The New Oxford, Salford

Official site of The New Oxford - www.thenewoxford.com

Official site of The New Oxford - www.thenewoxford.com

A decent pub and definitely has the best real ale selection in the area. Plenty of different styles available so something for everyone to choose from. There is also a giant blackboard listing their bottled offerings. The only downside is that it's difficult to get a seat when it's busy, and because they have so many pumps it can be difficult to take them all in, especially when people are crowded round the bar. There is a separate blackboard listing the cask ales, but not sure if this is kept bang up to date as we struggled to locate some of the ones listed (we had already ordered by that point, but were just being nosey). Friendly staff and good beer choice - definitely worth a look.

Located in Bexley Square, next to Salford Town Hall, the New Oxford is arguably the premier alehouse on either side of the Irwell. It certainly stakes a good claim thanks to what I think amounted to 18 hand pumps, although I may easily have miscounted. Ale options in the front bar on my recent visit were Beer Studio Mount Lublin, Wells Bombardier Pale Ale, Slaters Queen Bee, Bude Porthbud Pale Ale, Purple Moose Elderflower Ale, Green Duck Rain Dance, Tigertops Night Train, Empire Porter, Chadwicks Dark Side and Dorking Number One, with a load more on the pumps in the rear bar, all handily listed on boards opposite the bar. These boards also noted three cider options and a good keg range which included plenty of obscure Belgian beers - a feature of the pub, with many more Belgian offerings in bottled form. I tried a pint of the Rain Dance (£3.30), served to me by a very friendly old school landlady and in pretty good shape - not always a given in pubs with so many handpulls. It is perhaps fitting that the pub offers a large range of Belgian beers, given that the main bar feels a bit like a typical Belgian 'brown bar'. A corner entrance takes you into a bare boarded L-shaped room with some nice checker tiling around the servery. The bar has a tongue and groove counter lined with comfy bar stools, a simple mirrored bar back and a lovely stained glass gantry. Smart banquette seating runs opposite the bar and along the back wall, supported by some wide, well padded low stools, whilst a couple of high tables and stools are squeezed into the far corner of the room. The walls have been painted red with white uppers, much of which has been covered by the inevitable pump clip collection and those aforementioned beer boards. A few bits of breweriana, an Irish rugby scarf and some posters for live sports coverage round out the decor, which is for the most part kept simple but effective. The rear bar has a kitchen serving hatch on the back wall, but beyond that I couldn't properly explore as the room was in darkness with some of the seating stacked up, although some customers did go in there towards the end of my stay. TV screens in both rooms were showing At The Races and Sky Sports News with music playing in the background. This is a nice pub with friendly staff and locals and, of course, that beer line up. As beer exhibition pubs go, it certainly delivers and will no doubt be a big draw for real ale fans, beer tickers and Belgian beer aficionados, although whether it will appeal to anyone outside those niche groups is up for debate. I enjoyed my time here and would certainly like to visit again to give those handpulls a bit more of a workout.

A corker of a pub with about a billion handpumps spread over 2 rooms. A fantastic variety of ales to choose from and if you drink Belgian stuff you're in. Recommended.