The Kings Arms is a spacious, historic Oxford pub with a celebrity following. Even Prince Charles has walked through its doors.

The Venue
On the corner with Park Road and Holywell Street and originally an Augustinian priory built in 1268, The King’s Arms is one of those Oxford pubs with real pedigree, not just exaggerated for tourist interest. It was licensed as a pub in 1607 and had the last male-only bar in Oxford — that era finally coming to an end in 1973.

It has a couple of entrances to its large front bar and smaller back bar. It's decorated in classic beiges and creams, wood panelling and it has a green ceiling. The front bar is quite spacious and there are pictures and photos all over the walls of Oxford sporting teams, as well as some of the stars who have stopped for a pint. These include Dudley Moore, John Thaw and Prince Charles who popped in for a pint of bitter once (now you can't get a better seal of approval than that). The back bar has a tartan carpet and a raised area with a rug on the floor and an old clock on the wall.

The People
It's a popular student pub and you'll often see undergraduates in here for a 'chat' about their finances with their generous parents. In fact it's popular for almost any family gathering. And it also provides a forum for serious, issue-led conversations between intellectuals and academics.

The Food and Drink
There’s Young’s Bitter, Heineken, Deuchars, Addlestones, Blackthorn, Kronenbourg, Guinness and St Austell’s Tribute on tap and in bottles you’ve got Beck’s, Budweiser, Peroni, Corona, Bulmers, Guinness, Young’s Light Ale, Bombadier, The Special 400 (a 6.4 per cent beer brewed especially for The King’s Arms’ 400th birthday last year).

There are around six bottles of red and white wine priced between £13 and £16. It’s £2.10 for a small glass of chilled Chilean white. Food consists of jacket potatoes, sandwiches (£4 to £5), ploughman’s lunch, salads, sharing dishes and wood fired oven pizzas. A scampi and chips is £6.95 and homemade pies (such as steak, mushroom and Young’s ale pie) are £7.95 each. There’s a fish pie too made with haddock, prawns, cod and salmon and a posh fish finger sarnie will set you back £4.50.

The Last Word
This is an adult pub that treats its customers with respect and, judging by who comes here, that’s a good policy.

venue information venue map view oxford review write a review