Despite being a bit cramped there’s something very alluring about this bar. And if you like games Temple Bar is the place for you.

The Venue
Temple Bar is in a strategic spot just off Cowley Road and looks like a nice old Victorian pub from the outside. The interior has calming green walls with deep, comfy leather chairs and sofas. The bar is in the front area and there’s a red baize pool table in the wood panelled pale wood floored back room. If you like games, you’ll love The Temple Bar. As well as pool, there’s also bar billiards and an array of other games such as Jenga, Connect 4 and darts.

To top it all, there’s a Sunday night quiz. There’s an open space out the back decorated with flower pots and equipped with benches and chairs. The only problem is that it’s hard to move around the pub even when it’s only moderately busy and you find yourself either knocking into people, or chairs or walls — or all three. And the music can get very loud for such an enclosed space.

The People
It’s a very popular side-street pub attracting a mainly young, studenty crowd, especially on its open mic and karaoke nights, which are fun. It gets packed out on Friday and Saturday nights and is busy other nights too.

The Food and Drink
You’ve got Strongbow, Guinness, Peroni, Carling and San Miguel on tap and in bottles there’s Budweiser, Beck’s, Magners, Bulmers, Sol and Bitburger, plus pretty much the full range of alcopops. Wines range in price from £10 a bottle (£2.60 a glass) upwards and there’s no food.

The Last Word
As long as you don’t bump into that big guy playing pool, you should be fine.

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