Oxford University Club Hurriers (OUCH) - Guest Pubs

The left table shows the 'normalised' scores (scaling each person's contributions to a mean of 5 ±2). The right table shows each marker's actual mean and SD (a value of 1 is assumed if the SD is 0). See below details of each pub and the original scores and comments.

Rank Av.Score N.Scores Visited Pub 1 7.6 ± 1.6 4 26MAY11 The Oxford Blue (Marston St) 2 6.8 ± 0.3 3 24NOV11 The Eagle and Child (St Giles) 3 6.6 ± 1.1 6 28JUL11 The Rusty Bicycle (Magdalen Rd) 4 6.6 ± 1.1 4 23DEC10 The Prince of Wales (Church Way) 5 6.1 ± 1.2 3 22MAR12 The Victoria (Walton St) 6 5.8 ± 1.4 5 28JAN10 The Victoria (Walton St) 7 5.7 ± 0.5 3 22SEP11 The Chequers (High St) 8 5.4 ± 0.8 9 25NOV10 Three Goats Heads (St Michael's St) 9 5.4 ± 1.1 2 23APR10 The Rose & Crown (North Parade) 10 5.3 ± 1.5 3 28OCT10 The Victoria (Walton St) 11 5.2 ± 1.0 3 21APR11 The Anchor (Hayfield Rd) 12 5.1 ± 0.1 2 25MAR10 The Royal Oak (Woodstock Rd) 13 5.0 ± 1.7 4 26AUG10 Cape of Good Hope (The Plain) 14 5.0 ± 2.0 2 29JUL10 Far from the Madding Crowd (Friar's Entry) 15 4.9 ± 3.1 4 28MAY10 The Gloucester Arms (Friar's Entry) 16 4.8 ± 2.8 3 24JUN10 The Watermans Arms (Osney Island) 17 4.7 ± 1.6 5 27OCT11 Far from the Madding Crowd (Friar's Entry) 18 4.6 ± 1.0 4 25FEB10 The Angel & Greyhound (St Clement's) 19 4.3 ± 1.4 5 03FEB11 The Gardeners' Arms (North Parade) 20 4.3 ± 1.0 2 23JUN11 The Oxford Retreat (Hythe Bridge St) 21 4.3 ± 1.7 8 24MAR11 Jude the Obscure (Walton St) 22 3.8 ± 0.5 2 23FEB12 The Royal Oak (Woodstock Rd) 23 3.6 ± 1.6 3 23SEP10 Gardener's Arms (Plantation Rd) 24 3.5 ± 1.5 3 25AUG11 The Port Mahon (St Clements) 25 3.5 ± 1.9 4 24FEB11 The Old Bookbinders (Victor St) 26 2.5 ± 2.2 6 26JAN12 The Jericho Tavern (Walton St)

Rank Initials N.Scores Av.Score Std.Dev 1 VB 20 7.7 0.9 2 ADa 12 7.0 0.7 3 JRe 11 6.8 1.6 4 ADu 10 6.0 1.4 5 EB 7 7.4 1.0 6 JS 5 7.2 1.3 7 VdS 5 8.0 0.7 8 EE 5 7.6 0.7 9 RP 4 7.1 0.6 10 GvE 3 6.2 1.4 11 DCo 3 5.0 1.0 12 RM 3 7.5 2.5 13 SH 3 4.7 2.1 14 DCu 3 5.0 2.5 15 ES 2 7.5 2.1 16 JRa 2 5.5 3.5 17 PD 1 7.0 1.0 18 JD 1 8.0 1.0 19 GC 1 5.0 1.0 20 DC 1 8.0 1.0

The Victoria
Walton St [Map] www.victorianpub.co.uk Visited: 22 March 2012 (also Oct10 and Jan10) Rated: 8.2 ± 0.3	Nice pies. Tasty pies, nice atmosphere. Good menu and the various alcoves meant the pub was great for groups.
The Royal Oak
Woodstock Rd [Map] www.theroyaloakoxford.co.uk Visited: 23 Feb 2012 (also visited Mar10) Rated: 7.0 ± 0	I liked having a table reservation, the pub was cosy with plenty of comfy seats. They said there was 1 hour wait for food but it arrived after 30 minutes. Chips were very skinny Good food (though not cheap and we had to wait), plus nice comfy seating area to ourselves (as it had been reserved).
