Best of Oxford for Locals

The pubs locals actually go to

You can tell a tourist pub from a local pub by whether anyone at the bar knows each other's name. Here are the ones where they do:

• The Gardeners Arms — vegetarian pub in Plantation Road, Jericho. Tiny, eccentric, no reservations. This is a pub that couldn't exist anywhere but Oxford.
• The Rose and Crown — North Parade Avenue. Proper local with a proper garden. The Morse crowd are gone by evening; after 8pm it's residents.
• The Chester Arms — Chester Street, off Cowley Road. Craft beer, excellent pizza, and a clientele that actually lives within walking distance.
• The Rusty Bicycle — Cowley Road. Young professional crowd, good food, better cocktails than most pubs deserve.
• The Star — Rectory Road. The pub you wouldn't find unless someone told you about it. No website, no social media, just beer and regulars.
• The Half Moon — St Clement's. Unfussy, unpretentious, and the fish and chips are exactly what you want.

Skip the Turf Tavern on a weekend unless you enjoy queuing. Skip the Eagle and Child unless you're genuinely interested in the Inklings. Both are fine pubs ruined by their own fame.

Where locals eat

• The Magdalen Arms — British cooking at its best. The set menu is extraordinary value. This is where Oxford chefs eat on their night off.
• Oli's Thai — Cowley Road. The national awards aren't a fluke. Queue early or book ahead.
• Kazbar — still good after all these years. Sharing plates, cocktails, lanterns.
• Barefoot Kitchen — Indian street food done properly. Small, packed, worth the wait.
• Branca — the Jericho Italian that locals have been going to for twenty years. The brunch is a weekend institution.

The walks you do weekly

• Port Meadow — flat, ancient, different every time depending on the floods, the light, and whether the horses are out.
• Riverside Cherwell — through University Parks and along the river. The most beautiful short walk in the city.
• Oxford Canal — north from Hythe Bridge through Jericho towards Wolvercote. Narrowboats, herons, silence.
• Thames Path — south from Folly Bridge. Especially good in autumn.

Parkruns

Oxford has three and they're all different:

• Cutteslowe — flat, fast, friendly. The big one.
• Hinksey — hilly and muddy. The tough one.
• Shotover — trail running through ancient woodland. The beautiful one.

The coffee

Missing Bean on Turl Street is the default for the city centre. Jericho Coffee Traders for Jericho. Society Cafe on St Michael's Street if you want space to work. Truck Store on Cowley Road for the east side.

Don't go to Starbucks. Oxford has the highest concentration of independent coffee shops per capita in England. Act accordingly.

Swimming

Hinksey Outdoor Pool in summer — heated, open-air, and utterly glorious on a warm day. Port Meadow has wild swimming spots but check the water quality. Tumbling Bay in Botley is the locals' secret — a hidden bathing area on a backwater of the Thames.

The real Covered Market

Locals use the Covered Market for cheese (the Oxford Cheese Company), bread, flowers, and a quick lunch from the Greek stall. Not for Instagram — for Tuesday lunch.