The Jam Factory, Oxford

Close to the train station and early opening, so handy in that respect, Its a rather strange mix cafe/cake shop/bar. A couple of seating areas with plenty of seating in the form of sensible height tables and chairs. Two hand pumps but both had reversed clips, so it was down to the craft keg beers, I tried a pint of APA from local brewery Tap Social oddly named Goodsize Eh, despite being brain numbingly cold it was ok, but craftily priced at £5.50. The service was painfully slow with available staff busying themselves with the Coffee and Walnut cake and various herbal teas. This bar serves a purpose but I probably won't bother again.

Has the feel of a cellar bar but is, of course, on the ground floor of an old jam factory (Frank Coopers, they of the three star AA hotel breakfast condiment variety). Artsy, boho place with a mish-mash of drinking areas. Blackboard by the bar advertised various upcoming art exhibitions. Another blackboard by the entrance sub-divided into a calendar for the month, advertising events such as knitting, live music Scrabble and an 'entrepreneurs meet up'. On the side is an old vehicle entrance now converted to a patio. Two pumps but both unclipped on my weekday visit in spite of the blackboard declaring the presence of real ale from Cotswold. Plenty of their offerings on keg so I went for a half of the IPA which was surprisingly cheap for the genre at £1.90 a half but also somewhat lacklustre, warm and lacked bite. Hot food offered, as well cakes from a deli counter. WiFi. There's a lot of good ideas here but they need to sort the basics at the bar out, including the never-answered ringing phone.