The British Oak — Restaurant in Wakefield

Had the festive tea here last night. Thirteen of us in total. We chose it for the gravy fountain. Tried it previously & it was perfect. On the night it was totally disappointing. No gravy fountains. Not even offered the unlimited teas & coffees. These would have been nice with the mince pies & seeing as people had travelled from Harrogate, Brighouse, Bradford, Halifax, Cleckheaton & Barnsley, to spend the evening together. Although we mentioned immediately about the gravy fountains we were informed it was a health & safety issue. This wasn’t mentioned at the point of booking. Several in the party had ordered teas & coffees at the bar & had been charged when these should’ve been free. We mentioned on paying that the hot beverages had not been supplied but they did not adjust the bills accordingly. Some alcoholic drinks were purchased from the bar so it wasn’t as though we didn’t increase their profits. They also skimped on the desert portions. Service was poor. Not once did they check to see if things were okay. They just served & left us to it. The one vegetarian in the group was disappointed with selection.

Three stars for atmosphere. The brass band & customer interaction.

Will not be recommending nor using again.

The only saving grace was the boxing up of the uneaten mince pies which I dropped in at Wakefield Ambulance Station on my way home. (We had paid for them & did not consume as no teas or coffees provided. Big mistake. Had you interacted with your clientele that evening you would have learned that all ambulance staff current & retired do not waste tea or coffee's). It has, & always will be our fuel of choice.

Very...

We called yesterday for some food and when we went inside you could tell it had all been done out and looked very nice. My issue was the pub was very quiet compared to how busy this pub used to be. When we last called you used to have to wait for a table on a Sunday afternoon but not yesterday it was a case of pick where you want to sit. We decided not to eat there as the food looked like it was frozen food which is something I am not prepared to pay for. We had a look at the menu and it was so small and there was nothing in there that would interest me at all. On a good note the staff there are very nice and polite but I am afraid that's all I can say on this new nice and refurbished pub. If they could do fresh home made cooked food that's cooked to order then I would have no doubt it could get back to how busy it used to be. If not I think it will be on a slippery slope down hill to know where. A very quiet pub is not an inviting one for us sorry to ssay.You only have to look at other reviews and people are saying the same thing . Some not but most of them are.....Such a shame used to be a great pub and...

We arrived expecting the usual hand battered fresh onion rings, huge fresh home cut chips and premium, locally sourced food, since this is what we had come to expect here. We were absolutely stunned when frozen onion rings, frozen chips , cheap sliced bread and microwaved food turned up. The food is no longer homemade, it is now frozen, cheap and microwaved garbage, but still with homemade prices. Huge signs state that the pub is under new management and I am sad to say, they have completely destroyed this once great little pub.

We didn't finish our meals due to flies everywhere inside the pub and couldn't sit outside due to wasps everywhere. Had we known the British Oak had undergone such a nosedive in quality we wouldn't have bothered going, so be aware. If an overpriced pint, overpriced microwave meal and half an hour spent batting away flies from your food is your thing, go here. But if you are expecting what this pub used to deliver on, you will be seriously disappointed and I suggest you...