7th October 2008
Bring a packed lunch instead
I count myself as no fan of this place, and the best that I can say about it would probably be that since it's been a while since I last visited, I suppose it's possible things may have improved lately. The staff when I used to go there were unpleasant and unhelpful – especially after on one occasion, I had the audacity to try and make a – I thought a quite reasonable -complaint. And the food is well over-priced! It’s been there for years and years, though, selling its range of in-house-made sandwiches and high-end crisps and soft drinks to generation after generation of students. So why is it still trading then? Well, in this part of Oxford you’re pretty much looking at a captive market aren’t you? All the buildings, the grounds – everything around you for miles and miles – is effectively owned by one University College or another, and hence I assume there is very little room for entrepreneurial business development. This place is quite literally, the only snack shop where you can pick up lunch for under a tenner, for miles and miles – unless you fancy a longish walk into the city centre, and that'll really eat into your lunch-break. And incidentally that one star I’ve given it stands for ‘a poor effort’.