Used to be great, but now has cleaned up its image and caters for the American tourist/food crowd. No smoking area, as the conservatory has been turned over to you guessed it food. Stop killing our history and replacing it with plastic food pubs for Americans, please! read more

Dark, tiny pub steeped in history. Haven't had the food. A fun place to visit, have a pint and read the historical notes on the walls...

Historic pub with tiny rooms. Large menu of meat pies plus all the normal pub favorites done well. Good selection of ales, beers, cider. Really enjoyed it. read more

this is a very nice traditional pub. Always very busy which is a good sign! Good Beer too, so nothing to complain about!

Stopped in for a couple of pints. My wife wanted to see it because of all of its history. Did not eat there, but food looked good.

A part of Tolkein history and worth a try - a bit crowded and they were out of mushy peas, but the rest of was good and I am glad I went.

Love this place. It's been almost 20 yrs since I was last here. Food is still as I remember it. Love the history behind this pub and would highly recommend it. read more

This is probably my favorite pub in Oxford. I love how it is long and dark and it still has a classic feeling. I really enjoy the food.

The charm of this place is its connection to the Inklings, of course, but it's now chain-owned and quite musty in a way that pushes the limits of "charmingly shabby." With that said, service was great and the food was quite good, as well as a decent booze selection. read more

Cozy pub full of history and legends about its more famous regulars. We had great bar service here and found plenty of seating to accommodate our group. read more

I enjoyed attending this place for all of the history but I defiantly felt it was meant for the older crowd. Kids can certainly attend but I got the vibe they would rather you attend if youre just going for a casual, calm, drink with friends. Lovely inside, reasonable prices, and across the street from a very cool cemetery. read more

five stars for the sheer coolness of this being one of the inklings' old haunts. but then again, which pubs aren't? anyhow, it is your standard A grade pub. all the right beers, all the good benches and tables, games, crowds, intellectuals. i probably would've given this place 3 or 4 stars...but oh, the history. read more

I am a huge CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien fan so I simply had to eat at the Eagle and Child during my visit to Oxford as this historical pub has been host to many a literary discussion between these two great authors. We expected to just have a drink here but ended up staying for dinner as well. My friend and I both ordered the steak and caramelized onion sandwich and it was terrible. There were no caramelized onions to be found, only chopped red ones to "flavor" the steak and bread. I put steak sauce on it just to give it some flavor but at least the wine was good. I should have gotten the Sheppard's Pie though, my other friend got it and it looked and smelled amazing. I can't totally knock all the stars off of this place because the food was bad though. The atmosphere was amazing and it was really cool to think that I might have been sitting in the same booth that Lewis and Tolkien once sat in. read more

The Eagle and Child - Pubs Near Me - Oxford, OXF

Not very impressed , looks lovely from outside and inside it doesn't really disappoint but its pokey , smell of food overwhelming and a lack of real ales of quality . You get the feeling they are trying to do too much in too small a space . Pity as its a pub with real literary history . read more

Classic pub, I took a friend here because I figured it would be interesting to see C.S. Lewis and Tolkien's old haunt. For us, this was the main draw. The dessert my friend ordered (berry crumble) was generously portioned and we didn't feel out of place ordering tea and coffee in the early afternoon. I've heard from other friends that is is a great place at night as well, regretting not checking it out before I left! read more

I really enjoyed coming to the Eagle and Child on my England adventure. If you are a fan of Narnia and Lord of the Rings then I highly recommend checking this place out, especially if you have a few friends with you to have some pints and talk the night away. read more

A must see in Oxford for any Tolkien or Lewis fans. Nothing quite like having a pint where your favorite authors hung out. The staff is very nice if constantly kept busy. The place is also consistently packed but this gives you a chance to talk to some of the locals which is a great experience in itself. read more

Love the history of the pub. We were seated in the back room but I'd recommend sitting closer to the front where there is a bit more ambience. Food was fine but not the best pub food I've had in Oxford. Recommend it for great beer or wine to cozy up on a cold British evening. read more

Burger was terrible, meat tasted like microwaved beef patty from tesco. Come here only if you are interested in place history and get a beer. read more

Went in one day to get some food - wasn't a great ambience, and it seemed somewhat dingy and service wasn't great. The food was okay but nothing special! All in all not a bad place to be, but nothing amazing! read more

The history of the pub drags in a lot of flying visitors and, as a result, is always rammed. If you want to experience a pint as Tolkien did many, then definitely go for a beer. If you want to relax and have a few drinks I recommend another pub. read more

3.5 stars. Good whiskey menu. Decent beer selection. Not the best pub, not the worst. Very historical (C.S. Lewis, Tolkein, blah blah blah). And at least it does smell of wee like The Land and Flag across the street. read more

