SPC's former Entz Rep Afro Paul reviews all of the city's key pubs and bars.
Paul Williams was a Historian at St Peter's College, Oxford |
Bar Med
28 St Ebbes Street, 790497
An awful interior, however the sofas are comfortable, especially
if you’re going in for a quiet drink outside of ‘club’ hours
(I did that in sub-fusc after matriculation… even I hadn’t had so
many funny looks before!) The drinks are moderately priced, especially the jugs
of cocktails, which split between 3 and 4 go a long way (Word of Warning: do
not try this with less than 3 people, it WILL hurt you both financially and
in the liver). Look out for the 50% off vouchers in the Student Pages which
is published at the beginning of the year. Most of the time however Bar Med
is a little too loud to consider having a chat to someone, and there are nights
for students and nights when students are not particularly welcomed by the clientel.
One definite advantage is that it’s a very good place to keep tabs of
the pre-Filth cue on a Thursday night.
Prices: 3/5 Comfort: 4/5 Atmosphere: 2/5
The Unrelated Afro Rating System (U-ARS): 6/10
Located: Opposite St Ebbe's and Pembroke College, conveniently
placed for pre-Filth drinks, and a good spot for watching people heading towards
the queue (see Jools' club reviews for info about the Filth queue!!!)
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Bar Oz
8 Market Street, 248388
Not too shoddy, despite the fact that it is, after all, an
Aussie pub (therefore Fosters, XXXX and VB in extremis). They do serve some
halfway decent British beers (if you can deal with John Smiths). The prices
are OK, the surroundings are OK, but one to look out for is the atmosphere on
rugby match days when England are playing any of the Southern Hemisphere sides,
particularly Australia (if I’m not stating the obvious…). Bar Oz
is probably best to have a peek at when looking for a change from your usual
watering holes, and I think it’s a fairly safe bet.
Prices: 3/5 Comfort: 2/5 Atmosphere: 3½/5
U-ARS: 6/10
Located: Off Cornmarket, next to the Covered Market. Pretty
hard to miss if you’ve ever been to the Party Shop in all fairness!
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The Bear
6 Alfred Street, 72783
Old, reasonably priced and genuinely rustic (oldest pub in
Oxford, first opened in the 13th century or something silly). It doesn't lend
itself to anyone over 5ft 8 (i.e 6ft 3" Stu 'Tripod' Sale: "OUCH this
roof is f***ing low") but once seated even the tallest gentleman can enjoy
one of their slightly uncommon yet very nice pints and look at the ties on the
walls - one of every school and different division of the armed services imaginable.
If your looking for alcopops and loud music, I wouldn’t recommend the
Bear, however if you want a halfway decent pint in what is, after all, a proper
pub, this is probably the best place to go in central Oxford by a considerable
distance.
Prices: 4/5 Comfort: 3/5 Atmosphere: 4/5
U-ARS: 7/10
Located: Where only people with reason to go to Oriel, Merton
or Corpus Christi colleges are going to find it, which I think is a bit of a
shame. A reward for venturing onto one of the many cobbled backstreets.
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The Bullingdon Arms (aka The Bully...)
162 Cowley Road, 244516
The prices in here, for Oxford, are nothing short of phenomenal.
The cheapest pint outside of the Oxford Union Society without a doubt. The Cowley
location means its often full of students and random dodgy characters, but it
can be a fairly good place to go for a pint on the way to the Zodiac. It is
very very music orientated, and if you’re keen on finding the next big
thing in the indie music world, check out the ‘Backroom at the Bully’
nights that are held nearly every night of the week. If there was one major
problem, it would be that it is on Cowley Road and not in the town centre, meaning
that it isn’t always the safest or most convenient place to go for a ‘quiet’
pint.
Prices: 5/5 Comfort: 2½/5 Atmosphere: 3/5
U-ARS: 7/10
Located: Up Cowley Road, opposite Tesco and very close to the
Zodiac. Very good for a quick pint if you find that you over-estimated the distance
between the Zodiac and college.
