Tolkien’s Oxford: Changes in the City of Spires (Sept ‘25)

I am always trying to keep up with the changes happening in the city for you as a visitor - not only events & shows & conferences or things of an academic nature. Let’s face it, visiting Oxenforde has something of a pilgrimage for a lot of people and I think it is important to find the charming, affordable, and inviting places as soon as possible so you can enjoy stay as much as possible. So here are ‘the scoops’… 😇 (with thanks to two friends who visited recently and have shared their experiences with me!)

Green’s triumphant return

One of the toughest losses for me personally was Green’s - the café that was just beside the Eagle & Child before all of those silly things happened (both the B&B/ hotel thing as well as the covid-induced closure and its aftermath) and it was the place to be - for me.

Why? It was an excellent café with not too outrageous prices and one of the first places to offer decent wifi. Plus: you could look across the street to the Lamb & Flag and just walk down a few stairs into the Eagle & Child. Jack-(Lewis)-pot!

[You can find quite a few early photos in my Instagram account taken at Green’s (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).]

For a short while they moved into a slot further to the left (as seen from the L&F) which did not offer any seating, not to say two floors. Great food and drinks again but simply not the same.

Here you can see the original Green’s to the left of the Bird & Baby

In May this year they obviously found the perfect place to come back (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) - and it could not be more central, a few steps from Bonn Square on New Inn Hall Street (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).

Looking forward to being there myself as soon as possible!

With thanks to my friend tea_books_london_love (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) [Instagram] who recently visited Oxford, making use of some of my suggestions.

The Oxford Artisan Distillery is gone

I have a very personal connection to this, given the fact that I was probably the first non-employee to taste the Tolkien-adjacent whisky (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) they sold at the end of September 2023. (My girl Susi ❤️ was second!)

There is even more to read with this behind the scene look for my subscribers:

I do not want to be unfair to anyone involved but if I am not totally mistaken the success of TOAD (yes, The Oxford Artisan Distillery had this abbreviation) made it interesting to investors that wanted to expand the business - and it was impossible to do this at the Oxford location. So they moved.

There is a group called the “Oxford Spirit Company” (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) [Facebook] who seem willing to revive the distillery but they do not seem to have had much luck. The last substantial piece was by the Clarion in January 2025 (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), talking to one of the founders of TOAD, Tom Nicolson. Let’s hope for the best, it is a lovely place and decent craftsmanship is always welcome in my humble opinion.

The Vaults & Garden Café under pressure

It is one of the loveliest places in all Oxford, set in a garden with St. Mary’s Church (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), with full view of Radcliff Camera and three colleges - the Vaults & Garden Café. Given the prices at Oxford it is actually not too bad and the quality of food and drinks is exceptional - but it’s the spot, best visited in the morning in bright sunshine, that offers its unique selling point.

Do me a classic, fancy-shmancy style!

Ever since September 2023 (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) the café has been fighting for its survival. The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of University Church responsible for the café originally intended to redevelop it as a ‘social enterprise’ but given the fact that Vaults & Garden has built the customer base they are going to make money off… it does not feel quite right.

Although I am not knowledgeable about all the details this would not be too much of a surprise - someone runs a business, redevelops it, makes money off it and then, inevitably, the landlord, usually one of the colleges or the PCC in this case, will step in and try to make money off said success. Or even more often, it will turn into a real estate deal into the millions because Oxford is (almost) as horrible as London when it comes to rents and real estate in general.

You can read the statement by VGC here (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), the final trial with huge legal costs is coming up (so far things went well for them) and they are asking for support.

To me it would be a huge loss as I have spent many a wonderful moment there - alone or with friends - and it would be sad to see it go.

Gastronomy tip: the Tick Tock Café

The Tick Tock Café on Cowley Road (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) - past Magdalen College and the Plain (please beware of the traffic, seriously!) - is one of my favourites and particularly good not only on the good ol’ English but also on many other things breakfasty besides. Have a look at this gentleman’s happiness on their ciabattas! (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)

It is as old school a greasy spoon as you can possibly get, the prices are more than fair, the service outstanding. And if you sit outside you’ll have the pleasure of breathing the fumes from one of Oxford’s busiest streets, nothing quite like it 😁