If the setting and the ambiance allow for it, there can be something quite deliciously decadent about dining out for breakfast.

And stepping from the charm of Little Clarendon Street directly into the warm welcome and comforting, ever-so-slightly rustic, interior that Café Rouge offers, you sense you just might be on to a winner.

Our attentive waiter soon had us seated, took our drinks order and left us deliberating from the diverse and reasonably-priced breakfast menu.

All the usual suspects are listed together with a variety, including Salmon Benedict (£5.95), Croque Madame (£5.50) and for those dining with little ones there is a Children’s Breakfast on offer (£3.95).

My breakfasting companion ordered the English Breakfast, insisting both bacon and sausage burnt to a cinder with egg sunny side up.

He wasn’t disappointed. The bacon was crisped to perfection, you could write on cave walls with the sausage (exactly how he likes it) and he was too lost in the bliss of savouring every mouthful to utter a word for the first few minutes.

However, when he did come back into the room from Cloud Nine he did mention that English mustard and butter, served soft enough to spread, would have been an added bonus.

Keeping a constant eye on the calories I had half-heartedly ordered a ham and mushroom omelette, and feared I might feel just a tiny twinge of breakfast envy when my plate arrived.

But there was no need to fret. Although I have perfected the art of cooking omelettes to my own exacting specification, this offering before me, complete with truly delicious Lyonnaise potatoes, looked and tasted divine. And damn you Café Rouge, your omelette knocked spots off mine.

Being a late Saturday morning we decided to indulge in a glass of Bucks Fizz (although, ahem, truth be told, we opted to order ours without the orange juice – for the same price).

This, together with the atmospheric tones of the background music (so good that I used my phone app trick to discover the artist responsible), finished off our breakfast beautifully.

So, after a fond farewell from our friendly waiter and the rest of the Café Rouge team, two very satisfied customers returned to the city’s allure.

  • Café Rouge is in Little Clarendon Street, Oxford. Call 01865 310194 or see caferouge.co.uk