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The Chequers
High Street, 726904
The Chequers has a fairly townie reputation and I’ve
never found had a particularly fantastic place to go. Its reasonably expensive,
very loud and another one that can't decide which way it wants to swing: Pub
or Club I mean! I'm not keen, but if you prefer the louder, alco-pop kind of
places to go, this is the one for you.
Prices: 2/5 Comfort: 3/5 Atmosphere: 2/5
U-ARS: 5/10
Located: Down an alley on the High Street near Starbucks -
very easy to miss.
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Copa (previously Wig & Pen)
George Street, 246906
Fairly nice, lots of room, good food, reasonable prices. BUT
the crowning glory of it is that it has Premiership Plus meaning it's great
on days where the rest of Oxford are complaining about how much Pay Per View
football costs. Good place to get your parents to take you for a good meal NOT
made by hall because the usual use of profanity is avoided because it's food
prices may feel extortionate to the average poor student they are actually pretty
cheap. The food is also pretty good too. I like it, although given the usual
atmosphere, I’m not entirely sure why.
Prices: 3/5 Comfort: 3.5/5 Atmosphere: 2/5
U-ARS: 7/10
Located: George Street, opposite the Apollo Theatre which can
be handy if you're a cultured sort. Otherwise it's a good one to start or end
a shopping trip at.
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The Crown Inn
off Cornmarket Street, 813961
Down the alley next to McDonald's lies a secret: The Crown.
It's not a bad pub at all, not really aimed at students (and the clientele shows
this) but it's a comfortable, safe place to enjoy a quiet drink. Nothing special,
but not bad either – check out the sofas on the left of the entrance,
very comfortable and sociably arranged.
Jools: I managed to get myself banned from here in Freshers
Week - as said they really don't want to draw in students, hence them often
asking for a passport or Drivers License from each student in hope that someone
won't have one.
Prices: 3/5 Comfort: 4/5 Atmosphere: 3½/5
U-ARS: 6/10
Located: Off Cornmarket Street, down the alley next to McDonald's.
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The Goose
Gloucester Green, 727265
Dreadfully tacky chain pub interior but very very cheap beer.
It’s probably the closest thing Oxford has to a J.D Weatherspoons, thus
the ‘pub by numbers’ decoration, BUT, £1.55 for a decent pint
of Tetley's (apologies, I only drink bitter in pubs) cannot be sniffed at! It’s
big, comfortable, good for food, good for drink selection, and usually has a
good enough atmosphere to overlook the fact that it’s too tacky for its
own good. I’m a fan, but that’s more because It suits my budget.
Prices: 4½/5 Comfort: 3½/5 Atmosphere:
3/5
U-ARS: 8/10
Located: Conveniently close to the Odeon on Gloucester Green.
Good for a pre- or post-film pint or 10.
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The Head Of The River
Folly Bridge, 721600
Its name gives away its location: at the head of the river
next to Folly Bridge. The Head is very much geared towards the summer, most
of its seating is outside and its quite often packed out for most of the summer.
Do not even think of going in here during 8's week, it WILL be packed, especially
when there are 15,000+ people on the banks on Saturday. The food here is good
if a little overpriced and the selection of drinks isn't the best, but when
busy its not a particularly bad place to go, and probably quite nice to take
parents.
Prices: 2/5 Comfort: 2/5 Atmosphere: 3/5
U-ARS: 5/10
Located: The town side of Folly Bridge at the bottom of St
Aldates.
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The Hobgoblin
108 St Aldate's, 250201
Full of bikers who look at you funny when you don't order Snakebite
& Black. OK, that was one experience of the place. However most of the other
times I've ventured in it's been packed to the brim with old men which is disconcerting.
Nothing particularly special or worth making an effort to go to. Although for
the discerning beer drinker it’s better than most, even if the prices
are dreadfully high. Oh well…
Prices: 1/5 Comfort: 2/5 Atmosphere: 2/5
U-ARS: 4/10
Located: Opposite Christ Church College. Which would probably
explain why there's no students in there...
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Kings Arms (aka KA)
40 Holywell Street, 242369
The KA, in my view, is nothing special. I hate to be a bit
of a class warrior but the two most common words spoken here are 'RA' and 'RA'.
