When Oxfork shut, something in East Oxford was lost. Oxfork stood strong as a perfect brunch venue for numerous years, attracting diners in with its eclectic setting and wholesome, comforting menus. Oh and those perfectly poached eggs… However, what was lost has now been found, in the form of Silvie on Iffley Road, in East Oxford.
Silvie sits one door away from the corner of Charles Street, billing itself as a ‘bakery cafe’. Sister business to the upstairs guesthouse, Browns, Silvie offers the brunch setting I missed, but with its own personal style – and a counter swathed in delicious homemade cakes and bakes.
With its cosy setting, wifi and excellent food offerings, Silvie is rightly becoming a favourite in the area with students, the mummy troupe, and remote workers alike.
Silvie’s gorgeous teal porch leads through to a hallway, connecting cafe to the guesthouse. Three dining spaces branch off the hallway, each filled with casually mismatched furniture, furnishings, and crockery (all the coolest places in Oxford have mismatched furniture don’t you know). The larger rear dining room, a conservatory, opens out into a small leafy garden.
What to order?
Get there early to grab a signature Silvie cinnamon bun, or choose your selection from a blackboard menu of breakfasts, soups, toasties and more. Then order at the counter in the front room and grab the nearest nook to get comfy in.
The Full Silvie Breakfast and Veggie Breakfast are both excellent. The former a plateful of nicely crisp bacon, garlic and mustard sausage patty, fried egg, excellent homemade tomato bread, spinach, and PROPER baked beans from a tin (yay); and the latter a melody of halloumi, mushroom, spinach, fried egg, more of that tomato bread, baked beans and mushrooms.
I haven’t tried the lunch options yet but HIGHLY recommend that cinnamon bun – heavy on both cinnamon and sugar, spiralling up appropriately toward the heavens. The banana bread is also a treat, served warm with greek yoghurt and pomegranate seeds.
Don’t forget to buy some bread to take away, along with a copy of Indie Oxford Compendium of course… And if you’re lucky you might get a cuddle with resident cat, Rosie.
Silvie is also experimenting with a series of supper clubs if you fancy an evening shift. For those visiting Oxford, 11 guest rooms are available at Browns guesthouse upstairs, prices starting from £70.
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