Last weekend gave us a hint of summer.  Temperatures barely touched 20 degrees and Oxonians responded by leaving their houses and movie theatres to join the al fresco crowds outside.  Girls in shorts rode up the High Street on their bicycles. Young mothers in skirts pushed prams down George Street. Men munching magnums wandered along the Cowley Road.

 

Popular beer gardens filled quickly with sun worshippers. Throngs of people congregated to the Head of the River on Folly Bridge to enjoy the well-kept London Pride. Staff at the Trout in Wolvercote could barely cope with the Saturday crowds requesting the Italian Rosé. The Perch in Binsey opened its beer garden with craft bottled lagers, draft ales and a new Tapas menu. Their wines change often, but my favourite one this weekend was a refreshing white from Southern France.  Even Freud Cafe on Walton Street had people sitting on the steps waiting for a table as the sun set Saturday evening.

While everyone knows of the popular beer gardens of Oxford, it is the secret gardens and their tasty bevvies that are worth exploring on the next sunny day. The Harcourt Arms on Cranham Terrace has a well-hidden garden and a delicious Picpoul de Pinet worth sampling.  You can always tell a good wine when the landlord drinks it and Picpoul is white wine Xavier Bouhayed chooses when he is not working.

 

Further East the Big Society on the Cowley Road offers locally sourced schooners of ale to enjoy at one of their many picnic tables.  The Isis Tavern, while having one of the best beer gardens on the river, is easy to over look as access is restricted to the footpath.

One of my all time favourites sits high above Oxford, level with the dreaming spires. The Ashmolean Dining Room roof terrace is perfect for those Helios groupies among us. This weekend, they are offering two for the price of one cocktails all day Friday and Saturday until 10pm. It doesn’t matter whether your preferred tipple is a mojito or cosmopolitan. You could try a retro cocktail. My latest favourite  is the classic Manhattan.  Ask for sweet vermouth and Canadian whisky (served with a maraschino cherry and a dash of angostura bitters) for a super smooth finish.