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Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
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Lamb & Flag, Oxford
Oxford
OX1 3JS
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Lamb & Flag
Venerable pub, with an light oak-panelled front room accessed from the side alleyway. The bar and another couple of smaller rooms can be found further back in (presumably older, and plainly furnished) parts of the building under low ceilings. A good selection of mostly local cask beers from the likes Oxford Brewery (Shotover Prospect, £4.50), Tap Social, XT and North Cotswold from six of the eight handpumps, together with a couple of draught ciders.
On 25th February 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Steve C left this review about Lamb & Flag
The Lamb & Flag has a rectangular front seating area with wood paneling and a few coat of arms for a splash of colour. A piano resides on a raised area across the left-hand wall, I didn’t see any live events advertised. The bar area is found towards the rear where a bar counter runs up the left, and to the right is a tiny cubby hole with a table, stool and lamp that must depict something. At the rear is a old exposed stone fireplace and to the left behind the bar counter is a raised seating area, looks a good spot to tuck into the advertised sausage rolls and scotch eggs from the Lamb & Flag Larder. The gents toilet at the rear has a baby changing facility, great to see. There is also a sanitary bin shoehorned down the side of the cubicles, not so great.
The bar supports two banks of four hand pumps that are split by 12 craft keg fonts. The cask available during my midweek evening visit was Little Ox Brew Co’s Ox Blood, XT Brewing’s Hop Kitty and Inklings Amber, Oxford Brewery’s Prospect, North Cotswold Brewery’s Freedom, Cotswold Cider Co’s Muscle Mary and Yellow Hammer and Carnival Cider. A real mix of cask ale and cider. I found the service to be polite, and the pub was decent enough, if maybe a little sparse of furnishings.
On 30th October 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5228 recommendations about 5196 pubs]
Quinno _ left this review about Lamb & Flag
Re-opened after a period of closure and uncertainty. Not much discernible change beyond the removal of the shields and oars plus the addition of some craftykeg and the disappearance of Palmers from the bar. The left area with the wood panelling is still the best bet for a bit of character otherwise it's a dim and fairly bland affair. Nine pumps with four local cask and a cider available, my North Cotswold Shakespeare was fine (NBSS 3). I’ve always struggled to really enjoy this one and that remains the case – it’s always worth popping in as part of a crawl but I never feel inclined to stay past one beer.
June 2019
Nothing changes in here and whilst it has never been one of my preferred OX1 pubs, it certainly wins marks for consistency and having some unusual beers for this part of the country as regulars. My Theakstons Old Peculiar was OK but could have been better (throughput issues on a warm day for this sort of beer I guess) NBSS 2.5. Rated 7
April 2014
So it’s definitely open, as I found myself back in the other week. Seven ales on pump, alongside two ciders. The beer festival was on, with a plenty of barrels on stillage. I plumped for the house beer (Betty Stoggs) which came out well enough. Also noted a decent Belgian bottle selection. Still worth a visit though if you give it five minutes extra slipper up the road, there’s plenty on offer in Jericho – be adventurous! Rated 7
July 2011
Owned by the adjoining St John’s College (all beer money funnelled into studentships, talk about recycling!), this is a fairly spacious free house with an excellent range of ales available; usually six including (though not limited to) Betty Stoggs, Spitfire, Theakston OP, and Palmers, (Best and the house beer Lamb and Flag Gold which is Palmer's Dorset Gold). Olney and Rudgate made up the numbers last visit as well as a real cider (Weston’s, I think). Quality is usually good and the prices are more competitive than a number of nearby competitors. There are three main drinking areas split over two levels with an upper and lower bar – the lower area is the older and more interesting part of the pub, with a proper fire, panelling and wooden beams. The main part of the interior is a bit bland though (College shields and rowing oars excepted) and can sometimes lack atmosphere unless you bring your own. The service can also be a bit variable. Not necessarily my first choice in Oxford but well-worth putting on the crawl list. Rated 7
On 11th May 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Lamb & Flag
ORIGINAL REVIEW July 2016
Owned by St John's College,profits from the pub and the Eagle & Child over the road are used to provide scholarships to around 4 undergraduates per year,names listed by the front bar.
It's a pub of two halves,with the frontage far more modern that the rear of the pub,with it's low ceilings and exposed stonework as you head to the rear.The interior decor is also varied with wood panelling to the front,a modern light wood bar with St John's rowing oars above,a charming single bench alcove for drinking in solitude,then the rear bar,a raised snug to the side and a further section near the gents with a substantial fireplace and thick stone walls giving a cool place to sit on a hot day.
You will need to inspect both bars to clock the real ale range which comprised on my trip Skinners Betty Stogs,Lamb & Flag Gold (brewed by Palmers) and Palmers Best at the front bar with XT Pi MILD,Prescott Hill Climb,another Palmers Best,two real ciders and Twisted Pirate Ale (just OK) at the rear.
Worth a look around,the ale range seemed a little dull but it has historic connections with the same authors as The Eagle & Child but far fewer tourists doing the Nania thing.Worth including on a crawl.
UPDATE
A sensitive refurb has enhanced the interior.The front bar has now gone ,although the wood panelling is still there.Gone too are the references to St Johns college,the rowing awards ,the list of bursary students and Palmers ales.This front area is the least interesting part of the pub but in the rear there is an impressive new bar top,a side snug has been upgraded and the large fireplace at the end has been cleaned and now looks to be functional.
