Oh wow, this really is what this long-neglected venue has been waiting for. On a Sunday afternoon walk we reached the boathouse after its usual closing time (5pm) to find a sign redirecting us to the tavern - hooray! The relief. Sadly they'd run out of all but one of their excellent cakes, so we settled for a capuccino, a Fentimans ginger beer and two fat slices of just-baked wholemeal bread with butter and damson jam. With the evening sun streaming through the window onto us and our table and some chilled-out dance music playing in the background, this was a perfect end to our weekend - and with the cakes all gone and the venue still buzzing with people (and they've only been open 2 weeks!), it's obvious that this is what quite a lot of other folks are after too. I can't wait till they start doing dinners - and we're going to try to get there earlier next week in order to catch the scones.

Shame they've lost the bar billiards table though - I wish the the new owners could have bought that from the brewery along with the building!

First time we’ve visited since the change of management. The menu has become a more standard (and to me less interesting) pub-style menu (e.g. scampi and chips, burgers, toasties). Staff were friendly enough but seemed rushed off their feet, resulting in some dishes running out, some confusion over orders and slow service.

Forget all the old bad reviews. The Isis Farmhouse has now got new owners who are superb and friendly. It is now the best riverside pub on the Thames or Isis. Well worth a visit. Nice atmosphere inside and out. Lovely display of paintings supporting the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

We held our wedding for 130+ guests at the Isis last weekend. It was an absolutely perfect day: an arrival by boat, a drinks reception in the Barn and Meadow with games for our guests, a sumptuous and delicious meal in the Boathouse, and then music and dancing back in the Barn until midnight, with some late-night snacks to keep the dancers going. Jonathan and Jane and the rest of the staff did absolutely everything to accommodate us, and our friends and family were bowled over both by the location (you really do feel like you're in the middle of nowhere) and the quality and quantity of the food (mixed canapes, paprika chicken, caponata, sweet potato falafels, salads, bread, cakes and berries, with bacon and sausage rolls in the evening). And not only that, but the staff cleared everything up for us to collect the next day. The costs were absolutely clear and consistent from start to finish, and the advice was always sound (if a little delayed during some busy periods), all of which made planning the event so much easier. Thank you so much for making our day so special.

This pub is an absolute tour de force. Like the Perch, further upstream these are unique establishments, full of genuine character. The location is stunning and in the last few years the garden and place have been developed to really be in harmony with its setting backing onto the floodplain. The landlord, so often remarked upon, is quite the opposite of a sycophantic, corporate consumerist the likes of which we expect in the USA. If you look for certainty and bland predictability, then please go elsewhere. If you celebrate something unique and away from our increasingly sterile world, come to the Isis and enjoy it for what it is, an absolute gem, complete with all its quirkiness.

Five of us had the beef stew on a chilly Saturday night in December - just the right food for the weather. Rich and flavourful, lots of rosemary but not too much, good variety of vegetables, and accompanied by fantastic bread. Despite being more than adequately fed by then, we couldn't resist going for two kinds of cake to share as well. Glad we did! Both were delicious. The log fire was so cosy, and the beer drinkers appreciated the local brews, all from within 30 minutes of Oxford. Don't wait for summertime to visit!

We called at the Isis when on a caravan break to Oxford for the Easter weekend. Actually, we called in 3 days running. What a wonderful pub - in the process of being refurbished - but full of character. The owners we found very friendly, and they chatted about the history of the pub. The food was lovely - beans on toast - brilliant! If ordering for small children probabaly one between two would have been enough. Real Ales and cider. We even called in on the Monday when we were leaving to have scones and coffee, and will certainly be returning when we are next up from Wales.

The Isis were the perfect venue for a large family lunch (22 guests plus 4 kids). We booked a couple of large tables in the barn at the back. The food was delicious, promptly served, filling and good value. Jonathan was a prompt communicator. Yes, he's certainly not ingratiating, but he was very helpful throughout the process (even going so far as to suggest a range of other venues when we considered self-catering).

We also like heading along for a read of the papers on quieter weekends. Highly recommended.

