
The Chequers Inn, Oxford
As soon as I made my way down the small alleyway, neatly tucked in between a pair of old buildings, I new that I was about to experience a place out of time, but also oddly of its time. In an post-modern world where people blend the old and new, the Chequers does just that. The Chequers is a rustic, retro pub set in a weather worn 16th century building that, as I was informed by the kindly barman, used to be a place that housed a set of exotic animals. While I was thankful that the smell of a dozen stuffed creatures had been replaced with the smell of two dozen sweaty football fanatics, my mind inevitably wondered about what these animals were.
I was greeted by a lad dressed in a dazzlingly white German football shirt. His face said it all. But a dissappointing performance at the world cup was not enough to dampen his spirits. He quickly rushed over to me and asked, as all barmen do, what exactly I would like. Making decisions has never been but strongsuit so, like the irritating customer that I am, I asked to try a few of the draughts to see what I never knew I craved. Turns out a pint of Peroni hit the spot. I couldn’t say much about the other drinks, as World Cup fever overtook me and the lads I was there to meet. There was no shame felt in our banter and our boasting.
Atmosphere wise, the Chequers is just like the other bars that are hidden down a series of winding alleyways. It gives the feeling of the speakeasys, of outof- the-picture dive bars, full of colourful characters. The ancient beer garden, flanked on all sides by medieval walls, feels like it could tell a thousand stories on its own. I gained a thousand stories for the C.U.T.S gang and a few hundred more from the crowd who cheered and chanted with the day’s football. The beers kept coming, the jokes became cruder and that oh-so-sweet drunken haze, crept over me.
Being smashed out of your face is probably not the best state to be in when you are reviewing a bar, but the very fact that I was comfortable enough to do so speaks alot for this bar. Everything about it is a strange portmanteau of the old and new. Ancient coat of arms are flanked by sets of modernist oil canvas, stone archways decorated with devious graffitti murals that showcase and mock the current world we live in, the old chalk signs advertising the hip new craft beers that have taken this country by storm. And it does it so well, like an uncle in converse shoes.
The Chequers is without a doubt an appropriate name for the pub. It is like a game is being played between two rivals on a board of black and white, in this case the rustic, nostalgic old of Oxford with the hip, rebellious new of its young population. With fairly priced beers, classic pub chow to dine on, music that won’t sand your ears down to a stump and a shaded beer garden flanked by chaotic plants and towering stone walls, The Chequers is a choice place for someone who wishes to escape the noisy brussle of the high street for a cold drink and a relaxing chat.
