please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Update: Apparently Thai food will be served at The Oak tomorrow night (1st April), which may seem at-odds with such a down-to-earth British establishment, but the chef's record is good, and when international food has made its appearance here before on select occasions (Caribbean etc), it's not hung about for long, so worth giving it a go methinks. If it proves a hit, the plan is to feature it more frequently - probably every Wednesday evening.
Beer still brill and folk still friendly by the way....
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Best of British to S & C for making their eighth birthday at the Oak.... I shall come amongst you at the weekend to check you're celebrating correctly....
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Still splendid for dedicated cask ale/cider fans - dareI say puritans - who also love a friendly rural 'local' away from home! Glad to see the demeaning and unseemly bickering about this pub on this site seems to have died-down of late. And the North Sussex CamRA issues have effectively dissolved, as the antis have stepped-down and pro-Oak punters put in their place - yay!
But make the best of it folks... Good things never last forever.
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Hidden away in the lanes outside Rusper, this pub is a great find. It is a real ale pub, no lager, no kids but an excellent choice of real ale. I tried OSB Detention, never heard of it before but it was lovely. Tried the Otter mild too, a good mild but that OSB Detention was spot on.
They do food as well but this is not a restaurant, it is a pub and all the better for it.
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Why don't you go somewhere else if you want to continue your puerile slanging match. It really is pathetic. If you like the pub, drink there. If you don't, don't.
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For creepycrawley
I returned to the Oak last saturday and the welcome was as warm as ever, I know Sara and Clive as friends, and despite my long absence I felt as though it was only yesterday that I'd left.
If you can ever walk into a pub 90 miles away from home and feel so welcome you may see where I am comng from? I doubt you've ever been far away from Crwley though....
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For litltlecon
Thanks for the mention, I maybe understand your view, but I've never had any cause to complain about the drink or food, and I have recommended the Oak to friends near and far, those who have taken the time to visit comer back with good reports....
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For croydonpeer
I actually got over to the Oak on saturday evening and had a pleasant evening there with some friends, not that you would understand that.
If you chose to keep away from a pub because of the customers then you are very fickle?
I will leave it at that, I know Sara and the REAL locals are very open and friendly, you obviously have a problem with me and that's YOUR problem, not mine...
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Well AL - we hope you've gone back up north, and don't turn up this lunchtime. But, tell us when you're down again - so that we can be elsewhere......
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Al, I am not anti this pub, but hardly ever go now, as 1) the beer quality is very variable 2) if you suggest to the landlady that any ale is less than perfect you get the cold shoulder for the rest of the night, not a pleasant pub anymore
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For creepycrawley
"What a shame this formerly wonderful pub is run by a bigoted landlady"
She isn't as bigoted as the previous landlord, Peter? And the pub is open most of the time unlike when Peter ran it?
"who seems 'hellbent' on doing battle with CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale)"
What, the same CAMRA who awarded the pub the whole countries 'runner up' of the year awards, two years running?
"Unfortunately the warm welcome has gone,"
I took my wife into the pub and a friend, on seperate occassions, and both were made to feel very welcome.....
"so too the beer quality and choice!"
Under Peter I was offered one bitter - Harveys - or nothing, what choice was that?
Under Sara I had a choice of around 8 real ales and 5 ciders and perrys. all of excellent quality, I think anyone would agree that is NOT a loss of choice?
"Nothing from local breweries in Horsham for example."
You have me at a loss there, not being a local I didn't realise there actually were any breweries in Horsham - fair do's? But then I was in the area for two or three years so maybe that was their problem, not mine?
Would definitely not recommend. Indeed, the Royal Oak should be re-named the 'Slaughtered Lamb'...STAY AWAY!!!
Being an 'outsider' I was always made welcome and have recommended the pub to many friends headed down to the area for weddings and airport stop overs, ALL of them have come back with good comments.....
I must add that I actually worked in Crawley, and never found a pub in the area worthy of mention, which may account for your visit's to the Oak?
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for croydonpeer.....
Takes a lot for me to learn any lessons, I will be visiting Sara and the Oak (weather permitting) tomorrow evening and I am looking forward to sampling the cider and perry on offer. Like I said, I look forward to meting any friends who are around, so your absence won't be a problem for me....