The ale selection will normally include two from Animal Brewing,Hop Kitty and Bush Viper (NBSS 4) on my trip along with Little Ox Ox Blood (NBSS 4) and North Cotswold IPA and someting unexciting that I missed.There is also a row of some interesting craft kegs and a very friendly welcome from behind the bar.An upgrade from me,it's a must visit when in Oxford.
On 13th April 2023
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
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Tris C left this review about Lamb & Flag
Visited onn 14th January 2017 - rating: 5
Visited in last July and once a regular customer in the 1990s. Well described below, the front bar is a bit sterile and decked out with college coats of arms; the rear bar is much older, more cosy and inviting.
A half of Prescott Hill Climb went down well enough.
Worth a visit if passing and makes for a good one-two with the more famous Eagle & Child, opposite, but this place is rammed during term time evenings.
----------------------------------------------
Recently reopened, this was the first pub in Oxford I ever visited: the first week of December 1992, making this a thirtieth anniversary return, possibly to the day.
This place reopened on 6th October, having been closed since at least the start of the plague. It has had a substantial makeover, the front scarlet panelling seemingly still in place, but now natural wood grained, all visible on the pub’s FaceTube page and my photo. Gone is the college flummery, such as crests and signed St. John’s rowing blades to a wall; gone also is the front bar, possibly to make way for kitchen space. It’s the three-room rear bar which is the most striking: it’s mediaeval, dating from at least 1500, the oldest operational bar in Oxford, making it more than 275 years older than the Bear, with its phoney history. There’s a bare wood floor and painted black beams, but now the low ceiling and some of the walls have been clad in pale, natural wood match boarding, the thick ancient walls painted simple white, with ‘period’ sconce lights; there’s a beautiful fireplace to the rear, sadly unused and furniture is conventional. Most of the horse brasses have gone, the whole having far less of a ‘toby jug’ feel, unrecognisable compared to the incarnation that appeared as the introductory pub in the first-ever episode of Morse, though doubtless he would approve of the live entertainment, which is now orchestral Chamber music. Customers were understandably students, but a lot of older ale tickers, one literally ticking off his copy of the GBG before heading off into the night.
There are 12 keg offerings, with no [inter]national brands in sight. Thereafter there are five ales from seven pumps: Little Ox Pitchfork, Shotover Prospect, West Berkshire Good Old Boy, XT Animal Hop Kitty and Hedgehog (£2.50 a half), all in great shape and served by very friendly and enthusiastic bar staff; the one thing that let the side down was the incessant sound of the automatic coffee grinder.
This is now a very nice pub indeed, a must-visit when in town.
On 15th December 2022
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1983 recommendations about 1949 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Lamb & Flag
I’ve been in the more famous pub across the road a few times but never made it into this one, so this was an inaugural visit for me.
It’s an interesting pub in three sections as well described below and is internally a lot bigger than it gives the impression from the outside. The older back section certainly has the most character and the small single person drinking hole built into the wall of the middle bar section is an amusing feature.
Personally I thought the ale choice was OK, especially as I don’t get to drink Palmers brews a lot and the XT Pi Mild and Prescott Hill Climb were decent enough additional options to the normal house beers. Wouldn’t hesitate to come here again when next in town.
On 11th August 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
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Real Ale Ray left this review about Lamb & Flag
An interesting and historical building with the rear of the building dating back to medieval times. This pub is quite deceiving from the front as it looks so small, but once through the side entrance door, you will appreciate the length of the interior. Service at the bar was fast and efficient and patience prevailed from the young barmaid, as I took a while choosing a beer from an uninspiring range on this visit. I settled on the Lamb and Flag Gold, brewed by Palmers. My choice was uninspiring in taste and flavour, maybe another visit might prove a better one.
On 27th July 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
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Thuck Phat left this review about Lamb & Flag
I liked the Lamb and Flag, which was reasonably busy on a Tuesday evening.
To the front is a large bar with seating where you can watch the comings and goings of St. Giles. It seemed to be favoured by couples seeking a quiet drink. The bar at the back feels more lively and had more atmosphere with various groups enjoying their ale.
Beers on were: Spitfire, Palmers Best, Mariners Gloucester, Skiners Betty Stogs, Lamb and Flag Gold and the very good Slaters Retro Red. Not a bad selection and as Quinno points out it'd fit well into a crawl if not being a destination pub. Or for a quick last beer on the way home as in my case.
On 5th September 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]
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Moby Duck left this review about Lamb & Flag
A decent old pub just across the road from the Eagle and Child,six ales on,Shepherd Neame Spitfire,Two Cocks Diamond Lil, Palmers Best,Skinners Betty Stogs and my choice of Beowulf Chasewater at a very reasonable £2.90,also on handpump was Solway perry. A traditional square bar to the front of the pub and to the rear older part of the pub another bar area with seperate semi divided seating areas and rooms.A good pub.
On 11th August 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1871 recommendations about 1844 pubs]
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Danny O'Revey left this review about Lamb & Flag
Pub on busy road out of North Oxford, it combines the old and the new very well, a nice light modern front bar then a cavernous dark beamed room to the rear. Wood floor all round, uni shields and oars show you're still in Oxford.
6 real ales, of southern taste, bit flat for me.
Nice fit
On 7th June 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]