Ole Steen Oxford Westgate

I went to Ole Steen for breakfast and had a wonderful experience. This Danish bakery offers a variety of pastries, sandwiches, toasties, and hot beverages. I ordered a tuna melt toastie and a sausage roll, both of which were delicious. The sausage roll was particularly unique with an added filling of caramelised onions, giving it a fantastic flavor. The cafe has plenty of seating spread over two floors and follows a self-serve system typical of cafe culture. The prices were very reasonable. I highly recommend this place!

We have been coming to this branch since it first opened but yesterday may well have been our last visit. We went at 14.30 and for that time of the day the selection of cakes was very limited. And the size of the pastries e.g. cinnamon snail has shrunk by 1/3 while the price has gone up. The service was slow and no smiles. I wanted lowfat milk in my tea but there was only full fat. The tea and pastries came in paper cups and plates because apparently the dishwasher had broken down. The tables were left with dirty plates etc while 3 staff were chatting behind the counter. The bakery prides itself on being Danish, selling high quality Danish bakery products, that is the USP, so what are you doing selling uk hot cross buns? A very disappointing experience and too expensive for the quality now being sold. Ole&Steen used to be a destination shop for me and my family when we'd visit Oxford or London. I used to also always get an open rye bread sandwich from a great selection. Now there might be 2 different options to choose from, and none of them are tasty. This chain has really gone downhill in terms of quality, range of products and customer service since the first branches opened in London. We won't be spending our money here anymore.

First and foremost the food is good quality and the cakes and pastries are generally good. The issues however outweigh this considerably: The place is often busy and there’s a long queue and with only a couple of tills you’re often waiting a long time. Table’s are infrequently cleaned between uses so often dirty and it’s often hard to find a table. The staff are friendly but frequently make mistakes with orders The food often varies in terms of consistency. Sometimes the same pastry can be different sizes and the same is true of the food. It’s very expensive considering the inconsistencies The Wi-Fi doesn’t work properly and the place is a 4G dead zone so basically you can’t use the internet while in the cafe

On the plus side, this cafe is reasonably spacious (there is an upstairs section too). The food is ok and the staff are pleasant. It's busy with lots of people working in here on laptops, but the turnaround is rapid enough that it is not difficult to get a seat. Quite upmarket feel compared to other coffee venues in Oxford. My cheese and marmite toastie was tasty and a bit different. But the coffee was served lukewarm and there was a strong smell of disinfectant or cleaning fluid which was a bit offputting. The cutlery I was given was fine but the woman on the table next to me was given a dirty knife and fork to eat her food with, which had to be changed.

Usually a big fan of Ole Steen and have been going for years last visit on Monday was a real disappointment. All young kids more concerned about laughing around with each other than good service, girl serving barked “no cash” when she saw me with a note (no signs to say cash only) and the quality of drinks was very poor. Coffee tasted burnt and the hot chocolate was just watery milk.