The Punter

I've now been here three times to eat in the last 3 months as my favourite choice of restaurant in Oxfordshire! - currently anyway.

This included taking my Mother on her 80th birthday - a risky choice but I was not let down, thank goodness. The friendly staff lit the fire on demand as it was freezing outside and the food, wine and experience were all wonderful as expected.

Yes, it's a small, selective and unusual menu, and it does change, so you can't guarantee the delicious venison each time you go - but in Masterchef style, all the dishes are carefully thought out, work well and are all very very good. The decor could be described as Dickensian with curling threadbare turkish carpets, chairs that have seen better days and and peeling mirrors, but this is all part of the charm. They are clearly concentating on good, well presented food.

Good choices of wine, 'proper' wine glasses and linen napkins; don't care about the beer, I dno't go there to drink.

I'm there again tomorrow for my birthday so hoping it's consistently good.

Only problem of course is absolutely nowhere to park... Get your comfortable shoes on.

Fussy Foodie (Unverified), 10/02/12

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Enjoyed an excellent Xmas meal here with work - imaginative menu options, well-presented and tasty, reasonably speedy service even though there were over 50 of us.

West Oxford gourmet (Unverified), 17/12/11

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Warm welcome and friendly staff. Good food and service. The pub has a good atmosphere and is a nice place to spend the evening. Wifi there for those who need it.

OsneyPhotographer (Unverified), 09/12/11

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I absolutely cannot identify with the couple of reviews on here which complain about service. I had 26 family and friends come to Oxford to celebrate my birthday last week and we were cheerfully put up at the last minute by Tom and the team. I was given a personalised menu, booking/ordering was straight forward and we were made to feel very welcome. On top of that, the four young children in our party were happily left to play with Playdough (which I brought with me) and do colouring in (books and pencils provided by the pub). I had to remove a bit of Playdough from the carpet at the end and thought how nice it was that no one had been fretting about the mess! Yes the pub is a bit gastro but definitely not pretentious or overpriced.

The food is delicious and there is a respectable range of beer (not that I am a connoisseur - I was on the Speckled Hen). The views of canal boats and ducks are perfect and what I like to think of as the authentic Oxford. We had about half of the pub in a separate area to the side of the bar. I felt a little bit bad about taking over becuse it was hard for the other customers, many of whom I imagine were regulars, to get through to the seating area outside but they were all very friendly about it. Everyone enjoyed their afternoon and the Punter defintely gets two thumbs up from me. I was absolutely charmed by the lovely Tom (I defy you not to be!) and I would like to thank the whole team for helping to make my birthday such a great day!

saraha (Unverified), 22/08/11

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We went to a brilliant birthday party at the Punter. The food was delicious, the service warm and friendly. So we went back on a Sunday a week later. The food took an hour to come, so we asked if they could find out what had happened to it. We were told it was coming and they were busy (though it did not look like it).

When it finally arrived, the meat and potatoes were dried up, the vegetables overcooked and watery. The Manager, hearing of the delay, kindly, and properly, refused to charge for the food. Then the waitress was extremely rude. If that isn't what you want, don't go.

Elizabeth (Unverified), 22/08/11

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The Punter is my favourite pub in Oxford. It's cosy and welcoming and I've always found the staff to be friendly and efficient. The food is delicious and everyone I've taken there loves it. I have been there a few times with my dogs, and they always get a fuss and a dog biscuit from the barman. I think it's a great community pub, and I couldn't ask for more from a local.

Zoe14 (DI User), 01/08/11

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The Punter is a cracking place with great food and staff... as for prices, I think they're fine! Glad to have it as my local boozer.

botley babe (Unverified), 13/05/11

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I went there a couple of times and, although very pricey, thought the pub a nice place with trendy decor. However, service was surly and rude and we don't want to put up with attitudes if we are paying good money for a pleasant experience. The food is quite good, but expensive. The ales are very limited too. I agree with AMH's review below.

DaveB (Unverified), 30/04/11

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A former fan of The Watermans Arms and the wonderful (albeit occasionally grumpy!) landlord, Henry, I grudgingly paid my first visit to The Punter last weekend. I arrived fairly late for lunch so was pleased to discover that they serve food all day. The back garden was as busy as one would expect on a sunny day in Oxford but I managed to get a seat on a small table at the front of the pub and settled down with my pint to wait for the food. The menu is fairly eclectic, with some odd pairings of ingredients (crayfish and rabbit paella anyone..?!) that I didn’t sample and would feel slightly anxious about ordering. However, playing it safe I decided to order two starters and went for the whitebait and the Scotch egg. The whitebait was plentiful in portion size and just the right side of salty and the scotch egg arrived warm and gooey with, what looked like, home-made piccalilli on the side. I rather enjoyed both, even though I was unable to finish the mound of whitebait, and I felt that the Scotch egg could have been excellent with a bit more seasoning in the breadcrumbs. Pleasantly surprised I returned again this weekend and enjoyed delicious pints of Pimm’s and gin (with tonnes of fresh fruit in) for £5 a go and some pretty decent white wine which came in around £17 a bottle. We were planning to stay for supper but like me, my partner was put off by some of the stranger items on the menu (which is also quite small, but I would guess changes frequently), so we moved on elsewhere. I found the staff helpful and friendly and although I miss Henry and his great boxing stories I think it’s a perfectly nice waterside pub. On that note, whilst I realise that the pub being next to the water might cause one to jump to the conclusion that they have renamed it The Punter in a punting sense I think that actually it is meant in the sense that one going to a pub can also be termed ‘a punter’. I could be wrong but their sister pub in Cambridge, also called The Punter, is, as far as I can tell, not near water at all…

Dr Mukti (DI User), 26/04/11

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Canoed up from Oxford on Easter Sunday with two boatloads of hungry kids. So glad to see a riverside pub for a quick drink and some lunch - so disappointed at the surly attitude of the barman.

