Oxford pubs are 'buzzing' after opening indoor dining for the first time this year

Today lockdown restrictions were eased across the nation, meaning for the first time in 2021, customers going to pubs, restaurants, and cafes could dine indoors.

Joe Davies, who is the general manager at the Big Society on Cowley Road, said his team was ‘really excited’ to be able to welcome customers back into their newly refurbished pub.

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He added: “It has been great to be open outdoors, but you are making cocktails, you are making drinks, you’re flaring a little bit, but no one is there to see it.

Staff at The Big Society on Cowley Road prepare to open indoors tomorrow night.

“So it will be great to be able to feed into that atmosphere again.”

The popular haunt, which boasts to be the ‘best bar on Cowley Road’, is fully booked three weeks in advance.

Other pub owners are happy to have an option for customers to sit inside, away from the windy and wet weather the past few weeks have brought.

Henry Cullen and Tom Reynolds who own The Library on Cowley Road said it will be ‘good’ to finally reopen the pub indoors.

Mr Cullen said: “The last few weeks [of outdoor service] have been quite weather dependent, not that it has really stopped people coming out which has been good.

“But now that we can open inside it means we can have a larger capacity - we know it is not going to be raining inside.”

Pubs in Oxfordshire shut their doors for the third time on Boxing Day last year, after the county entered Tier Four Covid restrictions.

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The venues doors remained closed for four months until they were finally able to reopen for outdoor service on April 12.

Staff at The Old Blackhorse prepare for a busy week ahead.

Those who did not have an area suitable for outdoor tables were unable to reopen.

Gus Rogers, who bought The Star pub on Rectory Road in East Oxford in February 2020, has had a turbulent start, with three national lockdowns as well as regional restrictions affecting when and how the pub could function.

Despite a rocky beginning. however, the owner said the pub had been ‘really busy’ for outdoor service and hopes the pattern will continue indoors.

He added: “I do not know whether the pub will be busier or quieter now, as other restaurants and pubs are opening up, but we have still got a great garden and so hopefully we will continue to be busy out there.

“We like the fact we are one of the only drinker's pubs in the area and are trying to keep it that way, and we don’t take any bookings which people seem to like.”

The current restrictions mean that only table service is allowed in pubs and bars, with most venues using apps for orders.

Indoor dining is also limited to groups of six or two households.

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Some pub owners have reflected on the economic impact of the restrictions.

Pete Saini, who owns The Old Black Horse on St Clements, said that the cost of running the pub has increased in the last year.

He said: “Our costs have tripled because we need that many more people to do table service, now we need four or five people instead of one, and with breweries closing, others prices have gone up.

“But we are really looking forward to opening inside.”

The Star on Rectory Road reopens for indoor tables.

The owner, who said the pub had been busy despite ‘cold and rainy’ weather, is expecting to be extremely full with customers tonight and on Friday evening due to Oxford United games against Blackpool.

He added: “It had to be sunny the day we opened inside - after everyone has been dying to get inside.

“But we are hoping to have lots of people, particularly with the United football matches which I think people are looking forward to in particular.”