As for posting 4 comments at a time (which isn't actually a 'habit'), I was merely repying to each comment levelled at me. If you feel I am worthy of 4 posts, the least I can do is reply?
Sara has the best pub in the south of England, as has been proven by her (previous) CAMRA awards, and having travelled and worked extensively through the UK and many parts of Europe I think I can comment?
May I ask how far you (and tradervic) have actually travelled and sampled the beer?
Hope you have a nice saturday night out in croydon, or wherever....
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Your comments were deleted because of your habit of making four posts at a time - but you seem to have learned your lesson! Both vic and I will avoid the Oak this weekend.
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I notice all of my recent comments have been deleted, which also took 'tradervics' comments off this site, so they proved their purpose.
Hopefully I will be able to get round to the Oak on saturday evening, after the wedding I am in the area for.
The weather isn't good up here, nor is the outlook, but I seriously intend to try and make it this weekend.
Hopefully see some of you then.....
Cider Al
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The BITE comments policy stipulates that this website is supposed to be about pubs. Good ber, bad beer, would you go again etc etc. Useful information. Not a free for all slanging match for people who have nothing better to do with their time. My understanding is that these posts have been removed due to the attack that was being made on one particular person who had given their opinion on the pub. This site is not for person attacks on people. If you dont like the pub dont drink there its fairly straight forward. The only people who can remove posts from this site are those who own the website and they review most posts. So come on people lets get back to reviewing pubs, and not attacking people.
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How was that me? Sadly I am not clever enough to hack into someone elses web site to edit it :(
If I was I would have been more choosey about what I deleated! Any chance we can get back to reviewing pubs now?
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Pity that Sara has now decided to censor the Oak's BITE page - all February and March posts have vanished!
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I invited some real ale enthusiasts to join me at the Royal Oak last week. Their individual reviews came with the look of utter heaven on their faces when working through the large choice of exceptional ales! The Royal Oak is without doubt a rare example of a real old traditional public house and a treasure to behold for ale drinkers! The roaring log fire and great banter were included for free as were the coffees for our nominated driver. A most excellent evening.
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TWG's last comment was more an 'ad' than anything else - for this pub which he also continues to campaign for, against CAMRA. Briefer, at least; sadly more biased.
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A quick addendum as regards the Oak's addition of B 'n' B facilities: during 2012 three double bedrooms were opened for business and, having stayed overnight in one two Saturdays ago, I'm happy to report that they are most-satisfactory. On the bijou side, but more than enough especially for single occupancy, the room had an en-suite shower and the bed was very comfortable. On a winter's morning there was considerable pleasure in waking up in a cosy room in Friday Street, topped-off by a superb (and generous) breakfast cooked by Sara and served by Clive. All in all, not bad for £45 a night.
For those of us who don't live nearby but want to enjoy the Oak's ongoing ale fest, the accommodation is an absolute boon and neatly side-steps the awkward drinking 'n' driving issue. I shall certainly be availing myself again in 2013.
Oh, and the other individual in the anti-Oak camp of N Sussex CamRA is apparently one Rex Gibbons. I'm advised that he may be stepping down soon - perhaps a case of good riddance if he does; maybe they'll get someone more sensible and less vindictive replace him?....
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Okay (or should that be 'ok' - it is shorter, so must be better: clearly some seem determined that all reviews on this site must be like tweets - no more than 140 characters!). Here's a more short-winded review for you (for me at any rate): if you do happen to agree with me and others about the injustice of this pub's exclusion from a major national beer/pub guide, the person to aim your vitriol at is one Allan Bartram, of North Sussex CamRA. I am reliably advised that he - and another acolyte of his whose name I do not have as yet - is at the root of the pettiness and petulence. He can be contacted on email via North Sussex CamRA (who I might add are not by any means all anti-Royal Oak - I believe Bartram is the protagonist).
PS: To my detractors - apologies if you find my posts so appalling, but variety of opinion and writing style surely has to be expected on sites like this?
PPS: To my supporters - thank you as ever for your kind words (thank God you kept your posts BRIEF!).
