Award-winning Oxfordshire pub in running for national award

East Oxford pub The Rusty Bicycle has won the National Pub and Bar Award for the Best Pub in the county and will now go on to represent the region in a grand final with the aim to be crowned best in the country.

The annual event, held in London on 28 June, will see 94 venues go head-to-head with only one leaving with the national accolade.

The Rusty Bicycle, situated on Magdalen Road in East Oxford is part of the Dodo Pubs Co, a small group that began at this site in 2009. This was the first of one of three Arkell’s Brewery pubs that the group took on and run in their own style, redefining the neigbourhood pub.

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The company's model is to offer great craft beers, artisan coffee, Neapolitan style pizzas, chicken wings and burgers, often with a smoky twist. They also host regular events, providing the community with, as, one of the Dodo founders, Chris Manners describes, “an experience.

"We have a relaxed service style, quirky staff and playlists and we have great parties. We hope we add something to the community,” he said.

Arkell’s, the Wiltshire brewery, could see the potential in Dodo from the very beginning. Alex Arkell, now the head brewer for the Swindon based family run business, studied with Dodo founder, Chris Manners, then later partnered with Chris as the first landlords in the Rusty Bicycle in 2010, before moving on to learn brewing and qualify as a master brewer.

Alex said of The Rusty Bicycle’s achievement: “The Rusty and Dodo have come a long way since those early days, and of course the late nights! We’re incredibly proud to have been involved from the start. It is also a great award for Oxford and Oxfordshire as a county.”

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Chris added: “We were incredibly fortunate to get the backing of the brewery in those early years. As with all startups, you have hundreds of ideas and you need someone to believe in you.

"Arkell’s backed us 100 per cent and we delivered three fantastic neighbourhood pubs with them. This gave us the corner stone to grow the business and we continue to work closely with them.”