The Jericho Tavern
Walton St [Map] www.thejerichooxford.co.uk/ Visited: 26 January 2012 Rated: 4.8 ± 2.3	Slow service, limited choice of beers, not enough space to sit, pretentious crisps, expensive food. Apart from that ... Quite a busy pub, but there was just enough space for us all, on 2 separate tables. The food was good, but we had to ask, then wait too long for cutlery. Nice food, nice drinks, good size. Horrid acoustic and surly bar staff. Also didn't seem to realise that there should be more than a tenuous link between what food had been ordered and what they felt like delivering to the table. Actually quite a nice pub but they obviously couldn't really cope that evening. Beer decent, but seating for groups not the best
The Jericho Tavern
Walton St [Map] www.thejerichooxford.co.uk/ Visited: 26 January 2012 Rated: 4.8 ± 2.3	Slow service, limited choice of beers, not enough space to sit, pretentious crisps, expensive food. Apart from that ... Quite a busy pub, but there was just enough space for us all, on 2 separate tables. The food was good, but we had to ask, then wait too long for cutlery. Nice food, nice drinks, good size. Horrid acoustic and surly bar staff. Also didn't seem to realise that there should be more than a tenuous link between what food had been ordered and what they felt like delivering to the table. Actually quite a nice pub but they obviously couldn't really cope that evening. Beer decent, but seating for groups not the best
The Eagle and Child
St Giles [Map] www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theeagleandchildoxford/ Visited: 24 November 2011 Rated: 8.5 ± 0.5	Bustling but not too busy, food was good and not expensive - served till 9pm Only one vegetarian 'option' on the menu (fortunately, the food itself was very good). Excellent mulled cider. Really good food but very crowded.
Far from the Madding Crowd
Friar's Entry [Map] www.maddingcrowd.co.uk Visited: 27 October 2011 Rated: 5.4 ± 1.8	Lights too bright and music too loud early on, but this improved later in the evening. Food-wise they only served pizza, and only until 8:30pm. The pizzas were quite big, good and cheap though Friendly atmosphere. Beer good, pizza night with ok food. The food service stopped at 8.15 pm instead of 8.30 pm as stated on their website so all that was left was crisps. The pizzas ordered by those who arrived before the kitchen closed were covered in pineapple. And it was too brightly lit. On the positive side: there were plenty of seats A bit like a barn and food finished really early. Good beer, though.
The Chequers
High St [Map] www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thechequersoxford Visited: 22 September 2011 Rated: 7.7 ± 0.6	Good food, nice atmosphere, not too busy Convenient location, good range of beer, decent food and plenty of space. Food ok and pleasant surroundings
The Port Mahon
St Clements [Map] www.portmahon.co.uk Visited: 25 August 2011 Rated: 7.0 ± 0.9	Enough space, nice food, okay beer, but could have done without the battle of the bad music between the band upstairs and the radio downstairs. Spacious, the food was good and the music rather random, in quality, genre and volume Decent beer though the live music upstairs makes a risky future choice
The Rusty Bicycle
Magdalen Rd [Map] www.therustybicycle.com Visited: 28 July 2011 Rated: 8.5 ± 0.9	Good pub, cosy interior, comfy seats and sofas, excellent food but a bit of a wait and loudish music Good beer and food (bit of a wait); pleasant. Friendly staff, nice atmosphere, maybe a bit too small to have dinner with a large group, chips were good, but salad was boring (no, salads are not always boring) It's my favourite pub in Oxford! Lots of character and good food.
The Oxford Retreat
Hythe Bridge St [Map] www.theoxfordretreat.com Visited: 23 June 2011 Rated: 6.3 ± 0.4	Just one bitter available. Expensive with gastro-pub aspirations. Reasonable beer but service aspiring to Turf standards
The Oxford Blue
Marston St [Map] www.the-oxford-blue.com Visited: 26 May 2011 Rated: 8.5 ± 0.4	Nice pub, lots of space, good food, very pleasant Good ambience, nice seating, good burgers, slightly chilly Pretty good (IISSMS) and although there was only one real ale on tap which they had to go out back to serve, it kept us happy for the evening. The food looked very tasty - Dave even managed to get beetroot on his burger - and they said they took orders until 10pm. One excellent beer as opposed to four indifferent ones, proper crisps in shiny packets made by machines, and somewhere for more than three people to sit down - all in all pretty good
The Anchor
Hayfield Rd [Map] www.theanchoroxford.com Visited: 21 April 2011 Rated: 7.3 ± 0.3	Very pleasant, lots of space, nice food but pricey and small/non-runner sized portions Good location close to Port Meadow, enough place to sit, nice food. A bit pricey Pleasant enough but quite expensive
Jude the Obscure
Walton St [Map] www.gkpubs.co.uk/pubs-in-oxford/jude-the-obscure-pub/ Visited: 24 March 2011 Rated: 5.8 ± 1.4	No food. No food but good cheesy music No food. I picked it Beer is OK It's OK A good choice of beers, which was good. I'm not against pubs with no food per se as I'm quite happy to eat crisps, but I guess if you publicise food you really ought to do it :-) Beers were good, and we found somewhere to sit (probably more difficult in term time). Loud music, though, and no food, despite what it says on the web-site.
