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Turf Tavern, Oxford
Oxford
OX1 3SU
Pub Type
Greene KingReviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Turf Tavern
Famous old pub (run by Greene King these days), certainly dating from the 18th century but almost certainly nothing like as early as the on-site signage would have you believe. Although hidden away in some narrow alleys, it's a tourist landmark so everybody seems to find it. Anyway, the compact front bar retains plenty of character, although the equally traditional rear bar feels a bit sterile as the counter isn't in use. Further seating and dining areas can be found further back, and there are a fair number of outside tables too. Each counter has six handpumps, offering three 'house' beers of unknown provenance, three from White Horse, a pair from Hop Kettle - including Lode Star, Siren's Breakfast Stout, Landlord and GK IPA on this visit.
On 26th February 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Steve C left this review about Turf Tavern
Tucked away down some backstreets, the Turf Tavern isn’t somewhere anyone would likely just stumble upon, however it a famous oldie worldie destination pump that boasts a host of famous people who have visited over the years. This means that it’s usually full of tourists, and this was the case during a recent midweek afternoon visit when all the outside seating was taken with diners, many of them being in large groups. Thankfully I was more interested in the interior than the overseas guests were so I did get to have a proper nose around. There is a double sided bar counter that serves a front standing area and a prime table that sits in the front window to the left. The rear counter faces a few tables and some steps that lead up to a surprisingly large rear extensions and further split-level outside seating.
The 12 hand pumps are split across both bars, but there was only service in the front bar which confused most walking in the side entrance from the front seating. This is currently a Greene King pub so their IPA was available alongside Dark Porter, which is one of their Future Brewer’s Ales. I didn’t rate it very highly. Also on were TT Landlord, White Horse’s Butter Beer and Don’s Dark Ale, Turf Tavern’s own Reggie’s Turf and 1381 Spotted Cow, Old Peculiar, Titanic’s Iceberg and Old Rosie Cider. The service was polite and I think this place is well worth a look, but now that I’ve been I’m not sure that I would go out of my way to revisit.
On 30th October 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5254 recommendations about 5222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about Turf Tavern
A veritable Oxford institution, hugely described in previous reviews. The front bit of the pub is nicely historic, but it gets less so as you progress back through the various extensions. A reasonable amount of guest beers, although some are just rebadged GK stuff, but the place is just a bit too overwhelmed by tourists to be great.
On 20th October 2022
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Turf Tavern
One of Oxford’s most famous pubs, this is a multiple roomed venue in a well-hidden location down a small alleyway close to the Bridge of Sighs. This unpromising looking passage zigzags a short way to reach the pub, which is to your left, with an outdoor toilet block to the right. You enter to one of two rather similar traditional bar areas, both with exposed floorboards and a shared servery. The left-hand bar is the more atmospheric of the two and is where the staff were serving from, leading to long queues during a particularly busy period not long after I’d been served. The room has very low beams – watching unsuspecting folk bump their heads is perhaps the best bit about sitting in this room – and a nice curved, dark wood counter with a matching intricately carved bar back. Seating is extremely limited, mainly comprising a few settles around the perimeter, but it was the liveliest room on my most recent visit. The right-hand bar has some exposed stone walls and a bit more in the way of seating, but with the bar not in use, it acted more like an overspill seating area than an actual bar. Moving right through the pub, you find yourself in a third room which is also quite pleasant and traditional in its presentation, offering a mix of tables and chairs and high tables and stools. Beyond this, you start moving into a more modern area – essentially a couple of dining rooms set across two levels and painted in light shades that contrast jarringly with the dark wood interior throughout the remainder of the pub. There’s lots of formal seating throughout and a large mural on the end wall, but these spaces lacked any ambiance or character and are indicative of Greene King’s poor attempts to broaden the pub’s appeal. The whole pub is decorated with a mix of traditional items such as paintings and ornaments, and an array or corporate Greene King stuff that diminishes the pub’s overall effect. Outdoor seating can be found in both the passageway and in a walled garden on the other side of the building.
I was a little surprised to see six operational handpulls when I arrived, offering a choice of Greene King IPA, St Austell Tribute, Wadworth 6X and a house beer which was presumably a rebadged Greene King brew, plus two real ciders. My Tribute was okay and I enjoyed siting in the busy bar area, watching the endless queue of tourists who were presumably keen to see the pub where Bill Clinton famously “did not inhale”, where former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke broke the world record for downing a yard of ale(!) or perhaps more likely nowadays, where the cast of the Harry Potter movies would retire after filming scenes in the cities colleges.
I used to visit this pub regularly in the late 90’s when staying with friends in Oxford, but I feel the pub, which was already a tourist trap back then, has lost some of its charm and is at risk of becoming nothing more than a stopping point on tourist itineraries. I still think it’s well worth a look if you’ve never been before and the multiple room interior means that there’s plenty to explore over multiple visits, but the pedestrian ale range and tourist crowds mean that I’ll probably be a bit more selective about returning here in the future.
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 Turf Tavern
Historical and well documented pub. It has its own wiki page.
Tucked down an atmospheric alleyway. Plenty of outside seating. Front bar is circular and very low roofs. You can sit and laugh at the people smacking their heads on the beams. Awarding pints for the thunk and quality of the swearing afterwards. I scored a good 8 until I stared to walk like a marine on maneuvers.
Staff are pleasant but it really was amateur hour for hospitality. The majority of the beers - especially keg - were off. Dining stops at 9pm - and went as far as stopping people who had a main ordering a sweet at 9:10pm.
