Caffe Nero Group

Though they tout themselves as being the Italian Coffee Company, walking into Caffe Nero in Oxford felt like walking into a Starbucks in the U.S. Not in a bad way. In a good way. But even better, because this place is slightly fancier than Starbucks. Though overall it has the same feel, same drinks and same types of desserts.
The coffee is quite good.
I was quite happy to be able to order my standard decaf soy latte without any trouble in translation or raised eyebrow.
All the pastries look like they are made by Caffe Nero, most likely at central bakery site, which all of the Caffe Neros share.
Caffe Nero is ubiquitous like Starbucks. And I can pretty much guarantee, like Starbucks, you get the same quality of drink, food and service at every Caffe Nero you walk into within Great Britain. They are located throughout England, Scotland and Wales with several locations in Northern Ireland. They place is streamlined and the quality set.

Way better than Starbucks. Most coffees are served with a double espresso shot, great for a kick in the morning. The beans taste good, no sour or bitter taste as I once experienced in a (berlin) starbucks when I couldn’t finish my coffee.
The service is nice and fast, the decoration is cozy and I stayed there comfortably for about an hour.
My preferred Coffee Store when I visit England.

This is one of the better Neros in central Oxford, mainly because it has a decent number of tables compared to the volume of trade. There’s plenty of seats packed into a relatively small space upstairs, and even more in the spacious downstairs area which also has many comfy chairs. There’s a lot of powerpoints for laptop users. It has typically tasty Nero coffee, paninis, etc.
The service is friendly and very efficient, even when there’s a lot of customers coming through. These tend to be a typical central Oxford mix of tourists and students, but with a few more workers and businessmen than the Blackwell’s branch (all for the better). The only real downside is a lack of natural light for everyone except the people (usually a group of lucky tourists who then set up camp) who nab the circle of window seats, but then they are right next to the front door which isn’t so great in winter.
All in all, a decent branch of a decent chain!

Much nicer than Starbucks. The quality of the drinks is top-​notch, and there is a range of sandwiches, panini, muffins and the like available although I have not tried these myself. They operate a BT Wi-​Fi hotspot which is very useful if you need to access the internet quickly, but this is quite expensive. You can sit downstairs or upstairs, but it does get busy.

A decent place to grab a coffee and a quick lunch (paninis are good, pastries are somewhat fresh, salads and pasta disappointing). Not quite the best espresso this side of Milan but it’s passable. The crowd is slightly more interesting than the Starbucks devotees and there are always plenty of European students hanging about. Downstairs which used to be a smoke-​filled hole is these days much more pleasant. Bathroom available.