Food took ages to come, despite an enquiry as to why, which was brushed off. Good grub when it did come. Half pint of Morland's was fine, but needs more real ales on tap. Loos need sorting: grubby, pongy and liquid soap bottle empty.

Don't assume because you're next to the river in Oxford it's a licence to sit back, be lazy and watch the cash roll in.

AMH (Unverified), 25/04/11

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Yes of course, pity about the name - but it's not that important. The pub itself is a so much happier place to be, now - even though the drinks prices are a bit high. The food really is interesting and very well cooked and presented, and the service very friendly. Cosy fire, dogs on blankets, river outside. . . . Love it.

Osney Frog (Unverified), 20/02/11

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I have lived in Oxford for ages, and have only just discovered the Punter! It is a lovely pub in a nice quiet location, with high quality food, and drinks reasonably priced. I visited in January and they had open fires which really made it a welcoming environment. The staff were friendly, and I would definitely visit again, in fact, I may well become a regular.

verityrs (Unverified), 07/02/11

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Food was well above the Oxford average - and worth the money - but the beer could be better. Leffe on tap is bland and overpriced. Where's the local reale ale?! Let's support the smaller breweries that are making an effort in the town and around, as other reviewers have stated. If they work on the drinking side of it they'll get more people in; it's difficult for longer food visits if you're not on foot as there's no parking. I'm not keen on the name change either (you can't get punts to there anyway) - I think they should've called it the New Watermans. Oh, and homebaked real bread (not machine bread) before the meal would be nice too. I guess the test though will be if people continue to come. Seems pretty popular at the moment!

howler (Unverified), 25/01/11

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The food was lovely, it lived up to the expectations of the menu. Service was slow though with a long wait for our meal to be served. But, it was worth the wait. My salmon was perfectly cooked, which is a first in Oxford! Drinks are a bit more pricey than your average pub, which did make it an expensive lunch. If you want good food and you're willing to pay for the quality of ingredients then this is a good call.

Lentil99 (Unverified), 02/01/11

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What 'Gastropub'? We found the food bland, good enough as run of the mill pub grub maybe but well below restaurant standards, and the range of wines is rather poor. 4 out of 10.

jo (Unverified), 10/12/10

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Is it a pub or is it a restaurant? A pub should serve good ,reasonably priced drinks, no matter how good the food is. Sadly, with so many excellent micro-breweries in the County, we are offered Greene King`s poor substitute for real ales, and nothing else. The wine list,also, is marginally more expensive than that offered by a proper restaurant. By the above criteria it is, therefore, a restaurant and, if you are prepared to walk, there are many better ones within easy striking distance.

Thirsty Islander (Unverified), 09/11/10

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As another islander I've been to the Punter more times in the month and a half since it opened than I did the previous year and half at the Watermans. Not that I disliked the Watermans, just that I didn't find it particularly inviting and with the level of competition in Oxford it usually lost out to an Isis, Bookbinders, Harcourt or Goat Heads, despite it's proximity to my home.

I've not noticed a particular hike in drinks prices, and although the food is more expensive it's not more so than a lot of its competitors, and it's very good too (of my 3 visits I've eaten twice). I'm intending to take some visiting friends there on the weekend in fact. There is more emphasis on the food now, but it still falls on the pub side of gastropub in my book.

As for the name change, I'm a bit indifferent, but I really don't miss that motto ("At the command of our superiors"), which always struck me as being bizarrely ingratiating given it was representitive for a group of hardworking and rightly proud individuals.

Bethan (DI User), 25/10/10

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There are plenty of restaurants and gastropubs in Oxford for the Islington-on-Thames set, but few and now fewer real neighbourhood pubs like the Watermans. The daft new name wonderfully sums up the way these people ignore the real community they are in. Islington, Cambridge, Oxford - it's all the same to the new clientele, who must find the old locals who are still holding on simply charming.

stantheman (Unverified), 24/10/10

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Whilst the Waterman's was a no-nonsense local pub with excellent ale and a very loyal local following, the recently re-named Punter* is a gastropub pure and simple. The food is possibly better than when the previous landlord ran the Waterman's but it's a lot pricier. The beer price has increased too. Many locals want somewhere unpretentious to pop into for a friendly pint, as opposed to a culinary experience; so it remains to be seen whether the concept will gain traction on the Island. Time will tell.

*Why the name change? The previous name served the community well for over a century...and no punts ever use this stretch of river!

Oxford Don (DI User), 28/09/10

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An overhaul at the Waterman's Arms was welcome; the name change, price hikes, and expensive menu probably were not.

Removal of the pool table and dart board, along with the gastropub style menu suggest the Punter is looking to primarily be a restaurant rather than a pub.

The food might be good, and it might work for them, as it has done in The Magdalen Arms, but I'd have preferred a community local rather than a restaurant.

TomD (DI User), 27/09/10

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Nicely decorated and good atmosphere inside. But I do wish they had kept the name - this pub has always been called 'The Watermans Arms' since 1871 when it had a good trade from locals and the watermen travelling by boat between the Midlands and London. There is no punting anywhere near this stretch of the river! Please rethink.

Jules (Unverified), 08/09/10

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