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The Rose & Crown, Oxford
Oxford
OX2 6LX
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Rose & Crown
Excellent side-street pub featuring a compact front room, an overwide corridor with a serving hatch and the bar at the back with some elongated tables. Very traditional throughout. Four cask beers on handpump: Old Hooky, Oxford Brewery's Shotover Prospect, Vale Best IPA and Shagweaver from North Cotswold. Some way north of the city centre, but certainly worth the walk.
On 28th February 2024
- rating: 8
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Rose & Crown
This is a cosy multiple room pub in a pleasant neighbourhood a little way North of the city centre. Rather unusually, this pub was still offering strict table service, as per Covid guidelines from over a year ago, which meant that we were quickly shuffled into the small front parlour and had little opportunity to explore the rest of the pub. You enter into a bare boarded corridor that runs down the right-hand side of the pub, with a small bar area and serving hatch to the left and a few limited seating options down the end wall. The front parlour is through a door to the left of the entrance and has a terracotta tile floor, lincrusta walls and a nice art-deco style fireplace with a large mirror above. There’s only enough space for two tables, served by chairs and a hard bench, making it a compact, almost micropubesque space. The décor is very homely and includes a couple of old pub signs, quirky artwork, various newspaper clippings and a nice portrait of the pub. Following the corridor past the hatch, there is a larger rear room with some similar seating options, in greater quantities, and the main bar counter to the front. Beyond this is a sheltered courtyard garden with lots of bench seating and an outdoor toilet block. This seemed like a very popular spot and the shelter meant that customers were happy sat out here despite the cold temperatures. A lounge music soundtrack played in the background throughout our stay and there was a steady trickle of customers coming and going throughout the course of our visit.
Table service meant there was no opportunity to examine the handpulls in the main bar, with laminated menus presented instead. These listed the cask options as Hook Norton Old Hooky and Oat Sower, Oxford Shotover Trinity and Adnams Southwold Bitter, but I ordered a pint of the Oat Sower and was presented with something that was cold and fizzy enough to make me think it was on keg dispense – it wasn’t a particularly pleasant pint either.
This is a very nice pub with a lovely old, traditional interior that is well worth the walk out of the city centre to explore. We clearly didn’t get the chance to see the place at its best with the table service restricting our movements and resulting in a dubious choice of beverage, but that wouldn’t discourage me from returning once normal service has been fully resumed.
On 8th February 2022
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about The Rose & Crown
Good Beer Guide 2021 Venue.
Two roomed Victorian pub, with a large sheltered and covered court yard around the back. The street at the front is pedestrianised, so this offers more outside drinking options,.
They still have the Covid Check desk in the small alleyway, but this appears to be unmanned. You are greeted and taken to a table - and table service from that point on.
Unexpectedly, the chalk board details the wine :-)
There were three real ales on and the Old Hooky (a fav) was in fine condition. Option of straight or handled glass.
Pleasant pub.
On 2nd November 2021
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1337 recommendations about 1323 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Rose & Crown
An excellent largely eclectic traditional pub in Summertown, one of Oxford's most desirable residential areas and visited for the first time as part of our PuG tour in July 2016, but since revisited several times.
Well described below, the staff are friendly and the pub has a very courteous old-school landlord now owner (Andrew), since 1983. Lavatories, which have certainly seen better days, are the outhouse variety which is traditional and there's a garden with a retractable gazebo roof, intertwined with a flourishing grape vine. On one Sunday visit, an acoustic guitar and mandolin band piped up at gone 10.30 and I've since learnt that the pub has a Sunday to Thursday 12.00 am licence with a 1.00 am licence on Fridays and Saturdays - outstanding, a pub where people are treated like adults! Note though: last entry is 11.00 pm each day.
Clients are a mix of American academics to genteel locals. Food ranges from fairly basic to slightly upmarket pub grub and homemade pork pies are sold at the bar. To the rear are one or two little rooms that warrant exploration. The front bar features an upright piano and attractive Art Deco fireplace surround; the floor's quarry tiles are in fact textured lino; the ATM machine isn't attractive though and seems a little pointless given that contactless card transactions are the norm here.
Ales: as below, but more recently Adnams Southwold, Shotover's Oxford Scholar, Hook Norton's Old Hooky and Hop Back's Citra at a very pricey £4.30 a pint (this is Summertown) and very moreish it was too.
This is a superb pub and is indeed a must-visit if in the city, especially when combined with the Gardener's Arms (Plantation Road, not the one across the road) and the Victoria. The age restriction on children and dog ban are the cherry on the cake.
On 29th August 2018
- rating: 9
[User has posted 1982 recommendations about 1949 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Thuck Phat left this review about The Rose & Crown
An interesting, original and quirky boozer which is attractive both inside and out.
It also comes complete with a peacock of a governor and friendly, easy on the eye bar staff.
The clientele felt much more gown than town on our visit and the atmosphere was learned and civilised without being too dreary.
