Best Pubs in Oxford

Oldest pubs

Ranked by building or licence date. Oxford has more medieval-fabric pubs than any city of its size in England.

1. The Bear Inn (1242)

   Oxford's oldest pub. On Alfred Street, just off the High. Famous for its 4,500-strong tie collection (members of clubs, colleges, and military regiments donate snippets of their ties) and recently expanded into the cottage next door.

2. Turf Tavern (medieval building; pub since c.1775)

   Hidden down a medieval alleyway behind the Bodleian, accessible via St Helen's Passage or Bath Place. The kind of pub you only find by accident — and never quite know how to leave.

3. The Lamb and Flag (1566)

   Owned by St John's College since the 16th century. Unpretentious, beer-focused, the pub the Inklings switched to when the Eagle and Child got too crowded.

4. The Trout Inn (17th century)

   A 17th-century coaching inn perched over a weir at Wolvercote — peacocks on the lawn, Thames running under the terrace. Worth the walk or the bus.

5. The White Horse (16th century)

   Squeezed between Blackwell's bookshop and the Bodleian on Broad Street. Tiny — capacity feels about twenty — but the ale range rotates well.

Literary pubs

Picked by direct, sourced association with Oxford's writers — not by atmosphere alone.

1. The Eagle and Child — the Inklings

   Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams and the rest of the Inklings met here every Tuesday from the 1930s through 1962 to read drafts aloud — including chapters of The Lord of the Rings and the Narnia books. Currently closed pending a long restoration; check before walking up St Giles'.

2. The Lamb and Flag — Inklings later years

   When the Bird & Baby became too cramped, the Inklings crossed St Giles' and switched to the Lamb. The back room they used is now part of the main bar.

3. The Trout Inn — Inspector Morse

   Inspector Morse's local in Colin Dexter's novels and the long-running ITV series, used as Morse's preferred thinking spot. Lewis Carroll also picnicked at Godstow nearby — the day he first told the Alice story.

4. The Masons Arms — C.S. Lewis's local

   The neighbourhood pub in Headington Quarry, opposite Holy Trinity Church where Lewis is buried with his brother Warnie. A proper village pub in what feels like a different town from the centre.

5. The Bear Inn — the tie collection

   Not associated with a single writer but with the city's literary clubs — many of the ties pinned to the walls come from college literary societies and Oxford writing groups going back nearly a century.

Riverside and waterside pubs

All five sit directly on water — the Thames, the Cherwell, or the canal. No "by the river" stretches here.

1. The Trout Inn — over a weir on the Thames

   The terrace is literally on top of a weir at Wolvercote. Watch the river churn beneath your pint. Twenty-minute walk from the Plough at Wolvercote, or the 6 bus from Magdalen Street.

2. The Perch — Port Meadow

   Thatched, low-beamed, set in a big garden on the Thames at Binsey. The walk across Port Meadow to get here is half the experience — twenty minutes from Walton Well Road.

3. The Isis Farmhouse — Iffley Lock, no road access

   The one pub you genuinely can't drive to. Walk from Iffley village along the towpath, or arrive by boat. Sandwiches, ale, and a sense that you've left the city entirely.

4. The Head of the River — Folly Bridge terrace

   The largest riverside terrace in the city, on the Thames at Folly Bridge. Tourist-heavy but for good reason — the view down the river toward Christ Church Meadow is hard to beat on a summer evening.

5. The Old Bookbinders — canal-side, Jericho

   Tucked on Victor Street, a few yards from the Oxford Canal. Small, candlelit, French-inflected bistro food in an intimate setting. Not big but easy to find a quiet corner.

Real ale and proper pints

Five pubs known for tight, rotating cask ranges rather than mass-market keg. Picks based on each pub's own reputation as documented on its OxfordLocal page; CAMRA's current Good Beer Guide selection may differ.

1. The Royal Blenheim — St Ebbes

   The most ale-focused pub in the city centre. Just off the main tourist trail in St Ebbes — six or seven cask lines, a constantly rotating guest list, and serious about cellar work.

2. The White Horse — Broad Street

   Tiny but tightly run. Three or four cask lines kept in excellent condition, with the range turning over fast enough that regulars come back to see what's new.

3. The Lamb and Flag — St Giles'

   St John's-owned, no fuss, proper beer. The kind of pub that doesn't try to be anything other than a good pub. Reopened in 2022 after a closure.

4. The Star — off Cowley Road

   A fiercely loved backstreet local on Rectory Road. The kind of place communities organise to keep open. Proper ales, good plain food, and a beer garden that fills on a sunny afternoon.

5. The Rose and Crown — North Parade

   North Parade's anchor — landlord knows every regular, ales kept right, garden out back. The kind of pub that quietly outlasts trends.

Live music and character venues

For when the pub is a means to a band, a DJ, or a late night out.

1. The Jericho Tavern — Radiohead's first gig

   Radiohead (then On a Friday) played their first gig in the upstairs room on Walton Street. Still the main small-venue stage in Oxford for touring indie and folk acts.

2. The Cape of Good Hope — The Plain

   The gateway pub to east Oxford, perched on The Plain roundabout where Cowley, Iffley and St Clement's meet. Regular live music, friendly local feel, late closing.

3. The Half Moon — St Clement's

   A no-frills St Clement's local where the quiz is taken seriously. Folk and Irish nights, cheap drinks, regulars who've been coming for decades.

4. The Library — Cowley Road late-night

   Cowley Road's unrepentant late-night favourite — cheap cocktails, sticky floor, DJs through to closing. Not for the precious.

5. The Rickety Press — Cranham Street

   Jericho's brunch-to-cocktails all-day spot, with DJs Friday and Saturday and a crowd that crosses over from the Phoenix Picturehouse next door.