This is without doubt the best inn we have ever stayed at. It's give star all the way. Beautiful atmosphere. Log fires. Fantastic food. Rooms are well appointed. Spacious. The beds are the best we have slept in pure luxury. We will be back very soon. Plus this is a very doggy friendly place.
Thanks to all of the staff here, what a stunning atmosphere and excellent food! The oak room is amazing, the hand crafted oak furniture is like nothing I've seen before. Can't wait to return
My son and I had a wonderful vegetarian meal last night and the best sticky toffee pudding for dessert we'd ever tasted. Although there was only one option for vegetarians, it wasn't the usual drab mushroom risotto and the like. The chef had obviously put much thought into this dish, which resulted in an extremely flavoursome meal. We enjoyed it so much, we booked for Sunday lunch today before our return to London, which was equally delicious. 5 stars to the chef and the staff were lovely too.
We'll be back.
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My husband and I have just had a wonderful lunch at The Royal Oak. It is our Ruby wedding anniversary today and wanted to do something special......we were not disappointed 😃.
The pub situated just off the main A30 is set in the very pretty village of Swallowcliffe.
The building itself is lovely and beautifully presented. All the staff without exception were welcoming, professional, helpful and friendly. Everywhere was clean and tastefully decorated.
We were sat in the corner of this beautiful glazed wooden area with lovley views of the garden. All very light and airy. We went for a full 3 course lunch as it was our special day. The food was .....and I don't use this word often..... outstanding.
There wasn't a single thing I didn't like. The soup was so lovely I didn't want it to end. Great vegetable selection, beef done to perfection and roast potatoes from heaven 😋. Everything was cooked to perfectly and presented beautifully. With a lovely sweet to finish it off. Perfect 👌🏻. Thank you ALL so much for our lovely day 💗.
We spent two wonderful nights at The Royal Oak and loved it! It is a beautiful old pub with delicious food and drink. Our room was spacious and very well appointed. The staff was all friendly, kind and fun. Alexis was the best!
We had a most delicious lunch today (Friday) having enjoyed a 5 mile walk dodging rain showers. Welcoming staff, refreshing ale and excellent food was much appreciated! Sticky toffee pudding was fantastic!
Had dinner here with some work colleagues en route to Southampton. What a lovely pub and village. Extremely good quality food and service and very good value. I was hoping to see Mr May, my hero, the part owner, but of course he's not here that often. One day perhaps! Anyway I can highly recommend. Just be sure to take it easy if you are driving there as the roads are very narrow. Be courteous and don't create a traffic jam by getting jammed head on into a large piece of farm machinery ;-)
This was just a quick impulse lunch stop. We both fancied trying it and our chance came as we drove home.
Outside the pub looks good. It's well kept and looks clean. A picket fence quaintly surrounds the old parking area and now has a few tables. The car park isn't big but looks like it can handle 20 cars at least.
Inside the pub is airy, light and welcoming.
We had the haddock, chips and mushy peas, the mushy peas were garden peas crushed, not the ones from a tin. The meal was very nice, typically priced, but with the surroundings and the excellent staff and service we got, we will be back.
We encountered 5 staff members and they were all very pleasant and efficient.
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Had it not been for the promotional videos by James May we would never have known about The Royal Oak.
The positives.
Good size car park. (Lane leading to is a bit narrow for those with Sunday/ funday cars.)
Nice pub, atmosphere and very helpful, friendly staff.
The food served for both evening meal and breakfast was very good. Eating in the oak room is very pleasant.
The bed in our room, excellent. The rainfall shower and the hot water / heating excellent.
The negatives.
First impressions of the accommodation is a very worn stair carpet and walls scuffed from people dragging bags. A narrow cluttered passageway that seems to be the office?
Our room and en-suite wasn't clean. We were disturbed by other guests, dogs, and noisy bathroom extraction fans. This is not the fault of The Royal Oak or the owners, but it did affect the quality of our stay and sleep.
The breakfast experience is poor. The food itself is fine, but the overall experience not so much.
If nearby again we would visit for a drink and a meal, but not to stay.
The accommodation is not good value for money, the bar and restaurant are reasonably priced.
It was very kind of the staff to squeeze us in for dinner when we just turned up!
Staff amazing, food was great and the pubs decor is really nice. Mr slowly has done a fantastic job bringing this pub back to life. It was a joy visiting here.
Very scenic location, great for an evening walk. Excellent food and service. Only one minor problem with our room. Outside our room there was a constant generator buzz and noise. Also the septic tank kind of ranked. Overall very pleasant experience
I've previously had the fish and chips and they were one of the best I've ever had in a pub. Today I had Slow Cooked Pork Belly and it was lovely, so we'll presented, with beetroot, roasted carrot, tender stem broccoli, Yorkshire, and the mosr sweetest, smoothest apple sauce I've ever had, with additions sides of cauliflower and leek cheese (lovely), and roast potatoes (the only thing I can make any complaint about, dry and hard, but with so much else of the meal, they weren't missed). My husband had the fish and chips and they were exactly the same as my last visit (amazing).
The building is lovely, charming and rustic, with flag stone floors, wooden beams, old fire places and a glass conservation, which is still inkeeping with the building.
The staff and very attentive, friendly and helpful.
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