Far From The Madding Crowd
- 240900
- 10-12 Friar's Entry
- OX1 2BY
- maddingcrowd.co.uk
- Mon-Wed 11.30-11, Thu-Sat 11.30-12, Sun 12-10.30
A family run free house and the only fully independent pub in the city centre. The staff are very friendly and give knowledgable advice about the beers on offer. There are six real ales, Brakspears plus five rotating guests. There are quarterly beer festivals hosting over 40 guest ales and several guest ciders. Listings can be obtained from the website shortly before the event.
The atmosphere is relaxed and cultured with board games, papers and a piano. The pub proves popular with both staff and visitors from the next-door theatres. There is a challenging weekly quiz night and an open mic night (Monday) for the creatively-inclined.
Decent food is served 12-9 each day. Portion sizes are generous and meals are good quality. The burgers are particularly popular.
It has a fantastic curry and quiz night on Sunday evenings. The quiz is free to enter and the curry is £3 (vegetarian option available). Despite the price, the curry is generous and good quality.
Free WIFI available for customers; ask at the bar for the password (checked in March 2012, works fine).
Kake, March 2012: Six handpumps over two banks, all on. RCH Old Slug Porter, Acorn Yorkshire Pride, Oakham Bishop's Farewell, Dark Star Hophead, 2 others (on another visit a couple of days later, at least two of these had already been finished and replaced by others). Food stopped at 3pm today (Monday). Open mic night later on tonight. Only three or four other customers at 4pm on a Monday, got a bit busier later but still several free tables at 6pm.
- Paid £2.10 for a Guest Mild, early July 2003.
- £2.40 for a different guest beer (Hadrian's Legion)
- £2.95 pint of Kronenbourg, Feb 2006
- £1.30 pint of lime and soda, March 2012.
- £3.40 for two halves of RCH Old Slug Porter, March 2012.
Accessibility: A very shallow ramp to get in. Most of the seating is on the same level as this (there's a small bookable area to one side up a couple of steps), and it's also step-free through to the toilets, including a RADAR-locked accessible one.