The Varsity Club in Oxford

Double 30th Birthday Bash...2nd floor great place for a private party 🥳

Nice bar to enjoy a few drinks , can be cold in winter as its a rooftop so be prepared:)

We booked a table here in advance in order to be organised and guarantee availability. We were seated and ignored for the duration of our stay. There was a QR code to order drinks which when at check out said service unavailable. When getting the attention of a staff member and asking him if we could order a drink, he said he would check and then proceeded to hang around other tables, drinking sips of their drinks and having a laugh. He then ignored us and walked past our table for the rest of the night. To say the service here was bad would be an understatement. The service was non existent. Despite booking a table, we ended up leaving having not been served. Really poor and would not recommend.

The good news: the views are excellent. The bad news: as mentioned by other reviews, we literally could not get a drink. We attempted to use the QR code portal, only to find a message informing us that orders had been suspended. At the rooftop, there is no physical bar, so theres no other way to procure a beverage. We queried this with a member of staff, who told us hed look into it. In reality, waited 10 minutes as he casually spoke to other tables and failed to follow up our enquiry in any way. Its worth mentioning that we booked our table in advance. Overall, I absolutely would not recommend, unless your goal is to see a view but not quench your thirst.

The view on the terrace is nice, the early 2000s music is a bit loud... But. The real reason for coming is Bryn, that guy prepares cocktails like one makes sweet love to ones lover. The passion, dedication and attention to every detail is mad! My whisky sour was more made up than any girl in the bar.

Its a nice place with an upmarket vibe, and prices. The service is really good. Yes, it takes time to get the drinks but you get them at your table and the staff is pleasant. For me thats more important than the speed of service. The drinks were also nice. The ambience of the rooftop bar is fantastic with a city as pretty as Oxford.We were celebrating a friends birthday and had booked a table. We moved to three places in one evening, two tables on the rooftop, and later a booth on the floor below when the rooftop closed. The staff was good and cooperative in view of our unreasonable demands. They dont make a fuss about anyones birthday apparently, so that was not there but they helped with keeping the cake safe and everything. The DJ didnt have any birthday songs or music but hey, thats not what he was there for. We just asked just in case.Drinks are expensive but nice. Its a good venue for a date or a night out with friends if you are not looking to get completely hammered.

We had a great night up on the rooftop for our friends 30th which we’d booked, up until the end of of the evening - we were in a party of 30 plus people, had spent hundreds of pounds all night in our group, me and one other party member went down to see if we could pop to mcdonald’s quickly (around half 12, knowing this bar was open til 2amand then be let back in and the lady on the door gave us a stamp on our hand and said “yep no problem we’ll let you back in if you show us a stamp”. We come back 20/30 mins later with a (bald and rudebouncer on the door who says “we can’t let you back in as it’s after 12, and our license doesn’t allow entry after 12” (which the woman who stamped us did NOT mention). We spent half an hour arguing with him over this and his manager was so rude beyond words, had no empathy over the fact we’d been told 2 different things from HIS STAFF MEMBERS, and completely disregarded the fact we had spent so much money all night. The way the situation was handled was so rude, dismissive and unprofessional. We understood the policy and license, we SAID we understood it. The problem was how they spoke to us. The manager took no accountability over the fact the lady who stamped us told us wrong info. There was no empathy or apology over the fact we clearly were told we’d be let back in - why would we have gotten hand stamps and left, otherwise?! . If they’d have just said “hey, sorry you were told that that’s not quite right, sorry it’s ruined your night and we get it’s annoying” we’d have been fine. But both bouncer and manager were just SO rude and dismissive/rude that it completely ruined the whole night as we had to stand on the doorstep for half an hour waiting for our party to come out. When I literally said to the bouncer, “I get the policy but you’re not being remotely empathetic or understanding right now to your customers who have spent a lot of money and are clearly unhappy” he smuggly smiled at us and said nothing. As someone who’s worked in customer facing hospitality for years, I was shocked and disgusted by their attitude. Absolutely terrible customer service, so much so that we would not return or recommend this place to friends. So note to all, don’t leave the bar unless you plan on staying out 🫠

The reason giving 3 star is quite actually disappointed that only 1 floor was working. While purchasing the ticket, it mentioned that theres going to be 3 floors, topmost would be a penthouse. Assuming that I was into this impression that it would be of the 3 floors club. Anyway, hope the next time it wont happen!

