French bakery Paul is once again busy with customers after reopening in Oxford High Street.

The patisserie in the High Street close to Carfax, which sells French bread, cakes, pastries and coffee, shut suddenly in August.

There were no signs to indicate the closure was not permanent but then a sign was placed in the window to say Paul will be reopening soon.

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The notice said: "Guess what? We're reopening soon. We look forward to serving you your French favourites again."

The patisserie has now reopened and is once again busy with customers.

A member of staff said: "We reopened a few weeks ago - everything is going well.

(Image: Andy Ffrench) "This was a franchise, but now it is run by the company."

The chain of bakery-café restaurants is found in 47 countries with the head office in Lille, France.

There used to be a Paul concession stand in the Westgate Centre but it closed years ago.

The chain specialises in serving breads, crêpes, sandwiches, macarons, soups, cakes, pastries, coffee, wine and beer.

Paul is a family company currently owned by Groupe Holder, which also owned the patisserie Ladurée from 2002 to 2021.

(Image: Andy Ffrench) In 2022, there were more than 750 Paul café restaurants, with 424 in France and more than 300 in 46 other countries.

Paul opened in Oxford High Street 10 years ago in 2014 - its first shop in the UK outside London.

It has a five-star food hygiene rating - the tpp rating, following an inspection in June.

Chief executive of Paul UK Jean-Michel Orieux said at the time: “Oxford is the ideal location for our first bakery outside London as we believe it has a wonderful balance of cultural heritage, a well-established local community and vibrant economic and tourism activity, which can clearly embrace the growth of our business.”

The cafe has a 3.5 out of five rating on reviews site Tripadvisor.

One visitor in August was disappointed, saying: "The whole dining experience was poor and we got the impression that the staff were fed up and wanted to go home."

But others have posted more positive reviews.

(Image: Andy Ffrench) One customer listed as Rolf said following a visit in October last year: "Great coffee and food, but above all, always service with a smile. Great location, right in the centre of town."

Ryan, also listed as a customer last year, added: "Started my day off with a delicious caramel latte - one gentleman was so kind and very well mannered explaining the different drinks options available to me, in the moment I felt like more of a friend as opposed to a customer.

"There was such a variety of different food options available and elegantly displayed and i was advised on which ones are both customer and staff favourites which was very helpful - I went for the raspberry delice which was delicious."

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

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