please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Not a bad atmosphere in this place and I quite enjoyed the quiz.
Unfortunately, all three cask beers I tried were in poor condition. I won't be venturing back unless they learn how to keep their ale.
|
Still the best pub in town - no others come close.
|
Love this pub! Best pub in town, staff are friendly and prices are good. Food is very tasty and again, good prices! Great place to go during the day or on a night out! Music is trendy and the atmosphere is superb. LOVE IT!!!
kap81 - 16 Nov 2011 09:44 |
Have to completely reiterate what the comment below me says, best pub in Banbury. Great atmosphere, everyone is very friendly and just a really nice place to chill out and relax and socialise. The offers on drinks are great, food is lovely and the Wednesday night quiz is always a joy!
|
This is the best pub in Banbury by far! The staff are very friendly and the food is excellent value and top quality. During the week it is a great place to chill out with friends, at the weekends it is always busy with good drinks offers! The weekly quiz is a highlight.
|
This used to be a "classic" pub with several rooms and a great timeless feel to it (compete with genuine cobwebs on the bottles behind the bar). It was,I think a free house which was sold to Morrells Brewery of Oxford who were then taken over by Greene King. The old lantern outside still gives a clue to its previous existance but I fear it will never return to what it was - there were quite a few youngsters in when I passed by the other night - times change and sadly some pubs have to change as well. At least it is still open and you can get an idea of what it was once was like inside.
|
This is what I would call a drinking hole...just going through the motions...it has the potential to be a very likeable pub (especially with the large garden)...let's hope someone steps in and revives it...beer was ok
|
Don�t trust the bar staff here! We went in this place for a drink on 24th December and asked the lady behind the bar for a pint of Guiness and a Whisky & Ginger. The lady behind the bar asked if �Jack Daniels� would be OK & I said that would be fine. She then said something to the other lady standing with her and charged us for these two drinks.
In the meantime as we were paying we noticed that the other lady had gone to the �Jameson� whisky optic and had poured out this instead of Jack Daniels! It just happens that this is a lot cheaper drink!! Crafty move�they obviously thought that we wouldnt realise! When we pointed this out they both seemed quite surprised we actually noticed!
We had the feeling that these two people behind the bar had done this before and makes us wonder how many times they have fiddled people that perhaps not noticed or had not bee watching??
We also spoke to other people about this and it seems that we were not the only ones and that the bar staff at the Wine Vaults have quite a reputation for doing this!!
My advice if you are visiting this place is to watch the staff and double check what drinks they pour and if it is what you asked for. Also double check your change as the bar staff obviously can not be trusted! The manager should spend a bit of time observing the bar staff if he is concerned about the Wine Vaults reputation!
It�s a shame as this building has good character and is in a very good location, but let down by untrustworthy staff�shame on them!
|
beware this is a gay bar
|
when I moved to banbury 1981 this pub was a quirky atmospheric old style place...full of snugs and wood panelling which over the years has been removed bit by bit,which is a shame, the interior is now a mish mash of decor and frankly a mess.....however the real ales always seem to redeem the place....last night had a couple of excellent pints of St Edmunds a blonde draught ale from Green King at 4.2 It is very drinkable indeed
|
Yep - still good. Marc's doing a very good job in restoring the former glory of the Vaults. Lot's of live music these days too - much appreciated.
|
Glad to report the previous owners have gone and The Vaults is on it's way to becoming a cool place again. New manager with a better attitude, needs to manage his staff better though. Last week, packed bar, took ages to get served, 5 people behind bar, only two serving, the others three just pissing about chucking ice cubes at each other. Sort it out.
Great pub though and I'm going tonight!
|
Wouldn't go near the place in the evening but a good place for a sandwich and soft drink at lunchtime. The beer is average at best but the food was good and priced sensibly.
|
This pub has gone through many changes over the years and has been highly rated by many different cliques of people too. (including the pot heads during the 80's). The current management have tried to smartent things up without being too disruptive but unfortunately it has lost a lot of its old character and become slightly sterile. (do you REALLY need doormen at this pub? They are quite friendly guys but seem pretty pointless)
I find it closes far too early on a weekend evening but the food during the day is good and fairly priced too. There are worse pubs in town.
Food: Very good, good price
Decor: Generally new but lost its old charm (shame)
Toilets: Generally clean & regularly checked
Service: One or two sour faces but mostly smiling & efficient.
|
Time for an update - and what a shame. As I've said before, the Vaults was the best pub in town. The new landlord / lady have spoilt it. It's too bright, too loud, staff are rude and have a very strange attitude to customers (don't accept plastic, banned football shirts). Obviously it's their prerogative to do this kind of stuff, but silly to be alienating your regulars. However its still a great place - just wish the old managers were still there.
|
Loud Greene King pub, terrible beer condition and average pub fare. Blasting music at weekends. This used to be the best pub in Banbury but now it is a poor shadow of is former self when (i)Morrells destroyed it.
|
The Vaults was once the best pub in town - a proper old style bar, dark and woody, amongst all the chains and trendy places. Recently tho they've started pandering to the majority and started playing head splitting dance music at the weekends but it's still a great pub, and one of few with character. Been coming in here on and off for 20 years so I've seen many changes. New landlord and lady (as of Summer 05) so be interesting to see how it evolves. Nice pub.
|
Usually pop in to this place for a beer if indulging in the Banbury tradition of the Saturday night pub crawl. Good selection of beer reasonably priced for the town centre. Go early on in the crawl though as it is one of the few that sticks to the 11pm curfew on a Saturday night.
|
Should be so much better but it's biggest problem is - it's too small.
However, good choice of food, lovely garden and great Strawberry wine!!
anonymous - 24 Jul 2005 23:37 |
Old style pub recently bought out by Greene King and leased to a young group of people determined to detain a third generation of my family by the bar. Suits only certain tastes, but the food is great and the "garden" is gorgeous on a sunny afternoon.
Sean - 22 Oct 2003 00:18 |
