Sandy's Piano Bar

Traveling from the states, I was told this was a place to go and you had to be early to get a seat so we went there. Great and relaxing environment prior to the late night crowd and good prices with drinks. I’m not a wine drinker but my friends said that the wine was horrible as they tried different wines. They have a limited selection of whiskey which is what I drink. The actual problems come as people started to arrive. We had a party of 6 that was sat beside us. My table determined that this one female demanded that she was louder than the piano and the singer. She was ridiculously loud and annoying to where it not only ruined our table’s experience but the table beside us. Then, (I am guessing the manager) told us we had to stand, giving up our table at 10:30, because we did not pay the cover charge but, once again, that’s why we got there early. So then we wanted to pay to stand but she did not offer that and told us we had to go stand in the line to maybe get a seat, once again, the reason we got there early.

Always a great night at Sandy's....!!
Pianists are all fabulous, with a great repertoire of feel good tunes. Requests are always well received and played where possible.
Staff are all amazing (and and even remember our drinks from previous visits). Cocktails are great, tables are regularly cleared and cleaned throughout the evening, all of the staff are always approachable, efficient, friendly and courteous and reserved seating is always available when you arrive.
All of the above makes Sandy's a safe, fun, friendly place to be.
A great night out in Oxford usually involves a visit to Sandy's...;0)

The best place! I booked surprise birthday drinks for my boyfriends birthday and I have to give the biggest thank you to their booking and events manager Grace she was incredible, she answered every question I had and there were quite a few :) and she really helped me pull off the surprise, she is an absolute credit to Sandy's! The staff and pianist on the night were amazing and so friendly, it's just such a good vibe at Sandy's and we absolutely loved it and we cannot wait to come back. It's definitely one of the best bars in Oxford!

Such a fun venue, everyone singing along. There were two pianists while we were there, both good but second one really good. Pretty easy to get served at the bar. I was a bit disappointed that I had paid an entry fee but we didn't get our table as we were just over the 15 minutes cut off, but I guess that was our fault and I should have read the small print. Still had a good time and would still go back.

I am writing to share my upset, disappointment and utter humiliation experienced on Saturday 17th September after visiting Sandy’s Piano bar.
On the very rare occasion my partner and I manage to have an evening to enjoy together leaving our two children with family, we arrived at Sandy’s at approximately 10.15pm, after a meal out.
Upon our arrival, we noticed a small queue of approximately 8 people to the right and were unsure if it was the queue to get into the bar. We stood to the left of the queue for around 10 seconds before the doorman approached us and muttered almost inaudibly ‘you’re not coming in’, he then walked back towards the door. My partner and I looked at each other in a confused manner, I had barely understood what he had said, we asked the doorman to repeat what he had said to us. To my complete disbelief the doorman repeated ‘you’re not coming in’, unsurprisingly we asked why? At which point the doorman said, ‘because she’s too intoxicated’.
Obviously referring to myself, my partner and I were speechless and let out a shocked laugh, we proceeded to state that we had been for a meal and had only consumed 2 drinks that evening, how on earth can a doorman who hadn’t even made any sort of eye contact or communication with us during the 10 seconds we were outside make this judgment?
I then asked to speak with the Manager who happened to be outside the door at the time, I explained the situation and he simply said ‘the doorman has a right to refuse entry’ – we questioned several times the reasoning, with no real answers.
My partner was understandably angry with the situation, given that the doorman had only looked at him when we arrived and yet somehow judged my alcohol intake. It appears that this was fabricated, and the real reason was that they didn’t like the look of my partner. I then suggested to my partner that we left as we weren’t getting anywhere with the back and forth, we had already been humiliated enough.
Never in my life have I felt so embarrassed, saddened or ashamed. Thanks to the appalling treatment we received at Sandy’s, I was so upset we went home immediately, cutting short an evening we had very much looked forward to. I have visited Sandy’s several times and I am in disbelief of treatment we received. I/we will not be returning, and I will do my utmost to share our experience with as many families, friends and residents of Oxford as possible.
After searching through various social media platforms, I can see that this is not the first occasion that entry has been refused for no apparent reason and several comments have been made about the rude doorman and Manager. I strongly suggest to the owner of the establishment that they reconsider their staffing, customer service and review CCTV from last nights events. I would class this mistreatment as racially driven, it was clear that during those 10 seconds an opinion was formed, and entry was refused, I would question why you made an assumption and stereotyped my partner?

The place itself is lovely, but truly what makes it 5 star is its people. Everyone was incredibly nice! The bartenders are so helpful, patient and kind. They also prepare the best drinks ever. The two house musicians have mad skills and also a lot of charisma to cheer up the environment. Thank you for such a lovely night!

Really enjoyed visiting this bar and trying some of their different and unusual cocktails. The staff were really friendly and made us feel really welcome. Sunday night was an open mic night for the uni students. No quite the music we were looking for but was a nice atmosphere anyway. Will try and come back on a different night next time we visit Oxford.

20th December Christmas Carols by the piano. We had no idea what to expect, this was an amazing night! First there were carols then songs some by request. Everyone was singing along with the pianist. The bar staff were absolutely lovely! Highly recommended start to Christmas.