Skipper's Pub

It gets 5 starts because it is a college bar that has a fun feel to it - and the owner is right there and working the business.  BUT - if you are there during peak periods, be prepared to be handled abruptly and have your act together before you order or else you ill be yelled at.  That grows old very quickly.  Food is good.

Eating gyros before an icehockey game, another first for me, new to the States... I was excited about going to a Miami icehockey game as my colleagues had told me how amazing the rink is and how well the team plays. Turns out that the whole experience before and after the game was as interesting as seeing the icehockey itself.

We drove up to Oxford on a Friday evening after work and arrived quite early in Skipper's. This pub is a favorite spot for my colleagues because it reminds them of their Miami U years. And as I stepped inside, I understood why. This is not a fancy bar, but it has a lot of advantages: you can arrange the tables as you wish, stay as long as you want without being disturbed, play games, drink beers, as many as you want, eat gyros (delicious! -- but greasy --), drink another beer... A perfect spot for a pre-game time!

If I ever come up again for another icehockey game, I definitely would stop at Skipper's again!

ps: I don't like beer so the woodchuck hard cider did the job for me!

Oh how I love you, Skipper's and Top Deck.

This isn't a straight-up townie bar like the Circle Bar, but it has a more mature feel to it than anything else on High Street that isn't an ethnic bar.  While the clientele are still mostly undergraduates, they aren't all underage like at other bars in the vicinity.  I love that I can go to a bar on High Street and find very few people under 21 who are begging for me to buy them a "drank".

The bottom level is Skipper's, which is more of a sports bar than anything.  Skipper's (which also owns Top Deck) is the main bar in the building it's in, and drinks and wristbands can be taken back and forth between the two bars.  You've got your daily, weekly and monthly specials - all of which are really good.  There's also never a cover - that's underlined on their web site.  However, you have to be careful: while there are no minimums on credit cards, they have a 50-cent charge for all purchases under $5, I believe it is.  The best part about Skipper's is the patio, which patrons can sit on and drunk people watch - trust me, it's surprisingly entertaining.

The upper level is Top Deck, which is more of a nightclub.  This is where girls get picked up.  There are pool tables here as well as foosball tables, but when I went it was overcrowded and you had to force your way through.  There are days that are good for dancing - you just have to time your visit right and get lucky.

Service here can be overwhelmed, so it is crucial to be patient and not piss anybody off.

Skipper's and Top Deck are two (or one, depending on how you view the place) of the best bar(s) in town.  Well worth your visit.