A big student-friendly pub, The Hobgoblin weaves its magic with its potent brew of real ales and live music.

The Venue
The Hobgoblin sits on the student-friendly Cowley Road and it's a big, spacious pub which has a stone floor and is kept quite by day and night. It has a red ceiling but otherwise the colour scheme is dark yellows and dark creams. There are plenty of tables and chairs as well as booth seating but there’s also plenty of standing space in the middle of the room, which comes in handy on Thursdays and Tuesdays when the pub hosts live music nights.

There’s a tiled area around the all wood bar, which is on the right, and a big covered patio area with 20 or so tables outside with heaters and little statuettes of hobgoblins dotted around the place. The pub does a good trade in cask ales and is one of the few places that does in this area.

The People
It's predominantly a student pub so the demographic here is twenties and thirties. The live music draws in a mixed crowd as well as friends and family of the acts (who sometimes, admittedly, make up the whole audience). It’s also a popular place to meet up for a drink or two before heading down to a gig at The Carling Academy.

The Food and Drink
On draught you can pick between Carling, Stella, Guinness, San Miguel, Strongbow and Foster’s. There’s also a good selection of ales including Bateman’s XP, Old Peculiar, Oxford Gold (produced at Oxfordshire’s Wychwood Brewery) and Everard’s Tiger. In bottles there’s Corona, Magner’s and Budweiser, among others. This being Oxford, don’t you know, there’s Pimms too at £9.95 a jug with all the trimmings. You can get a small glass of house wine for £3 (or £10.75 a bottle) and there are about five reds and whites. Food includes jacket potatoes, salads and mains like a chicken and mushroom risotto for £5.50.

The Last Word
The Hobgoblin seduces you to maximum effect with a combination of real ale, live music and a big beer garden.

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