Naomi with a Novel

I am by no means a food-and-travel blogger, but I just have to share this experience. Knowing my love for books, bookish vibes, and anything book-related, my boyfriend made a reservation for last Saturday at Oxford Exchange (ladies—if he wanted to, he would), and I was so excited to go! Whenever I ask my local book groups for Florida bookstore recommendations, this one always comes up. Tampa is about two hours away from me here in Winter Park, so I hadn’t had the chance to visit sooner, but I am so glad we finally made it out there. I love trying new restaurants and finding new bookstores, so this was the perfect outing!

We arrived right at 10:45 for our brunch reservation, so I didn’t get to explore the bookstore until afterward. But let me just say, I loved the brunch experience. They sat us by the window in these tall, comfy chairs and handed me an Oxford Exchange postcard to thank us for choosing to celebrate with them. A very good first impression!

I expect brunch to be a little pricey (at least pricier than a chain restaurant), and Oxford Exchange‘s prices were about as expected. I ordered the pancakes (I always say I’ll go with a savory brunch, but I can’t resist the sweet stuff), while my boyfriend got the steak and eggs. I also ordered a side of the potatoes for the table, which, as a potato-lover, I thought were really good! To be fair, I don’t think you can go wrong with potatoes. The pancakes themselves were nice and fluffy, and my boyfriend said he liked how his steak was cooked and seasoned.

For drinks, I considered ordering the classic brunch mimosa, but I decided on tea instead. Oxford Exchange uses tea from TeBella Tea Company. The tea menu was honestly a bit overwhelming—there were so many options—but I decided to stick with my usual chai latte. Chai lattes can be hit or miss for me, but this one was definitely a hit! I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. My boyfriend had some kind of iced coffee (cold brew, I think? I’m not a coffee person—sorry!) and he said it was good as well. Fun fact: the servers bring out your check in a used book, too, which I thought was so cute.

“Very dark-academia.”

– Naomi with a Novel

Now, onto the bookstore itself. This building is surprisingly large! It has two floors, an Instagram-worthy staircase photo-op, decorated ceilings, and a warm, dark brown aesthetic. Very dark-academia. The first floor shop offers a variety of items, including home decor, bath products, candles, stationery, and—of course—books. My boyfriend ended up buying a coffee-table book about national parks, and I bought a nonfiction book I’ve been interested in reading: Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea.

I do wish the bookstore portion had a larger selection, but I still loved walking around and browsing. I think my boyfriend and I will have to take another trip soon to explore a bit more. Maybe we’ll try out the champagne bar or afternoon tea next time.

Overall, I’m very satisfied with the experience and recommend Oxford Exchange to any Florida book-lovers out there!