Lamb & Flag

Oxford, United Kingdom

4.1

Open now

23 reviews

Does not accept credit cards

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Telephone:
+44 1865 515787
Address:
12 St Giles, Oxford, United Kingdom, OX1 3JS
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
570 ftSt Giles
810 ftLittle Clarendon Street
830 ftKeble Road
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Bussiness info

Accepts Credit Cards
No
Bike Parking
No
Good for Groups
Yes
Noise Level
Average
Good For Dancing
No
Alcohol
Beer & Wine Only
Happy Hour
No
Best Nights
Fri
Coat Check
No
Smoking
No
Outdoor Seating
No
Has TV
No

Today

Today 12:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Open now
Local time (Oxford) 14:26 Tuesday, 8 July 2025

Business hours

Monday 12:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Tuesday 12:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Wednesday 12:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Thursday 12:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Friday 12:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Saturday 12:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Sunday 12:00 pm – 10:30 pm

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23 reviews of Lamb & Flag

No registration required
Place rating: 3
Achim, Niedersachsen
Ein Pub halt. Einzig gut ist, hier trinkt man zur Förderung des St Johns College. Dann mal die Tassen hoch und nicht am Tisch festkleben. Der wird erst nach Feierabend gewischt.
Place rating: 4
London, United Kingdom
Visited here for a drink on a Saturday afternoon over a bank holiday weekend en-​route from the Pitt Rivers museum to the Ashmolean; it was fairly busy but we were served pretty quickly amd managed to get somewhere to sit. Drinks were reasonably priced, and even though we didn’t eat the food looked pretty good.
Place rating: 4
Tividale, United Kingdom
Lovely old pub, goodish range of old ales, plenty of dark wood and stone flagstones. Looks a lot more modern from front than it actually is. Service was good even though bar was reasonably busy. Would certainly visit again though its a wee bit of a walk from city centre.
Place rating: 4
Simsbury, CT
Very nice pub. Historically old, yet big, bright, not too loud to have a conversation and a great selection of beers and ciders. Cash only and no wifi, so prepare to go old style!
Place rating: 4
Brighton, United Kingdom
Nice alternative to the competition across the road! Excellent choice of ales/​beers which won’t break the bank. Some of them can be a bit heavy ie Old Peculiar.
Food is nothing special but could not be classed as ‘orrible!
Can become quite busy with underpaid part-​time working students, who are finding it a struggle, BUT, they are great fun and very courteous, we found. My wife loves them.
You could miss this pub, so keep your eyes peeled
Place rating: 4
Oxford, Vereinigtes Königreich
hatte hier vor ein paar Jahren so manche schöné Stunde gehabt. ist einen Besuch wert.
Place rating: 4
Boston, MA
Good food, nice atmosphere. Not a chain pub, which means they can choose their own beers — they have a great selection. They also have a small, but good food menu. The jacket potatoes are cheap and good. The pub is spacious and has a classic, British atmosphere. Definitely worth visiting. Great history, as well — Tolkien and the Inklings met here sometimes, and compared to any other pub in the city, you get a stronger sense of the «old» Oxford here. A nice place to have a pint, no matter what time of day.
Place rating: 4
Oxford, United Kingdom
Nice old pub, but seeing as St John’s college owns it you’d expect a student discount.
Place rating: 4
Menlo Park, CA
This and the Eagle and Child are my favorite pubs in Oxford (with the Eagle and Child edging it out just a bit). The food is good and the ambiance is spectacular. Nice and central and a definite must if you’re in Oxford for a short stay.
Place rating: 5
Honolulu, HI
I can’t help but give most pubs five stars just because they are steeped in history.
Same in this situation. Although the Lamb and Flag is a great pub on its own (4-​star worthy), I feel obliged to tag on an extra star just because I am in awe of it.
They have their beers on rotation, I was told they offer Oxford Gold, but never made it on the right night to find it. They get pretty crowded just like most (if not all) pubs in the area.
I wish they’d stay open later. Would like to know if they have trivia night, or if I’ve been misinformed by a friend?
Place rating: 4
London, United Kingdom
Haven’t been here in years but it sounds like it hasn’t changed at all. Traditional Oxford boozer with no pretensions.
Place rating: 5
London, United Kingdom
Situated just outside the centre of Oxford, this historic and friendly former coaching inn serves a good range of real ales and also does food.
The pub itself dates back to 1695 and, although the building reflects substantial remodelling in the 18th and 19th centuries, it is still a Grade II Listed Building. Inside, the front bar has been modernised and is a bit characterless, but the rear bars have lower ceilings and are more what you’d expect of an historic pub.
On my visit, the real ales included Skinner’s Betty Stogs, Palmer’s IPA, Lamb & Flag Gold, Shepherd Neame’s Spitfire and Theakston’s Old Peculier. They also do traditional pub grub, but I haven’t sampled it. Staff were very friendly and pulled a very good pint on my visit, so I’d happily return.
