College students have been coming to Oxford since its namesake college was based nearly 1000 years in the past – and so they’ve been gathering at native consuming institutions for almost as lengthy.
A few of the best minds England has ever produced – assume JRR Tolkein and CS Lewis – have been identified to be regulars at beloved consuming spots round city. Fortunately, you don’t want a string of As to get into the most effective pubs in Oxford. You simply must know the place to seek out them.
Whether or not you’re on a brief go to or shifting right here completely, it would be best to seek the advice of our checklist of the most effective pubs in Oxford.
Get misplaced within the Bear Inn
Whereas there are lots of institutions claiming the title of oldest pub in Oxford, the Bear Inn makes a persuasive case. Hunt down this time-honored watering gap, and also you’ll be one other punter so as to add to the stream that has been downed pints right here since 1242.
You’ll must bow your head within the house to keep away from the low ceilings, but that permits you a detailed take a look at the well-trodden wood flooring. The principle bar is out entrance; if that’s full, take your drink to the second room towards the again.
Loosen up within the beer backyard at The Perch
The Perch has town’s most attractive beer backyard, in addition to an ideal beer and cider pageant each summer season. This historic thatched inn is a should go to for anybody doing a river tour of town – you possibly can proceed to admire the river views, however with a pint in hand. Even higher.
Be a part of the students on the Lamb & Flag
The Lamb & Flag is likely one of the most well-known pubs within the metropolis and a stalwart on any checklist of Oxford watering holes. Courting to the Seventeenth century, this old-school place attracts a scholarly crowd and has welcomed such famend English writers as JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis.
This pair was a part of a literary group generally known as “the Inklings” who would usually collect right here. In 2021, a brand new era of Inklings (over 300 of them) took over and saved the pub from monetary spoil. Now that’s value a toast.
Get pleasure from brews with views on the Varsity Membership
In the event you want your pint with a singular view, guide a desk on the Varsity Membership’s roof backyard. This rooftop bar has spectacular 360-degree vistas over Oxford’s iconic Dreaming Spires. It’s the right place to get pleasure from a pint after a day’s sightseeing within the metropolis.
Strings of lights encompass the nighttime drinkers all 12 months. Go to in winter to really feel particularly festive, as you nestle into the comfortable igloo beneath the celebrities.
Go to one in every of Morse’s favourite pubs, the Turf Tavern
The TV present Inspector Morse is famously filmed in Oxford, and one in every of his favourite pubs – the Turf Tavern – is a completely functioning taproom able to take your order. This Seventeenth-century pub is discovered down the slender alleyways off Holywell Avenue or New Faculty Lane.
The Turf Tavern is a should on any Oxford pub crawl. It’s particularly interesting within the hotter months, when you possibly can sip your lager within the fairly beer backyard. Simply you’ll want to arrive on the early facet.
Rock out on the Jericho Tavern
The Jericho Tavern is likely one of the most well-known pubs in Oxford, due to the truth that Radiohead carried out their first gig right here. It went on to change into a magnet for ’90s bands, together with Pulp and Supergrass.
Since then, the pub has offered an area for brand spanking new bands (together with Mumford and Sons and Ben Howard) to showcase their repertoires. Head on right down to see some new music in motion most nights – washed down with a pint or two, after all.
Nurse a comfortable pint on the cozy White Horse
The White Horse claims to be Oxford’s smallest pub. Squeezed between the entrances to Blackwell’s bookshop and music store, the delicate Grade II listed constructing is perhaps simple to stroll previous. However don’t.
It doesn’t take many individuals to fill the White Horse, and when it’s packed, you is perhaps shoulder to shoulder with a few of England’s (or the globe’s) leaders of tomorrow: each Winston Churchill and Invoice Clinton are mentioned to have drunk right here.
The small (or comfortable) room on the again is the right spot to heat up with a pint of stout on wet days, in the event you’re fortunate sufficient to get there earlier than everybody else, that’s.
Get artful on the Oxford Brewery
Breweries are an enormous deal in Oxford, and among the many quite a few choices on the town the Oxford Brewery in Cooper’s Yard is a agency favourite. All of the craft beer served right here is brewed on-site, and you may sit and pattern it within the welcoming taproom subsequent door, with wood-fired pizzas on the weekends too.
Look out for particular brews reminiscent of Let the Dragon See the Wolf Golden Ale – brewed in honor of St George – and the 7.1% Headless Laud, a cellar-aged IPA.
Really feel refreshed on the Victoria Arms
Punting down the Thames is likely one of the finest issues to do in Oxford, providing one of the particular views from which to view town. If you would like a extra relaxed punting session, head up the backwaters of the River Cherwell to moor on the Victoria Arms, then sit outdoors the gorgeous riverside pub with a pint. You’ll have earned it.
Convey your personal pint for alfresco pleased hour with pals at Port Meadow
It’s not a pub in any respect, however Port Meadow makes for a beautiful spot for having fun with a picnic and a pint. With the River Thames flowing via, and cows, horses and wildfowl wandering by, it’s a beautiful place to be on a sunny day. You’ll find picnic benches and BBQs close to the Godstow Highway entrance, however you possibly can lay your blanket down anyplace. We wouldn’t advocate heading right here after heavy rainfall, although, because the riverbanks typically overflow.