Quiet on a weekday evening. The views are good but not amazing. Top floor is open and sadly still allows smoking. The couple next to us lit up and we decided to move. Drinks were very slow to arrive after the order.

Good view from the rooftop, but that is about it. Extremely inattentive staff - had to wait 25m for two pints which never showed up. Stoop up and walked out.

Very nice view from the terrace - albeit through slightly scuzzy plastic - but do yourself a favour and stick to beer and wine. The cocktails are truly awful and the staff really dont care.

Drinks were nice but I have had better cocktails for the same price at other establishments.I would say 3/5 for drinks , 4/5 for rooftop bar view.

Great views and great cocktails. Service was very professional and friendly. Lots of other areas inside and great location. Best bar in Oxford.

We were lucky - it was a gloriously sunny evening so we were able to sit out on the rooftop terrace which has great views across the roofs of Oxford.

Loved it staff very helpful and friendly worth the climb to roof top the views are fantastic

Rooftop terrace to have cocktails on. Place is nice to have cocktails and chill with friends. 4 different levels.

Amazing!! Recommended by a friend - we wouldnt have found this otherwise. The most incredible roof top views. Very friendly staff. Lots and lots of stairs to get 4 floors up to the roof terrace but so worth it! No food sadly but lovely cocktails and good drinks menu.

Went to skybar in Oxford for drinks was told it was table service. We sat there for 15 mins and nobody came to take our order, went to the front to see what the issue was and were told someone would be over in a second. Waited another 10 mins then left.

Amazing views, poor service. Shown to our table, waited 20 minutes for someone to take our drinks order. Gave up in the end.

Nice place.Nice vibes and decor, make sure you’re not too drunk or else you’ll trip over the stairs.

Great view from the rooftop and well prepared drinks but indifferent service, in particular by one of the youngish male staff members who just didn’t seem interested in his job and was rather rude. Wouldn’t go here again mainly because of the inhospitable service received.

Would have been a wonderful place I’m sure except we moved to the left side of the bar and the barman kept serving people in front of us. When we politely asked if we were standing in the wrong place we were completely ignored. We ended up leaving. Terrible customer service.

Send the DJ back to the 13 year olds disco he came from googling how to mix? Not a club. A bad disco overplaying Beyonce!

The view from the roof terrace is amazing. You can get a panoramic view of the city of Oxford. Its a very comfortable shop. The female clerk is also cute and wonderful!

Location is great. Roof top is amazing.building itself is unique, deco is beautiful.A bar on each floor. So you dont feel as tho you have to all the way down, to the first floor to get a drink then back up again to the roof top.Heads up A lot of stairs, do not where High heels unless you are a pro in wearing them!!!Just a bit shocked on prices - brought two cocktails for £25!!!

Extremely rude service. My party had a few boxed up and take away purchases from local vendors that we were not consuming at the time of service. We wanted to simply enjoy a drink on the roof top but were told we were in the wrong for having purchases from our walk throughout the day in Oxford and coming to enjoy a drink. Unacceptable behavior from the owner confronting us and inferring we were children. 0 stars if possible. I do not recommend this establishment at all. To add, Im extremely introverted and hate confrontation and honestly not big on leaving reviews. So leaving this review is a big deal for me.

The roof terrace is really nice but you have to always be seated at a table up there. The rooms inside are a bit dark and cramped and its difficult to hear people when talking to them. The drinks are very expensive but then that is to be expected in Oxford city centre

Fun for even up to nice sized groups. Cocktails, socializing, dancing... And a wonderful roof deck

Amazing location, from the rooftop bar, you can see all of Oxford. Marked down because just couldn’t get served despite there being staff around. Noticed lots of staff on their phones around the bar when went to toilet. On the note of toilets, had to go down one floor to find. Couldn’t continue down as all doors locked, only way was back up and then down again. Wonderful decor, could be an amazing place just indifferent service.

Decent decor, well kept establishment and a good DJ. Bar service a bit sub par, whether thats lack of staff, or card machines, waiting more than 15 mins, to be served. Multiple people pushed in still getting served. Staff not very concerned nor conscious when questioned about it. Moderately priced drinks.

