Historical version 9 of Head Of The River (view current version)

  • 721600
  • Folly Bridge
  • OX1 4LB
  • Brewery: Fullers
  • Fullers Chiswick Bitter £1.67
  • Fullers London Pride £2.00
  • Fullers E.S.B. £2.20
  • Dry Blackthorn Cider £2.30
  • (11.viii.1998)

They held a competition to name this pub when they built it in the 1970s, hence the name.

A tall building with ample terracing on the St. Aldate's side, and also the only one reachable directly from Christ Church Meadow, it has been done out within the last five years in a nautical theme, and happens on a pair of floors with a tall dais at the northern end of the ground floor.

There is an upside-down rowing eight on the ceiling of the ground floor, and instructions for the obtaining of food (expensive for main courses, reasonable for "light main courses") and accommodation (there are a number of rooms available).

Beer: the London Pride was chilled and not actually recognisable. On top of that, it's pretty expensive too. All of the beers are expensive in here. I'd try the Wharf House along [Speedwell Street]? if I were you, providing it's open.

Packed out in Eights Week, unsurprisingly.

Visited with two friends one Sunday lunchtime in June. The place was only half-full, but had a good ambience. Sadly that was the best thing about the place - they messed up my drinks order, refused to cook steaks any way other than well-done for "safety reasons", and when a tempting salad featuring "smoked chicken, crayfish tails, watercress and sugar-snap peas" turned up it lacked all of the above except the crayfish. Not really good enough, especially given that their prices are far from cheap. --Steve, 2006-06-25

We ate here, outside, on a sunny Sunday in January 2007 (so sunny, in fact, that we asked for the Global Warming heaters to be turned off). The food was much better than we remembered it from a few years back - really rather good, in fact. The bacon-cheese burger was one of the best I've had in Oxford, and everyone else in our seemed very happy with their food.

OS X co-ord: 451457     OS Y co-ord: 205603     (Latitude: 51.746305 Longitude: -1.254580)
This is version 9 (as of 2007-02-23 11:48:05). View current version. List all versions.