Eat and drink · Banbury
The Three Pigeons, Banbury
A Grade II listed 17th-century inn, partly thatched, on Southam Road, Banbury, with real ales and ciders, a courtyard, Smash Cow street food from Thursday to Saturday and three en-suite rooms.
Dog-friendly · Car-free
An old thatched inn at the top of the town, more a drinkers' pub with a street-food kitchen than a dining room. The courtyard, the real ales and the Thursday to Saturday street food are the draw, and the three rooms round the courtyard make a plain town-centre bed. It suits a night out. Your breakfast has to be found elsewhere.
- Good: Grade II listed 17th-century building, partly thatched, with low ceilings and beams
- Good: Large courtyard beer garden, used in all weathers
- Good: Smash Cow street food on Thursdays and Fridays from 5pm, and on Saturdays
- Worth knowing: No breakfast with the rooms, though cafes are in walking distance
- Worth knowing: Dogs welcome in the pub, but the rooms are not dog-friendly for now
- Worth knowing: Closed until 3pm on weekdays; parking is free but limited
About
The Three Pigeons is a 17th-century inn at 3 Southam Road, on the north side of Banbury town centre, run by Oak Taverns, which calls it a thatched coaching inn. Historic England lists it Grade II: ironstone with a roughcast front, under a roof partly thatched and partly tiled. Inside it is low ceilings, exposed beams and brick.
The bar is built around real ales and traditional ciders, along with limited-edition beers from the Dead Brewers Society, which revives old recipes. Since 2026 the kitchen has been in the hands of Smash Cow, a street-food resident serving on Thursdays and Fridays from 5pm and on Saturdays, and the pub links a sample menu. Outside those days, plan to drink rather than eat here.
The courtyard at the back is the pub's beer garden, kept in use in all weathers, and there is live music, a Monday quiz at 8pm, a book club on the last Tuesday of each month, arts and crafts, and beer festivals.
Three individually styled en-suite rooms overlook a private courtyard, one a king double and one a larger king double with a lounge and sofa bed. Check-in is from 3pm and check-out by 11am, and payment is taken on arrival. Breakfast is not included. Dogs are welcome in the pub, but the rooms are not dog-friendly at present. For the town itself, Banbury Cross is the place to start.
Opening hours and season
| Monday | 15:00 to 23:00 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 15:00 to 23:00 |
| Wednesday | 15:00 to 23:00 |
| Thursday | 15:00 to 23:00 |
| Friday | 15:00 to 23:00 |
| Saturday | 12:00 to 23:00 |
| Sunday | 12:00 to 22:00 |
Smash Cow kitchen: Thursday and Friday from 5pm, and Saturdays. The pub publishes no other kitchen hours.
The details
- Serving
- Dinner
- Rooms
- 3
- Check-in
- From 3pm
- Check-out
- By 11am
- Features
- Garden or terrace · Real ale · Bar · Live music
- History
- 17th century, Grade II listed; a coaching inn by its own account
- Parking
- Free but limited, the pub says.
- Without a car
- Banbury station is about 0.6 miles away on the map.
Photos
The inglenook 
The garden room 
The bar 
The courtyard
Location
Places to stay nearby
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The Three Pigeons, Banbury
Pubs · Banbury
A Grade II listed 17th-century inn, partly thatched, on Southam Road, Banbury, with real ales and ciders, a courtyard, Smash Cow street food from Thursday to Saturday and three en-suite rooms.
Dog-friendly · Car-free
Verified Nov 2026
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Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- The Old Auctioneer, Banbury 0.2 km away
- Ye Olde Reine Deer Inn, Banbury 0.2 km away
- The Church House, Banbury 0.2 km away
- The Apothecary Tap, Banbury 0.3 km away
Sights nearby
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Banbury Market Place
Sight · Historic building · Banbury
The square at the centre of Banbury, where a Thursday market has run since before 1155. The charter market is on every Thursday and Saturday, 9am to 4pm (Cherwell District Council, 2026), among timber-framed houses of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
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People's Park, Banbury
Sight · Common or park · Banbury
Banbury's town centre park, opened in 1919 to mark the peace, with an aviary of budgies and cockatiels, a walled garden, rose garden, bowling green, tennis, a play area and a café. Free, and run by the town council.
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St Mary's Church, Banbury
Sight · Church · Banbury
A round-towered classical church on Horse Fair in Banbury, built after the medieval church was brought down, in part with gunpowder. Grade I, by S. P. Cockerell. Open most mornings.
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Fine Lady statue, Banbury
Sight · Monument · Banbury
A bronze of the rhyme's fine lady on her white horse, on a Hornton stone plinth where South Bar meets West Bar in Banbury. The people of the town paid for it, and the Princess Royal unveiled it in 2005. Free to see at any time.