Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Random news of the day with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Boat Inn, Kidlington
Thrupp
Postal town: Kidlington
OX5 1JY
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Steve of N21 left this review about The Boat Inn
Not a great experience with this one. After spending a very enjoyable Friday morning walking the nearby Oxford canal on a fine day, we planned to utilise this one for lunch.
That was until we entered the pub via the front door at 12.30pm , not that long after opening, only to find the queue to be served stretching out of the bar and virtually out into the garden. Now I know the hospitality industry is still struggling with staffing issues post Covid, but there’s understaffed and then there’s woefully understaffed.
Can’t comment on the food and beer as we decided to cut our losses and carry on down the tow path to the Jolly Boatman as I calculated that we would be there before we got anywhere near the bar here. Fortunately for once I had a decision vindicated and we found the landlady of the Jolly Boatman doing a very good impression of someone who knows how to run a waterside food lead pub on a fine weather Friday lunchtime.
As for this one, I think they have lost the fur coat as well, and this one doesn’t look good naked.
On 27th June 2023
- rating: 3
[User has posted 2111 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Nick Davies left this review about The Boat Inn
The Boat is nowadays basically an unbadged Chef and Brewer trading heavily on its role as a location for the Inspector Morse TV show and its not so canal-side location. A sanitised multiroom affair inside, knives and forks on the tables, and I expect that goes for the public bar too on a weekend. Nice garden which you expect to be by the canal but isn't. Mundane GK beers.
All fur coat and no knickers.
On 20th August 2018
- rating: 5
[User has posted 567 recommendations about 559 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about The Boat Inn
Sadly I can remember this pub as an unspoilt Morrell's local. Now a Greene King food-led house, still a very attractive building in a picturesque location, but lacking the atmosphere to match. OK for a quick pint or food though. Cask Marque listed.
On 4th June 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Thuck Phat left this review about The Boat Inn
An iconic pub for Morse fans and a very attractive, stone built, canalside pub. The literature inside suggests that the original building dates back to the early 1400's with significant additions to cater for the canal builders.
For those who remember the episode of Morse in which the pub featured, prepare yourselves for a surprise as the interior has been completely re-arranged and refurbished with the bar now on the left hand wall rather than at the rear. The refurbishment has been done sympathetically though with plenty of reclaimed wood, original features retained and log burners. Thankfully, the fire in the bar was lit on our chilly evening visit. Overall, it feels like a decently refurbished gastropub, which is really what it is.
There were very few customers but everyone on both sides of the bar were friendly and welcoming and it was impossible not to end up chatting. It seems, unsurprisingly, that the pub ticks over during winter but is extremely popular with boaters, cyclists, walkers and all those after a decent pub meal during the summer.
The menu was typical gastropub and our meals were well cooked and good value.
So far, so good. The catch is that this is a GK house with beers on being Old Golden Hen, Abbot and Olde Trip. We tried the Abbot, which was very well kept but much worse than I remember as a beer. So, as we were eating, we shifted to a bottle of red from the limited wine menu. Although this went down much better than the Abbot, I wouldn't pay a special visit to try it again.
This is a lovely pub with friendly, efficient staff and nice food but I'd find it tricky to tie one on here.
On 18th March 2015
- rating: 6
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Boat Inn
A fine looking building in Oxfordshire stone in a very attractive canal hamlet,it featured in an episode of Morse where a body was discovered in the nearby canal.There is an entrance corridor with exposed stonework and a very low ceiling and the layout is with four distinct rooms.To the right is a dining area with set tables,while further along the corridor is a back dining area,small and with a carvery servery operational at weekends.To the left of the corridor is a bar room with wooden floor,rectangular with just four tables,a set of bar stools,real fire with wood burner ,charity bookcase and the best place to settle if you just want a drink.There is an alcove room here with two very low tables and a flatscreen ,off during my lunchtime trip.It's a Greene King tied house with ,on my visit,GK Old Golden Hen,Olde Trip and Belhaven Grand Slam (an average brew in average condition). Unsurprisingly with that line up,food was proving more popular than ale.The constant muzak did create the vibe of a chain pub,it's not quite as atmospheric within as the exterior may suggest.
Given the location and back story ,I was surprised how reasonably the food was priced,mains generally £9-£15 with a median price if £11,daily specials a bit cheaper.There are veggie options and light bites together with good value paninis and baquettes with chips at £7,mine was well cooked and tasty.
Besides daytime visitors the pub will be popular with boaters who dont know much about beer,and from a real ale fans perspective this is a better place to eat in than go to for a session.
On 19th February 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]