The Easington, Banbury

Standard Ember Inn, so you will likely know what to expect: a partly opened-out interior with a mix of fairly anonymous seating / dining areas with furniture and decor somewhere between semi-traditional and semi-modern. In this respect you would be right, but this chain also usually offers a reasonable selection of real ales too. Arriving here, this initially appeared to be the case, with all eight handpumps clipped for different beers. However, on closer inspection, four were supposedly 'In the cellar or 'Coming soon', and two others had appeared to have run out during the evening, leaving just Doom Bar (surprisingly just £2.89) and Rev. James.

This pub is a long schlep uphill from the town centre ,so it may be easier to catch a bus if crawling the real ale outlets.The building is unremarkable ,and Ember Inns have done the full corporate internal makeover ,it's open plan with chintzy wallpaper,a coal affect gas fire to the right with flatscreen above,lots of gaming machines,a rank of high tables to the left and a raised area with fitted high bench seating opposite the bar,which is the haunt of the few people drinking all day with most other tables occupied by diners on my Thursday lunchtime visit,including a rear raised area. There is a commitment to real ale here and on entry you are met by three handpumps drawing the regular ales Bateman's Silver Hare,Brakspear Bitter and Old Hooky.Make sure you push past these pumps and inspect the further 8 handpumps down the long side of the bar where,besides the regulars doubled up,there were guests from Daleside Leg Over,Liberation Blonde,Wadsworth 6X,Red Squirrel Legally Blonde and Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted (very decent shape) which are all drawn from the Ember seasonal ale list and the cask marque seemed warranted. Too corporate and sterile to be a pub for a long beer driven session but a decent selection of ale make this pub worth visiting,especially given the paucity of real ale options in town.The regular quiz night might result in a more pubby atmosphere some evenings.

Still very much as review below. A well-kept Ember Inn with very heavy food trade, but enthusiastic about beer and seems to carry a very good range in fine form.