Jimmy Rossiter opened up The Corner House in Eynsham back in October 2023. Having moved back to his home town with his family and retrained as a chef, when the site came up he jumped at the chance.
“I thought Eynsham might have an appetite for this sort of thing,” he says looking around the cosy, white-washed interior, with a big open plan kitchen at the back where Jimmy cooks everything from scratch.
‘I designed it as somewhere I’d want to come and eat as a customer. I wanted it to be all about the food’
“It’s a step up from pub food, so I designed The Corner House as somewhere I’d want to come and eat as a customer. I wanted it to be all about the food – not a set course menu but small plates, sandwiches, specials made with seasonal produce and zero food waste,” he explains.
His monthly pop up supper clubs sell out immediately, offering Jimmy the chance to flex his culinary muscles further, and if his February menu is anything to go by, we can see why.
But back to the cafe itself. It’s a simple offering, pastries, cakes, focaccia sandwiches, salads and a frittata laid out on the counter, but then its a bijou space of only 24 covers.
Obviously immensely popular, Jimmy says their notoriety is solely down to word-of-mouth. So is he surprised with its popularity? “Pleased rather than surprised. I knew there was a gap and by creating somewhere I’d quite like to visit, others seem to agree,” he says.
Curiously the Corner House doesn’t have a coffee machine, so it’s filter coffee and a choice of teas and soft drinks instead.
The food is delicious, humble perhaps, but what it lacks in sophistication it makes up for in flavour and quality. The Jerusalem artichoke soup was creamy, velvety and beautifully balanced, the strips of home-made focaccia (which Jimmy makes every morning, the dough resting overnight) the perfect accompaniment.
The food is delicious, humble perhaps, but what it lacks in sophistication it makes up for in flavour and quality
The winter panzanella (£5.50 small, £9 large) was vibrant and tasty, scattered with grapes and olives, tiny capers, fennel seeds, stem broccoli and a wonderful dressing. Something different for once.
Frittatas are so often so dominantly eggy and far too greasy, but here the ingredients are allowed to shine – aubergine, tomato and feta (£7.95) in abundance, with a hint of fresh dill.
As for the focaccia sandwiches – the mortadella, chilli and tomato jam (the heat is defiant), rocket and parmeran or the Westcombe cheddar (an unpasteurised old school clothbound cheddar), mustard mayonnaise, gem lettuce and cucumber pickle, both priced at £7.50, were disappearing at such an alarming rate, we had to grab one mid-soup, as people poured through the door for a takeout.
The dark chocolate and sea salt cookie was so good I bought some to take home for my children – freshly baked and still gooey in the middle, the sea salt ensuring they weren’t too sickly, generously dotted with choc, while the financier with raspberry and cardamom was soft, spongy and piquant with fruit, the cardamom spice pepping things up.
By the end of lunch time, everything was gone, a few disconsolate latecomers missing out altogether. So the zero waste policy is working!
Picking up some great foodie offerings from the shelves on the way out, from pickled peppers to Bashbites chilli crunch, we were impressed. So yes, it’s a cafe, but what The Corner House serves is top notch.
As for the supper clubs, the next one in February is already sold out, so keep your eyes peeled for further dates by following @cornerhouse_food on Instagram. Wine is supplied by Eynsham Cellars down the road and you can enjoy a cocktail on arrival – think clementine fizz or a negroni.
In terms of the future, Jimmy aims to ramp up The Corner House offering with fortnightly supper clubs, longer opening hours and more options, wheel he grows the business organically, but in the meantime it’s a great little lunch stop.
The Corner House is at 1 High Street, Eynsham. OX29 4HA and you can’t book!