It is packed to the brim with people who are paying via Mummy and Daddy’s
credit card, drinks are hugely overpriced and if you go 'Next Door' (it's sister
pub which is oh so cleverly named 'next door' and is oh so cleverly 'next door'
on Holywell street) the prices are even worse. It does nothing to help break
down the Oxford stereotype and for one I don’t particularly like the place
as a pub anyway. Young’s ale isn’t very good to start with. Our
very own bin-urinating Roman Legionnaire Drew P (see OFS on the Clubs page)
likes it because it fulfils his Golden Tee obbsession with the 2003 version
of the game. Apologies to those of you who don’t agree with me (and there
are a lot who are fans of this place) but the KA and Next Door are terrible
pubs.
Prices: 0/5 Comfort: 3/5 Atmosphere: 1/5
U-ARS: 2/10
Located: At the end of Broad Street opposite the New Bod and
the History Faculty Building. Apparently it has a secret passage to Wadham college
which is almost next door, but not even my links at Wadham can either confim
or deny this. Which means nothing to anybody I don't think...
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The Kiss Bar
36-9 Park End Street, 200555
I hereby declare the kiss bar shall be renamed the Muppet Bar
for the following reasons. One lovely night myself and some friends (Nivage,
Hodkin, Stu and Drew) were making our way to Park End for a night of revelry.
On the way we were stopped outside the Kiss Bar and given flyers for £1
shots. In our reluctance the lovely young lady distributing the flyers persuaded
us by saying that bottles of beer were £1.50 each, and they had Corona.
Hodkin ran in and got to the bar before we could even say the 'h' of half-pint.
30 seconds later he was charged £2.50 for his bottle of Corona. The cheeky
bint on the street had lied to us. But it doesn't stop there, oh no. The rest
of us decided to buy £1 shots, Drew P doing the ordering. He ordered 2
Melon shots and 2 Apple shots. We received 2 Apple shots and 2 Peach shots.
I will never go to said Kiss Bar ever again. It is indeed the Muppet Bar. OK,
so this is a little harsh, it’s not bad venue for their free parties with
reduced entry to Park End, and we all make mistakes. It’s expensive and
not that comfortable, but it’s ideally placed for the ventures into Shark
End. But so is Thirst – I know what my preference is.
Prices: 2/5 Comfort: 2/5 Atmosphere: 2/5
U-ARS: 5/10
Located: Right next to Park End.
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The Lamb and Flag
St Giles, 515787
Tucked into the side of St John’s (their owners…)
along St Giles, it’s a fairly nice, quiet pub with the crests of all of
the Oxford Colleges on the wall. All except St Peter’s that is. Gutted.
How can I write a good review if they want to snub us like that? I’ll
give them that it’s a pleasant place to have a drink, but I won’t
say any more until they rectify the crest situation – it’s St Peter’s,
1929, OK?
Prices: 3/5 Comfort: 3/5 Atmosphere: 3/5
U-ARS: 5/10
Located: Down St Giles on the St John’s side of the road,
not long before the road forks out into the Woodstock and Banbury Roads.
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Maxwells
36 Queen Street, 242192
Maxwells is a cocktail bar. Lots of atmosphere and a further
bonus of owning a Bod card, the student discounts on cocktails are pretty good.
The food at Maxwells is pretty good too, although it can be a little frustrating
at times because I get the sense that this place isn't sure whether its a 50's
rock'n'roll diner, a hip hop club or the standard cocktail bar.
Prices: 3½/5 Comfort: 3/5 Atmosphere: 2½/5
U-ARS: 7/10
Located: Queen Street, opposite BHS and Marks and Spencers.
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The Mitre
High Street, 244563
Always empty when I seem to be going out, namely because it's
a Beefeater aimed at families meaning by the time I ever get near the place
it's empty. The reason why I've never got there at a busy time is there are
cheaper, more atmospheric and better situatred pubs to go to. HOWEVER there
is one reason why this place is worth going to: It serves Hoegarden. If you
don't know why I'm so excited by this odd looking beer go to the Mitre and order
a pint. I promise your life will be changed (by the beer, not the pub, sadly).
