St Giles Cafe, Oxford

Mark Butcher knew that taking on an Oxford institution like the St Giles Café would have to be handled with the diplomacy of Max Clifford’s PR. Right up there with the likes of the Eagle & Child and Turf Tavern, it has been churning out breakfasts to Oxford’s great and good since 1937. And as one of the only remaining working men’s cafés, along with Brown’s in the Covered Market, it has a loyal clientele. It even has its own language, a “St Giler” being used to describe a regular customer.

So while tarting it up was essential, losing its unique historical character would have been akin to murder for some die-hard greasy-spooners.

Utterly undeterred, Mark — known to all and sundry as Baz — who has lived in Oxford all his life, finally stopped talking about opening a restaurant and put his money where his mouth was. He gave up a lucrative career in advertising, took over St Giles Café and in so doing fulfilled a 54-year-long dream.

Gone are the Formica tables and tiled interior, replaced by eight tables, blue and white walls, dark brown chairs and long mirrors running along each side of the room. But the fry-ups are still being cooked every morning and have gone down a storm. Baz also introduced a bit more variety by adding kedgeree, blueberry pancakes and granola to the breakfast menu.

He even managed to ride out the ‘Chipgate’ storm when fries were permanently removed from the menu, only temporarily disgruntling a few of the neon-yellow clad punters, who were then won over when they tried his breakfasts.

“One old regular came in on Wednesday and asked, in quite a demanding way, for egg and chips and a mug of tea. I replied that we no longer served chips but that we could serve eggs, bacon, sausages etc. His face was crestfallen and I quite expected him to walk out. Instead, he ordered our Oxford English and a pot of our own loose leaf blend of tea,” Baz told me.

“I stood behind my counter watching nervously as he ate his breakfast and supped his tea. He was facing away from me and looking out on to St Giles so I was unable to see any of his expression. “After some time, and having consumed his breakfast, he stood up and walked to the counter, saying very emphatically, “I’d like to tell you, that was one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had and the tea was extraordinary,” Baz declares, grinning from ear to ear.

Since then Baz has delighted in his clientele, from the three young, very polite, female Japanese tourists who each ordered the hand-made granola, then the blueberry pancakes before eating a full English, to the two painter/decorators who were the first people to order kedgeree. There’s no clichés here.

The place is bustling now, with a much more healthy mix of breakfasts, lunches and afternoon tea on offer, so earlier this month Baz decided to run a test for an evening pop-up slot, trying it out on a room-full of very grateful human guinea pigs and changing the decor into more of a bistro/dining room look. Everyone who went, raved about the food and the following week, Baz’s pop-up weekend menu was introduced on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday nights only.

I was at the front of the queue with my bottle of rosé and cans of G&T (it’s BYO, by the way) ready to sample Baz’s already infamous fare, and I wasn’t disappointed.

The gorgeous waitresses and hand-made bread set the scene for a truly charming meal beginning with the ham hock and parsley terrine with leeks, cornichons and sourdough toast, and while drawn to the smoked mackerel pâté, I opted for the goat’s cheese mousse with rocket and hazelnut salad which was enchantingly delicate.

We then tucked into the organic corn-fed chicken breast with chorizo, fennel and pearl spelt broth with garlic aioli, and the roasted provençal vegetables with crisp polenta and salsa verde.

Fresh, seasonal, and delicious, the dishes flowed into each other, my only criticism being that the chorizo was rather overpowering. So I couldn’t wait for my vanilla crème brûlée with rosemary biscuits.

“They’ve all gone I’m afraid,” our waitress informed us as my face fell in alarm. Luckily the chocolate brownie with hot chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream, and the portion of lovingly made rhubarb, orange and ginger ice cream more than made up for its omission.

Yes, there’s a lot to be said for living the dream and with Baz at the helm, I think we St Gilers can rest safe in the knowledge that this Oxford institution is here to stay, chips or no chips.

Opening times: Mon-Wed 8.30am-4.30pm, Thurs-Sat 8.30am-9pm, Sun 8.30-4.30pm
Parking: It’s St Giles... so good luck!
n Key personnel: Baz and ex Anchor chef Dave Pannell
Make sure you try the... Fixed price two- or three-course evening meal for £17 or £23 respectively.
In ten words:
No longer resting on its laurels, revived must-try Oxford café