The Oak, Aston Clinton — Restaurant in England

Went for Sunday lunch with my family last week. Seated swiftly and drinks taken, waited a little while for our order to be taken. I asked for the kids food to come out straight away with the starters but it didn't. We waited 30 mins for starters and another hour for our food! I asked again for the kids' food to come out when it's ready but it didn't, and it came with the adults' mains and piping hot! Come on the Oak! This is so basic, not to mention no crayons for kids, and the plate was piping hot! The waitress told my 5-year-old to be careful! Kids squash came in a pint glass! You market yourself as a family pub, but apart from a climbing frame (which is great), the tiny puzzle on the kids menu was underwhelming! The waitress who is short, blonde, and older said sorry for the wait but literally barked at us. No cutlery, and when we asked, it got dumped on the table, we asked for sauces, which took another 5 mins and 3 pots brought for a table of 12! Had to ask for more. We were upsold a couple of cauliflower cheese as a side, which was disappointing, to say the least. The same waitress came over with dessert menus and said "right everyone, we have 3 cheesecakes, not this, not that" literally barking and no apology for this!

We left and didn't bother with dessert.

On a positive note, the portions were big and the food tasted nice when it arrived.

I wouldn't recommend and wouldn't return. Such a shame! There is a lot of other pubs to choose from close by! I did send them an email with feedback but...

Evening meal for two on 3rd August. This was my first visit to the pub, which is a lovely old building with a lot of character. Our waitress was efficient and friendly, and the service overall was good. For starters we had the Scotch egg and the whitebait. The Scotch egg in particular was delicious. For mains we both opted for fish dishes - haddock and chips for my companion, and the sole from the specials board for myself. I requested the sole to be de-boned and while the fish itself was nice, it was served on a bed of what appeared to be a jacket potato with a smaller potato on the side, and the potatoes were bland. Some greenery (peas or beans?) would have been nice. The haddock and chips were disappointing to the point of being inedible. The chunky chips were not cooked through, and even when we pointed this out and the plate was taken away to be 'rectified', they came back with same horrible tasting chips. The haddock was very small, and the batter was over-cooked. We had to send it back to the kitchen so my companion ended up without a meal as it would have taken to long to order something else. When the main dishes were served we were not offered any additional sauces as is the norm - vinegar, ketchup etc. Was there an issue with the potatoes used that day? As 'fish and chips' is a standard dish in any good pub, we were disappointed and I'm reluctant to go...

Well what can I say.....

I have a problem. Do I write a review that will make it impossible to book a table, or do I lie and just say that it was just ok, so that I can keep this gem of a place for myself? :-)

I can't lie...I want to move into this pub. The whole place has got such a lovely character about it. The staff are totally faultless, friendly, attentive and a huge credit to the owners. The beer (London Pride) is not an easy beer to keep, but it is spot on here. I so wish that I didn't have to drive home.

The food....OMG....just a Sunday roast....a beef roast....not 'just a'....but it was food to die for. Delicious would be the understatement of the year. So delicious.

....and not only that, such really good value for money as well.

My wife and I both want to go back again soon. I am just going to look to see if there is accommodation nearby so we can spend longer here.

What a dream place to drink, eat and chat.....and to live :-)

Thank you so much to...