Barefoot Jericho — Restaurant in Oxford

Update a month later and the state of the place OMG. Wasps everywhere climbing all over the food dozens of them. Took 10 mins to pay because the WiFi was so bad not even the payment system worked. Reset it still didn’t work. WiFi units seem to be in a closed cupboard buried under clothes and bags. Apparently the other shop is even worse and staff their use next door WiFi. I’m out. Even the food is slipping. Owner couldn’t give a toss it would seem. How sad.

Update 7-months later after being told the broadband provider was replaced - WiFi still utter rubbish my iPhone 14 hasn’t been able to connect to it in months, cell signal barely existent, food and coffee still good. Don’t come here if you want to chill online. I don’t think the owner cares. Staff seem embarrassed by it. For less than £200 they could put a netgear mesh router and satellite in and solve the problem for good. Very disappointing.

From 7-months ago: Everything about this cafe is 5-star except the WiFi. Mobile reception is patchy at best, non-existent more often. A WiFi password is boldly displayed out front but the WiFi rarely works. And by rarely I mean in ~5 years off and on (off during the pandemic) I’ve managed to connect perhaps twice on my standard iPhone. I had email correspondence with the owner over a year ago and suggested a low cost simple mesh system but nothing has changed. The staff are mostly apologetic about it - recognising it is atrocious. At this point I have to wonder if it is a deliberate strategy to force customer turnover rather than have seats occupied by low margin WiFi scroungers. I’ve rarely seen the cafe full though, and there are other ways to deal with freeloaders. I think it’s reasonable to ask the cafe to take down the bold WiFi sign unless or until it is fixed, as it would appear to be misleading...

This place is dreadful! My friend and I went in on a Sunday afternoon when the place was predictably full. There were two young women working. We ordered cake and coffee to eat in. We had to sit on a table which was covered with dirty dishes. What would have been an ungenerous portion of cake was served, not as a slice on a plate, but as a crumbled mess in a cardboard box, because they had run out of plates (although there were plenty on our table). First, we were served a coffee that was not decaf, although that's what we had ordered. After we had finished the cake, the second coffee was served in a take away container (no clean cups!). Five minutes later the waitress came back and explained that the first coffee was a mistake, although we had already asked about it when she served it and she had then made no attempt to rectify the situation. She then took it away and eventually gave us another coffee, also in a takeaway container. Both coffees were undrinkable and indeed we didn't drink them. The service was bad. The cakes was insufficient, but in any case it was dry and sugary. Under no circumstances will we be returning. Clearly they need to sort out their staffing, especially for predictably...

I've been frequenting this café for some time now and have always enjoyed my visits. The staff are always friendly and welcoming, the ambience is cozy, and the cakes are certainly among the best in town.

However, during my most recent visit, I was disappointed to witness an interaction that gave me pause. I believe it was the owner who publicly reprimanded the staff for not wearing their aprons and even went as far as suggesting the possibility of withholding their pay. As a regular customer, I found this incident uncomfortable to witness.

A café is not only about its food or drinks but also about the overall experience and values it conveys. The manner in which the staff are treated is part of this overall experience, and I believe it is important to maintain a positive work environment and show respect to all staff members.

I sincerely hope this was a one-off incident and not reflective of the usual management style. It's my wish to continue visiting and supporting this café because of its staff and their delicious cakes, but I also feel the need to advocate for a respectful and fair treatment of...