You've got to admire the Rusty. It’s one of those great Oxford pubs which is genuinely at the heart of its community.

Quirky, relaxed and friendly, it may only have been around for six years (it was previously a dive called The Eagle), but has quickly caught on, with that oh-so-hip combination of good real ale, the obligatory craft beers, and the kind of funky pub menu which sits somewhere between faux-retro and American diner – all pizzas, ribs, pulled pork, fish finger sandwiches and burgers.

While I have eaten there before, and been pretty happy with the results, it had been a while, and since then scores of other places have muscled in on its territory, offering a practically identical bill of fare.

In the spirit of reinvention, it has updated its menu, offering a few tantalising-sounding additions, such as Quail’s eggs – items more at home on the menu of a Bullingdon Club knees-up than an East Oxford boozer.

So how would the new-look Bicycle measure up? Would it fly like Olympian Chris Froome, or flounder in disgrace like Lance Armstrong? Well, the answer, unfortunately, was closer to the latter. It may be a lovely boozer, but my visit was a comedy of errors. First there were those Quail eggs. Advertised at £3 for six, I was informed the advertised price was actually wrong, the price having just risen by a £1. Interesting.

They came stone cold – which made peeling them a tedious and painstaking affair. They had also been overcooked, or possibly just left sitting around for too long, leaving them with hard, floury yolks which, coupled with the inevitable flakes of shell left on their diminutive flanks, made them fairly unpleasant and certainly not worth the effort – particularly at 66p a pop.

The burger was fat and juicy and served on a lovely springy bap, but came only lukewarm, and served with a pot of congealed mayonnaise.

A pizza, ordered with extra salami, came without the salami (or perhaps served in homeopathic quantity).

When sent back for its extra topping it emerged buried in a lurid pink mountain of industrial pork product, which then had to be removed and heaped onto the table.

I am convinced it was just a one-off bad night (we all have them!), and The Rusty remains one of east Oxford's all-round best pubs. But it seems it might have some work to do, to keep its yellow jersey - and stay ahead of the pack.

The Rusty Bicycle, Magdalen Road, Oxford 01865 435298