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the beer is VERY variable, so is the welcome, sells to big a range of ales to keep them all well
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bigoted - somebody with strong opinions, especially on politics, religion, or ethnicity, who refuses to accept different views mmmm Well I do have strong opinions about some things but politics, religion or ethnicity are not amongst them. Refuses to accept different views? If you knew me at all you would know that I welcome frank and open discussions on many subjects and often find that I am presented with a side of the argument I had not previously thought �f , I have even been known to agree to disagree - not good form for a bigot! I am sorry that I have so grieviously upset you as to merit such an unplesant attack on this forum I had not realised that I had changed so much in the last 18 months since your last post on my pub. Just as a footnote ..... if I am so hellbent on making war with camra why did I get such a glowing review from Kent camra and manage to win the camra bus to the pub award for the last two years?
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Would that be the same bigoted landlady that creepycrawley wrote about on the 3rd and 26th of Febuary last year? My goodness! She must have really upset creepycrawley! I wonder if people should comment on situations they know nothing about......I have seen a number of happy camra members in there enjoying the beer quality and choice.....still, it is probably not for everyone and that is probably just as well!
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Oh, been reminded that it's the 2013 Good Beer Guide they've been excluded from. Same ending though; still an unfriendly and feudal pub!
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What a shame this formerly wonderful pub is run by a bigoted landlady who seems 'hellbent' on doing battle with CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale). All because a democratic vote excluded them from the Good Beer Guide 2012.
Unfortunately the warm welcome has gone, so too the beer quality and choice! Nothing from local breweries in Horsham for example. Would definitely not recommend. Indeed, the Royal Oak should be re-named the 'Slaughtered Lamb'...STAY AWAY!!!!
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I and 25 other CAMRA members visited this pub on 13/10/12 on our annual bus trip.
Everybody I spoke to on the trip said what a fantastic pub the Royal Oak is and could not understand why the local CAMRA branch did not put it in the GBG 2013.
If the local CAMRA branch had a difference of opinion with the Landlords, that is no excuse for them to exclude this pub from the guide and deprive visitors to the area a chance to visit this real ale Mecca.
I hope the local CAMRA branch will explain on this forum why they behaved in such an arrogant way
To conclude, make sure you visit one of the best pubs in the South East of England.
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long.short,concise or rambling....does it matter? I think whats important is that this pub has been let down. Not by its reviewers sense of journalism,whos to say whats a good hobby?!? Facists...
No its been left out of a national guide to what it does best, serve real ale.
The Good Beer Guide 2013....... NO ENTRY ???????
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No, vic said that BITE was his hobby - and his posts are, by far, the longest on the site (scroll down). Many are very similar, but NEVER concise...
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Nothing wrong with writing a long post if you've got something to say, which he definitely had, and judging by the responses he has more supproters than detractors. Also nothing wrong with visiting pubs as your hobby, it's certainly mine !!
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Great post?
TWG will always type 1,000 word when 10 is enough; BITE seems to be his hobby, sadly.
A nice pub; c7 rating is accurate.
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Great post by TWG, I too was shocked to see the pub left out of the GBG, and I sent an e-mail to CAMRA North Sussex branch to ask why, but of course got no reply. Probably it is personal and political rather than anything else, which is a shame, it should be about the beer, the pub, and nothing else....
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a little gem worth a trip from anywhere
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Agree with the last poster - good to average beer here. That TGW bloke does go on a bit........
Check him out - he often talks/types on BITE about pubs he hasn't been in for years!
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Don't trust Camra or the GBG (or other people's opinions?) - says TGW, in his awful longwinded post(s). The ale/beer is average here - but certainly not worth the trip from Streatham!
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My partner and I regularly travel here from Streatham in S London, and adore it.
To me, its idiosyncracy is a great strength, ensuring it stands out from the crowd.
I've always found the beer here to be excellent, both in terms of cellarmanship and choice, so it really SHOULD be in the beer guide. If the local branch don't like Sara, that's their affair, but completely irrelevant.
Local branch, GET A GRIP!
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Well said TWG. This pub is simply the best in the area by MILES and it is completely ridiculous to exclude it from any beer guide.
