot of oomph. The food’s pretty simple but healthy and fills you up, and you can get lunch for about a fiver. The pies are rather good! Rumour has it they have live music at the weekend. The staff are pretty laid back and it’s got a welcoming atmosphere.
Top tip: smoothie and chocolate brownie — you won’t regret it!

wonderfil atmosphere and delicious fresh wholefoods great to chill and start the week well. Comfy sofas too