163 Iffley Road, OX4 1EJ
Greene King
🕒 Limited opening hours ⚽ Sports on TV
The Oxford Blue
32 Marston Street, OX4 3JU - web
🍴 Food 🔆 Outdoor seating
🕒 Limited opening hours (evenings only, closed at the start of the week)
This had a spell as the 'Oxford Blue Smokehouse'- a time when I considered it one of the cities lost pubs, fully dedicated to eating. In 2018 it was given a new lease of life by Charles Wells, joining their small rank of "Pizza Pots and Pints" outlets. In 2024 it is being run by the Green Box Food Co.
Its a modernised pub with large tables, smart leather cushioned bench seating, and polished wooden floors. Board games are available in what is generally a quiet environment, with no loud music or TVs to distract.
On our visit, the food consisted of small plates and (pretty superb) pizza, everything being 100% plant-based. The cask ale had gone, with taps offering Brewpoint pale ale and IPA, alongside the usual pub drinks fare.
A sister pub of the Rickety Press in Jericho - the set up here is much the same. Located on a corner in the residential streets half way between Cowley Road and Iffley Road, this was previously known as The Eagle. Arkell's brewery tastefully converted it into a student-friendly spot for pizza and beer. Inside there is one spacious room, whilst there is a heated back garden and a few tables out the front. Quality pizza is on offer, plus decent real ales and craft offerings from the Swindon brewer. Keep an eye out for special events - both the Rusty Bicycle and Rickety Press have held street parties with live music, ale and BBQs in the past couple of years.
The craft ale taps at the rear of the bar are made of donated parts of bicycles.
The Chester Arms
19 Chester Street, OX4 1SN - web
Punch Taverns
🍴 Food 🔆 Outdoor seating
After a number of years closed, this corner local reopened in 2015 with a view to being an asset to the residents in the vicinity. Comfortable, serving some good beers and offering up a quality menu which has made it popular with diners.
A couple of hand-pumps dispense real ale, often including a beer from Loose Cannon, and these are supplemented by several craft offerings on tap.
The Tree Hotel
63 Church Way, OX4 4EY - web
Omshanti Group
🍴 Food, Indian menu 🔆 Garden
Looking little like a pub as you approach through Iffley Village, the Tree is perched above the road looking like a large residential house. You'll find the entrance to bar around the back, via the car park.
The Tree is a small hotel with nine rooms, restaurant, and bar. The L-shaped bar retains the feel of a pub, serves a couple of well-kept real ales, and you're able to order the well-regarding Indian and Bangladeshi food in this area.
🍺 Beer Festival - Several beer festivals have taken place, utilising the lovely garden, as well as an Oktoberfest party.
The Duke of Monmouth
260 Abingdon Road, OX1 4TA - web
Greene King
🍴 Food ⚽ Sports on TV
🎱 Pool Table 🔆 Outdoor seating
A 1930's suburban pub built for one-time Oxford brewery Hall's - there is a striking concrete brewery motif on the top right corner of the frontage.
Refurnished in 20187, this is a sprawling pub half way down Abingdon Road. It caters to a wide range of clientele: the front bar is a little quieter, whilst the rear extension is a winner for the sports fan with TVs everywhere, including at the end of table booths - your own little private screen.
Beers are pretty generic Greene King fare, although I have seen seasonal brews and guest ales and we've also come across some good ciders here on occasion.
Home
200 Abingdon Road, OX1 4RA - web
🍴 Food
Hard to keep up with this Abingdon Road pub, which has opened and closed a fare few times in recent years. When I first arrived in Oxford this one-time Morrell's ale house had been renamed the Crooked Pot and was being run by Greene King. It was one of the 'livelier' pubs I encountered on my first excursions around all the pubs of the city!
Since then it has had a couple of short-lived reinventions as a smart gastro-pub. After several variations on the name, the latest owners opened it as Home in the summer of 2024.
The Slow & Steady
38 Abingdon Road, OX4 4PD
Dodo Pub Co.
🍴 Food 🎮 Arcade games
It's a 10-minute stroll from the city centre, past Christ Church College and across the Thames.
This has had a few incarnations whilst I've been in Oxford - it was a Wadworth pub called the White House until 2019 when it was taken over by the local Tap Social Brewery.
Tap Social have since opened a venue in the Covered Market, which may have influenced their decision to depart from the White House and hand over the reigns to Dodo, this being their fourth pub in the city.
This is a cracking little pub on a corner opposite the University Rugby Grounds - an easy walk into the eastern suburbs from Oxford's High Street.
The bar is at street-level with a handful of stools and shelves, with TV screens above the window alcove showing sports. More seating is up a few steps on a mezzanine level with two separate rooms. The most is made of Greene Kings guest ale policy, as evidenced by the pump clips decorating the walls and ceiling.