Prices: 3/5 Comfort: 3/5 Atmosphere: 2/5
U-ARS: 6/10
Located: On the High Street, opposite the road down to Merton/Oriel/Corpus.
Quite good for those on the heady route between SPC and Iffley/Cowley, because
the pubs are not hot in general along this route.
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Three Goats Heads
St Michael's Street, 721523
Sells evil beer known as either Ayingerbrau (real name), 'Man
in a box' (the inventful design of the tap) or just 'Pils' (the actual designate
of beer it is). A favoured haunt of morris dancers - see them in there on Saturday
afternoons with their tankards still dolled up in their bells (and eventually
get majorly fed up by the constant jingle-jangleing). The Geordies around college
(naming no names Rooksy) love the place because apparently the biggest underage
haunt in Durham serves Ayingerbrau. The ABV of the man in a box is definitely
worth overlooking the prices - you won't notice after a few anyway!!! Was the
popular haunt of SPC members for the weekly pub quiz, but then the management
changed hands. Oh well.
Prices: 2½/5 Comfort: 3/5 Atmosphere: 3/5
U-ARS: 7/10
Located: Next door to the Union, well-placed if you get fed
up of the 'Unionised' beer (for more info on the Union read on).
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The Old Tom
101 St Aldate's, 243034
Quaint, quite nice EVEN if it's named after the tower of THAT
college. Everything's no more than 'nice' which means it lends itself to a quiet
drink. It's fairly bland but that might not necesarily be a bad thing, but the
prices aren't exactly kind to your bank balance.
Prices: 2/5 Comfort: 3/5 Atmosphere: 2½/5
U-ARS: 6/10
Located: Also opposite Christ Church, but a better idea than
the Hobgoblin.
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O’Niel’s
37 George Street, 247519
As you can probably tell by the name, O’Neill’s
is an Irish pub. It’s another one with a ‘Pub by Numbers’
interior, and is maybe no more than a decent Weatherspoons with an Irish Twist.
Fairly comfortable, fairly priced, fair atmosphere, all in all I’d have
to say it’s pretty, well, fair.
Prices: 2½/5 Comfort: 2/5 Atmosphere: 2½/5
U-ARS: 5/10
Located: At the bottom of New Inn Hall Street on the corner
of the junction with George Street.
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The Oxford Union Society Bar
Frewin Court, 241353, www.oxford-union.org
EXTREEEEEEEMELY cheap (£1 most pints) yet poor tasting
beer. The lack of a regular cleaning of the lines means that the potential holy
grail of an Oxford student's drinking has been tarnished. I personally can't
decide whether to love or hate the place, a bit like the PT (see Jools' Club
Reviews) which is also part of the Union. The ambiguous rules on where you can
and can't smoke are frustrating for both smokers and non-smokers alike, but
there's snooker tables and TVs and the biggest lending library in Oxford and
some brilliant speakers (2002-3 brought names ranging from Michael Moore and
Ben Elton to Matthew Perry and Kris Akabusi, 2003-4 promises Al Gore, Pele and
David Trimble to name a few). The special events such as Balls are brilliant
both in content and value for money.
Prices: 5/5 Comfort: 4½/5 (Gladstone Room, need
I say more?) Atmosphere: 3/5
U-ARS: 8/10
Located: Just around the corner from St Peter's, meaning the
place is full of us - but most of us are not hacks, honestly. We just have that
special few… Greg Stafford, Matt Gould, Matthew Richardson, Sanchez, Scott...well,
maybe some of us are anyway.
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The Pub Oxford
The Plain, 262291
It's a scream...apparently. I'm not a fan of this chain because
they have a tendancy to take nice pubs and give them a tacky 'pub by numbers'
interior. What The Pub Oxford was like before I'll never know but it now looks
like It's A Scream have done their usual trick to it. Very popular with Brookes
students living on the Cowley Road which means it can be a busy and fun place
to be on a Friday or Saturday night. With the ‘Yellow Card’ (obtainable
at the bar) the prices are pretty good, but without one they start to get to
more of an average price for Oxford. I don’t mind the place in all honestly,
it’s got a nice pool table and another Golden Tee 2003 machine (need I
say anything about Drew P again here?) and Sky and an up to date Jukebox. But
that interior… puuurrllleeeeeaassse…
Prices: 3/5 (Get a Yellow Card to make it 4/5) Comfort:
3½/5 Atmosphere: 3/5
U-ARS: 6/10
Located: On Magdalen roundabout. Might be worth a peek every
now and then, especially if your looking to pull.
