please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Location - tick
Ale range & quality - tick
Prices - mmm, no tick.
Fair enough place, could be a lot worse. Doubt it's much to crow about outside summer.
Full Fullers ale range plus HSB, served well.
Worth a stop on a sunny day, but not essential in OX1.
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Visited on Saturday - very nice pub in lovely setting and the ale was excellent.
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Not a bad place to go - nice to sit by the river. Bar seemed a bit small though when taking account of the size of the place. Maybe I missed one....
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A decent pub, with a nice outdoors area, but with unnecessary anger if you try and move chairs between their tables!
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One of Oxford's best. Their Fullers beers are ideal summer thirst quenchers, there's a reasonable wine list and good [though not 'cheap'] down to earth food.
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Lovely location and great beer, 9/10
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If this the pub I'm thinking of the view is awesome. I would have taken a picture had I had the opportunity. The atmosphere is generally quite chilled out and refreshing - it is hard to believe this place and the Old Tom are in the same city. The beer is, also, nice which helps. To be honest I will give this place 10 out of 10 simply because I can't think of anything bad about it.
Will2 - 27 May 2007 22:56 |
You can see why this place is quite popular, its a fullers pub for a start, and plenty of sitting places outside near the river which is the appeal in the nicer weather. Found the ESB to be in good shape
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Well kept range of Fullers ales, nice to sit outside and watch the river go by
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Big old warehouse conversion. Great location - the beer garden spills right out onto the Thames. Little atmosphere, though. If you look carefully you can see the weird 'Satanic' carvings on the big red brick building on the other side of Folly Bridge.
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Spent a night here in October. The staff are brilliant. They made me feel right at home, were helpful and friendly.
As a pub - love the location on the river, staff were oustanding, solid pub grub and the Pride was in fine form. Had my first pint of HSB there. It was pleasantly busy the night I was there. It sounds like a victim of its own success on a warm summer day/night.
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Sometimes a victim of its own success in Summer, with its prominent and picturesque location on the bridge, but there should be enough space if you look hard enough.
Granted, the Head's food and drink is over-priced, and could so easily be the sole preserve of the hooray henry set. It is well-heeled and accented towards the middle-class, but without undue pretense, and I find it as welcoming as the next pub in the city. It lacks the earthiness of some say, some of the Jericho offerings, and is certainly more suit 'n' boot than cap 'n' bicycle. But it is a sound city pub and the ale is exceptionally well-kept, which takes it a long way with the likes of me. The Discovery here is indeed superb and can't be beaten on said summer days.
Depending on one's mood of the time, and the weather, this is worth keeping in mind.
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Overpriced, overrated and overpopulated.
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It must have changed hands since I was last in there!
As dbc and anon are spot on with their comments.
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Stayed here this weekend with my girlfriend. Gorgeous room with a corner view of the river, low ceiling with beams. Lovely. Very friendly staff, the landlord and landlady (Carol) are very nice and clearly know exactly how to run a pub. Breakfast was good stuff but full English needed beans!
Fullers beers were predictably excellent. Had dinner here also, and that was good.
Not a cheap place - basically central London prices - but you get what you pay for.
I will be back in summer to spend another weekend here.
anonymous - 16 Jan 2006 11:43 |
These comments about management do not tally with my own experience. When I was in Oxford in an unexpected four day booze up session with my mate Nongo, we were without somewhere to stay. The landlady here was full, but let us leave our bags with her while we went heavily on the beers elsewhere (although we did have a fine pint of Discovery ale with her), and even lent us an umbrella as it was raining! She then sorted us out a really good room at a quality B&B up the Abingdon Road with a reduced rate to boot.
The pub itself is very busy, lovely on a summer's day. Haven't tried the food but with Fuller's beers on tap who cares?
anonymous - 16 Dec 2005 12:56 |
No problems with the staff but this place charges like a wounded rhino! Fifteen quid for two drinks, a sandwich and a bowl of soup. On the up side the beer was excellent but on the down side the soup looked like something Oliver Twist would have turned down. Unfortunately don't expect any changes as the location draws punters by the hundred.
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Allegedly the most profitable pub in the Fuller's chain, yet the rudest bar managers in Oxford. Beer and food are over priced: a good pint costs £2.90 and the food is cr*p. Perfect setting for sadists!
anonymous - 22 Jun 2005 14:13 |
avoid - have never felt so unwelcome in a pub as in here. management have no concept of customer service, and a motley crew of 5 staff spent our 2 hours there (10 visitors having an early evening meal) muttering about us nder their breath and shooting us dirty looks. so bad it's not even funny.
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Great location, shame about the management. Sitting snarling at the customers is no way to run a pub - their dog was more friendly. Probably why it was empty at 8pm on a Saturday night.
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Rude staff and way overpriced. How could this pub get a higher rating than The Turf in town? Its a shame it has such a nice location, it would almost want to make you go there again if it wasn't for the comments above.
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I like the outside seating of this pub it's fantastic in the summer. Staff could be improved.
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I have found the managers of this pub to be rude, inconsiderate and down right nasty to customers.
Terry Jae - 18 Mar 2004 22:43 |
The Head of the River may allow children in but they hate rowers. If you are a rower and expecting to go there for a drink the next time you are out with your crew, be aware that you will be met with scowls!
Kross - 18 Mar 2004 00:49 |
Does anyone know if this pub allows children inside? They're fine outside (have eaten there with a 3y.o. and folks :-) ) but not sure about that.
Russell - 12 Feb 2004 18:48 |
There are few experiences more pleasurable than walking round Christ Church Meadow and along the River to the Head of the River, and sitting outside in the sun with a cold drink. The food is tasty if a little on the expensive side.
Only grouch is that this pub isn't so much fun inside, so it isn't worth the walk if the weather isn't good.
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Gorgeous pub in the summer to sit in next to the river,the beer is good and the food is'nt half bad. My only bitch is that the manager (at least I think he was) was a surly twat who just about threw our pints at us. Been a while since I have been there so hopefully he has gone.
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This pub is great! Maybe it's because I was on a weekend away, but it was the best afternoon of my life! OK, so it's not an incredibly original pub, but what do you expect?
What you get is good beer, friendly service, really tasty food - reasonably priced, I thought - sitting outside with a lovely view over the Thames. What mre could anyone want in life?
Roland Burton - 12 Jul 2003 12:01 |
This pub is one of the popular ones. A)because it was featured on Inspector Morse, and B)Because its right next to the river and has a nice view. The food is nice if a bit expensive for what it is, and the drinks are expensive too but in the summer what is better than sitting by the river watching the boats go by?
Lucy - 13 Jun 2003 11:06 |
