Living Your Best Pub Life in Oxford

One of us recently offered help to a couple looking at a map on Broad Street. (One of our favourite things to do to make ourselves feel at home in a new place is to give directions; sometimes they’re even right!) They were looking for a good pub. Well. This is a tricky business, as pubs come in all shapes and sizes and Oxford has many excellent ones. And post-COVID many of the old standards are closed either temporarily or permanently. Here are three we recommend, each with great food and unique charms, followed by a bit of the lingo so you know what you’re doing if you are new to all this.

The Turf Tavern

One of the oldest in town, and looks it. Lots of little bitty rooms, dark and timbered, dating back to the fourteenth century. Oozing with charm (which is not a phrase we use often). It feels like the perfect place to plot a revolution. Great beers on tap and a solid menu catering to different tastes.

Head of the River

A classic Oxford pub, with lovely outdoor tables for when the weather is fine. We also like it when the weather is not fine. (It was our local pub for a year and so we have our preferred seat near the fire.) Nice wine list, good specials, superb fish platter, and rooms upstairs in case you can’t make it home.

The Perch

Not in Oxford proper but in Binsey, a village half an hour’s walk away through the Port Meadow. Best if you feel like you ought to earn your Sunday roast, if it’s a gorgeous day, and if you have time to spare. This is also the place to bring a dog, as their large outdoor garden is spectacular. Be sure to make a booking; there are tables outside for walk-ins but they fill up fast.

Terms of art:

What is a pub? They exist across the UK and are a cross between a bar and a restaurant. You are as likely to see a family or an older couple as partiers or sports fans (depending on the night). Indeed, families often arrive together but sit with agemates. Their menus are typically smaller than those of restaurants, and pubs are often cosy, with stone walls and a fireplace or a garden.

The local pub is the one you go to regularly, at least once a week. It’s close to where you live but not necessarily the closest, because they might favour a different football (=soccer) team and then you’d always be getting into fights. It ought to be a place where you feel comfortable and where the bartender is the right mix of friendly and unintrusive. If you want to talk to people, sit at the bar.

Gastropubs have taken over in the UK. Many of our friends here think they are ghastly-pubs, as they have changed pub culture. It used to be the case that a pub focused on drinking and for food had only crisps (=potato chips) or nuts. Now most serve food, from English standards like fish and chips, pies and pasties, and shepherd’s pie, to soups, pasta, and salads. We like food, as you know, but we do wish we could find one of the old sort in Oxford. Many pubs are now owned by large corporations, which also makes them feel slightly less authentic (not that you’d notice as a casual visitor).

What you order in a pub, and how: a pint or a half-pint of beer or cider. Wine too, which is sold by ml, so you know exactly how much you are getting. Most gastropubs make specialty cocktails or drinks like Pimm’s cup, but it’s safest to stick to the ones on the menu. (For a real cocktail you will want a bar.) Liquor is sold by the shot: you pay for it and sometimes get a mixer free. Some pubs have a substantial selection of gins and whiskies. You can also, as we’ve noted, order food throughout the day. All of this you will do at the bar (i.e. there is no table service), sometimes in two separate queues (=lines) for food and drink. Most of the pubs we have been in recently have apps that allow you to order by phone.

Hours: pubs typically open at around 12 and close at around 11 pm. But licensing laws have relaxed recently and some pubs, those which are more like bars, stay open later (in London, through the night).

Have at it, and enjoy!