I like TWG, appreciate Sara and Clive's good work and Sara's brilliant tasting and very well kept beer and shall continue to support this pub.
You'd be mad not to try this lovely little pub.
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Well said TWG. I have noticed a similar problem between certain pubs and a certain senior member of the local commissariat in South Herts.
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Visited the superb Royal Oak over the recent bank holiday weekend and again yesterday (not least, to show 20-year-old daughter what a proper rural pub is all about) and found the ales, service and ambience absolutely top-notch, as usual.
If you simply want to enjoy a good range of well-kept beer or cider (excellent soft drinks, too) in idyllic surroundings, this pub sets the benchmark. You won't be disappointed.
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Hear hear TWG!
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It is with regret that I can confirm the content of the review of 6 May: North Sussex CamRA appear to have carried out their threats not to include the Royal Oak in the forthcoming 2013 edition of the Good Beer Guide - mine arrived yesterday (nice and early) and sure enough, it is conspicuous by its absence, while other lesser entrants retain a berth.
I have the utmost respect for CamRA, and as a relatively inactive member, I don't purport to know how to do the work of local branch committee members better than those who actually take the time and effort to do it. And I should say I have only officially heard the pub's side of the story on this issue.
Nevertheless, I am bound to say that if what I am led to believe is correct, this is a truly shocking indictment on the way that politics and personality can get the better of certain individuals in some branches of CamRA, to the point where it actually skews their outlook and obfiscates what should be their core activity: to ensure great pubs with excellent cask ale in their local area are given due recognition, whether that be through inclusion in the national Guide, and/or other means.
I understand that Sara has not always been an easy licensee to get along with, and that she is known to be vocal - sometimes vehemently so - when she has a difference of opinion about certain matters. But whether or not the local branch approve or concur with either her views or her behaviour towards them is immaterial to an objective measurement of whether her pub and cask quality and range is sufficient to qualify for GBG entry. There must be numerous publicans who don't always see eye-to-eye with their local CamRA aficionados, but if their standards of cellarmanship and licenseeship generally are sound, they will not be barred from recognition in CamRA-related literature.
The gross disproportionality about this apparently spiteful manoeuvre is that the Royal Oak is - my own bias aside - manifestly one of the strongest (if not best) cask ale outlets in the North Sussex vicinity. A constant changing selection of 7 ales (mostly Sussex/Surrey/Kent/Hampshire with a few from further afield), 2 ciders and 1 perry - and always well-kept. Indeed the pub devotes itself solely to cask product to the exclusion of other decidedly CamRA-unfriendly beverages. It has won numerous awards (or did before the big freeze set in), and is not surrounded by such stromg local competition that it could lose its GBG placing on grounds of the 'rotation' system which is often applied in areas saturated with top taverns. And yet, it is deprived recognition in a publication which purports to promote the best beer pubs. I don't see how that can be defensible, regardless of how hostile local CamRA officials have found the landlady.
And furthermore, I understand LocAle status is being withdrawn too? Surely that is a clear-cut measure - a pub either qualifies under its criteria or it doesn't. I'd like to know how the Oak has faltered in this regard, other than its licensee having the audacity to be critical of some of the Campaign's members.
There are two key worries for pub and ale lovers here: I'm okay; I know this pub and that it's worth visiting. But people outside the area may not, and they'll rely on the likes of the GBG to direct them to the best beerhouses. Given Friday Street's isolated location there's limited scope to come across the Oak by chance, and so promotion in the GBG is crucial. Withdrawal would seem to be a petty pice of childish power-play, by officious and narrow-minded people (regrettably, CamRA does attract more than its fair share of such characters).
Secondly, it makes me wonder how many other corking boozers are being barred from GBG recognition for no other reason than personal disputes between the licensee and local branch committee members? All GBG users could be missing out on an untold number of great pubs if all branches behave like N Sussex?!
