Submitted by Red Rover — Correspondent
Rover Rating: 4 out of 4 stars
9:30 p.m. on a Thursday. The bar is abuzz with some politicos and business people decked in 9-5 duds or happy hour work attire — generally thirty to forty somethings. College football airs quietly on the nice-sized LCDs that line the bar. And you can hear the person next to you.
Enter the witching hour (roughly 10-11 p.m.). Twenty-somethings start streaming in, preceded by a cover band that has just started warming up.
"He's going to play Hootie," the patron next to me said. And, wait for it ... he played Hootie. But no sooner are you struck by the reminiscent sound of feel-good '90s throwback before another patron leans over the bar (a male at that) and says, "His voice is touched by an angel." And he wasn't being sarcastic. Good thing Rucker went country, lest the Thursday-night Oxford gig were to give him a run for his money.
But live music on the weekends, and apparently this particular Thursday (played loudly enough to fill the dance floor and drown out your drunk shenanigans, especially when paired with crowd sing-along), is just one of the faces of this versatile "meet-eat-drink" gastropub, the first and only of its kind around these parts. British for "public house," the sleek spot doesn't just dole up cover-band ditties and pub-grub. It is, certainly, a hot spot — the place to be late night, evidenced clearly by the line down the street and the five-deep bar. But no worries. The bartenders are fast. And they're good. And if you get the munchies (or you're there for a sit-down meal), the food is phenomenal.
Ultimately, the anti-grub-by pub seems to have lived up to its expectations since it opened its doors three years ago this month. It is a jack of all trades ... perhaps a story best told this Thursday, as the professional happy hour crowd turned over to some late night carousing, where suits mingled easily with cocktail dresses, jeans and flops. And those pub-goers who just wanted to chill, spilled out on the expansive picnic-tabled patio, sipping on spirits against the scenic cityscape.
The bottom line? Oxford is the place to be — its popularity a clear testimony to that. And if you're hungry, certainly the made-from-scratch fare is enough to tempt even the pickiest palate. But if you want wiggle room and an audible table to sit at, you might choose to come in on the weekends before that hip-haunt witching hour or any time day or night during the week ... or just park it on the patio and let the server work the crowd. But tip well.
