The Berkshire, Oxford

Facebook page of The Berkshire - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Berkshire - www.facebook.com

As mentioned, this pub was actually in Berkshire until boundary changes made in 1974 elevated its status to being in Oxfordshire. However, sine the previous review, the place has been completely reinvented. The place has recently been taken over and judging by the tapas-themed menu, and all-Spanish staff, this is now a Spanish bar. The interior is modern bare boarded, with a marble bar top and modern bar front, with shiny blue tiles and tubular steel shelving for the back. There’s a white and grey colour scheme with duck egg blue paint applied judiciously. To the left, there’s some strange rather industrial rolling partition, which perhaps creates a function room. Furniture is sparse in its deployment, giving the impression that the place has been burgled; otherwise it’s modern, with some booth-style seating to the right wall. Lighting is modern too, coming mainly from recessed ceiling downlighters, some coming from an ugly flashing games machine; in all, it’s a bit soulless. There’s no real ale unsurprisingly, me opting for a half of Guinness at an utterly unpardonable £3.00, served by a grinning Spanish barman. I don’t know what the food here is like, though most of the customers were dining, but for all its flaws, the Duke of Monmouth down the road provides a superior pub experience and real ale.