This probably wasn't appropriate for this forum, but I feel it's worth alerting other serious beer and pub lovers who use BITE to what can happen when politics supplant palate. Don't trust CamRA or the GBG to always yield even the best of outlets when this sort of thing gets in the way. Word on the street has it that the local CamRA Stasi has turned its steely authoritarian attentions to the Sussex Oak in Warnham... Another great pub which outperforms most in the area in beer terms, but presumably still unsafe from exclusion in the 2014 Guide if too much bad blood develops between CamRA and its landlord?
Anyway, keep up the good work Sara and Clive - some of us appreciate it even if some in N Sussex branch do not. I hope removal from the Guide doesn't affect your fortunes too adversely.
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great selection of scotish ales
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anotherpintplease make yourself known, your sence of humour has earn't you a pint!
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Excellent beer including LocAle beers and also a mild to support Camra's Make May Mild initiative. Very friendly owners, and a beer festival coming up. No wonder it is a Camra favourite!
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Just superb, the flooring has to be sen to be believed,a clever selection of ales.
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this is the same mr grumpy?
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I see the pub is not in next year's Good Beer Guide. Although I admit to Camras membership, I am not one who turns up to meetings to choose the pubs which are voted in (and I live in Surrey not Sussex). Nevertheless this is a pub I would always recommend to people who like good beer and good company. I don't drink lager - they don't sell it here (surely a Camra tick there!). The landlady speaks her mind and those Camra idiots don't like it. So they put terrible clone pubs into the guide instead. They still don't sell Harveys here, but then no pub is perfect.
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Visited the Royal Oak for the first time today and my only regret was that I hadn't done it sooner!
Varied choice of ales and ciders served in an old fashioned ambience deep in the Englich countryside. If it wasn't for the planes leaving nearby Gatwick you could think you'd stepped back in time.
Whilst the food menu is limited, I enjoyed the best bit of roast pork I'd had in ages which was complimented by the well-prepared local vegetables.
All in all, an experience I'm very much looking forward to repeating.
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Anyone who loves a traditional pub should head for this place, it won't disappoint. Simply furnished, friendly, fantastic beers. Thankfully there are still places to be found like this, lets hope it never gets the dreaded makeover, it's perfect as it is.
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Am missing Sara and Clive and all my friends there since leaving the area, having to put up with some really mundane pubs in the outer Cambridge area, hopefully will be back down there at some stage....
One of the best pubs in the country, take it from me, as a 'non' local!!
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Fed up with the norm.....Got its own club to rival camra now....called crappo!
Membership is rising and you get a discount on the lovely ales served here.
No sign of mr grumpy anymore has he cheered up or passed over?
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thoroughly enjoyed this pub great beer.
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A real ale drinkers pub with some great cider offerings too. I have spent some wonderful summer evenings in the beer garden (which is a sort of patio area with some benches out the front of the pub) enjoying excellent beer, eyes closed and listening to bird song! The Royal Oak is on the small side and sometimes gets busy ( a dozen or more people would constitue busy here) and then the service can be a little slow as one should expect. That said, who actually minds waiting for a great pint? Not I!
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i used to use this pub quite often but was put off by the racist drunk landlord that used to run it i went in there when it next changed hands about five years ago and they were chargeing 4 pounds a pint which put me off going there again
but whilst passing by i couldn't resist trying it again and what a pleasant supprise the place is unreconiseable freindly customers 7 different ales on offer all really well kept and also at a reasonable price nearly a pound cheaper than five years ago i will be visiting this great traditional pub again
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fullbelly, I love your sense of humour! I am reluctant to use this site as some people get carried away and it is not well policed so as a rule I respond to these comment on my own site as I did to the first from susie. I must just point out to susie that a public house does not mean we are at her beck and call to supply her with her every need, it means that my home is open to the public to come and purchase the goods I have on offer. I expect good behaviour and good manners. If you go into a shoe shop for a bottle of drink and can't get it you don't get on your high horse because the place is open to the public and therefore should sell what you want, you just try somewhere else next time. (I understand you like the Star susie). There, lets hope that has cleared all this nonsence up!
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I could have had shandy and would have done if they had diet lemonade, because I am diabetic. But as I said, no diet drinks here. I find it very inhospitable not to cater for all members of the public as it is supposed to be a public house. Just my opinion. My partner loves the place.
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oh stop it Susie....you could always ask for a shandy .......