I emailed the Isis farmhouse twice, once to ask about holding a wedding and once about New Year's Eve. Both times I was responded to the same day, with full and helpful information. Regarding the wedding, the manager was very friendly and jokey, giving us advice on how to save money and even a list of alternative venues if the Isis didn't suit us. I have yet to meet him, but first impressions were very favourable.

The Isis is a gem of a pub. The venue is gorgeous and the home made cakes are delicious. I don't know what the fuss is about the manager, I have always found him to be helpful and polite. I highly recommend this pub.

Have to agree with the negative reviews I'm afraid; yes, a great location, shame about the service and the manager's attitude about a good customer experience.

The place is magical.

This place is magical. Don't listen to the whingers down below. If you go, make the time to enjoy it. Food is delicious. Not cheap, but excellent quality! Do remember to bring cash.

Just another voice in the conversation.

I visit this pub every now and again. I have seen the landlord be very polite and friendly to visitors. I have also seem him be incredibly rude and dismissive and heard people very unhappy as a result. I have experienced this myself, seemingly being on good terms one day and eye-wateringly unpleasant another. It's just his style and you need to decide whether to take it on the chin or find somewhere else.

This is a nice pub but I don't know whether to recommend it or not. My nose is still a bit out of joint from my last visit. But I have enjoyed it before.

If you go, be aware that service is pot luck and you may need to be a bit thick-skinned. The beer is well kept, the food is good and some of the cakes are excellent. It's shabby inside but appearance isn't everything.

And, at least last time I checked, cash only!

We held a wedding reception in the barn of the Isis Farmhouse at the beginning of June 2013 - the Isis is a pub we love and visit as often as possible, and everything about our experience was just as spectacular as we'd expected. Gorgeous location; lovely barn that we were able to decorate just as we wanted and had plenty of space for dinner and dancing; huge portions of delicious seasonal food; and finally the relaxed, informal, happy atmosphere we'd hoped for. The Isis is, most certainly, the best pub and event venue in Oxford.

The food is simple and very good quality - especially the baking.

The location is great, a big garden overlooking the river. The garden is so large that small children can run about without disturbing others, so it is a good family place. Be aware, if you have difficulty walking, that you cannot park nearby. If you come by car you must park the other side of Iffley Lock and it is a good five minute walk - more if you walk slowly.

The slight tattiness of decor gives it a bohemian feel, which I rather like.

However, as others appear to have noticed, the landlord can seem to be astoundingly rude. It seems that he is not used to working in a service industry, perhaps is somewhat resentful of it, and appears to takes any query as a personal insult rather than handle it, to my mind, professionally. Good manners cost nothing. Those who think he is merely a little grumpy have, I feel, simply not experienced how rude he can be, to my mind - and often is, to judge from a number of reviews.

If one is constantly offended by one's customers, perhaps one is in the wrong business.

There was a pub called The Isis

Where we'd heard the cakes were the nicest

We cycled on over

Past the river and the clover

To find indeed t'was the finest

But enough of limericks! My son and I cycled over to The Isis Farmhouse on a drizzling Saturday afternoon last week. We saw the Landlord as we walked in and he was his usual polite self. I ordered a drink and some crisps and a piece of fruit cake, the size of a small Double Decker Bus but far more delicious, while my little boy sat by the log burner warming himself and his gloves. We then sat in the very relaxed atmosphere and enjoyed our tasty crisps and amazingly good cake. There was a mix of people from Oxford as well as different parts of the world, different ages and also some other children there. The only disappointment was having to leave and go back outside into the cold.

My favourite pub! I know people have complained about bad service, but my experiences have always been totally opposite to those complaints, Not too long ago I got caught out in the rain, and even worse, my very young daughter for some reason became scared of the umbrella. I rushed to the Isis to get dry and the owner's wife quickly produced a fresh and clean towel, and the bartender lent me a children's umbrella which she wasn't scared of.

Even on an extremely busy and sunny Sunday, we got three lunches delivered in seven minutes flat.

It's an efficient, well run establishment, with good staff.

We held a private party with 100 guests at the Isis in June 2012 and had a wonderful time. The food and drink was excellent - our friends and family were all very impressed. The landlord took care of everything and was keen to help and so we received great service. The children had plenty of space to run around the garden and the barn was nice to sit in when it got cooler in the evening. Highly recommended as a venue.

