Browns

Have walked past this place countless times and always been slightly intrigued by its old school vibes and nostalgic nod to days gone by, so when a friend was in town and suggested meeting for breakfast, this was the first place that came to mind.
The table next to ours was a couple of builders enjoying bacon butties and cups of tea, which kind of summed up this place’s unpretentious/​greasy spoon feel. A real antidote to the ‘smashed avocado with a side of halloumi’ type brunch menus which tend to dominate breakfast places these days! So there was something quite comforting about that.
That said, my order of poached eggs on brown bread came out as fried eggs on white… Which he did immediately take back when I pointed it out– though it came back as fried eggs on brown, so from my limited experience I’d say ‘attention to detail’ ie accuracy of orders is not necessarily a forte of this place!

Great full English Breakfast.

Probably the closest the English get to the American idea of ‘greasy spoon’, this place is definitely where you go after a night of shameful drunken carousing.
Old wives tales, national traditions, and doctors alike all have their varying ideas of what cures the ever dreaded hangover. Funnily enough, it’s the full English breakfast. Go figure.
Fried bread (yes, my arteries are crying), egg, perfectly cooked bacon, sausage, and beans will sort you out. Personally, I am not crazy about the sausages here and substitute them with tomato. They do offer a vegetarian version of this which I need to try. Also there’s a jacket potato and omelette combination for like 5 pounds. Dirt cheap.
It has a traditional diner feel with dated décor and a simple, unabashed pride in not fawning over you. They take your order, give you a number, yell it at you when the food is ready. For me, it’s a deserved silent scolding for the previous night’s self-​poisoning from which I am usually trying to recover…

Friendly staff, low prices, and tasty food. Eggs are well-​cooked, the toast is thick and delicious, and the chips are chunky and plentiful. Sure, it’s (great) greasy diner food, but sometimes that’s exactly what you need.
Classic diner atmosphere. No music, but plenty of ambient noise from the busy tables. Quieter on a weekday late morning but always bustling at lunch. Not the most inviting place, however, and the lack of music and the décor (which is pretty much nonexistent) costs it one star in my book.
Easy to walk past, but worth the chance. With a bit of brightening up (the walls are a rather scary green and the floor is not pretty) this would be a definite 5 stars.

Two words: Full english.
After a bit of a night out, Browns is the first thing I think about when I wake up the next morning. Greasy breakfast perfection.
This place is no fuss, no muss. Slightly reminiscent of an American diner in appearance, yet Oh-​So-​British in character. You order your food, they yell it out when its ready and you get up and collect it. You sit down, inhale… er…consume your wonderful, fatty and salty breakfast, and you leave happy.
Whats not to love?

Deep Fried Toast
Fried Potatoes
Fried Heaven
Friends living here suggested we stroll to the Covered Market in town and have a look around, so one morning we did.
We came across this place and were charmed and shocked and did I mention that this is the center of fried food in Oxford?
So ‘from another time’ this place is, so evocative of earlier days, when some of the folks warming the seating were younger than we are now, and they say little has changed and that’s just the way they like it.
Enjoy!

I would say this is probably the cheapest café /​take away in Oxford. This is an old fashioned café and reminds me of a greasy spoon! But the staff are lovely and the food is typical British café food. Bacon butties, all day breakfasts and tea so strong your spoon will stand up in it! I love the toasties, and the chips are always a winner. The best thing for me is the price, I find most places in Oxford inflate their prices just because of the location but not here. There’s not much space in here, so it’s quite cosy and don’t expect to have a private conversation! But it’s worth giving this place a try, I think we should support old fashioned cafes– bacon butties never hurt the older generations!