Time your visit right, as the Fir Tree doesn't open until 4pm, although they do operate into the small hours of the morning on Friday and Saturday nights.
The bar is at street-level with a handful of stools and shelves, with TV screens above the window alcove showing sports. More seating is up a few steps on a mezzanine level with two separate rooms. The most is made of Greene Kings guest ale policy, as evidenced by the pump clips decorating the walls and ceiling.
Time your visit right, as the Fir Tree doesn't open until 4pm, although they do operate into the small hours of the morning on Friday and Saturday nights.
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| Somewhere behind the flea market is the Magdalen Arms |
The Magdalen Arms
243 Iffley Road, OX4 1SU
🍴 Food available 🛒 Shop!
Every bit the community pub, in the sort of community that pops by for a £7 loaf of artisan house bread. Signage on the front window advertises the Magdalen Arms as "Pub, Shop, Emporium". They have a monthly flea market. And a small shop, housed in the front right corner of the pub, which seemed to mostly contain authentic Italian pasta and canned tomatoes.
The rear section is set up for dining,the Magdalen Arms having a good reputation for its food offering. A handful of tables to the front, surrounded by interesting artwork and a box of vinyl LPs for sale, are fine to sit on and grab a coffee or beer. They have four hand pumps serving real ale from a range of national brewers such as Timothy Taylor and Castle Rock. When last sampled, these were served in top condition, but don't expect any bargain prices.
243 Iffley Road, OX4 1SU
🍴 Food available 🛒 Shop!
Every bit the community pub, in the sort of community that pops by for a £7 loaf of artisan house bread. Signage on the front window advertises the Magdalen Arms as "Pub, Shop, Emporium". They have a monthly flea market. And a small shop, housed in the front right corner of the pub, which seemed to mostly contain authentic Italian pasta and canned tomatoes.
The rear section is set up for dining,the Magdalen Arms having a good reputation for its food offering. A handful of tables to the front, surrounded by interesting artwork and a box of vinyl LPs for sale, are fine to sit on and grab a coffee or beer. They have four hand pumps serving real ale from a range of national brewers such as Timothy Taylor and Castle Rock. When last sampled, these were served in top condition, but don't expect any bargain prices.
32 Marston Street, OX4 3JU - web
🍴 Food 🔆 Outdoor seating
🕒 Limited opening hours (evenings only, closed at the start of the week)
This had a spell as the 'Oxford Blue Smokehouse'- a time when I considered it one of the cities lost pubs, fully dedicated to eating. In 2018 it was given a new lease of life by Charles Wells, joining their small rank of "Pizza Pots and Pints" outlets. In 2024 it is being run by the Green Box Food Co.
Its a modernised pub with large tables, smart leather cushioned bench seating, and polished wooden floors. Board games are available in what is generally a quiet environment, with no loud music or TVs to distract.
On our visit, the food consisted of small plates and (pretty superb) pizza, everything being 100% plant-based. The cask ale had gone, with taps offering Brewpoint pale ale and IPA, alongside the usual pub drinks fare.
The Rusty Bicycle
28 Marston Street, OX4 1JU - web
Arkells
🍴 🍔🍕 Food 🔆 Outdoor seating
28 Marston Street, OX4 1JU - web
Arkells
🍴 🍔🍕 Food 🔆 Outdoor seating
A sister pub of the Rickety Press in Jericho - the set up here is much the same. Located on a corner in the residential streets half way between Cowley Road and Iffley Road, this was previously known as The Eagle. Arkell's brewery tastefully converted it into a student-friendly spot for pizza and beer. Inside there is one spacious room, whilst there is a heated back garden and a few tables out the front. Quality pizza is on offer, plus decent real ales and craft offerings from the Swindon brewer. Keep an eye out for special events - both the Rusty Bicycle and Rickety Press have held street parties with live music, ale and BBQs in the past couple of years.The craft ale taps at the rear of the bar are made of donated parts of bicycles.
19 Chester Street, OX4 1SN - web
Punch Taverns
🍴 Food 🔆 Outdoor seating
After a number of years closed, this corner local reopened in 2015 with a view to being an asset to the residents in the vicinity. Comfortable, serving some good beers and offering up a quality menu which has made it popular with diners.
A couple of hand-pumps dispense real ale, often including a beer from Loose Cannon, and these are supplemented by several craft offerings on tap.
The Isis Farmhouse
River Tow Path, OX4 0EL
🕒 Limited opening hours - check before visiting
🍴 Food 🔆 Large Garden
One of the most spectacularly located pubs in the city. The Isis is not on a road and can only be reached by the river towpath. Its remoteness is the reason for the restricted opening hours. The pub is split into two rooms and serves as coffee shop, cafe, bar and restaurant. Ale comes straight from the barrel and is usually supplied by the local Shotover brewery. Popular in good weather when the multitude of tables outside become busy.
