Slightly off Headington’s main drag a few doors down Windmill Road is independent café and gelatería Adria, which opened in February this year. I went for the first time today, and now I’m sorry I hadn’t been before. It was mid-morning so I was looking for coffee and a pastry. Sadly, pastries weren’t on offer (the owner explained he had tried them but they didn’t sell well) and loyal readers will know I’m not a fan of cake in the morning (there was carrot cake), so it had to be ice cream. As you’d expect in a gelatería, there was ice cream. About 16 varieties including two or three sorbets, in a range of subdued (vanilla, choclolate) and garish (bubblegum) colours. I opted for coffee and a scoop of stracciatella; my companion chose coffee and lemon sorbet, all of which were excellent.

There’s a nice atmosphere too – tables and comfortable chairs inside, including some neat child-size armchairs, and more tables and chairs on the pavement outside. The décor is calm and stylish, a background rather than a feature.

As well as coffee and ice cream Adria offers soft drinks, a wide choice of herbal teas and a food menu of pizzas and toasted sandwiches. Well, I didn’t ask, but I assume ‘baked’ means ‘toasted’.

Adria isn’t on twitter and the owner said he’s still working on setting up a facebook page. I hope he doesn’t leave it too long because a small independent needs people to know about it, and I suspect Adria isn’t as well-known as it deserves to be. I’ll certainly go back, and when I do I’ll suggest that if they can’t offer pastries then a jar or two of upmarket cookies might fill the gap.