The pub is chiefly notable for having been featured in Sir Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series of novels.

[1][3] Several Scottish writers and artists are also said to have been patrons of the Oxford Bar, including Sydney Goodsir Smith and Willie Ross.

Sir Ian Rankin is also a patron of The Oxford Bar, and chose it as Rebus's pub because a lot of police officers used to drink there.

[5][self-published source] Other visitors to the bar have included actor Sir Sean Connery and author Colin Dexter.

Quintin Jardine's 2009 Bob Skinner novel, Fatal Last Words, also mentions The Oxford Bar considerably, again due to the connection with the local police force drinking there.