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Whilst I appreciate that this pub may be excellent for real ale drinkers like my partner. There was absolutely nothing for me as the designated driver. I actually ended up having to drink water from the tap as there was nothing there that I could drink and enjoy.
I am a diabetic so therefore I can only drink diet drinks however I was told that they do not have these drinks because they contain aspartame.
I have never encountered a place like this before and I have been in many pubs all over the southeast in the last few years.
They have no lager, no diet soft drinks, only real ale. I thought a public house was to cater to the publics needs.
It was not hospitable either as I was treated to a like it or lump it attitude.
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Only �4 a pint if you are a camra member
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Congratulations to the Royal Oak on winning CAMRAs 'Bus to the Pub' Pub of the Year 2010 a well deserved winner and well worth the walk from Kingsfold.
It proves this pub is somewhat special as it was one of the hardest pubs to get to by bus and involves a long walk to & from the bus stop, although I believe the landlady has been nagging the the bus company to come past the pub.
A couple of stunning pints of Dark Star Hop Head on my last visit.
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Visited on a Saturday lunch in Febuary. Stunning place, great beer choice, Dark Star, Sarah Hughes, Surrey Hills plus others. Very nice people and was made to feel very welcome.
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Without doubt, The Royal Oak is a gorgeous little pub in a quiet and hidden corner of England. It's where you can find proper ales made by small independent breweries. It's where you can find real (cloudy) cider. There's no EuroFizz or' foodie' prententious menus. There's always someone to chat with, sometimes there's even a lively and honest debate going on! Of course, there are plenty of pubs in the locality that cater for those who want to keep themselves to themselves, drink bland beers and lagers made by faceless giants. Thankfully the Royal Oak thinks deeply about all of this, and stays true to the values of a genuine English free house.
Hats off to Sara & Clive!
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At the risk of a verbal attack I think some of you are missing the point being made here. All Sara has done is critisize CAMRA not slag them off. She has simply made a point that many think but do not say.
If CAMRA cannot take it, think and change then that's where the problem is, NOT with the Royal Oak.
If anybody on the Royal Oak is slagging off CAMRA it has been me, but I was a member for many years & will be eternally grateful for what they did to save real ale for the likes of me. However it has been time for change for a long while.
CAMRA have done well but now are not fit for purpose, they can change but it must come from within. If it doen't then they may as well change their name.
CAMRA - The Campaign for Real Alienation
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A good pub, shame there appears to be a shift in attitude by the owners. Its a bit "hardcore" for me (think of a slightly fluffier Slaughtered Lamb), but well worth a visit if you like real ale.
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CAMRA promoted this pub loads when it first changed from a run down brewery owned chain pub into a distinctive free house, it seems a great shame that the owners now seem so anti camra, you would have thought them obvous soul mates.
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CRAPO? Love it!
Really must visit your pub if I can find a driver to get me there, as I suspect you're a three or more mile walk from public transport.
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nice to hear from mr grumpy again if anyone is interested I have addressed the issues he raised on my soapbox page on the Royal Oak website
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Very disappointed to see this place is slagging off Camra on their website. The landlady should not bite the hand that feeds her. Badger failed with this pub which is why it is a free house. Alienating her customers like this will see a private house here before too long.
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An absolutely stonkin' good country pub. Great food, proper beer (no EuroFizz).
Sara & Clive do a fantastic job. Thanks!
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What a great 'beer tasting' quiz evening, 13 real ales + 5 bottled beers along with some general beer knowledge questions. Organised by landlady Sara & James from Dark Star the quiz was won by the Surrey CAMRA guys JUST!!! All for just 3 quid a head & we got snacks as well to soak up the beer.
A truely great evening and something many others pubs should consider.
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Well kept beer with good service in a nice village. (What happened to Mr Grumpy? - Nothing, he's a regular).
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Lovely couple of beers today;
Arundel Old Ale - 4.6
Adur Merry Andrew - 6.2
Is it me or is it a coincidence that Mr Grumpy hasn't posted on BITE since May and the box on the bar at the Royal Oak marked 'Mr Grumpys one way to Sheffield' has disappeared?