Historic note: Thomas Hardy apparently wrote a chunk of his novel Jude the Obscure here, and the pub is even said to be the model for the obscure tavern referred to in the novel. I’ve no idea if it’s true
Place rating: 5
Leigh, United Kingdom
A cracking pub — one of the best in oxford which really is saying something! Great hand drawn ale, which you have to pay cash for (no cards — genius!) however rammed it gets you never have a ridiculous wait. Also a big draw for me, they sell proper pork scratchings — not the Mr Porky rubbish ones — the only way this pub could be any better was if they could actually make pork scratchings good for you.
Place rating: 3
Berlin
Typischer, unprätentiöser Pub direkt beim St. Johns College (denen der Pub auch gehört, was das ganze nicht unbedingt charmanter macht). Das Hausbier ist grauenhaft und das sonstige angebotene Bier war auch nicht unbedingt mein Fall, das Publikum ist aber (trotz natürlich vieler St. Johns-​Leute) schön durchmischt und alle Altersklassen vertreten. Nicht ganz so gemütlich wie das Eagle and child gegenüber.
Place rating: 5
Bristol, United Kingdom
The Lamb and Flag is superb. If the rest of the pubs in the country had any sense they’d take it as a template. It serves real ale well, pure and simple. It doesn’t go with gimmicks, it keeps enough staff on hand to avoid scrums at the bar, and they haven’t tried re-​designing the idiosyncratic space that gives the place its charm.
Downsides, such as they are, are minimal. A later licence would be a god-​send, and prices have crept up.
Apart from the Eagle & Child, directly opposite on the other side of St Giles, this is one of the few pubs in the area — just far enough off the main Oxford drag to avoid hordes of tourists. Its proximity to St Johns and Lincoln College accommodation means there’s normally a fair smattering of students, but with a decent mix of University staff and others such that no group really dominates, as is often the problem in Oxford’s town-​gown pub divide.
Place rating: 4
London, United Kingdom
Visited this pub just after my grandad passed away and I will always have fond memories of my family remembering the best of him. Very cosy and welcoming pub with a friendly atmosphere.
Place rating: 4
Oxford, United Kingdom
lovely atmosphere, friendly staff and always an interesting conversation or two to eavesdrop on. one of my favs
Place rating: 5
Copenhagen, Denmark
This is really what all pubs should be like. Except that if they were, loads of annoying people would drink here. Fortunately, they can stick to all-​bar-​one and we can stick to The Lamb and Flag! I don’t really need to repeat what others have said — it’s a solid setup, bags of history, lashings of ale. Lovely.
Place rating: 4
London, United Kingdom
The Lamb and Flag is old fasioned traditional pub with lovely cozy rooms candles and horseshoes on the wall.
you get alot of Oxford professors and students coming here.
the staff especially Lynn the manager, are lovely, chatty and welcoming
its such a warm pub with a great vibe hidden to most on the northside of oxford before heading into summer town.
Place rating: 5
London, United Kingdom
The Lamb and Flag rates as one of the best pubs in Oxford. They don’t do food, you can forget getting any change for parking, they will never get a fruit machine, pump the most real ale in Oxfordshire and they don’t take cards. But they do focus on the important: top quality real ale (these guys really care about their beer), always plenty of staff on the bar, plenty of little cubby holes for a chat and they fund two PhDs a year. So you’re drinking in a not-​for-​profit pub, which means they’re not watching their wastage on real ale, and their focus is on happy customers, not profit.
Plus, while sitting there you can enjoy the fact that Tolkein and C.S.Lewis and their buddies met there every week to discuss their writing. Complementing the Lamb and Flag, and now also owned by St John’s is the Eagle and Child opposite.
Place rating: 4
Oxford, United Kingdom
This is a great pub and a definite if you’re a tourist in town exploring the university. This little pub has wood panelled walls with little painted crests all around, one for each college in the university. There’s lots of great beer in here, including a great bitter which can be hard to come by in other pubs. This is out on St Giles just beyond St John’s college, so is far away enough from the centre of town to enjoy a quiet little drink.
Place rating: 3
Oxford, United Kingdom
I feel that this is an underrated Oxford pub. Its décor may not be stunning, but it is homely and welcoming. The range of drinks isn’t bad either, including ‘proper’ Thatchers Cider. Not the liveliest place in town. but a good place to meet a friend for an afternoon drink or to spend a quieter evening out.
Place rating: 4
Oxford, United Kingdom
The Lamb and Flag is conveniently located on St Giles street to be away from the masses and yet to still feel very ‘Oxford’. It’s usually pretty full and has lots of interconnected rooms, so you can have privacy without feeling cut-​off from everyone else. The drinks are reasonably priced, although not the cheapest, and the bar staff very friendly. I love their crinkle-​cut crisps, but that’s the extent of their food, so don’t come here expecting dinner. The décor is quite traditional and there is a cash-​machine which is incredibly useful. A good place to hold informal meetings or to meet friends before heading off to livelier places, although it’s a good evening in its own right.