Oxford's best mince pie: here's our taste test results

Is it important to have a good ratio of mince to pastry? Should the filling contain rum and brandy? Is it better to have shortcrust pastry with a biscuit-like quality to it? Or are you safer going with a melt-in-the-mouth casing for your mincemeat?

From Summertown bakeries to Westgate pop-ups, here’s a rundown of my taste tests across the city.

I began with an Oxford classic.

Taylor’s

I was greeted by manager Cesare Paolotti, who, a few weeks ago, achieved ‘elite’ food hygiene status for his cafe in Summertown. This means the shop has been awarded a five-star hygiene rating at its last three inspections. I knew I was in a good pair of hands.

Cesare Paolotti (Image: Matthew Norman)

Taylors’ mince pies are £2.25 if you want to take away, and £2.75 to sit in. I picked one up and made my way to a seat.

On appearances alone, the Christmas treat was fairly ‘traditional’. Unadorned by engravings or swirly patterns, and entirely closed so as not to expose any mince.

Mince pie from Taylor's (Image: Matthew Norman)

A respectable, melt-in-the-mouth pastry case with a good thickness to it. It was a satisfying bite. The mince was tasty, with a sticky sweetness throughout.

The one downfall, it pains me to say, is that the pastry was a touch too savoury for my liking.

Overall, Taylors’ mince pies get a 6/10.

Gatineau Artisan Patisserie & Bakery

Continuing down Summertown high street, a staff member in this French bakery told me the store had already sold out of its ‘bags of six’ mince pies. Adding that they had sold 12 today (Saturday, December 16).

Staff at Gatineau Artisan Patisserie and Bakery, Summertown (Image: Matthew Norman)

The bakery sold their individual treats for £2.10, with a bag of six setting the buyer back £12.

Delightfully petite, with the appearance of a large biscuit, this pie presented a taste and texture not unlike shortbread.

Mince pie from Gatineau (Image: Matthew Norman)

The crumbly walls gave way to a thin layer of flavourful mince, pungent with spice and delivering a hint of orange zest. It was delicious.

The mince pies at Gatineau have sidestepped the traditional recipe with satisfying results.

8/10.

Art Cafe

Next up was the yellow-painted gem opposite the entrance to Westgate shopping centre.

Art Cafe, Oxford city centre (Image: Matthew Norman)

At £3.50, the mince pies here were the most expensive of all that I tried. The cafe even offered a mince pie cake, but I had to decline, my mission statement was very clear: the best mince pie in Oxford.

In terms of presentation, this mince pie ‘took the biscuit’. A low-edged pastry base exposing five sections of mince around a central pastry star, I knew I was off to the races.

Mince pie from Art Cafe (Image: Matthew Norman)

Sweet. Sticky. Tremendous cohesiveness after each bite. The perfect ratio of casing and filling. A snazzy design. What’s not to like?

Art Cafe offers a commendable pie, and for that I give it 9/10.

Climatarian Kitchen

This venue gave me perhaps the biggest surprise of my festive foray into baked goods.

Jennifer Bird at Climatarian Kitchen (Image: Matthew Norman)

Nestled on the grassy patch among the ground floor shops of the Westgate, this pop-up offers ready meals and snacks collected as ‘food surplus’ from restaurants and food suppliers across the county.

The mince pie – just £1 – was soft and crumbly, with a snowflake design. And best of all, it was served hot.

Mince pie from Climatarian Kitchen (Image: Matthew Norman)

The interesting thing about my sweet treat from this store, which runs on food donations, is that I had no idea where it came from. Still, it was very tasty, and gets a 7/10.

The Cake Shop

Last but certainly not least, the Covered Market’s popular store had a stall set up at the Christmas market on Broad Street.

Manager of the Cake Shop Steph Archer, with her daughter Poppy Hopkins (Image: Matthew Norman)

I was greeted warmly by Steph Archer, manager of The Cake Shop and The Heritage Bakery in Grove, whose efforts produced the mince pie being sold on the stall.

Mince pie from The Cake Shop (Image: Matthew Norman)

The pie was big, lovingly homemade and filled with rum and brandy-soaked mince. Delicious. 8/10.

Read more from this author

This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1