The Victoria sponge was light and airy, just the right jam-to-cream ratio to lift this simplest of cakes into something special. Best of all, the coffee was short and strong, still something worth remarking upon in England, where the tea is always brewed to perfection but coffee can be a watery affair.

One would expect nothing less from the Grand Café on Oxford’s High Street, the site of England’s first coffee house in 1650.