The Grapes in Oxford and Crafty Pint in Witney chosen in popular vote
A total of 55 Oxford CAMRA branch members voted in the Pub of the Year awards, which saw the Royal Blenheim in Oxford, top pub for several years, become runner-up, followed by the Masons Arms in Headington. The Town and Village POTY changed hands too, with the 2024 holder the Brewery Tap in Abingdon also nudged into second place. The Kings Arms in Kidlington came a very creditable third.
The voting was extremely tight between the top two in both categories, and there was an increase in the number voting this year after a change of format. The lists put forward to members were the top performing pubs in the Good Beer Guide 2025, based on the beer scores logged by members during the year using the WhatPub database.
The Royal Blenheim, which has held the award since before the Covid pandemic, faced extra competition this year from the Grapes and the Lamb & Flag, both renowned real ale pubs that were not eligible for 2024 after dropping out of the guide following long periods of closure. The Grapes wins the award after re-opening in August last year following investment by the London-based Morgan Pub Collective, which has since also taken on the Gardeners Arms in North Parade Avenue and the Angel & Greyhound in St Clement’s, which is to revert to its previous name the Oranges & Lemons.
Grapes landlord Johnny Roberts is a strong supporter of real ales and ciders, while also offering an extensive keg range. You never know what you might find at the Grapes, although Harvey’s Sussex Best and at least one real cider are fixtures. He has also given a platform to very small local breweries such as Craftsman of Abingdon, and showcased several unusual beer styles. His achievement in pushing the Grapes to the top of the tree in such a short time is to be commended, and he can now look forward to joining the other POTY winner at our Awards Night in February.
It’s also a major achievement for the Crafty Pint to win the Town and Village POTY award bearing in mind that Mel Cassidy and Ian Walton took over only just over a year ago, after the previous owner of the business, Simon Scamp, decided to retire. Mel and Ian were already running the bar when Simon left and they have clearly built up a very strong following among beer lovers, whether they prefer cask or keg beer.
It always offers an interesting range of independently brewed beers from near and far, and only this month it had cask ales side by side from Loose Cannon of Abingdon and a ruby ale called Red MacGregor from the Orkney Brewery in northern Scotland. With charity quiz nights and regular live music, it is very much a community pub despite its small size.
The micro-pub, in Langdale Court near the Waitrose car park in Witney, has had its third identity in only six years, having opened as Oxbrew in 2018 but renamed Drummers after Oxbrew brewery was merged into Little Ox. It became the Crafty Pint on re-opening last year.
We should also pay tribute to the previous Town and Village POTY, the Brewery Tap in Abingdon, which also lost out by a very narrow margin for 2025. Abingdon’s top pubs have a very strong following and this is the first time in years that the award hasn’t gone to a pub in the town.
