Our Recent Visit to the Turf Tavern

We recently visited the Turf Tavern in Oxford, a historic gem, on our planning weekend for this year’s annual trip.  We’d been there with the full group in 2014 for lunch and a few pints.  The venue is clearly popular and has a sturdy selection of ales on offer, which can be consumed in a number of spaces that comprise the premises, both within and outside the pub.  From what I remember, lunch was respectable and the beer certainly good.

The thing that has irritated us is the service, which should be considered amongst the highest priority in any public house.  Previously, the bar person wouldn’t accept our e-voucher for a lunch discount, telling us that it needed to be printed, which was clearly both backward and nonsense.  This time, the girl served us beer that was well short of a full pint and refused to top them up, citing the assertion that ‘it would just froth’, suggesting the cask was running out.  In the world of good service, we would be offered an alternative and not expected to simply leave with a partial measure, this being absolutely standard industry practice and second nature to those wishing to treat customers well.

The photo above illustrates a most British protest by a group who’d usually return glasses and packets to the bar, for the convenience of the staff who served them.  The glass was placed to weigh down the packets, so to avoid the spread of rubbish, but was certainly not returned to the bar.

Not impressed by this place, which should be an absolute gem.  So far, 0 out of 2 for the Turf Tavern.

DaveSteveGezGreat PaulMattMogiRich

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