Handle Bar Cafe & Kitchen - Oxford

Rip off beer prices and they don,t take cash COVID is supposedly over. They need to book Beatles, Clash, Ramones, MC5 Lazy Cowgirls to get me back again

A great find whilst visiting Oxford for the day. Spoilt for choice by the lunch menu. I went for the Chipotle Quesadilla and my husband had the Bavette Steak both were outstanding. Also enjoyed a cheeky margarita. Wish I lived closer as would visit all the time. Staff very friendly and couldn't do enough for us.

In the middle of renovations, so parts were closed off and menu was changed. We were there for breakfast and only went there because their menu online said they had pancakes. They did not (new/reduced menu) So we sat down to order something else, but turns out that even their new and updated menu is not really updated, because several of the dishes/drinks we tried to order were not on the menu or available. And service was sooooo slow. I get that they are renovating, and that the menu is changed because of that. That’s ok. But the server should have informed us when handing us the new menus that certain dished were not available today. Instead, we spent some time browsing their menu, waiting for ages for someone to come take the order, only to be told we could not have what we wanted. So yeah. It’s probably a nicer place when things are up running, at least I hope so!

I’m really sad to write this as I’ve really enjoyed this place for years — over its many iterations. But a recent visit (during their renovation, about which we weren’t warned) left me feeling disappointed and ripped off. The food, served on a disposable plate, consisted of half a carrot which was so dry that it had clearly been chopped up the previous day (and one baton was even black inside); a couple of spoons of tzatziki and hummus, a few olives, some cold flatbread from a packet, and two fritters (which were fine). The soggy and bitter-tasting tabbouleh salad was the saddest version of this usually wonderful fresh dish I’ve had. For £13 plus service, with no mention of the lower quality of food due to the work being done, it was pretty abysmal. Better surely to warn customers and lower prices temporarily, or to close briefly, than to put off loyal supporters for good.

Tasty, creative menu in chill vibes. What better way to spend a rainy morning in Oxford. Food is thoughtful, coffee is solid, and there's something nice about being on the first floor slightly away from it all.