First time I have to this venue for a few years. I remember thinking to myself last time I was…read morethere that drink prices were quite reasonable. That's all changed. Visiting in December 2025 a pint of IPA cost me £8.35, which I thought was extortionate.

Used to be the Carling Academy (briefly). Before that it was the much more famous Zodiac Club…read more The upstairs (smaller) venue still has that name. Great place, great atmosphere.

The Bullingdon (pub area) is essentially the lobby for "The Back Room", their music venue in the…read morerear. The pub is small, it is unembellished, definitely not a classic pub, but it serves its purpose. The price for drinks is reasonable and provides your usual selection. I was here for their Tuesday jazz night and arrived slightly early with my friends so we settled at a table and waited. Good thing about being so small in the front is that it doesn't get too loud and you can hold a half decent conversation. Upon the jazz night finally starting we filed into "The Back Room". Quite a decent sized venue (for Oxford). A bit like a slightly smaller Oxford O2. The music wasn't great. I've heard better jazz from grade school bands, but as a venue and pub, the Bullingdon is just about A-OK.

I love the Bully!…read more Great for a few drinks on the cowley road! and the bully backroom holds regular gigs the main bar is quite small so your likly to be standing on a weekend night

The half moon pub is a great little pubits doesnt do food, it doesnt do many drinksand if you dont…read moredrink the black stuff, you will be looked at funny for the rest of the night. I first stumbled upon this place when an irish friend and i were going on a pub crawl, trying every single guiness in oxfordand the halfmoon..later did we found in a more sober state, is an irish pubcame up top. the pub has an elderly landlord who is not a fan of loutish behaviour and will let you know with a stern look if you are crossing the lineand thats a good thing. have some resepct for where you are and you will be rewardlast night my friends and i were treated to a lock in till 1 am

This pub is such a hidden gem. It's just far enough from the centre to escape too much notice, and…read morefrom the outside it doesn't look like anything special. In fact, as Elliott Castro says, it doesn't do food or a huge range of drinks, especially if you're not drinking alcohol, but that's really not why you come here. You come here for the atmosphere. I'm no expert, but it really seems to be the most 'Irish' pub of all the 'Irish' pubs I've seen on my travels, both in Oxford and elsewhere (including, strangely enough, Dublin!). It's really warm and lively and great, great fun. It can be a little daunting going in the first time to see groups of regulars there, but behind the boisterous appearance, people are generally pretty friendly. They do live music on Sunday nights and often host folk music events. Don't knock it till you've tried it! It is the sort of place where you go to have background music to your conversation, though; if someone's playing a song, you listen. This is a really refreshing change - I always feel a bit awkward talking over musicians in other situations, and there's plenty of chance to chat otherwise. Go and check it out, but don't tell too many people - it's great just as it is!

The bar itself was great - almost like in good old pre-covid times. We had to book the table…read morebeforehand, they seated us outside. On one hand, seating outside is great- as you breath fresh air and also there was the only way you could be with your friends in autumn 2020. Food/drinks were great, I really enjoyed my pancake. What I found strange, is that they had a DJ who was playing very loudly, so we had to shout at each other - and if I remember correct playing loud music is against covid regulations, precisely for the reason of eliminating the need for people to breath on each other while shouting.

I'm not surprised that there's no review of this place as I think it's a local's place and not…read morefrequently visited by tourists. However, this was the FIRST pub I decided to visit on my first night in Oxford and it certainly wasn't the last. It has a GREAT selection of beers that changes often and a great friendly staff. The atmosphere is unique. Definitely a place where the locals hang out. This is down the street on James Street, so definitely a neighborhood pub that could be overlooked when you are walking along Cowley. I recommend checking it out. I have become known here and feel like a local myself! At my last visit, the bartenders and friends had a hose fight, even running into the flat spraying water inside. So this tells you a lot about the atmosphere.

Kazbar has innovative cocktails, tasty tapas to share, and a lovely venue to catch up with friends…read moreor have a date night. The staff is super friendly, and the food/drinks get delivered quickly.

Kazbar is famous for its fantastic selection of tapas of a superb taste! I don't think you can go…read morewrong whatever dish you chose - they all taste awesome. I just love the idea of tapas, as it allows you to try more. The decor is very cool too- you might think you are in moorish Spain. Monday-Thursday there is a happy hour 50% off offer, which makes your visit even better!

My favorite bar / place to party in Oxford!…read more This is a super spacious, BEAUTIFUL building. It was originally an old church that's since been refurbished. You can still admire the beautiful stained glass windows, though. There's a ton of space to mingle with friends or strangers. When we came at night it tended to be dimly lit with loud music playing, definitely a club type atmosphere, so you could get lost in the crowd pretty easily. Of course, they may have since changed that vibe since it's been a few years since I visited...but I loved it at the time. The friendly bar staff also fixed me the best White Russian I've ever had, too, so that definitely helps with the nostalgia factor. :)

A church converted into a pizza and beer and wine spot, this spot made a tasty thin crust pizza…read more There's come cool, hopefully, local art adorning the walls. At 7 p.m., the place was empty. Man, if this was the states, everybody and their mother would be waiting for a table. One pizza is about medium size and just enough for one person. My only small complaint was that it was extra oily but take a napkin and sop it up. Indoor and outdoor seating available.

