Welcome to the Ox In A Box Food Awards 2023 and here is our first category  BEST CAFE, listed in alphabetical order: Support them by voting for your favourite! VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

The awards will be held on April 17 at the North Wall, sponsored by Goldstar Recruitment and Four Seasons Fruiterers and attended by Gary Jones of Le Manoir fame. READ ABOUT IT HERE

The Milk Shed team winning Best Cafe at the 2022 Ox in a Box Awards

There are 10 categories and we will be announcing one every day for the next 10 days. These include BEST NEWCOMER, BEST PUB/BAR, BEST CAFE, BEST RESTAURANT, BEST VEGGIE/VEGAN, BEST CHEF, BEST GASTROPUB, BEST EUROPEAN, BEST GLOBAL, BEST COMMUNITY FOOD PROJECT

The top three nominations from each category will be invited to the glittering ceremony where the winners will be announced, so get voting and pick your favourite. You can only vote once in each category so keep voting every day for all 10 categories!

In alphabetical order, the nominations for Best CAFE are: VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

  1. Blakes, Clanfield – What was a family bakery for three generations has now expanded to include a buzzing cafe with people brunching, lunching and lardy caking. Impossible to drive past without stopping. The coffee is good too. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx
Blake’s Clanfield

2) Colombia Coffee Roasters, Summertown – a real community hub, this corner coffee shop is always packed, perhaps because of its 100% arabica coffee from the family farm in, yup you’ve guessed it, Colombia. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

3) Damascus Rose Kitchen, OFS – The food here in this social enterprise cafe is cooked by female Syrian refugees. Middle-eastern, authentic and so addictive, plus brilliantly priced, it’s a fantastic new addition to Oxford’s cafe scene. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

Some of the Damascus Rose Kitchen chefs

4) Edge Eatery, Witney – This amazing cafe serves street food style food and delicious coffees by day and cocktails in 2020. Witney has welcomed them with open arms. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

Bakes at The Edge Eatery

5) Farm and Table, Wykham Park – an impressive and innovative conversion of one of the barns at Wykham Park Farm, and a wonderfully welcoming and delicious offering from Pawel Walkiewicz means that this rural cafe definitely deserves a place in our nominations. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

Pawel Walkiewicz at Farm and Table at Wykham Park

6) Flo’s, East Oxford – Community based and welcoming people from all walks of life, from mothers and babies to refugees, the elderly and families, the cafe here aims to offer affordable, welcoming, healthy and globally reflective food and beverages. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

One of the many volunteers at Flo’s

7) Green Routes, East Oxford – Vegan and veggie heaven arrived on Magdalen Road with its East London influenced fast food and was an instant success with fans flocking from far and wide for their sloppy joes, brunches and fine coffee. An important addition to Oxford’s burgeoning plant-based scene. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

Green Routes Cafe

8) Gulp Fiction, Oxford’s Covered Market – the best new idea for a coffee shop in a long time – books and coffee or beer what more perfect marriage could there be. More like a common room than anything more quaint and plonked right in the middle of Oxford’s Covered Market, it’s also great for people watching and hanging out. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

Gulp Fiction

9) Handlebar Cafe and Kitchen, Oxford – Funky, light, fun, with great, vibey food that caters for everyone, this former bicycle shop serves breakfasts, brunches, lunches and dinners with ingredients carefully sourced from independent suppliers around Oxford. Always a treat. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

Handlebar

10) Milkshed, Weston On The Green – New owners haven’t changed this gorgeous cafe and its Cornish style food. Always popular. From chowder to pancakes, giant sandwiches to ice cream, it’s still a firm favourite VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

The new Milkshed team

11) Oxford Wine Cafe, Jericho – Always busy, day and night, the coffee is as popular as the vino and the pastries go down as well as the cheese platters, brunches, soup and tapas. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

The Oxford Wine Cafe

12) Proof Bakery and Cafe, Tap Social, Kennington – Tap Social’s new venture with Missing Bean was initially a wholesale bakery but now you can enjoy an incredible coffee, and eat their wonderful pastries at the open plan site while watching the bread etc being made. Typically Tap! VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

Proof

13) Quince and Clover – Great Tew – The former village shop, post office, bakery and relaxed artisan café overlooks the village green and has an impeccable reputation. Not only a locals favourite, but a Cotswolds foodies haunt. Expect breakfast, brunch and lunch seasonal salads, soups and stews and amazing baked goods. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

Quince and Clover

14) Silvie’s – Iffley Road – a little haven of tranquility, quirkiness, great plants and fabulous cake. Very East Oxford for all the right reasons. Jess McHugh took over the family guest house back in 2016 and decided to convert the ground floor into a cafe providing a laid back vibe, great food and sanctuary for its endlessly loyal fans. A little slice of heaven. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

Jess McHugh at Silvie’s

15) The Snug, Bishops Court Farm, Dorchester – A great little cafe with big plans. The farm is slowly being adapted to fit both animals, farming and visitors comfortably and David McCleary’s food is making big waves, the large outdoor space and eating area hugely popular in good weather. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

Food at The Snug

16) Tree Artisan Cafe, Little Clarendon Street, Oxford – Run with passion and love, it shows with every cup of coffee and slice of cake cake served by owner Graziella Ascensao who is realising a lifetime’s dream by opening her own place in Oxford. Service with a smile! VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

Graziella Ascensao of Tree Artisan Cafe

17) Waste2Taste, Cowley – this community café at the Ark T Centre in Cowley is run by the wonderfully cheerful, energetic, inspired and hard-working duo Sandra Ruge and Marie Lehri who provide affordable, ethical, healthy and sustainable food, while also committing to reducing food waste. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

Sandra and Marie run Waste2Taste at the Ark-T Centre in Cowley

18) Waterfront Cafe, Benson – come rain or shine, this waterside cafe is always positively. It’s adaptable indoor/outdoor space is fun, friendly and family orientated. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

The Waterfront cafe in Benson

19) Worton Kitchen Garden CafeCassington – This charming, eccentric, seasonal and home-produce based Farm Shop and Cafe is open all year round. The menu changes every week, the bread is baked daily and the produce fresh from the surrounding farm. plus he food is immense. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

Simon Spence at Worton Garden Cafe with his freshly baked blackcurrant and frangipane tart

20) Yellow Submarine – Oxford and Witney – Run by the award-winning Oxfordshire charity that believes people with learning disabilities and autism deserve to live life to the full. These thriving cafes run in-house traineeship programs to provide employment and independence for their trainees. Not that you need an excuse to pop in for their delicious sandwiches, cakes, biscuit and coffee, but it helps! VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

Essi Pentti, Charlotte Renard and Sophie Williamson at Yellow Submarine in Park End Street, Oxford 

21) Yurt Cafe, Nicholsons, North Aston – Since Andrew Carr took over as head chef, the food and offering has come on leaps and bounds. The brunch is to die for and the pop up dinners really popular. VOTE HERE https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx

The Yurt at Nicholsons

You can only vote once in each category so keep voting every day for all 10 categories! Voting ends at the end of March. Vote here https://surveyhero.com/c/k7cfb4zx