The famous drinking place of Tolkien and the infamous literary group The Inklings, the Eagle and Child is still an attractive pub with suitably literary decoration, occasional pub quizzes and a good selection of traditional ales. It's usually busy and has a good 'pub grub' menu at lunchtime and most evenings. The food is the usual to be expected from a pub: fish and chips, pie and chips, etc. but is good quality and there are some good puddings. When it's really busy, the place you sit doesn't matter, but if it's quieter, it's nice to sit in one of the smaller, cosier rooms towards the front, rather than the conservatory-style back room, which sometimes feels rather soul-less and was drowned out with the sounds of buildingwork when I went (although I expect that was a one-off). Drinks are reasonablly priced and the staff are friendly; the atmosphere is relaxed and this is one place where tourists and locals mingle quite well. read more

The Eagle and Child - Pubs Near Me - Oxford, OXF

It's the Bar Tolkien drank and socialised atneed I say more? Ok well if your not a LOTR geek like me I'd still recommend checking it out, the front half is really old! So if you wanna see what pubs looked like 100years ago it's the perfect place! Very wooden, all quite bendy and skew and charming as hell. Divided into little alcoves with wooden stools and fireplaces it can be very cosy. The back half is newly renovated and felt a little like a classroom to me (I think the bricks were the same as at my school), still pleasant enough though, the bar staff are friendly and chatty students, on the drinks front I had a green Ale which was lovely. read more

Nice beer, good food. The interior is interesting. It goes quite far back, transitioning from an old-fashioned pub near the entrance to something a bit more airy and well-lit at the back. Had a great pint of Cumberland ale and a pretty decent fish-and-chips here (the fish was a tad over-fried, but still good). read more

If not for its historic pedigree, this place would be a miss. It's cramped, dark, and suffers from poorly integrated expansion(s). A good renovation, respectful of its traditions would not go amiss. read more

Great little pub! So much history attached to this place it's coming out of the seat cushions.

Great history, great atmosphere, but smells like stale beer.

The food's better than you might expect late on a Saturday night. It's not a bad boozer but it does get busy and full of tourists. I'm not sure about all the Tolkien ambience - I think that was edited out of this pub a long time ago. Not an Oxford beer pub. read more

Great pub! Cool to see all the pictures of Tolkien & C.S. Lewis! Good food! Enjoyed just hanging out there!

This is a really neat pub! It's the location where CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien used to meet - so if you're into Lord of the Rings or Chronicles of Narnia, it's a great place to stop by! I had the fish and chips, as well as a shandy. Everything was delicious, and the staff were very friendly. read more

Boy, what a pub this is. Many pubs in Britain these days have turned into identikit places with the same food and the same drinks and the same atmosphere no matter where you are. That means that prices are lower, but you lose the atmosphere. The Eagle and Child is different. A great range of drinks, particularly real ales, and a wonderful olde world atmosphere (though I hate that phrase!). Of course, it's famous for its previous clients, and that's definitely a draw for some, but the real ales and the attractiveness of the building itself are quite enough for me, thankyou very much. read more

Cosy, old-school English pub with good beer and the regular assortment of pub food you would expect. With Tolkien and Lewis quotes on the walls, you can almost feel Narnia and Middle Earth being cooked up between brews there. Highly recommended for anyone making a trip to Oxford. read more

Everything you'd expect from a pub, but a history far from ordinary. This is a must visit for anyone visiting Oxford for the first time.

Such a cool place to drink with friends! Knowing the history made it even more awesome! The drinks were a little expensive compared to other pubs in the area but it was such a great atmosphere that I would definitely recommend checking it out! read more

Nice Fish n Chips! I loved the quotes by Tolkien and CS Lewis on the walls. It was incredible to imagine the "Inklings" perfecting their craft during their Oxford days. read more

Had to eat here due to the historical connections at Oxford with the Inklings. I would do it again for the first time, but maybe just stop in for a drink as the food was average at best. I had the steak pie and it was decent, my wife had a burger which was subpar (could get a better burger at a fast food joint). That said, it is a cool place and if I had it to do over again I would still stop, but maybe just for a drink until the ownership changes again. I give my food 3 stars, my wife's 1 Star, and the history of the pub 5 stars, so I'll average it out at 3 stars!! read more

A classic 'Oxford' pub, formerly the haunt of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. Today it still holds on to its infamous nickname, the 'Bird and Baby', and plays host to students, locals and tourists alike. One of Oxford's better watering holes, and nice food too! read more

If you're a Tolkien geek then this place is a must-see, the well known meeting place where he and C. S. Lewis discussed their work over a few pints! Its a bit small and pokey (though I love that - the little alcoves at the front are great!) and the food is quite slow to arrive but well worth it. I've visited several times and always had a great time. Look out for Hobbit spotters and groups of geeks (I was both!) and just bask in the atmosphere where great books were created read more

This is the legendary pub where C S Lewis and J R R Tolkein met for their 'Inklings' group. This is well publicised in the pub, with a little blurb about them on the menu and various photos and signs naming them their connection with these literary figures. No doubt they always managed to secure one of the brilliant 'snugs' at the front of the pub, because the back of the place is all modernised and ugly. It's an alright place, but the bar is too small and always crowded and it probably relies too much on its reputation to see it through. The food is good though, which is always a big bonus. read more