The Rose

After walking around Oxford and being bowled over by its character, we decided to have an afternoon tea. We came across the rose and walked right in. It was fairly quiet, which meant we got seated immediately. We opted for 2 ‘tea for one’ packages, one with fruit scones and coffee and one with ordinary scones and earl grey. The scones ended up too heavy and too much to finish, but were well made. The coffee was good, as was the earl grey.
Overall it wasn’t a bad experience, but it didn’t excite us enough to rate it higher than 3. If I am in the vicinity, I wouldn’t mind stepping in again, but I wouldn’t go looking for it.

I just called to make reservations for 8 for tomorrow at noon — the local time is 4:00 pm. The phone was picked up and then promptly placed on the counter. I’m going, «hello? hello?» and I can hear all the customers talking in the background including the ringing up of tabs on the register. Mind you, I’m calling from the USA and it’s quite pricey — after 5 minutes of patiently waiting, I hung up.
Made reservations at Prezzo’s instead.

Petit café sympa pour venir prendre un petit-​déj, déjeuner ou un thé dans l’aprem.
Bien situé au centre ville, les prix sont raisonnables.
La carte propose des petit-​déjeuners salés et sucrés + des gâteaux ou scones.
Mes pancakes étaient bons même si baignés dans le sirop d’érable.
Bref, sympa mais pas un coup de coeur monumental.

So for a place that prides itself on its tea — it really doesn’t in my opinion spend enough time on tthe detail.
Atmosphere:
Nice tea room — not clear if you are suppose to sit or go to the bar to be served, we eventually sat. They came over and took our order. The staff are friendly and helpful, no loud music, and airy but slightly full of tables. Had a mild canteen vibe.
The food:
My Scone and jam was ok — they were quite stingy with the portion of cream and jam. No gluten free options.
Tea:
Hmm — the selection is where is peaks. As someone who likes tea here is my pet peaves.
— Coffee mugs — not tea cups… seriously! i had to ask for a latte mug because the regular coffee mug is so wide, that tea gets cold in them within minutes.
— The temperature of boiling of the water — they use the coffee machine — which doesn’t boil to 100C, but 90C — which means its just as bad as buying as everywhere else. A good cup of tea comes with freshly singularly boiled water.
— The teapots were cheap.
So its essentially marketing itself as a tea specialist shop but only the volume of tea is the only care they took over the tea. Sad times.

Went for breakfast on a Saturday morning and there were just three parties in there. The servers were lovely. The place is cute, but it was very hot in when we were there. We each ordered teas which were lovely, albeit a bit overpriced in my opinion (almost 3 pounds). I ordered the french toast which was very well done — really enjoyed it. My partner ordered a scone with clotted cream and liked it very much.
Overall, it was very pleasant!

This place is super popular during afternoon time! I would highly reccomend you make reservations before you go, otherwise prepare to akwardly wait at the door while others are enjoying their tea (they do not have much room to stand).
The tea was actually really nice and they bring it out with the little pot and you poor your own tea with a strainer. The tea was really good and they have lots of options to pick from. What made the afternoon tea more enjoyable was the scones. They were absolutely lovely, and came out warm and crumbly. I wish they gave you 3 – 4 instead of just two. The cream and jam on top just made the scones even better!

We decided to take a detour and see Oxford for the afternoon and we figured we’d partake in some classic afternoon tea while we were here. I saw the really good reviews for The Rose so we stopped in. We had scones with jam and clotted cream, tea sandwiches, and cake along with our tea. It was fantastic! They didn’t have a super extensive selection of teas but the food was quite good. The scones were fresh out of the oven, the sandwiches were perfect, and I lived the coffee mascarpone cake. I’d definitely recommend this if you’re in town. Just a note for car owners, parking is really hard to find nearby. But the walk thru town is lovely.

The Rose is a great place to go for tea, sandwiches, or brunch. The tea selection is excellent — the vanilla tea is stellar, as is the house tea. The food is very good — the cucumber sandwiches are excellent, and the french omelettes are tasty. Definitely a good choice for a light brunch and some tea.
The atmosphere is very comfortable — it’s airy, light, and open. The staff is fairly attentive and there is usually somewhere to sit and enjoy your afternoon tea. No Wi-​Fi, but this is definitely the kind of place that could benefit from it.

