Two New Pubs for Oxford

Pub news tends to be dominated by closures, so it's fantastic to be able to report on not one, but two new openings in Oxford in the latter half of 2018.

It's taken me a couple of months to wander up to Summertown to visit the Bicycle Shed, but we made it on the day of opening to the Plough on Cornmarket Street.

Smart bar at The Plough, Cornmarket Street, Oxford

The Plough (38 Cornmarket Street, OX1 3HA).
The Plough opened on Friday 21st December to make the most of the festive drinks trade, although it's still a work-in-progress with the upstairs dining room to be completed.  The downstairs bar will be dedicated to serving drinks, with large windows opening up onto Cornmarket and St Michael's Street.  It's bright and airy with a modern feel and an unusual 'V' shaped bar.
First registered as a pub in 1656, the last ales were served on the site in 1924 at which point it was converted into the Domestic Bazaar Company.  Austin Reed opened in 1936 and sold their suits in this location until 2016. 
Many of the original features were lost during it's shop conversion, although the 1st floor windows and two pediments are said to be original.
The return of the Plough is the work of Chris Mulhall, who runs the 1855 bar in the Castle Quarter.  XT brewery have worked in partnership on the project, so on this first day visit we found XT4 plus Animal 'Hop Kitty' & 'Koala' on cask, whilst their Oxford Lager, Oxford IPA and Imperial Stout were pouring on the keg lines.  Excitingly they're installed brewing equipment and the facility to serve the beer straight from the tanks.

Brewing Kit at the Plough

The 'Koala' was served up with a great frothy head and was tasting great.  I popped back to the bar for a half of the 8.6% stout, which I don't think I've seen available anywhere previously.

According to to this Oxford History website there were 16 pubs along Cornmarket over the years, from the original Jolly Farmers at number 1 to the Sun Vaults at number 63.
Until this years re-opening of the Plough, The Crown was the only one remaining of these 16 pubs.

Oxford's second new pub to report is a couple of miles north up Banbury Road in the Summertown area...

Oxfords leafy suburbs - The Bicycle Shed Pub and Summertown Cycles

The Bicycle Shed (204-206 Banbury Road, OX2 7BY -  website)
Opening at the beginning of October 2018 this is a venture by the same folks behind central locations St Aldates Tavern, The Grapes and the George Street Social.
They've taken over a location once housing an Indian restaurant and (appropriately with their name) next door to Summertown Cycles.  For many years now the Dew Drop Inn has been the only pub serving this part of town, with a fair old trek to get to the nearest alternatives.

Drinking Locale at the Bicycle Shed, Summertown

The Bicycle Shed is set back from the road with a patio area out front.  The website and early reviews were heavily orientated towards food, so I worried that this would be a 'gastro' pub with little thought for anyone just wanting a drink.  But the front bar is comfortable to just settle and relax in, whilst the back room, the 'Potting Shed', is set for dining with many of the tables reserved on our visit. 
On the bar were three local cask ales from Siren, XT and Loose Cannon, plus some decent keg offerings including a couple of beers from Box Steam and a tasty single-hop table beer from Tap Social.
We did stay to eat and I'd happily recommend heading here for the food.  There's a focus on vegetarian and vegan dishes, although good choices for the carnivore too, catering for all.

It's brilliant to see new pubs appear and I hope that they attract new customers and prosper well.Hopefully 2019 will see the Somerset in Marston finally reopening after a long campaign by locals, and perhaps the Hollybush on Osney Island opening it's doors once more?