The Royal Oak Reviews Summary

Atmosphere

Pros:

• "Lovely inside, can imagine it to be cosy in the winter."
• "Lovely atmosphere with nice music and local art for sale."
• "Really friendly country pub."
• "Cosy friendly pub."
• "Pub garden had a nice atmosphere."
• "Good atmosphere."
• "Happy atmosphere."

Cons:

• "It was a really noisy environment despite only being a few groups of patrons."
• "The general atmosphere of the pub was very unsettling."

Service

Pros:

• "The most attentive and welcoming staff."
• "We were greeted with smile and jokes and my daughter and son soon warmed up to Gary."
• "The staff were very accommodating and friendly to me, my husband and two dogs."
• "Staff were exceptional, friendly and always made you feel at home."
• "The staff are very friendly."
• "Staff were lovely and helpful too."
• "The service was very friendly and prompt."

Cons:

• "Rude staff and poor Covid measures in place."
• "The only source of heat is the log fire which the staff are pretty useless at maintaining."
• "Also the barstaff wouldn't give us the password for the guest wi-fi."
• "Really slow service (75 minutes wait)."
• "Food took a very long time to come and staff were a bit flustered."
• "Service was unbearably slow."
• "The waiter took our drink order then disappeared for 20 minutes."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Fantastic pies!"
• "Chicken pie, special chicken with mustard sauce and burger was all delicious."
• "The Steak and Ale pot pie with hand cut, twice cooked chips. Very highly recommended!"
• "The food was sublime, I got the ham chicken and leek pie. It was so creamy and full to the brim of meat."
• "Had fish and chips, chicken and ham pie, steak and pasta meals which were all excellent."
• "The food was stunning, honestly one of the best burgers I've had."
• "The food was so tasty."

Cons:

• "The beef was absolutely grey, tough as rubber and completely dry."
• "The roast however was probably the worst I've ever eaten."
• "Both the chips and the fish were swimming in grease with no garnish in site."
• "Unfortunately the food was very poor."
• "Waited over an hour for food that was incredibly bland."
• "2 very thin and overcooked pieces of beef, undercooked carrots, 3 tiny roast potatoes and some broccoli that was boiled to within an inch of its life."
• "The Sunday roast was absolutely terrible."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Prices were fair."
• "The food was nice and a good price considering the area."
• "Good food and drink at reasonable prices."

Cons:

• "The food was acceptable but I found it expensive for the portion and the quality."
• "The food was reasonably good but pricey."
• "Overpriced and poor quality."
• "Prices are on the high side."
• "1 pint tokens were £3.90 so not cheap."

Facilities

Pros:

• "Big beer garden too, plenty of tables."
• "There is parking available at the front of the pub."
• "Dog friendly too."

Cons:

• "The only reason I've marked it down is that it needed a clean toilets were dirty and just needed a wipe over."
• "The plates at the end of the table where I was sat weren't cleared, and I waited over 15 minutes at the bar to be served."
• "The facilities are very basic & bit grotty."

Management

Pros:

• "The owner wasn't phased."
• "The man behind the bar was a top bloke."

Cons:

• "Yet the owner/manager was arguing with us and was very rude."
• "Seems like either very greedy owners or just not very keen on outsiders who surely bring good business in this rural village."
• "The owner/manager has provided a highly inaccurate picture in their response below."
• "The owner refused to even show her a children’s menu as she was over the age of 8 and he did not class her as a child."