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Rosie O’Grady’s
1 Park End Street, 204060
A real Irish pub, a no-nonsense ‘we sell Guinness by
the bucketful and real Irish students drink here’ kind of place. I like
it, it’s a small-ish, fairly busy and beats the pants out of it’s
geographical rivals (Kiss, Thirst, Chicago Rock Café) as well as it’s
one rival in the Irish stakes (O’Neill’s). Well recommended and
not too far from St Peter’s or indeed Park End or The Bridge.
Prices: 3/5 Comfort: 3/5 Atmosphere: 4/5
U-ARS: 7/10
Located: Next to the big car park by Nuffield College and opposite
the Chicago Rock Café (which is so bad I won’t even review it!).
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Thirst
7 Park End Street, 242044
Thirst is an odd one. It's interior is so pretentious and tacky
(with its fake steel block chairs which are frankly no good for more than half
an hour before you have to find a cushion) that it's difficult to enjoy the
atmosphere. The saving grace has to be their cocktails, which, during happy
hour are pretty cheap and in stupid hour are a fantastic price. Its location
opposite Park End is also good, as it can be a bit of a scouting post before
venturing across the road for a nite. On the other hand on nights of extreme
Park End business it recieves a fair amount of the pre-club warming up.
Prices: 4/5 Comfort: 1/5 Atmosphere: 2/5
U-ARS: 6/10
Located: Park End Street, opposite Park End (the club) and
next to EAMAYL (Eat As Much As You Like).
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The Trout
195 Godstow Road, Wolvercote, 302071
Strictly speaking the Trout isn't really in Oxford, it's just
up the road in Godstow. However is isn't necessarily a bad thing. On a hot summer's
day (which in Trinity '03 there were plenty of!) it's always nice to cycle up
the river and get a pint and maybe lunch at the Trout. A little pricey, but
I think it's worth it. A good choice of beers, wines and spirits as well as
an interestingly large selection of soft drinks if you're feeling a little partched
from the cycle up there. It's location right next to the Thames makes it pleasant
as well as popular, Sundays at lunchtime are murderous for getting anything,
so any plan ahead if you really want to go there then.
Prices: 2/5 Comfort: 3/5 Atmosphere: 4/5
U-ARS: 8/10
Located: In Godstow, either follow Woodstock Road out and turn
left near the top before the roundabouts, or follow the river at Port Meadow
and you'll soon find it.
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Turf Tavern
4 Bath Place, 243235
Absolutely legendary. Enough said. You WILL know about this
place within weeks of getting to Oxford, if you didn’t know about it already.
Prices: 3/5 Comfort: 3/5 Atmosphere: 5/5
U-ARS: 9/10
Located: Down a maze of streets near Hertford and New colleges.
Ask any student and they WILL know where it is!
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The Turl
Turl Street, 244563
I've seen the words dreary, boring, lifeless (etc) but to be
fair it does have pub sports (pool, darts) and a jukebox (usually pretty up
to date). It is a bit of a dull place but it has a selection of beers not to
be sniffed at and prices that aren't altogether too bad. My only major problem
with the Turl is that it's a small place and last time I went there it had a
mass of suit wearing young professionals (aka Yuppies). Why? I don’t know.
But it wasn’t as nice as times when it had been a bit quieter. Maybe one
when you need a bit of a change, check out the happy hour.
Prices: 3½/5 Comfort: 3/5 Atmosphere: 3/5
U-ARS: 5/10
Located: Turl Street, opposite Lincoln College or next door
to Jesus College. Not a prime position, but maybe, when looking for a change,
give it a look-in.
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