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New pub visits 2023 with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by Quinno _
Submitted on Friday, 5th May 2023
With picture contributions to 4795 other pubs
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Detail Pages
The Royal Blenheim, Oxford
Oxford
OX1 1PT
Served areas
Reviews of The Royal Blenheim (Average Rating: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Steve C left this review about The Royal Blenheim
The Royal Blenheim is a corner pub with high tables to the left and a bar along the rear wall that faces raised booths that run across the front. More seating is found up the right creating an L-shaped interior. A small projector was half rolled up, I expect that a World Cup Rugby match had not long finished. Apparently this is an Everards owned pub, that is run by Titanic Brewery, but has White Horse Brewery signage, clear as mud. Craft keg is available from some taps on the back bar and the bar counter supports limited premium keg alongside 12 hand pumps, nine of which were in operation during my recent midweek evening visit. These were drawing a couple from Everards and almost the full Titanic range, although the Plum Porter was unfortunately off. This place is worth a look and I’ll pop back in when next in the area.
On 31st October 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5043 recommendations about 5012 pubs]
Quinno _ left this review about The Royal Blenheim
Back again after a surprisingly long gap, which at least affords a fresh perspective. A busy Saturday afternoon exposes the layout as awkward and whilst there's plenty of seating, it's almost all fixed and for groups so 50% of bum space is sat idle as one or maybe two are occupying a table for six. Two screens were on the go with Six Nations, inevitable. Plenty of cask on; Titanic with four sticks, White Horse with two and Everards Tiger as the token Project William requirement. My inevitable first choice of Plum Porter was less than a fiver and very nice (NBSS 4). Unfortunately my follow-up of White Star hadn't dropped (2). Young and indolent female staff at the jump who ranged from perfunctory to actively disinterested. I left feeling mildly disappointed which was a shame. GBG’23 listed.
August 2014
Well, the Welsh landlord and his quirky ways have moved on. Popped in the other evening and not much change beyond a chunk of the rugby memorabilia having gone. All pumps operational – 4x White Horse, 2x Navigation, 1x WSB, 1x Everards and Westons Family Reserve cider. My White Horse Camarillo was in decent nick but not quite as good as I’d have expected from previous (which was high). Most ales now £3.70pp which means that one of the old USPs of getting your beer a bit cheaper has been lost (though compared to the nearby Kings Head it’s still cheap). Still a must-visit in Oxford though. Rated 8
January 2014
Christmas revisit; things much the same as my previous review two years back. Ten pumps, with eight on. Both my Dancing Duck Indian Porter and Ramsbury Rum Truffle were in excellent shape. Fair to say the licensee can divide opinion, he seemed a bit more subdued than on my previous visit but did start to warm up when a proper stereotype Oxbridge posho turned up with a cryptic crossword at the bar. Not a particularly noisy pub and I did notice an unusual amount of people quietly reading, plus a darts alcove by the far wall. Still the best bet in the immediate city centre for my ale money. Rated 9
July 2011
A newly-opened White Horse brewery pub, leased from Everards under their magnanimous Project William scheme. Nine ales and Westons scrumpy over ten pumps, three White Horse ales are always on as well as an Everards beer (a fairly undemanding stipulation of the agreement) with the rest dedicated to interesting micros. Unusually, ales can be purchased in pints, halves, thirds and two thirds, though given the fantastically reasonable prices for OX1 you may as well just do pints – all White Horse ales were under £3pp on my visit. The BARMOPS system of grading the beers was simple and effective. The pub’s interior has been given the once-over and is relatively bland compared to other OX1 pubs (just one large room, ostensibly) but given that it acts as a form of tourist repellent then it is fine by me. The service and welcome is top-notch, the slightly crackers Welsh landlord is quite a wit and we enjoyed some top-drawer banter (yes, that word) with him over our pints. A quick mention of the comedy Chuck Norris notice in the gents – see pic posted above - which sums up his Valleys sense of humour rather well. The Welshness probably explains why the pub is a big rugby union venue, with football not catered for (including the results coming in). Indeed a rugby match was being shown on the large screen when we were there. I really enjoyed my stay here (we extended it beyond a single pint) and would have happily sat here for the rest of the afternoon had there not been other pubs to crawl. I will certainly be back on this showing and so should you. Rated 9.
