With high design values and an art gallery upstairs, Baby Simple has transformed itself into the most stylish bar on the popular Cowley Road.

The Venue
This used to be Bar Baby and it’s been relaunched and revamped in line with the Simple night time brand to give birth to Baby Simple. The first impression is very good. There’s a patio which sits out front and stretches back through doors into a room that’s complete with creased up leather brown armchairs and sofas.

Three big bulbous shiny copper lamps hang from the high ceiling with silver beams and violet angled spotlights shining down and five great big black lamps hanging over the bar. The walls feature some beautiful silver and black swirly wallpaper. There’s a big room at the back with black topped metal stools and, beyond that, another bar. Upstairs there’s even an art gallery space.

The new sound system is quite exceptional and DJs play electro and funky house till 1am on Friday and Saturday, and occasionally till 6am on special licensed events. Famous patrons include the Bishop of Oxford who presided over Christian house music nights here (no, it’s not a wind-up). Amen.

The People
Dressed up party people congregate here for the music nights and in the day it’s more of an arty crowd with a few pounds in their pockets. As with the rest of Oxford there are plenty of students in here but there's a fair mix of them and locals.

The Drink
They’ve only got Peroni on tap but when it’s the Italian goodness who's complaining? In bottles there’s Sol, San Miguel, Stella, Beck’s, Heineken and Corona. Cocktails are £5 each (£3.50 during happy hour) and the list includes all the classics such as Bramble, Margarita and Manhattan and some old classics like Sidecar (created in Harry’s Bar in Paris) and Sazerac (bourbon with Armagnac stirred with Angostura bitters), which is James Bond’s drink in Live Or Let Die. Wines are £2.80 a glass (around £10 to £15 a bottle). Being a late night bar there’s no food.

The Last Word
A classy and fashionable venue which mixes art, music and fine design. It’s quite simple really.

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