Black Sheep was in good condition but served well short of a pint. Again, I really should have complained but by the time it had settles, a throng of students ordering individually had grabbed the servers attention.
A must visit. Questionable if its a must return.
On 2nd November 2021
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1338 recommendations about 1324 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about Turf Tavern
Tucked away down a rather scruffy alleyway, you’re not likely to stumble across this pub by accident with only a small and discrete sign at the top of the alley indicating the presence of the pub. Clearly it’s well known though and was certainly attracting a steady stream of punters on our Friday afternoon visit.
First impressions suggest a quaint old pub, and this feeling continues as you walk through the front door. Investigate further though, and you’ll find it’s something of a Tardis, with the pub extending far further back than you would initially suspect, presumably as a result of several buildings being knocked together. The front bar is really quite small and atmospheric, with a very low beamed ceiling (several punters had to duck, or stand with their head either side of the beams), dark wooden boards on the floor and blue wood panelling on much of the walls as well as some exposed stonework in places. There was a very tiny stone fireplace although this was clearly no longer used and a few old black and white pictures dotted around the walls. The rear bar looked to be broadly similar in terms of décor, although without quite so much cosy charm perhaps. We did not investigate beyond this, but it looked as though many people here were eating. The only downside really was the temperature, with a couple of doors being left open it was far too cold despite the heat coming from the radiators.
Beers on tap were Old Mulled Hen, Greene King IPA, Nottingham Legend and Woodforde’s Norfolk Nog. Ciders meanwhile were Old Rosie, Lilley’s Apple & Pear and Thatcher’s Haze. I noticed one punter asking for a glass of tap water being directed to help themselves from a tap on the rear bar which seems fair enough as they don’t charge for it, and I found the service to be swift and efficient despite how busy they were. Overall, well worth making the effort to track down.
On 16th November 2018
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1949 recommendations about 1862 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Thuck Phat left this review about Turf Tavern
A well known and well documented pub which needs no further description from me.
It looked a welcoming spot on a glorious day with a courtyard garden full of Oxford's beautiful people and, we hoped, a bar full of excellent beer to quench the thirst.
Entering the bar is when the illusion fell apart with GK IPA and Band of Brothers, White Horse War Horse and one other and Wadworth 6X being offered. These were largely duplicated over 12 hand pumps with 2 ciders making up the numbers.
A swift pint of very average War Horse and the quest to slake a real thirst continued elsewhere.
On 24th April 2018
- rating: 5
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about Turf Tavern
As a student I lived virtually opposite for three years so this was my college's local and easy to find; less than a minute's walk for us. The pub is located at the bottom of Bath Place, seemingly a blind alley. At the bottom, turn left and walk through the wardrobe. To emphasise the place's historic credentials, there's no Wifi, no 4G (or any G for that matter), not even a phone signal!
Unquestionably Oxford's most famous pub, this is a must-visit, with its outdoor braziers in winter (hopefully still in situ), multi-room layout and impossibly low ceilings with beams painted black, sadly. The only obvious major change since my last visit is that the wood panelling has been painted the all-pervasive 'gastropub' grey/blue.
On the minus side, the staff are impossibly overworked and in cramped conditions meaning that service can be painfully slow. The choice of ales too isn't a strong point with just Sharp's Doom Bar, Greene King's Radio X Amplified, Belhaven/Orkney Brewery's Kittiwake and Sadler's Sun Catcher on show last weekend.
This is a magnet for students and tourists so is best visited during the Michaelmas/Hilary term holiday when the students are absent and tourists are at a minimum.
On 1st September 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1985 recommendations about 1951 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Turf Tavern
A couple of our PG members heads, did actually touched the low ceiling on our visit. I found the interior to be very hot and sticky, what with the low ceilings and the place being busy on our visit, so it was a good idea to take our drinks into the court yard and sit at the bench seating. The pub had seven ales and two ciders to choose from, so I went for the Oakham Inferno which was excellent. Yes, well worth a visit this one.
On 29th July 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Turf Tavern
A quick half in here, most of the beers appeared to be on with only a couple euphemistically ‘resting’. Range not exceptional given the 11 pumps at their disposal but there were a couple of eye-catchers. I went for an APA from a Nottingham-based brewery I shamefully neglected to note, which was in good order (despite the less-than-loving dispense from the overworked barmaid who had taken to pouring multiple pints at a time, working a different handpump with each arm simultaneously). Whilst it’s worth the effort to ‘do’ I wouldn’t be making a regular beeline for it myself, especially when you have proper boozers like the Rose & Crown available if you’re prepared to walk.
July 2011
16th century city centre pub hidden down a little road which looks like it goes nowhere, beneath the ancient city walls (signed as being the courtyard to a hotel). Inside it's a warren with two snug little bars frequented by a mixed bag of punters – locals, students, dons and tourists. Lots of nooks, crannies and exterior alleyways means it’s easy to get lost after a few if you're not familiar with the layout - and mind your head on the door frames if you are taller than an Oompa Loompa. Chalk boards list the various (in)famous customers and their misdemeanours. There are a number of Greene King ales on (it’s now owned by them) alongside up to half-a-dozen guests with a local slant. Some ciders available. Service levels are variable as are the measures. It can get incredibly busy and large queues form at the bar, however given the age of the place and the tight layout it's best to either accept it or move on and come back at a quieter time during the day (it’s always worth checking the large outdoor seating area at the pub’s rear as the tourists are less likely to make it that far; there’s probably more capacity outside than there is in). A trip to Oxford isn’t complete without stopping in here but be clever about what time you do it. Rated 8
On 23rd January 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5099 recommendations about 5082 pubs]