St Aldates Tavern, Oxford

In the GBG Guide. Initially quiet. Big fan of the XT brews but the number 2 I had was in quite poor condition. Not bad enough to take it back but I expected a bit more. Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2tFIpRz

An attractive Georgian exterior houses a modern light and airy interior with wooden flooring and distressed bench seating as well described below. Decent beer range on offer which included Prescott Hill Climb and Brightside Brewing Co. Manchester Skyline but I also went for the XT2 and XT3 offerings which were in good nick.. Really enjoyed my visit here which I primarily attribute to the beer range, but may have had something to do with the fact that the couple of muted flat screen tele’s were showing England giving a drubbing to Pakistan in the cricket at the time.

The main features I liked about this pub along with my excellent pint of XT2, were the antique glass widow panes, with some original bulls eye panels. The granite fireplace over on the left hand side of entrance and the parquet floor. The bar was modern with a painted front and pine counter. Large black lamps also featured hanging over the bar counter. A decent pub, so well worth a visit.

Attractive exterior to the pub, once inside there is a more modern makeover with a mixture of styles and I found it to be a bit of a mish mash,however there are six pumps for real ale and although I managed to forget to note the beers on for some reason, I remember it to have been a a decent selection and my XT 3 was good enough. Its OK here and will happily return.

Currently owned by The City Pub Company, St Aldgates Tavern is an historic Georgian building which provides an atmospheric setting for an alehouse. Was once known as The Hobgoblin. Well described below, the décor has bedded in well since Quinno's review and now sits comfortably with the parquet floor in the front bar and the flags in the small dining area at the back. The staff are also a bit more switched on than before. The pub holds regular entertainment including being on the Pub Skeptics network. It is dog friendly and has free WiFi. Six ales on, three from Dark Star, two from Box Steam and one from XT. I had a pint of Tunnel Vision which was well kept and in perfect condition and justifies its recent inclusion in the GBG. Worth coming for lunch or an evening's libation and a valuable inclusion in a City crawl.

A lovely, traditional and welcoming exterior, complete with a board advertising fish and chips in various languages, opens into a comfortable one room space with the bar to the left at the end and a smaller area beyond. The decor and fixtures are all rustic but modern with mismatched, aged wood furniture including one long table made from an old pine door and a parquet floor. Each table is furnished with fresh flowers in different spirit bottles and a paper menu bulldog clipped to an old book. Nice touches and they make the place feel looked after. Mr. F below has described the food offerings well and the service was polite, efficient and friendly. In addition to a range of keg offerings, the hand pumps had on: Animal Brewing Bastard Bunny Brew Ha Ha, XT 6, Darkstar Hophead, Box Steam Tunnel Vision and Hook Norton Hooky. A decent selection across strength and styles and all that we tried was excellent. Worth noting though that the Brew Ha Ha at 7.2% came in at £4.30 and the Hophead at 3.8% was £3.65. Not cheap but perhaps the norm for central Oxford. We enjoyed our visit here and the ale offerings so much that, despite Oxford's rich array of alternatives, we weren't tempted to leave.