1 week Ago
The Old Tom in St Aldates, which is named after one of the bells of Christ Church college opposite, is the Oxford Mail Pub of the Week. It has been a welcoming watering hole for Oxford's town and gown since at least the end of the 17th century. The Old Tom is sister restaurant to the Monkey and Me restaurant in London's Marylebone.
A spokesperson for the pub said: "Today it is a unique experience that perfectly combines old world English pub sensibilities with the very best in Thai cuisine. "Both restaurants serve delicious Thai food that stays true to its Eastern origin. We source only the best and freshest spices, pastes, vegetables and herbs direct from Thailand, through our partners Thaitana.
"This way we know that all our dishes are made with the finest quality Thai ingredients to match our fine range of Greene King ales. A surprisingly perfect combination." Dave Richardson, of Oxford CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale), has written a book called Oxford Pubs, which was published in 2015.
He wrote: “One of the curiosities of Oxford is that the bell (Old Tom), which weighs more than seven tonnes, is rung 101 times at 9.05pm to commemorate the original number of students at the college. "Even more curiously, the pub’s address is 101 St Aldates.
” The pub was first named The Unicorn and Jacob's Well in the 17th century. The Jacob's Well name continued until 1865 when it briefly became the Great Tom, before adopting its current name in 1878. The pub was one of many former Morrell's of Oxford pubs acquired by Greene King in 2002.
The pub has a four out of five rating on the reviews website Tripadvisor. One customer who visited earlier this month wrote: "I had an amazing date night. I was not expecting this place to do Thai food.
I was recommended by a friend and had a brilliant experience. I will be back." Another diner this month wrote: "Amazing food and great staff.
Thai food is very authentic. "There were 10 of us sitting in the beer garden. The staff are very helpful, thoughtful, and the service was great.
We ordered everything...
beers, teas, hot food and snacks. Everything is great." In November, one customer left a five-star review.
The customer enjoyed the Thai food, saying: "If you are looking for authentic Thai food combined with a traditional English pub atmosphere, this is the place for you. "The staff are very welcoming and friendly, quickly recognise you after two or three visits, and offer very good service. The Thai food is excellent and quite reasonably priced, with their main courses generally priced around £14-15.
"On the bar they have everything you would expect from a pub, including three handpumped cask ales. These are generally national brands, but the Taylor's Landlord we were drinking was very well kept and went down nicely with the Thai food.".