This place has potential, but I wouldn’t choose this place over it’s neighbor competition again.
They serve fine teas with a descriptive menu and suggestions on pairings. The food is made with a sustainable twist like organic flour. Their cakes are good.
Looks like an appealing place to have some girly tea time. But inside it is a cold and unwelcome vibe.
It was almost empty each time I’ve been here, but the service is slow and negligent. One sandwich had stale bread. Maybe it was the bathroom visit that did it for me. It looked clean but smelled very mildewy and steamy– gag — it’s practically attached to the kitchen. It zapped my enthusiasm for eating there.
If you’re a food purest when dining maybe you’ll like it. Those peripherals (no music, unfriendly service, smelly downstairs) killed it for me.
I’d rather take visitors to The Grand Café across the street for some girly tea time.

#531 Fine, you’re a licensed restaurant and tea location in Oxford. Good for you. But, there’s no need to be snooty to customers who were simply wondering if they could grab two scones to go. That stink-​eye that you gave me as you looked me up and down and haughtily replied, «We don’t do take-​away.» Yeah, you can take that and shove it into one of your delicate, little cakes, my dear. Funny enough, we were willing to eat-​in as well, but just wanted to inquire about the possibility. Instead, you just lost two potential regulars with your negative attitude.
Customer service. Learn it.

Less than ten minutes passed from the moment my friend and I strolled in to the moment that we had our tea steaming in front of us, sharing space with a set of scones, the house’s own strawberry jam, and lots of creamy butter. Service was sooo fast, in fact, that I wondered if the scones could actually be any good?
Well, this is one place I needn’t have worried. Hands down the best scones I’ve ever bitten into. Airy buttery goodness, just the right amount of firm. It’s like a tiny piece of heaven slathered with strawberry goodness. The tea was good too, of obviously high quality.
Service is crisp, efficient and lovely — like the service equivalent of fresh linen sheets. Seriously, take a quick break from those High street stores and pop in!

Best scones you can find in Oxford!
The ambiance is very modern and airy unlike many of the other tea shops around Oxford. A nice a casual place to meet up for some afternoon tea and scones. Personally my favorite tea stop!

Delicious…
…tea? Check!
…clotted cream? Check!
…scones? Check!
My favorite place in Oxford for High Tea. Great ambiance, and truly exquisite tea/​scones!

absolutely love their tea selection, not to mention their breakfast menu. it is a great place for high tea, but is equally nice for just a pot of tea.
try the scrambled eggs or an omelette– they are perfectly done with fresh herbs.

Oh I miss this place so much. I used to have afternoon tea here at least once a week! Clotted cream is soooo good, and of course so are the scones to go with it. If you are visiting Oxford, dont miss this place.

One of the best places in Oxford for afternoon high tea

I must agree with the reviews already posted for The Rose. This charming place is ideal for high tea and scones. The clotted cream makes the already delightfully fluffy and warm scones that much better.
I will always remember my afternoons at The Rose. Already two years gone from my term as a study abroad student, I have yet to find a scone that is on par with those at The Rose.
his is a must place destination for any student or visitor to Oxford.
An insiders tip — it is closed on Mondays.

When I studied abroad at Oxford in 2003, I lived on high street a few steps away from The Rose. Some of my fondest memories of being in Oxford are of enjoying high tea at the Rose. They serve loose leaf tea with an individual strainer and all. The tea cakes are delicious, sandwiches, scones are all delicious. The clotted cream and jam are absolutely a must, even though most everything is already made with butter. I’ve had high tea in other hotels in the UK, at the orange in hyde park, bunch of places in the US… and the Rose is the best in my mind and heart.

I’m not surprised that The Rose already has two reviews on Unilocal and that it’s already rated so highly. This place has wonderful scones, a really great selection of teas, and a price tag that won’t feel like extortion. It’s usually very full, but probably the best thing that can happen to you on a cold windy day when all you crave is tea and buttery goodness.

This is absolutely delightful stop for elevenses or afternoon tea– they have a really good menu of cakes and pastries. I had a flourless almond cake which was a moist, almondy slice of goodness.

I will go out on a limb and say that this is the best cream tea in Oxford. I believe it’s the scones, which are warm (!) and crumbly. It could also be the delicious clotted cream. Or the cozy, uncommercial atmosphere. And I make that claim having had the grand high tea at The Grand Café, champagne and finger sandwiches all, which still feels overpriced. The essence of a high tea is the scones and cream, and if you don’t get that right, it doesn’t matter how else you dress it up. The Rose gets it right, at a perfectly reasonable price.
The cons are that the place is really quite small, so if it’s full, it’s pretty much not worth waiting around for. I wanted to bring my family there at graduation, but that was a lost cause. Also, they close for a few weeks around August/​September, and invariably this is always when I or my friends visit Oxford. Though it’s on the High Street, it’s easy to miss, though I have to say selfishly I’m not sure if that’s such a bad thing.