In fact the interior, split into various small rooms, was cramped and not especially comfortable on a Wednesday evening visit. How do they cope on Friday?
Beers on were Prescott Spring Season, Old Hooky, Adnams Southwold and Shotover Oxford Scholar. A pedestrian range and all that we tried was, at best, indifferent.
An interesting place in which to drink expensive, substandard beer.
On 22nd March 2018
- rating: 6
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Rose & Crown
Another fine pub in the Jericho area of Oxford. An enticing exterior gives way to a traditional pub interior as well described below. The small enclosed garden area outback is well worth a look, especially for the small additional room right at the end that apparently is the building where the landlords son lives and the downstairs room can be rented out for meetings, get togethers e.t.c.
Adnams Southwold Bitter,Box Steam Tunnel Vision, Shotover Scholar, and Hook Norton Old Hooky were the four beers available for our visit and the Tunnel Vission was very passable.
Another very good pub in this area.
On 10th August 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Rose & Crown
Another well presented pub exterior, with an equally inviting and quirky interior. The layout consisted of an entrance lobby, with church pews for seating along the right hand wall. Two rooms lead off this area, a small front room with a terracotta tiled floor and an upright piano. Behind this room was another small room with a small bar on the left of entry and an open hatch into the lobby. The rear of the pub had a small enclosed garden. There were four ales on handpump, so I went for Old Hooky, which was in good shape.
On 27th July 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about The Rose & Crown
Accessed down a narrow sidestreet, once past the eye catching exterior you find yourself inside a low ceilinged traditional pub with a passageway leading to two seperate rooms with a small but delightful enclosed garden to the rear.Four beers were available, these being, Box Steam Tunnel Vision, Shotover Scholar,Adnams Southwold Bitter and Hook Norton Old Hooky, I found the Scholar to be a servicable beer.
This really is a cracking pub and the only criticism I could level at it is the fact that the beers were rather middle of the road. That said this is a must visit pub in my book.
On 25th July 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1871 recommendations about 1844 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Rose & Crown
Quick revisit found a fairly disappointing Shotover Scholar at £1.95 half. Hopefully a one-off, as I didn’t recognise any of the staff from previous.
August 2014
Popped in again the other day. Four ales on and my Shotover Scholars was in good shape, washed down with a small home-made pork pie for £1.50. A roaring trade inside and it’s easy to see why it’s so popular. Probably Oxford’s best right now, in my opinion. Rated 9
December 2013
Shocking pink exterior gives way to a very traditional multi-roomed pub within. Enter to an entrance lobby, room off to the left and a further room containing the bar further on down the lobby. A converted lean-to (is it in fact an awning?) creates extra seating space in what was the garden area. The interior rooms are very traditional with low ceilings, wood panelling etc. Four ales; Shotover Scholars Adnams Bitter, Old Hooky and a White Horse Xmas beer. Started off on the White Horse after the Shotover spluttered and died and it was in very good shape. A CAMRA discount (20p a pint, 10p a half) available Sun-Thurs to the Adnams, Hooky and Shotover ales. A decent wine list on a wall-mounted chalk board to the right of the bar. Food offered and a steady stream of roasts emerged from upstairs via what I think was a dumb waiter at the bar. A quiet pub, no TV, machines or music that I could ascertain. The fire in the room I was sat was, sadly, an imitation. There was a person who I assumed to be the owner holding court in the lobby who was very good at doing the meet and greet in an upper-middle class way. Indeed on my way out I passed him some copies of my local CAMRA branch magazine which he enthusiastically received and insisted he buy me a half. So how could I refuse? Very nice it was too. This one’s a bit of a hidden gem and well worth the walk from town. In combination with the Gardeners Arms on the same street, a good couple of hours pubbing can be had for the sake of a 10 minute stroll from the City centre. Rated 9
On 18th September 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Rose & Crown
A very charming interior to this unspoiled terraced pub situated along a narrow street illumnated by fairy lights at night and including several small ethnic restaurants .You enter into a corridor with a long bench running along one wall with a serving hatch opposite.There are two rooms off the corridor,a quarry tiled front room really quite small and snug and a rear tap room ,a bit larger but with only room enough for a couple of tables and bench seating.Full of atmosphere,and no muzak ,machines or flatscreen to spoil matters,although a front alcove does house a cash machine.There is a popular covered terrace outside with just enough openings to allow legal smoking and there are space heaters here so you can sit here all night if you want.There is a garden room at the far end ,marked as private and housing a large round table and a good number of drinkers,is this a regulars only ?
It's in the 2015 GBG ,which was an additional pull for me.The four handpumps has regulars Adnams Southwold Bitter,Old Hooky and Shotover Scholar which I found in good condition but a disappointing malty beer difficult to down.Hardly an exciting line up ,so you are relying on the guest which on my visit was North Cotswold Shagweaver.
Worth a visit to see the terrific interior,I was a bit underwhelmed by the ale line up but relative to other real ale options in Oxford it's decent enough.
On 24th January 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]