It has been too long! Venturing back into The Rickety Press in Jericho was like coming home, that cosy bar leading through into the light, funky communal eating area at the backs and then spilling out onto the pavement behind.
The independent pub, tucked away on Cranham Street was heaving on Saturday, as I’m sure it has been since opening back in 2011, punters continually streaming in for some top notch food, a pint over a board game, a seat in the sun at the tables outside, or a cocktail with friends. It suits all ages judging by the couples, families and groups of friends hanging out when we arrived.
And while Dodo Pubs has now garnered a considerable repertoire of independent hostelries, (Marston’s Up In Arms, Cowley’s Rusty Bicycle, Witney’s Part & Parcel, and the recent acquisition of The White House on Abingdon Road, renamed The Slow & Steady and opening in September, BREAKING NEWS: New pub The Slow & Steady named by Dodo (formerly Tap Social’s The White House) plus revamp, Sept opening and pizza/burger menu!, as well as several others elsewhere, none of which deters from The Rickety Press, which maintains its unique vibe regardless.
‘the wing sting hot sauce needed little introduction’
Luckily we’d reserved a table, celebrating in style with some refreshing cocktails – the Gin Fix £8.50 (gin, elderflower, lime, mint, soda) and the Club Tropicana £8.50 – (vodka, passoa, passion fruit, lime, lemonade) plus a Bloody Mary, no longer on the cocktail menu sadly (because the Rickety Press used to do the best Bloody Marys in Oxford), but made up with Tom’s.
The nibbles – titled WINGS ‘N THINGS – are impossible to resist – but choose your wings carefully because the angry wings (£8.50) are infamous and not for the faint-hearted, the wing sting hot sauce needing little introduction, and yes they were angry and zesty.
‘The Big D was a cholesterol orgy in a bun and much the better for it. A hands down winner’
For the less adventurous (or sane) the buffalo wings (£8.50), which still had a kick but didn’t blow your head off , and the smoked mozzarella bites served with a chilli jam (£6.50), the piping hot nuggets of scamorza going down a treat.
But now for the big decision! Burger or pizza? They may be the only two options here but with so many incarnations it’s still hard to pick from the enticing varieties. The Big D, £11.50 (beef patty, cheese, smoky bacon, onion jam, lettuce, burger sauce, ketchup, bun), was a cholesterol orgy in a bun and much the better for it. A hands down winner.
‘The vegan options also shone – so often a poor relative on a burger menu’
The vegan options also shone – so often a poor relative on a burger menu but here offering two competitive options – the burger itself was really moist and flavoursome without squishing or falling apart. First up the Symplicity Burger £11.50 (Vegan cheese, pickles, onion, lettuce, burger sauce, ketchup) in a soft but sturdy bun, and its counterpart the Big ‘V’ (£13.50) which had the additions of La Vie bacon and onion jam, the accruements oozing down your fingers as you ate. Really satisfying.
Throw in all the chips (three burgers means three chips) which included the hand cut variety with rosemary salt (£4), buffalo with buttermilk ranch and buffalo sauce (£4.75) and the truffle parmesan (£5.50)! The buffalo chips were the clear winner and so piquant and delicious we had to order more, plus a crunchy slaw (£3.50) which needed more seasoning.
Served on trays with wrappers, it was a feast indeed and entailed much slurping and many napkins, but the burgers were a runaway success and we will return imminently for more.
The rest had the pizzas; but no poor imitations here; the Sloppy Napoli – tomato, mozzarella, beef ragu, pepper flakes, parmesan andbasil, the ragu chunky and flaky, and the Simply Red; tomato, (we opted for cheese), cherry tomato, olives, garlic, basil and oregano.
‘Tasty, juicy, with a great sauce and gloriously puffy crust, the pizzas disappeared faster than you can say Silvio Berlusconi’
Tasty, juicy, with a great sauce and gloriously puffy crust, the pizzas disappeared faster than you can say Silvio Berlusconi.
They don’t do desserts at The Rickety Press which I was surprised about, a quick brownie or knickerbocker glory would have got down a treat, but only some tiny pots of vegan ice cream, missing a trick perhaps? But nonetheless, we emerged replete, happy and intoxicated not just on the fine cocktails but the delicious food.
‘we emerged replete, happy and intoxicated not just on the fine cocktails but the delicious food’
What they do at The Rickety Press they do well, and while the same menus stretch across all the other sites, as my daughter pointed out you can’t really go wrong with pizza and burgers. I beg to differ but on this occasion she was bang on.
So next time you are roaming through Jericho wondering where to stop on the thoroughfare, don’t forget about The Rickety Press tucked down a side street, because you won’t be disappointed.
Rickety Press, 67 Cranham St, Jericho. https://dodopubs.com/locations/the-rickety-press/
