The Fox and Hounds, Christmas Common - pub details
Address: Christmas Common, Watlington, Oxfordshire, OX49 5HL [map] [gmap]
Tel: 0871 951 1000 (ref 4978) - calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras
Pub facilities/features:
- Food served, Real ale
Pub suggested by pete on 21 Oct 2003
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> Current user rating: 4.3/10 (rated by 29 users)
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other pubs nearby:
Carriers Arms, Watlington (1.5 miles), Fox and Hounds, Watlington (1.7 miles), Crown, Pishill (1.8 miles), Chequers, Watlington (1.9 miles)
user reviews of the Fox and Hounds, Christmas Common
please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
5 most recent reviews of 26 shown - see all reviews
| Since new management in May 11, this pub has improved significantly. it used to be over priced and the staff were not welcoming. That has changed. The food is of excellent quality, and the staff are welcoming. Prices are now fair and the ale well kept. A great pub both on a summer's evening and on a dark damp winter's day. HughandGill - 15 Jul 2011 10:46 |
| What a difference a change of landlord makes. "Under new management" the blackboard at the roadside boasts, because from the reviews below, that's probably the most important thing to say. The top Fox now is a force to be reckoned with, and thank goodness. So welcome to the new landlords - it's great that there is now someone behind the bar who actually likes being there and who welcomes customers into the pub. Good luck. We'll certainly be back. Wotters - 15 May 2011 22:27 |
| Hoping for an ownership change! After a long bike ride we decided to stop for snacks. The prices were exhorbitant! One Coke and a packet of crisps was £4.30, more than I have ever paid in London. We sat outside with our pricey goods and when a couple of people got out their own sandwiches the owner marched out and yelled rudely. Now we did not have a problem with someone asking they be put away and not consumed on his property, but all he had to do was ask nicely! But he did not even attempt to be friendly about it. Just flat out rude. After spending over £20 for about £2 worth (to him) you might think the patronage was appreciated. And we would have been happy to simply put the sandwiches away, if asked in a civil manner. He told us flat out he didn't care about losing our business. I had eaten lunch here fairly recently and thought the food was good if over-priced. The atmosphere is nice in the old part of the pub... but with a rude owner who doesn't give a flying you-know-what about customers, we won't go back and have been telling our fellow bike riders not to go. Shame as it's a good location for us. (We love the Five Horseshoes nearby in Maidensgrove!) chickpea13 - 26 Apr 2011 11:56 |
| We ate here last year just after it had been taken over and we put the standoffishness of the owner down to nerves as we were quite a big party, however our return trip was even worse. The man in charge is rude and unwelcoming and the food of a middling standard, there's much better to be had at the Lambert Arms down the hill. We could overlook it if everyone looked like they were trying but the atmosphere doesn't seem quite right and the owner lets his fairly studious team down. goodtimes79 - 21 Mar 2011 20:04 |
| The Fox and Hounds is in the middle of the pretty hamlet of Christmas Common - in the middle of the Chilterns, so popular with walkers. The hills that is ... not the pub. And oh what a shame. It's a pretty building, but as soon as you walk in the writing is on the wall - or rather the beams."No tabs" it says "please don't ask". And there was me thinking I was the customer. Was there a long list of other questions which were banned in the pub? And so it went on. A large drinks order for two families who had stopped en route walking in the hills (and don't they know how to charge?) was followed with the request to order a couple of snacks. There aren't bar snacks, but we were asking for a couple of starters to keep hungry boys' tummies at bay. The first barman referred me to the second, and the second looked at me as if I was something the cat had dragged in. No she'd have to ask the third barman. The third asked me if I was "the party of seven" motioning towards the side room we were occupying and counting seven of us I confirmed we were. "So are you ready to order then?" he asked. I was. But the second barmaid refused to take my order at the bar and insisted she came to our table. Only she didn't. Barman number three turned up and told us we weren't the party of seven he had in mind, and he couldn't serve us food. "We can't take walk-ins" he said (I thought the term was "walkers", "ramblers" perhaps, but no, we were the restaurant equivalent of "walk-ins"). Not even a couple of bowls of chips we asked? No. It's unsurprising the Top Fox as the Fox & Hounds is known locally (to differentiate it from the Fox and Hounds at the bottom of the hill in Watlington) has such a poor reputation amongst the locals in Watlington. Perhaps its proximty to the M40 and as the carpark proved, it can make a business out of Londoners coming out to the country. But don't go there if you're after local hospitality. Don't go there unless you've booked. And don't go there if you're after not just bonhomie, but the simple courtesy you'd expect from someone in the hospitality industry Wotters - 12 Mar 2011 18:41 |
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