The Old Bookbinders
Victor St [Map] oldbookbinders.co.uk/ Visited: 24 February 2011 Rated: 6.8 ± 1.0	Excellent ales, good atmosphere but no food. Very good beer, nice nooks and crannies to sit in but no food. Quiet and cosy. No food though. Nice quiet pub, but a bit out of the way maybe and no food. Also some guy at the bar kind of looked at me funny, but then he left
The Gardeners Arms
North Parade [Map] [no web-site] Visited: 3 February 2011 Rated: 6.4 ± 1.3	Cosy, but don't accept cards, and pretentious crisps. Had a good proper local boozer feel, but the beer I tried seemed unnecessarily expensive (3.20 a pint!!). Limited bar snacks in the reasonable price bracket. Nice pub, food was excellent (once it arrived ... I think they lost my order) Food so-so, no music, overall rather dull. Comfy couches though. Quiet, like 1000s of pubs that used to exist but don't any more - worth trying for the novelty value.
The Prince of Wales
Church Way, Iffley [Map] www.wadworth.co.uk/iffley/prince_of_wales Visited: 23 December 2010 Rated: 7.9 ± 0.6	Very civilised and cosy. Food quite pricey but very good. Nice friendly staff. A good range of beers. Very comfortable surroundings. Would definitely welcome another visit. Good food and beer. Steep car park so need snow chains in winter. Good food - beer average
The Three Goats Heads
St Michael's St [Map] [no web-site] Visited: 25 November 2010 Rated: 7.1 ± 0.8	Cheap beer, but crowded. Cheap and nice food and beer, but sullen bar staff, and quite crowded Nice pie, too crowded (and rushed out at the end of the evening) Good food. Grumpy staff. Brought us closer together. Too crowded, no music Cheap beer but too crowded
The Victoria
Walton St [Map] www.victorianpub.co.uk Visited: 28 October 2010 (also 28 Jun 2010) Rated: 7.2 ± 1.9	Nice venue but crowded and slow bar service. Pretentious crisps! Nice pies, and seemingly larger portions than last time. Comfy sofas. Nice pies including veggie ones, good atmosphere, pleasant beer.
The Gardener's Arms
Plantation Rd [Map] www.thegarden-oxford.co.uk Visited: 23rd September 2010 Rated: 6.7 ± 0.6	Pleasant locals pub, veggie menu with good selection, bit heavy on the salt, good beer Nice pub, good veggie menu, but too much salt on the food Distinctly average beer and bar service as bad as the Turf (high/low praise indeed)
The Cape of Good Hope
The Plain/Iffley Rd [Map] thecapeofgoodhopeoxford.co.uk Visited: 26th August 2010 Rated: 7.0 ± 1.7	Busy, noisy but good atmosphere and good food Cosy but would be crowded during term time. Pleasant, food average, pies disappointing and not as good as the Jericho "Victoria"
Far from the Madding Crowd
Friar's Entry [Map] www.maddingcrowd.co.uk Visited: 29th July 2010 Rated: 7.0 ± 2.0	Annoying background music, and only "family-friendly" until 9pm. There was plenty of room. The menu looked fine though obviously I didn't actually try any of the food... It seems like a good central location.
The Waterman's Arms
Osney Island [Map] [no web-site] Visited: 24 June 2010 Rated: 7.2 ± 0.8	Nice location, slow service, no food Good place to sit outdoors when the weather's nice (which it was). Nice place to sit when it's sunny, but no chance of getting food.
The Gloucester Arms
Friars Entry [Map] [no web-site] Visited: 28 May 2010 Rated: 6.9 ± 1.4	Points lost because jukebox not working and only having Hook Norton 303 available There was no food, but we could bring our own. Space was no problem either. (I feel a bit conscious for such a high score, but I can hardly think of pubs I would prefer over this one....) Not far from Mansfield Road, not crowded, negatives: loud music, no food (but note that they allow you to bring food in - so could get something eg in Gloucester Green) I liked it, but no food, so I'll give it a 6.
The Rose & Crown
North Parade [Map] www.rose-n-crown.co.uk Visited: 23 Apr 2010 Rated: 7.8 ± 0.2	The sausage and mash was quite good, but sitting outside was a bit chilly this time of year. Good food (and serving until a time we can get there). Probably best for summer when we can sit outside.
The Royal Oak
Woodstock Rd [Map] www.theroyaloakoxford.co.uk Visited: 25 Mar 2010 Rated: 6.5 ± 0.5	Packed out so not enough space for large group - probably a better option in the vacations Always difficult to find a seat, and expensive.
The Angel & Greyhound
St Clements [Map] www.youngs.co.uk/pub-detail.asp?PubID=355 Visited: 25 Feb 2010 Rated: 5.8 ± 2.2	food looked good, but stopped at 8.30 :-( Good pie and chips. Beer was variable (usually OK) - the Tribute was pretty decent, but the pint of Youngs (I assume Youngs Special) I had was unpleasantly buttery/toffee-like. Final bottle of Double Chocolate Stout was far too cold (don't keep stout in the fridge!). Good beer but most of us missed out on food and they wouldn't let a baby in Good selection of beer but no food ONLY a 3 star
The Victoria
Walton St [Map] www.victorianpub.co.uk Visited: 28 Jan 2010 Rated: 7.8 ± 0.8	Pies until 9 Good beer albeit limited variety. Very nice pies! Near good curry house & blackcurrant cordial just 20p a pint! Nice pies Nice beer, slow bar staff