Oxford Retreat, Oxfordback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Had our office Chimbo party here and I have to say I loved it. Plenty of good ales on and a nice atmos and decor. Maybe the copious amounts of free company booze adds a rose tint to my specs though!!!
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Finally managed to go past here when it was open ! (Saturday lunchtime) The good news is that the number of real ales has doubled to 2. The bad news is that the second one (London Pride still available) is Doom Bar !
Inside it is bright and spacious, but also homely. There is a variety of seating areas from high stools to comfy sofas. Being in what is rapidly becoming the “far eastern quarter”, there were some Thai prints on the walls.
Food is available, indeed I suspect that is their main purpose. But, since I wasn’t planning to eat there, and there were no menus on the tables, I have no more details.
Beer isn’t cheap – two halves came to £4 ! But we did get it served in chunky glasses which looked suspiciously like they held more than a half.
It is difficult to see what market this place is being aimed at. The only thing I can think of is people heading from the station to town, who are desperate ! Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad pub. In fact in some places I can think of (e.g. Northwich) this would be the best pub in town. It’s just that there are so many other much better ones nearby.
5/10 – perfectly adequate
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With London Pride the only ale on tap and separated from the other beverages by yards of bar top, little finger lifting is being done here - although balance sheets, SWOT analyses, calculations of amortization etc. will all have been carried out efficiently by the accountants who masterminded the makeover since my first visit back in 2005. Bland but not horrifically so.
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Reliable pint of London Pride to be had here. Friendly bar staff. The comfy and large armchairs separate drinkers making it hard to talk above the hubbub. Gale through the back door, left open for the smokers, blows in cigarette smoke, so sit elsewhere. This pub is a bit soulless. Good, because it's nearest the station for a last beer, but the excellent Real brand of handcooked crisps they offer is insufficient reason to go out of your way to visit.
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Bit of a busy tourist trap I think but the London Pride went down a treat and wasn't overpriced.
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If it shows fartbore, it's not for me!
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Shows the football, but I felt uncomfortable on the two occasions I was unfortunate enough to end up here. Try the Honeypot around the corner if you need to stay in the area.
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Yeah, not bad. Food is good, if extortionately on a par with most places in Oxford. Nice burgers. Rrrrrrrrrubbish London Pride (which is all they have on draft ale front).
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An improvement on what was there before, a bit overpriced but nice sofas etc. Ok if you're in the area
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Its good, give it a try. Probably not to everyone's taste, but a nice warm place to go hide.
anonymous - 11 Dec 2006 12:10 |
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