A round-up of recent news from around the county
Bat and Ball, Cuddesdon
A community buy-out bid is likely to be launched for this village pub near Wheatley, after Admiral Taverns put it up for sale. The pub, which had only recently re-opened, closed after the tenant disputed a repair bill with Admiral, and is already subject to an Asset of Community Value order. If the community notifies South Oxfordshire council of its intention to bid, it will have until October 26 to raise the money.
Nicko King, one of the organisers of the likely bid, announced on Facebook that a meeting had been held with the recently departed tenant, Martyn Driscoll.
“Martyn left because he had discovered a number of show-stopping faults which he felt were Admiral’s responsibility,” he wrote. “Admiral weren’t prepared to pay for the repairs. With Martyn gone, Admiral decided to put the pub up for sale. We have until the 7th of June to tell SODC we will be submitting a community bid. If we do, we have until the 26th of October to submit the bid. Admiral can only sell it to us during this period.
“We know that Admiral are already talking to a potential buyer. Despite this, we felt very strongly Admiral won’t be able to agree a firm deal before the end of the month. Nor did we feel Admiral would be able to provide sufficiently firm reassurances for their intentions. Therefore we concluded we should most likely trigger the long moratorium until the end of October.
“The pub will probably remain closed until October at least. Need to organise some more pop-up pubs. We will need to set up a suitable non-profit organisation to raise the money and make the offer. This will most likely be a Community Benefit Society. The Plunkett Foundation in Woodstock are set up to hold our hand as we do this (and there is lots of local experience in surrounding villages).
“In addition the long pause until October will allow others in the village who might be interested to develop their own bids. The more bids we have – even if not accepted –the more difficult it will be for Admiral to claim that the pub is not financially viable should they try to ask for a change of use to housing.”
Jolly Postboys, Oxford
The new management team which took over this pub in Florence Park last year is making a success of it, with three real ales and a real cider usually on offer, and a menu of pub classics. Louis Corcutt, a local resident, stepped in to run the pub when the previous management team moved on, having had experience in the food supply industry.
Although it is owned by Greene King, the pub has total freedom to choose its real ales with Oxford Brewery Prospect and Little Ox Wipeout being the regulars. A beer from Purity was available on a recent visit, plus Yellow Hammer real cider. The Jolly Postboys is on the 46 bus route from central Oxford and hopes to join an ale trail along this route, taking in Horspath (home of Oxford Brewery), Wheatley and Great Milton, for the Bull Inn.
Yarnton and Begbroke pubs
Report by Stuart Earp
Villagers in Yarnton and Begbroke are spoilt for choice at the moment when it comes to pubs. For most of last year, the only option in Yarnton was the Turnpike on the A44, run by M&B’s Vintage Inns, where Timothy Taylor Landlord was usually available. Now there are two more hostelries that are very different, but both top-class, in my humble opinion.
The first was the return of the Red Lion in Cassington Road which was taken over by the Thame-based company Oak Taverns after lying idle for months. Run by landlady Jess Dixon, it has proved a big success with an ever-changing choice of real ales including Bass, Hooky Bitter, Tribute, Butcombe and Harvey’s Sussex Bitter all under £5. Only snacks are available in the pub, but food vans do a roaring trade at weekends and patrons are welcome to take their meals inside.
By contrast, the recently re-opened Royal Sun in Begbroke offers both English and Indian cuisine and the latter was excellent when I visited with a group of friends. Not only that, it represented great value with a three-course meal on midweek days costing around £15 (£20 at weekends). That comprises a first course of papadums and pickles, a second course of a vegetable samosa, onion bhaji and two pieces of chicken tikka, and a third of the usual mains you’d find in any Indian restaurant.
There are usually two real ales on offer but on my visit, the Wye Valley HPA (4%) was the only choice. I have enjoyed Butty Bach from the same stable in the past, but this pale ale was outstanding. It may look like lager, but that’s where the similarity ends as it proved a top-class pint, quickly followed by two more (I was on the excellent S3 bus service!). Expect to play restaurant prices, however.
The man behind the Royal Sun is Aziz Rahman, who ran the much-missed Aziz restaurant in Cowley Road, Oxford, for many years. Three years ago, Mr Rahman decided that pubs were the way to go, and he also now runs the Six Bells in Headington.
At the front of house in the Royal Sun are Abhishek Chettri and Rashel Rahman, assisted by Shana, who gave us a warm welcome and proved a pleasant and knowledgeable host. Takeaways are now also available and menus are in the pipeline, along with a new website. More details on Facebook — Fusion kitchen by Aziz at Royal Sun.
Opening hours are 12-3pm and 5-10pm Monday-Thursday, 12-11pm Fridays and Saturdays, and 12-8pm Sundays with takeaways from 5.30-9.30pm.