River Tow Path, OX4 0EL
🕒 Limited opening hours - check before visiting
🍴 Food 🔆 Large Garden
One of the most spectacularly located pubs in the city. The Isis is not on a road and can only be reached by the river towpath. Its remoteness is the reason for the restricted opening hours. The pub is split into two rooms and serves as coffee shop, cafe, bar and restaurant. Ale comes straight from the barrel and is usually supplied by the local Shotover brewery. Popular in good weather when the multitude of tables outside become busy.
Iffley Village
The Prince of Wales
73 Church Way, Iffley Village, OX4 4EF - web
Wadworth
🍴 Food 🔆 Outdoor seating
Iffley Village has a rural feel to it, despite the fact that you're within the city limits and the Prince of Wales is very much a relaxed village pub, offering up Wadworth ales. They have a good food menu, although prices were a little on the higher side. The Sunday roasts are highly spoken of.
To the front is a paved parking area; to the side and rear there is outdoor seating, some covered, and an Aunt Sally is played to the rear.
73 Church Way, Iffley Village, OX4 4EF - web
Wadworth
🍴 Food 🔆 Outdoor seating
Iffley Village has a rural feel to it, despite the fact that you're within the city limits and the Prince of Wales is very much a relaxed village pub, offering up Wadworth ales. They have a good food menu, although prices were a little on the higher side. The Sunday roasts are highly spoken of.
To the front is a paved parking area; to the side and rear there is outdoor seating, some covered, and an Aunt Sally is played to the rear.
63 Church Way, OX4 4EY - web
Omshanti Group
🍴 Food, Indian menu 🔆 Garden
Looking little like a pub as you approach through Iffley Village, the Tree is perched above the road looking like a large residential house. You'll find the entrance to bar around the back, via the car park.
The Tree is a small hotel with nine rooms, restaurant, and bar. The L-shaped bar retains the feel of a pub, serves a couple of well-kept real ales, and you're able to order the well-regarding Indian and Bangladeshi food in this area.
🍺 Beer Festival - Several beer festivals have taken place, utilising the lovely garden, as well as an Oktoberfest party.
Abingdon Road
260 Abingdon Road, OX1 4TA - web
Greene King
🍴 Food ⚽ Sports on TV
🎱 Pool Table 🔆 Outdoor seating
A 1930's suburban pub built for one-time Oxford brewery Hall's - there is a striking concrete brewery motif on the top right corner of the frontage.
Refurnished in 20187, this is a sprawling pub half way down Abingdon Road. It caters to a wide range of clientele: the front bar is a little quieter, whilst the rear extension is a winner for the sports fan with TVs everywhere, including at the end of table booths - your own little private screen.
Beers are pretty generic Greene King fare, although I have seen seasonal brews and guest ales and we've also come across some good ciders here on occasion.
200 Abingdon Road, OX1 4RA - web
🍴 Food
Hard to keep up with this Abingdon Road pub, which has opened and closed a fare few times in recent years. When I first arrived in Oxford this one-time Morrell's ale house had been renamed the Crooked Pot and was being run by Greene King. It was one of the 'livelier' pubs I encountered on my first excursions around all the pubs of the city!
Since then it has had a couple of short-lived reinventions as a smart gastro-pub. After several variations on the name, the latest owners opened it as Home in the summer of 2024.
38 Abingdon Road, OX4 4PD
Dodo Pub Co.
🍴 Food 🎮 Arcade games
It's a 10-minute stroll from the city centre, past Christ Church College and across the Thames.
This has had a few incarnations whilst I've been in Oxford - it was a Wadworth pub called the White House until 2019 when it was taken over by the local Tap Social Brewery.
Tap Social have since opened a venue in the Covered Market, which may have influenced their decision to depart from the White House and hand over the reigns to Dodo, this being their fourth pub in the city.
The bar is on the ground floor, offering a couple of local cask ales, plus a craft selection which usually features some of the Tap Social brews. Catering to a wide audience, they offer a good cup of coffee and cakes, alongside a full menu. There is outdoor seating in front of the pub, or to the side where you can get a bit further away from the busy main road.
Whilst I'm not completely convinced by the name change, Dodo can be applauded for re-opening the upstairs area. You'll find a small games area with table football and several retro arcade machines, then a grand hall-like room.
Whilst I'm not completely convinced by the name change, Dodo can be applauded for re-opening the upstairs area. You'll find a small games area with table football and several retro arcade machines, then a grand hall-like room.
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| Upstairs at the Slow & Steady |
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