Reviewed
11/03

With one outlet on the corner of the High Street and Longwall Street and the other in Gloucester Green, Harvey’s is an Oxford institution. As one would expect, this is a place specialising in food of the breaded variety, but this includes pittas, baguettes, baps, sandwiches (brown or white), torpedoes, wraps and a range of ciabatta. There is also a wide variety of fillings, including several meats, a variety of cheeses, fish, prawns and different salads and vegetables and a variety of hot and cold options, although as the day draws on your choices may become limited. You can watch your sandwich in creation to ensure it is just as you want it to be. A personal favourite is the breakfast bap served before 11am with sausage or bacon and an egg done as specified. There are also a variety of coffees and teas, and one or two different soups each day. The cakes, biscuits and cookies are pretty steep and sometimes taste like they may not be quite fresh, but that should not detract from the quality of the sandwiches. The meal deal is really good value, including a bag of delicious Jonathan Crisps, a can and a baguette for just £2.95. However, if you get too carried away with the number of fillings, the price of your purchase can creep up, with some combinations coming in at around the £4 mark. Prices also seem to vary according to your server which can be a bit confusing. A few seats are provided if you want to “eat in”, but according to the time of day, these may well be occupied. Try to avoid the lunch time rush on a rainy day as you may well find yourself queuing out of the door.

Victoria Head, 06.11.03

Not strictly a café, Harvey's has become a dominant force in the busy Sandwich world of Oxford, the main shop situated in Gloucester Green with two subsidiary outlets on the High Street. If you can put up with the excessive queues, then you will not be disappointed - near enough any sandwich can be dealt up, and the staff seem to have been specially trained not to grimace at some of the wackier creations (though a friend of mine was once mocked cruelly for his desire for lashings of ketchup on his sausage sandwich). Harvey's has also expanded into the cosmopolitan world of coffee, offering flavoured lattes, espressos and even your common cappuccino to the coffee starved Oxford inhabitants.

C.R.