The Best Barbers in Oxford — And What to Do After
There's a particular pleasure in getting a good haircut in a city you actually know. No awkward small talk about whether you're visiting. No upselling a product you'll never use. Just someone who's been cutting in the same neighbourhood long enough to get it right. Oxford has a few of those places now, and the areas around them are worth your time too.
Start with the Cut
Temple Cut is the one worth building your afternoon around. It's a proper barber's — not a salon that does men's cuts on the side, not a chain with laminated menus of fades. The kind of place where the appointment actually starts when it's supposed to, the mirrors are well-lit, and whoever's in the chair before you doesn't make you anxious about running late. Oxford has no shortage of places to spend money on looking good, but Temple Cut earns its reputation through consistency rather than Instagram.
Book ahead. Walk-ins are possible but you're gambling with your afternoon.
Before You Go In
If you've timed your appointment for late morning — which is the right call — there's a strong case for starting at Green Routes Cafe first. It's a small, unhurried spot with a plant-based menu that actually has ambition behind it. The bagels are good. The subs are better than they need to be for a cafe this size. It's the sort of place that gets busy without ever feeling chaotic, and the crowd tends to be local rather than passing through. Sit in, order properly, take your time. You'll be in a better mood for it.
This isn't a place you pop into for a flat white on the way somewhere else. It rewards a proper visit.
After the Cut — Where the Afternoon Goes
Post-haircut is when Oxford really earns its keep. The city centre is dense enough that you're never more than ten minutes from something worth doing, which makes the stretch between a midday appointment and early evening particularly easy to fill well.
Antep Kitchen is the right move for lunch if you want something that satisfies without slowing you down. The Turkish and Middle Eastern menu is classic in the best sense — mezes that are actually generous, flatbreads that come out properly warm, and a room that's relaxed enough to linger in without feeling like you're outstaying your welcome. The patio is a genuine bonus when the weather cooperates, which in Oxford is never guaranteed but worth hoping for. The brickwork interior works just as well on a grey afternoon.
If you'd rather eat later, Brasserie Blanc is worth the spend. Yes, it's Raymond Blanc's group. Yes, it's technically a chain. But the cooking is reliable in a way that matters when you've already committed to a good afternoon — classic French bistro food done without shortcuts, in a room that feels like an occasion without being stiff about it. The set menu is the move if you're watching what you spend; the à la carte if you're not.
For a drink before or after, The Gardeners Arms and The Royal Oak represent two quite different moods. The Gardeners is the more distinctive of the two — a fully vegetarian pub menu in a boozer with a proper grassy garden out the back, which sounds like it shouldn't work and absolutely does. The Royal Oak is older in feel: creaky floors, decent beer range, no pretensions. It's the kind of pub that still exists in Oxford partly because Oxford is stubborn about that sort of thing, and long may that continue. If you want to sit outside with a pint and feel like you've earned the afternoon, The Royal Oak's garden does the job.
The Shape of a Good Saturday
The point isn't to tick off a list. It's that a haircut is a reasonable excuse to be somewhere properly for a few hours, and Oxford — for all the obvious reasons people visit it — actually rewards that kind of unhurried local afternoon. Temple Cut sits at the centre of it, but what's around it is what makes the day.
Book the appointment. Eat well before or after. Find a pub that suits your mood. The city will meet you the rest of the way.
For the full Oxford guide — restaurants, bars, cafes, independents and more — head to ourlocals.co.uk/oxford.