The drinks were lovely, however our experience was spoilt by the bar manager (?who prematurely booted us from our table.On entry we were told that we could order drinks from the bar and sit on any table that didnt have a reserved sign on it. The two of us found a small table with two stools that wasnt marked as reserved. We almost managed to finish our first drink before the bar manager came over and told us wed have to move elsewhere because it was reserved. There was absolutely no indication of this on the table nor from our discussion with him earlier. No apology was given. Worst of all he didnt even bother to show us to a new table. We were left standing awkwardly in an empty bar while he showed a new couple to the table and then rushed off. We had intended to buy more drinks but decided to head off instead.

Great cocktail bar with a quint rooftop bar. We had the espresso martinis, Id rate them as some of the best Ive had. If you put your name down for the roof and chill for about 20 mins you will be rewarded with a great view. Just watch out the rest of the place is a bit of a Warren so you might take some time to find your way out

My absolute favourite place in Oxford! When I went there for the first time and saw the view from the rooftop I was mesmerised! I love everything about this place! The drinks are great, the food is fantastic and the atmosphere is the best! Bring a jacket cause it might get windy at the rooftop.

Undisputed amazing view of oxford for a friendly hang out or date. However it was a really stressful atmosphere and they tried to pack too many people into the rooftop (or overbooked people I am not really sureso our orders were so incredibly late that we had to go elsewhere. The staff seemed like good people who were working super hard and just trying their best.

The rooftop is lovely. Going up there just before sunset is always a great idea, especially if you are on a date - as the views from the one side are really pleasant - the other side is mainly the tops of other buildings :)Not cheap - but worth it.

Beautiful views, went off peak weekday evening and it was stunning. Its a little pricy and definitely not disability friendly which meant I had a bit of trouble but the views were with it. While the drink was a little pricy it was really nice and the vibe was nice. But I could definitely imagine it not being so cool with it packed full of drunk students so bare in mind when choosing when to go.

Can only comment on the 2nd floor private bar but great venue for private parties. Attentive staff, great music, perfect for small to medium gatherings. Amazing cocktails. One thing would be to minimise the other 1st & 3rd floor attendees from entering the private party, but this is a small quibble.

Great place to meet up with friends. The internal deco is great and wait till you get up to the rooftop terrace.... it was a cold December evening but the heated seats were a great touch and took the chill off.

Top floor Cocktails Bar was great.A bit less atmosphere in the lower bar, but nice friendly staff.

The view is amazing. Various cocktail options. Great place to chill with friends. Music was entertaining.

Amazing roof top bar & a great cocktail lounge.

The roof top terrace offers great views over the roof tops of Oxford. All major landmark look amazing on a good clear evening. Staff were really friendly, good choice of cocktails and next time we might try the food as it looked really appetising!

Bad customer service, monday evening 19:00 wanted to sit on the terrace with my partner as nice evening. Was asked if I reserved a table?waiter did not attempt to find a table or offer alternative / check. Will not return, went to the Plough around the corner- great service!!!

Great bar that doesn’t care for measurements and just pours in alcohol unlike most bars in the UK. Strong cocktails and made very well. Nice seating and rooftop bar is nice too when available to be used. Prices are good considering the amount you get in each drink and what you’d expect for a city.

This is top-notch cocktail bar in Oxford. As you would expect, the view is breathtaking. It was very well organized during pandemic times. The service is also very quick. The only downside is that they charge you £5 for the booking which is very odd.

Great views from the rooftop. Heated seats and adjustable roof cover made sure the weather wasnt going to be an issue

Such an amazing place ! Been recommended by the staff from one restaurant near by , as we were exploring the area.Best cocktails , we dont even get that quality in London.We Will come back 🤍 and the view is to fall in love.

Drinks are well priced considering what it is, though make sure to do your squats before hand so the stairs dont kill you. Fries were especially good for food perfectly seasoned. Will definitely be visiting again.

Really nice bar in the middle of the city and with a Roof Top Terrace with 360 degrees view! Totally recommended! Check times for the happy hour

I came here, with friends, about mid-day on a visit to Oxford. The setting was very nice and there were fleece blankets scattered about in the terrace top seating area! The music inside was way too loud for mid-day though (smooth jazz / trance fusion is too loud at any volumeand although the staff did turn it down a little on request, it was back up to full volume within 30mins. Its a personal preference, but I kinda like to go to a social place and socialise, without having to yell myself hoarse at the person next to me! However this was a beautiful place with gorgeous dacor and a good selection of drinks!