The Royal Oak — Restaurant in New Forest

Ate here with family on 5th August 2016. Would probably give them a 3.5 if I could but erring on the side of caution with a 3.

My brother-in-law had popped in the previous night and had a bad pint of Forty-Niner, so we both settled on the Doombar as our first pint. Unfortunately, we both agree that on that night the Doombar was NOT the pint to go for. However, when we switched to the Forty-Niner for our 2nd pints we were happy. Clearly there was a new barrel on that night.

There is what looks to be a newly constructed playground at the back of the pub. It was a nice area which is fenced in. This is a good thing, but the fencing is too close to some of the equipment, so even my 3yr was catching his feet on the fence while on the swings! Hate to think what my 7 yr would have done to the fence (or herself) had she played on the swings. Even as I watched my children play, I saw another child come down the slide a shade too early after another child and slam that child into the fencing about 1 meter from the bottom of the slide. I advise that you supervise your children quite closely if you allow them into the play area.

Pretty much everyone enjoyed their food. I had Lambs Liver from the Specials menu and enjoyed it thoroughly (although as I haven't had Liver and Onions for years this may have been a contributing factor). All the deserts looked to be pretty much the pre-made variety rather than home made on the premises.

If I was staying at the Shorefield caravan site (10 minute walk away) again then I would consider trying this pub again, but it definitely did not make it to the "Try, Try,...

This establishment continues to be a lottery. Returned last night after a suberb Sunday Lunch experience in October last year. It wasnt busy, front of house was being carried by one lady trying very hard to keep everything above water, supporting staff were either out of their depth or overly familiar. That said the real issue is in the kitchen, with food only vaguely representing what is described on the menu, and very underwhelming by any standard. Some of it definately not homemade as advertised; [Pork and Black pudding croqettes?, were not Croquettes; Halloumi Fries advertised as GF were coated in breadcrumbs!!], salad leaves presented dry, no dressing; red cabbage over spiced, calves liver over cooked, 'homemade jus' was badly disguised gravy granules not correctly/fully cooked out, lots of dark food presented on dark plates, burgers looked okay...maybe that should be the main focus, instead of an extensive and over ambitious menu beyond the skill set of the kitchen . The Chef and whoever writes the Menu clearly guilty of flattering to deceive.....or 'passing off' as it is known in the trade. Pity....have frequented and supported the Royal Oak for over 30 years, through thick and thin. Another sad example of mediocre hospitality in the New Forest provided by getting ambition confused with ability combined with inexperienced and poorly trained staff.Will not...

Where do I start; food was good, service was appalling. There were specials on a board which we could not see and were not told about when we ordered or we would have ordered from that. Having taken our time to make up our minds we were then told dishes were off the menu; should have said that at the start! I had to ask several times for a pitcher of water. He never did get back to me. I had to hijack another waitress I the end. I had to get up and ask if we could order desert as no one came back despite having cleared our table. I asked for a half pint of the beer I had been drinking. I asked again later because no one came back. Again I had to hijack a waitress and eventually the beer arrived. It didn't taste right so I took it back to the bar where they insisted it was correct. They poured another and then admitted they had poured the wrong beer! Start to finish, it took over 2.5 hrs for our meal. For 6 + child the meal cost over £180. When asked if I wanted to pay the service charge, I declined. Then they bravely asked if everything was okay, I recanted the catalogue of disappointments. Arguably, some of the blame is on management not having enough staff. Then again, staff were not doing a great job either. We were going to book again but cancelled. Would I come here again, sadly the answer...