We recently organised a wedding reception at the Isis and the service we received on the night was exceptional throughout.

We hired the barn at the back and on a warm summer's evening it was a perfect setting - eating great food, playing aunt Sally and dancing in the barn with the sunset in the background. The staff were friendly and professional at all times, and many of our guests commented on how well run everything was.

We had very few problems with the manager - there were times when he was slightly slow to respond to emails when setting things up, but everything that we asked for was exactly in place on the night, and he was extremely helpful in setting up/packing away decorations etc.

We'd thoroughly recommend it.

Best pub in Oxford, cosy and intimate, in a lovely location by the river.

Don't forget to take cash though as there is not a cash machine or means to pay by card!

I realise that what I am about to write is somewhat out of date now, but having read through some of the reviews below I thought it might be useful to try and provide some balance to the views on "Bonfire Night".

I, too, have been visiting the Isis for at least a couple of years, and it is my venue of choice for a cosy and spontaneous get-together. The drinks menu is excellent and the cream teas are the best in Oxford - even better than can be had a The Old Parsonage, which is really saying something in my view.

Almost every time I've visited the Isis it has been extremely busy, and it can take a little while for service at the bar. However, when I say busy, I mean busy, and consequently it is nothing short of miraculous that service is given as swiftly and efficiently as it is; and the fact that the Isis has never run out of scones (at least not when I've been there) on a warm sunny day when it is at its most busy is testament to the commitment of the owners to its success. There is usually a large wood burner in action, too, providing a lovely warm atmosphere on the less than sunny days. All in all, then, a really lovely venue in my my opinion and my experience.

But... The bonfire night was a bit of a disaster! Not alone because of the lack of fireworks and the unfortunate wording of the promotional literature.

Firstly, the music was sorely let down by a lack of amplification. I can only assume that there was a problem with the PA, but with solo acoustic artists on the bill, this was next to impossible to accommodate in a large room. Also, because the bands were playing in the converted barn and it was bloody freezing outside, the doors to the bar had to remain closed. This meant that there were three choices available to punters: 1) sit inside in absolute silence while the whispery acoustic acts tried to make themselves heard (and possibly sitting on the stone floor, as the stage was set in the middle of the room facing the opposite side, rather at one end of the long room); 2) sit outside in the freezimg cold where there were the remnants of a frankly rather pathetic and fenced off bonfire - a bonfire which gave off about as much warmth as my bottom; 3) go inside the pub and forego the advertised events.

In the end, the final option was the only one worth picking for me and for my friends, though by this time, the pub was rammed. My £5.00 (which would have been negligible had I bought anything at all) was thus a bit hard to justify parting with.

Had the Isis planned things a little more thoroughly (something I am sure they intended to do), then the evening could have been a roaring success. A nice warm fire and audible music might have been quite magical, but instead, it was a disjointed and misrepresentative muddle.

All this said, I am still an enormous fan of the pub, and I am in fact on my way there now with my infant son! I only hope the pub's full potential is realised, as nights like Bonfire Night will cause its deservedly excellent reputation some serious damage if they are not learnt from.

The Isis is great. Lovely place for families and despite other reviews, the landlord has always been very pleasant when we have visited. Given its location and how hard the margins are for pubs nowadays, we need to support local gems like this as much as possible. Usually good music/events are put on monthly and the food is generally very decent (though usually there are only 1-2 main dishes on offer).

Probably the best place to have a beer in the sunshine in Oxford.

(Boathouse review)

Excellent cakes (as good as any I've had elsewhere) and a very nice environment - I've been there a few times now and plan to go back lots more.

(Boathouse review)

What a lovely welcome, having negotiated the wet and slippery tow path in teeming rain. We had delicious home-made cakes (gingerbread and coffee/date/walnut - both of which I'm already planning a return visit to scoff again) and I was delighted to find that they have a wide choice of teas including herbal. There's a wood-burning stove to warm feet/dry out sodden rainwear whilst lounging on the sofa and they didn't object to the dog either. Altogether a very pleasant experience.