"Sir, would you look at that!?!"

"I know, Lewis, another bloody plastic lager station."

I began this pub guide in 1998 with the view to judge Oxford's pubs on the quality and range of their real ale and their genuine pub atmosphere. By April 2005, all the extant pubs in Oxford and a few close surrounding villages had been reviewed. Many of these have since closed or have changed names or character significantly in this time.
Any out of date information is humbly apologised for and I try to keep the Guide as current and accurate as I can when I have time to do it. Major updates are often months apart, however, and some reviews may be many years out of date. The opinions expressed here are purely my own, I work for no reviewing company, do not announce my presence, do not accept free beer, etc., and expect many people, especially people who run the pubs, to disagree with me. All comments and reviews are welcome, at the above address. The definition of what is a "pub" is also my own, and I might extend this further with time to exclude other bars. For links and some of the terminology used in the guide, see the Oxford Pub Guide terminology.

Oxford Pub Star Assessment

Total pubs
visited so far: 139

Excellent beer and atmosphere. Visit now, dammit!

11

Plan your journey around this kind of pub.

26

Standard boozer. Usually worth a look.

57

Poor. Visit a better pub nearby unless forced.

27

Abysmal. Shoot landlord, burn down and run away.

19

Star taken off on recent visit. Fallen from grace.

Star added on recent visit. Going up in the world.

PUBS CLOSED SINCE GUIDE STARTED:

36

CENTRAL OXFORD PUBS
Town Centre, Oxpens, Jericho, Walton Manor.

NORTH OXFORD PUBS
Summertown, Wolvercote, Wytham.

WEST OXFORD PUBS
Osney, Botley, Binsey.

SOUTH OXFORD PUBS
The Hinkseys, Grandpont, Iffley, Rose Hill,
Littlemore, Blackbird Leys, Sandford-on-Thames

EAST OXFORD PUBS
St Clement's, Cowley and Iffley Roads, Marston,
Cowley, Headington, Wood Farm, Barton

ALL OXFORD PUBS
List of star ratings only for all areas.

RECENTLY UPDATED PUBS
List of recent changes for regular readers.