Dan Q
This review of Cardews of Oxford originally appeared on Google Maps. See more reviews by Dan.
Spectacular selection of teas and coffees served by knowledgeable staff: if you’re looking for tea leaves or coffee beans, you can’t do better. Also sells various cookware, although sometimes a little pricey for what it is.
This review of St Aldate's Post Office originally appeared on Google Maps. See more reviews by Dan.
This Post Office used to be plagued by long queues for its service desks. Now they’ve replaced half the service desks with a greater number of self-service machines, and yet it somehow seems to have even longer queues as a result. The new system is unfathomable (Do you need self service or not? If not, you need to take a ticket for which you first need to go to a different kind of self-service machine…) and so they’ve had to give somebody the job of standing at the entrance and trying to direct people to the right tool for them.
If you manage to accidentally get past this helper then you’ll find yourself lost, with no idea where you’re supposed to go or what you’re supposed to do.
Use a different post office or, better yet, do as much as you can online. For your sanity.
This review of Bonn Square originally appeared on Google Maps. See more reviews by Dan.
Named for Oxford’s twin city in Germany, Bonn, and that – and the war memorial that acts mostly as a seat among the undersupply of benches – is the only interesting this about this plaza. You can’t sit and eat here because you’ll be mobbed by pigeons. You can’t hold a quiet conversation here because of the foot traffic that ploughs through during daylight hours and the buses that growl by into Queen Street.
It’s just: an empty space that could desperately have enjoyed more love than went into giving it a couple of sad-looking trees. Nothing more, nothing less.
This review of Gloucester Green Market originally appeared on Google Maps. See more reviews by Dan.
The weekday market offers the best multi-cuisine street food experience you’ll get almost anywhere: stalls as far as the eye can see serving Italian, Japanese, Indian, Goan, Ethiopian, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese… the list goes on. Take an explore and try something new on a Wednesday or Thursday soon.
The non-food stalls are a mixed-bag. If you know what you’re looking for, you might find it. If you don’t, you might find something anyway, but don’t hold your breath.
This review of Najar's Place originally appeared on Google Maps. See more reviews by Dan.
Delicious falafel wraps (and other hot food) at fair prices, served by friendly, cheery staff.
This review of Not Dogs originally appeared on Google Maps. See more reviews by Dan.
Veggie fast food done right! From the hippy attitude to the delicious and imaginative ‘dogs, this is my favourite vegetarian eatery anywhere.
This review of Alpha Bar originally appeared on Google Maps. See more reviews by Dan.
Delicious salads made to order plus a mixture of different hot and cold foods served daily. Always includes a great vegetarian selection, so long as you get there before it sells out! Often incredibly long queues at lunchtime, and prices are a little high for what you get, but otherwise a great lunchtime venue.
This review of The Oxford Sandwich Company originally appeared on Google Maps. See more reviews by Dan.
Fresh sandwiches, panini and more made to order with a smile. Great value delicious food.
This checkin to GLT6GHG2 Instrumental reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
Fun puzzle and a good hiding place (although I did get slightly nettled fingers!). Beaten to the FTF by literally minutes by Rabbithen, whom I saw driving away as I arrived at the GZ: were it not for the lost deliveryperson I got stuck behind while driving out of my estate I’d have totally won this race!
Now I need to go home and listen to a piece of music that, for some reason, I can’t get out of my head! ;-)
This review of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park originally appeared on Google Maps. See more reviews by Dan.
Beautiful craggy headlands and windswept beaches. The very essence of the beauty of the Welsh coastline.
This review of Vodafone originally appeared on Google Maps. See more reviews by Dan.
Like most mobile phone shops, this one enjoys a confusing layout and less-than-completely-helpful staff.
If you know exactly what you want then you can have a reasonable experience, but if you know exactly what you want then you’d be better to go online. If you’re not sure what you want, you’re going to have an unhappy time full of upselling and jargon… so you’d do better to go online.
The network itself is good: broad coverage, good data speeds, nice international deals. But this shop is a perfect example of why their shops ought to already be a relic of history.
This review of Aqua Vale Swimming and Fitness Centre originally appeared on Google Maps. See more reviews by Dan.
Moderately long queue but a good family-friendly fun pool once you’re through the gates. Changing rooms are close to poolside and so get uncomfortably humid – you can’t towel yourself completely dry because you’re getting wet from the air itself. Otherwise, a great place for a family trip with children of any age.
This review of Gurkha Village originally appeared on Google Maps. See more reviews by Dan.
Delicious food whether eating-in or at home, but beware the long wait times: routinely 45 to 90 minutes for a delivery, and sometimes a little slow even if you’re sitting at a table in the restaurant!
Worth it, so long as you aren’t in a hurry. And if you order using Just Eat or a similar service, be sure to follow-up with a phone call to make sure they noticed it!
This review of Oxford Parkway originally appeared on Google Maps. See more reviews by Dan.
Convenient, fast, relatively-economical transport to London. Lots of reasonably-priced parking if you’re driving, but – better yet – free covered double-deck bike racks if you’re cycling.
This review of Finders Keepers Shared Letting originally appeared on Google Maps. See more reviews by Dan.
Over my time as a renter I used about a dozen letting agents, and Finders Keepers (who operate – or certainly used to operate – both student and non-student lettings out of this office, despite the name) were without a doubt the best I used in Oxford. They were honest, clear, and fair.
They still had the problem that every letting agent in Oxford (and most of the South of England, for that matter) seem to have of having stacks of seemingly-arbitrary fees (“So I have to pay to apply to rent this place… even if you later reject me?”) and excessive bureaucracy (“So even if I can show you that I have or even offer to GIVE you year’s rent up-front, I still need a guarantor because you don’t think my income is high enough?”). But at least they were transparent and generally good at responding to queries.
In summary: the best letting agent I’ve used in Oxford, but bear in mind that comes with the caveat that they’re still “like an Oxford letting agent”.