Up In Arms

An Oxford Pub Update

There have been several changes afoot in the local pub landscape this Spring.
With a long-shut pub re-opening and a couple of others completing big refurbishment projects, I decided it was high time to go and check them out.

First up, the Somerset pub, which was the subject of over three years of determined campaigning by local residents (SOS - Save Our Somerset) to retain the last remaining pub in the New Marston area.

The Banks's brewery pub closed in 2009, re-opening as a Chinese restaurant and cocktail bar.  This in turn shut its doors in 2014.  For all intents and purposes it looked as though the pub would follow others in the area and be lost forever.But now it's back, although it's not the Somerset any more...

Work in progress...

and there it is... 

Up In Arms (241 Marston Road, OX3 0EN - web)
The decor and feel of the pub will be familiar to those who've visited the Rusty Bicycle and Rickety Press, with all being run by the Oxford-based Dodo pub company.  You'll find up-cycled furniture and a bright, airy decor with quirky signs and pictures dotted about.
There's a run of small tables by the bar and a snug little bookshelf corner which would be an ideal cosy spot if it weren't next to the door to the gents.
To the side there are larger tables, ideal for groups.

The back garden is a bit of a winner though - covered seating in an old shipping container, table tennis on the grass and table football on the covered patio.  It's family friendly - on an after-work Friday evening visit there were numerous children running around outside, which you'll either think is marvellous or  will have you gritting your teeth and moving inside to the furthest, quietest corner.

On the bar Arkells brewery dominates on the keg and cask lines, although there are a couple of guest ales and a real cider.  I opted for local Tap Social Movement 'Hops Off the Press', a modern 5.1% cloudy IPA.  It didn't come cheap, although visit Monday to Friday 5-7pm and there are some good drinks deals available.
Food is wings, burgers, fries and pizza.  They also open early for breakfast and serve some quality coffee.

Ultimately it looks as though Dodo have found a winning formula to make this a success, diversifying to appeal to a variety of residents nearby.  It's pleasing to see this functioning as a pub again and long may it stay that way.

Back into the heart of Oxford...

The Grapes (7 George Street, OX1 2AT)

The George Street pub has seen plenty of changes in the past few years.  The Grapes was a Bath Ales pub when I first arrived in the city, then changed it's name to Beerd in 2015 as it became one of the only venues in Oxford focused on craft beer.  Then in 2017 it was The Grapes again, under the new ownership of City Pub Co.
After a spell with workmen inside and the windows covered, in what the Oxford Mail tells us was a £70k revamp, it has been re-opened in April 2019 by West Berkshire Brewery.

West Berkshire Brewery brew some great beers and you'll find these served on some of the seven hand pumps along the bar.  There's also room for guests from small local breweries.  It's the first time I've come across beers from Amwell Springs (from Cholsey, near Wallingford) in the city.
Thirteen keg taps also dispense an interesting range including tempting ales from Tiny Rebel and Tap Social when I last visited.  I managed to sample a fair few of the beers here, one of my favourites being West Berkshire Brewery's own 'Snake Oil', a 7.5% ABV double IPA which was rich, resinously hoppy and flavoursome.

The pub is well decorated in a simple rustic manner, whilst the new table layout is definitely an improvement.
Not being a foodie I can't really comment much on the menu here, except to say they've leaned more towards snacks and bowls of food to go alongside your beer, rather than big plates of traditional pub grub.


Sadly, a few doors down George Street, we've lost the Pint Shop which closed in February.  But that looks to have provided an opportunity for the Grapes to fill a bit of a gap, stocking up on the gins and varied craft ales.  I just have my fingers crossed that these will keep rotating with plenty of interesting guest and seasonal brews.

James Street Tavern (47-48 James Street, OX4 1EU - web )
Thirdly then, the Greene King pub, situated just off to the side of Cowley Road in East Oxford. The James Street Tavern has spent a month closed this spring prior to re-opening on 11th May 2019.
It's now run by the team who've been behind the Bookbinders in Jericho for the past 7 years.
Previously it was a pretty ramshackle and rough around the edges - 'lived in' and rarely deep-cleaned, I'd guess.
The 2019 re-vamp sees polished wooden floors at the front, new furniture and new lighting, generally smartening the place up.  The garden to the rear has been made a much more welcoming space.
In the past there was a run of hand pumps along the bar, but this has now been reduced and I've called in twice so far to only find Black Sheep 'Best Bitter' available.  And heftily priced at £4.60 a pint. 
The menu features French street food, which is different, but which I haven't sampled as yet.

For the time being, I'll put my judgement on the James Street Tavern on hold.
Y'see, I quite like my ramshackle, tatty boozers and think pubs will get very dull if they're all gentrified.  But at the end of the day, if it wasn't packing the crowds in, they need to change something if it's to keep existing as a pub.  That's why the Up In Arms is dramatically different to the Somerset which simply didn't appeal to enough people to pay the bills.

Just please don't smarten up the Star on Rectory Road, which is one of the few places remaining that reminds me of pubs I used to frequent back in my student days!