A LONGSTANDING Headington cafe has celebrated a five-star rating ahead of its 25th anniversary.

La Croissanterie in Old High Street has battled against the likes of Starbucks, Caffe Nero and even Waitrose over the years but husband and wife Bachir and Souad El Barhdadi have praised their ‘loyal customers’ for the cafe’s longevity.

Oxford City Council environmental health officers rewarded the pair with the highest possible hygiene rating at the end of last month.

The mother-of-two said: “I run the business with my husband and we know what we are doing and are very organised, which you have to be to get five stars.

“It has definitely changed over the years and the city council has become stricter – they are always letting us know of any major things or even minor things that need changing or updating, but that’s a good thing.”

The cafe – which turns 25 in November – is the couple’s second business after a first failed to get off the ground.

Mrs El Barhdadi said her customers had kept the cafe going over the past quarter of a century.

She said: “Our customers are loyal and we have seen those customers’ children grow up and have babies of their own and they are all still coming in.

“We can talk to them about their problems and they also listen to our problems and help us.

“It’s like a big family and it’s what has kept us going all these years.”

The arrival of chains such as Starbucks and Caffe Nero, which opened opposite in London Road, was a problem for the independent cafe and Mrs El Barhdadi even voiced her concerns to the Oxford Mail in December 2011.

But the resilient couple adapted to survive and are still going strong approaching their silver anniversary this autumn.

She said: “The Caffe Nero did affect us for the first couple of years, because people just like their coffee I think.

“We had a change of menu and started changing a few things - we are only a small business and we had to battle when the large chains come in.

“The menu changed to a vegetarian and vegan focus which is in trend and we went more to homemade meals and fortunately our loyal customers stayed with us.”

Inspectors rated the cafe ‘very good’ when it came to food hygiene and safety and ‘good’ in the structural compliance and confidence in management categories.

The cafe’s previous score was also five and the couple hoped to maintain their impeccable standards in the future.