The Jericho was one of our favorite haunts in town, no doubt due to its proximity to some of my…read moreclosest friends' flat. It's a warm, welcoming, spacious pub. We usually ate elsewhere or cooked our own dinners before coming by, so I can't speak to the food, but the drinks were always on point. I had a special fondness for the bartenders here because they were always happy to strike up a conversation with us. We had lots of laughs - one night in particular, they brought me to tears making fun of what they perceived as oddities in American passports. They also helped us one night when a buddy drunkenly lost his phone in the building. They were patient and good natured, which is about all you can ask of bar staff. Again, if you're not feeling like making new friends, there's plenty of room to spread out with your own social group or even be asocial, if that's what you're wanting. It's a welcoming, fun place, and a little bit more laid back than some of the other pubs around.

Honestly, I probably shouldn't write this whole pub off because a friendless jerk came along trying…read moreto pick a fight. I suspect that he was friendless because, well, there seemed to be nobody around him, or egging him on. Well, it is a pub in a uni town, so yeah, I probably should expect something like this, but still, I have to say that my experience really wasn't all that great.

When I was a kid this was the Oxford Apollo. It was the first place I ever saw a concert. When I…read morewas 3 or 4 years old, I was a massive fan of Nik Kershaw - I still am, actually, he's one of my top 10, if not top 5. I dragged my mother to the concert. I was so tiny, they put me up on stage briefly. Good memories, although I mainly only recall it by looking at pictures. Hazy and foggy and just a little bit out of reach, buried in my subconscious. Over the years, I saw other bands here when I was older, such as a very memorable Erasure concert. But nothing will ever compare to being 3 or 4 years old, being picked up and put onstage because I was so tiny, watching my hero Nik Kershaw on stage when he was at the height of his popularity. It's a lovely theatre... it's changed a lot, but is still well worth the high ratings that it gets. And this is review #1983 that I have written.

I went to see Stomp here and was looking forward to a bit of luxury compared to the more casual…read moreperformances of the Old Fire Station Theatre, Burton Taylor studio and various college theatres. It's certainly a cut above the rest, with ushers, several bars, a grand interior and a huge stage. However, it feels a little more like going to the cinema than a night out at the theatre. We joined a disorganised queue of people trying to get in, then dodged our way to our seats. There was no comfy reception area to chat in, and it was very croweded, so we went straight in. The ushers were helpful and our seats had a good view. They had binoculars in the stalls so it caters well for the short-sighted, although the stalls don't slop quite enough for the short-bodied to see over tall people in front. There was no interval, so I didn't sample the bars, but I've heard they're not fanastic. Still, I enjoyed the show and as the others have said, it really does have an amazing line-up every year. It gets big shows in at reasonable prices and is well worth going to.

I came here a few weeks ago to watch a fav band of mine…read more It was easy to find and once the Queue outside started moving it didnt take long to get in and the Usher outside was very friendly and chatty. As no food or drink is allowed in there was a little confusion as to whether my apple was allowed in! ha ha Once inside there are obviously toilets and 2 bars. The drinks were expensive but that was to be expected really. The cloakroom situated at the back of the room was a pound per item and ran smoothly.

A complete make over from it's predecessor The Zodiac. The Carling Academy is an awesome venue for…read morelive music and DJ club nights. I went to see Hot Hot Heat and the venue was brilliant. The sound quality was superb and the lighting really contributed to the atmosphere and the performance on stage. Went on a club night to see Judge Jules and the atmosphere was awesome. A really great venue to party hard. The drinks are cheap too and there are plenty of loos so you don't have to be stuck in the queue. Queues for the bars are small too so no need to drink from the water tap. Only not 5/5 as the floor gets a bit slippery with all the sweat.

Went here on a Monday night for an improv show with some friends and it turned out to be quite a…read morepleasant evening. The upstairs is small and very intimate feeling. Buy tickets ahead of time if you want chairs of tables. When we purchased at the door, there was standing room only but the venue is so small that you can still see perfectly. The cover that evening was really cheap (about £3.50) and drinks were reasonably priced as well. The acoustics are good and the crowd is quite enjoyable. Seems like the sort of place that would host a great local concert. Nice selection at the bar of lagers and ciders on tap as well. Will have to make another trip there if I'm ever in the area again.

The Wheatie is great as a down-to-earth, intimate gig venue. It's got a great atmosphere and it…read morecosts little more than a drink for most nights. There's stand-up comedy some Mondays, Spinn Jazz on Thursdays and various local bands at weekends. There's no need to pre-book, but it can get pretty crowded on popular nights. The downstairs is an ordinary pub. It's down an alleyway and going to the toilets can be a bit scary for a lone female, negotiating your way past smokers in the dark. I've not heard of any violence and it's fine with a big group of friends, but it's not the nicest pub to visit in the evening if there's no entertainment on.