Zum Roten Ochsen — the Red Ox Inn — is the most famous of Heidelberg's old student taverns, and has been in continuous operation since 1703. For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries it was the gathering place of the university's duelling fraternities, and the walls are still covered with their painted crests, old photographs, pipes, and the accumulated detritus of three centuries of student life. Mark Twain visited, Bismarck drank here, and visiting dignitaries have made a point of stopping in; the guestbook is a remarkable document. The atmosphere is theatrical in the best sense — the room itself is the point.
The cooking is solidly Palatinate and German: Schäuferle (roast pork shoulder), Saumagen (stuffed pig's stomach, the regional speciality of the Pfalz), venison dishes in season, and good Rieslings from the nearby Neckar Valley and Pfalz wine regions. Portions are generous and prices are reasonable by tourist-town standards. Reservations are advisable on weekend evenings, when the place fills quickly with a good mix of tourists and locals who have been coming for years.
The tavern is at Hauptstrasse 217, a short walk from the Marktplatz toward the eastern end of the old town.