The Royal Oak Reviews Summary

Ploughman's Lunch

Pros:

• "Quality ploughman's lunch which is their speciality and rightly so 😋."
• "the food is amazing we call it the pork pie pub as we always go with the intention of have one off there home made pork pies and are tempted to have the ham and cheeses ploughman's its so nice."
• "Initially we thought it was a little expensive for a ploughman's, however there was actually a decent amount of food and plenty of cheese!"
• "Calling all vegans! We stopped for a pint at this lovely pub this lunchtime & were thrilled to see a vegan Ploughmans on offer."
• "Easily the best ploughman's in the New Forest, fantastic food very reasonably priced."
• "A great country pub that serves the best ploughman's I have ever had."
• "All locally sourced produced, freshly baked, still warm crusty bread rolls with huge chunks of cheese and fresh ham, the most delicious pork pie I have ever had."

Cons:

• "Ploughman's now comes on a plastic tray, which creates lots of unnecessary plastic waste."
• "Menu pretty much limited to ploughmans as a result."
• "Got a pork pie with a few salad leaves and a slice of apple. Not a usual ploughman's, especially for £12.50."
• "Food is very expensive and they are pretty much serving only ploughman's, soup and mac and cheese."
• "Slightly disappointed by the quality of the Ploughman's, wasn't enough variety on the plate."
• "Not a usual ploughman's, especially for £12.50."
• "The food here is fairly inexpensive, though apart from on curry nights they serve only lunchtime food."

Pub Atmosphere & Location

Pros:

• "This beautiful little pub doesn't look much when you first see it and is easily missed as it is down a no through road but it's definitely worth a visit."
• "Stunning pub with a lovely outdoor area."
• "Lovely little pub with a huge garden. We visited during COVID-19 but they were handling it well, doing track & trace, having hand sanitiser available, and with screens up at the bar."
• "Small village pub with large garden and great countryside views."
• "Lovely pub at Fritham. Great garden and a thatched roof building set in the heart of the new forest."
• "Love this pub! Very popular with walkers and people enjoying the New Forest."
• "In a stunning countryside setting, great food and drink at very reasonable prices."

Cons:

• "However best not to visit as, unsurprisingly, it becoming just a tad too popular these days!"
• "Have eaten there a few times before but was quite shocked at the amount of wasps in the garden we were swamped!"
• "This place has the most amazing views but totally ruined now by the massive tent they've put up in the garden!"
• "There was a distinct lack of atmosphere in the pub with few people in for lunch, didn't make it particularly welcoming."
• "Looking a bit tired with the thatch in serious need of attention."
• "Garden is a bit run down with bare grass patches in quite a few areas."
• "There was a lack of seating but that was because it was busy, and wasn't really the pub's fault."

Service & Staff

Pros:

• "Lovely pub, kind staff and some really lovely pints."
• "GREAT ALE with fabulously friendly staff and open fires."
• "Genuine, friendly, one of the best, a proper pub!"
• "The staff have always, in my experience, been friendly."
• "Staff were amazing, friendly, helpful and an open fire, with plenty of room in an adjacent garden and gazebo."
• "The staff who served us were efficient and friendly."
• "The staff were so nice and friendly and accommodated us."

Cons:

• "Dog friendly...missing a trick...dog sausage not available."
• "Thick granary slices of bread with supermarket presliced cheddar 😱. I would have expected thick chunks of cheddar especially at the prices they charge."
• "Came highly recommended but found to be rather average. Lunch menu (virtually all 'Ploughman's') clearly made for a quick turnover of very similar lunch choices."
• "The staff on the whole are good but at times they forgot parts of the actual meal."
• "However, it is evident that the staff have obtained little customer delivery training."
• "But service was grumpy particularly at the bar."
• "bar staff not very knowledgeable. Unhappy."

Additional Offerings

Pros:

• "They also have several shepherd's huts available to rent."
• "The pub was so cosy and friendly staff...perfect for getting away from it all...I would definitely recommend to anyone and we will definitely go back again."
• "Just got back from a 2 night stay at the new forest shepherd huts. They were absolutely fantastic."
• "3 lovely shepherd's huts at the back of the Royal Oak pub. Perfect for a chilled mini break."
• "We spent a few days in one of the shepherds hut in october 2017 and it was fabulous..Beautiful location, the hots were amazing."
• "Spent New Years Eve at these lovely equipped huts! Landlord and Staff could not of been more accommodating."
• "Great food and drink in a quiet picturesque forest setting can be enjoyed within the cosy pub or in the sizeable pub garden."

Cons:

• "After a 20km walk very disappointed to find pub shut at 4pm on a summer Wednesday. Lack of website to find this out is inexcusable in this day and age."
• "then one of the replacement ales had the same issue and the Summer Lightening was flat flat."
• "Really disappointing. Walked 4 miles to visit this place to find next to nothing on the food menu and when it arrived (overpriced) the apple that came with a homemade sausage roll was obviously bullied in the bowl because it was brown and heavily bruised."
• "Just don't drink too many ciders before getting back on your bike!"
• "Can't book on a Sunday, or potentially other days(?)."
• "Trying to palm off bottom of the barrel cloudy beer, which should have been spotted and dealt with."
• "if it’s not, you’d better like being squeezed in close to strangers."