On 11th May 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 4828 recommendations about 4812 pubs]
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Royal Blenheim
ORIGINAL REVIEW June 2013
The exterior pub signage carries so many references to The White Horse Brewery that it would be easy to mistake this for the pubs name.It's a Project William pub with Everards owning the freehold and showcasing White Horse beers.The street corner local is quite small inside,open plan, with some floor tiling around the bar,a raised section to the right with it's own darts alcove and a mix of traditional furniture.Two flat screen were featuring limited overs cricket at low volume.
Nine handpumps greet the real ale drinker and on my trip this meant Everards Amber Mild,White Horse Brewery Bitter, Village Idiot and Wayland Smithy,a Weston Scrumpy cider,York Guzzler and three Welsh ales all of which were "available soon" from Breconshire Brewery and Bragdy Nant.The barman was a taff and I suspect this is a popular drinking hole for our Welsh cousins.
Quiz night on Wednesday and a wide selection of reasonable priced pub grub,jackets £4.65,mains £7-9,lead to the feeling this doesnt feature high in tourist guides,it's all very relaxed.
Project William pubs really shine when the brewer they showcase is at the top of the brewing game,it's therefore a shame that White Horse produce rather run of the mill brews IMHO,with only three on and better choices from the guests.Worth including on a crawl however given the focus on real ale and it's listing in the 2013 GBG.
May 2018
When I heard the news that Titanic would takeover from White Horse,I started salivating.However the reality on the ground is that although Titanic have the lease on this Everards Project William pub ,they have passed the management back to White Horse.After an uninspiring refurb a new tenant has taken over ,but he seemed very unenthusiastic about the superb Titanic range of real ales and much more wedded to the insipid indifference from the White Horse Brewery. Consequently you may well find just Titanic Plum Porter on handpump,supplemented by their Stout and Cherry Dark on keg.Captain Smith may show up on cask from time to time but Iceberg has been black balled.White Horse still have 3 handpumps allocated to them.Until Titanic sort this situation out and start to really showcase their wares ,I'm dropping the rating .A full range of Titanic ales ,and less indifferent guests would make this a 9,and the destination real ale pub in Oxford,a city with a very poor real ale scene at present.
UPDATE
A huge improvement with Titanic ale showcased here which meant on my visit Plum Porter (NBSS 4),White Star (NBSS 4),Iceberg (NBSS 3.5) and their seasonal E.B.A and thankfully just two ales from White Horse.There are other more interesting guests too including Roosters Yankee and a strong North Cotswold IPA along with the regular Everards Tiger. We visited on quiz night which was excellent (£2 per person)and the pub was packed with a great atmosphere. This is the outstanding real ale pub in Oxford,it's a must visit and a great pub for a serious session.Raised to full marks.Wonderful.
On 13th April 2023
- rating: 10
[User has posted 2656 recommendations about 2656 pubs]
View more reviews of The Royal Blenheim (16)
A selection of 2013 GBG city centre pubs. by Bucking Fastard
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- Official site of The Royal Blenheim - www.titanicbrewery.co.uk
- Facebook - The Royal Blenheim
- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Royal Blenheim - whatpub.com
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Beer Festivals : No last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Beer Garden : No last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- CAMRA Discount : Yes - 10% pint - last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Car Park : No last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Child Friendly : Yes last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Function Room : No last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Hot Food : No last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Jukebox : No last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Karaoke : No last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Live Music : No last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Live TV Sports : Yes last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Micropub : No last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Pinball : No last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Pool Table : No last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Quiz Night : Yes - Wednesday - last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Real Cider : Yes last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
- Wheelchair Access : Yes last updated 18 July 2017 by ROB Camra
- WiFi : Yes last updated 11 May 2023 by Quinno _