Seriously though what has happened to Mr Grumpy?
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I loike drak rats beers too!!
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I visited the Royal Oak for the first time yesterday and thought it was a fantastic pub. Good chioce of well kept beers, three perrys and two ciders. They supplied good food to our party of 17: interesting bread and amazing cheeses. The bar staff and locals were friendly and made us all feel very welcome. Also a really interesting building, nice spot. I will recommmend it to all my friends and am certainly planning another trip there soon. Thank you.
We were on a brewery visit to the Drak Star brewery at Partridge Green and they paid for the food, so thanks for that.
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A little gem of a traditional pub, great beer and cider, and a wonderful change from all the chain pubs that dominate the market these days
Love it.
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littlecon.......did you come in and ask for a lager, diet coke and a vegetarian meal?
Sorry, only joking........nasty Royal Oak sense of humour again!
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can't see what all of the fuss is about, yes there's a good range of beer, but the quality is very dodgy, and the landlady only wants to talk to her regulars
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Tick...Tock...Tick...Tock...?!?!?!?!
foghorn - you've been reported!
Please take your abuse with you & leave BITE now. There is now need for it & no reason for it.
JonBonser post was a good posting supporting a good pub.
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I thought that I would re-post my earlier review from last November given all the silliness below ( TWG excepted ), so here it is -
Splendid, rural and isolated free house situated in the West Sussex countryside approx 5 miles north of Horsham.
The pub was voted CAMRA Sussex Pub of the Year in 2008, but first really started crossing the radar when it made it through to the last 4 in the 2009 CAMRA National Pub of the Year Competition alongside such legendary pubs like Stockport's Crown and the Kelham Island Tavern in Sheffield. The Royal Oak has made it through to the last 16 in the current year - winner to be announced in Feb 2010.
Prior to last Saturday's visit, I had last visited the Royal Oak back in 1982 when, as a King and Barnes house, it had participated in that brewery's Ale Trail promotion which - I am slightly embarassed to admit - I only ever half completed, visiting around 25 of the 58 pubs comprising the trail. No staying power in those days!
An old King and Barnes pub guide showes the legendary Oliver Reed participating in the Greasy Pole ( funny, thought he was one of us?) competition outside the pub and, pleasingly, the pub still participates in activities not often encountered nowadays - eg Tug of War, Pantomime Horse Race. Various montages of the pub's Tug of War teams and other events make it clear to the passing visitor that this is a genuine community focused local.
As well as the montages of pub events, there's various framed CAMRA certificates displayed as well as a number of photos of the pub in days of old. There's also various items of King and Barnes and King and Sons memorabilia - indeed the pub still displays the round K+B trademark logo on its white walled exterior.
The pub consists of a narrow low-beamed bar which is carpeted and has a cosy traditional atmosphere. An unusual feature in this bar are the hanging straps from the beams to support unsteady drinkers.
A small lounge bar extension on the right has several sofas and a fine fireplace. There's a dartboard, but its positioning suggests it isn't used. Notably, Ringing the Bull can be played though. No food is permitted in here, but there's a small dining area to the left of the main bar. There's no fruit machines or TV's anywhere, which, despite it being a Rugby International day, did not prevent the pub from gradually filling up during the afternoon after a slow start. For the better weather, there's a few seats outside at the front and a garden at the side, which looks rather neglected and in need of some TLC.
A splendid collection of pump clips testify to the wide range of real ales that the pub has sold in recent years. Of the 7 real ales that were on on my Saturday visit, all those sampled by me - Surrey Hills Ranmore Ale, Whitstable East India Pale Ale, Arundel Mild and Sarah Hughes Amber Ale (!) were in top form. All beers were priced at � 2.80p. Other beers on were also from micros - Hop Back, Otter and Bay. Several beers changed during the course of my visit. No lagers are sold, but, if so inclined, you can try some snuff if you're suffering from the smoking ban. There's 5 pumps in the lounge extension selling ciders and perries, but, perhaps oddly, no real ales.
Although filled rolls are available and hot food at certain times if booked in advance, this is very noticeably, to use industry jargon, a "wet led" pub and it is very heartening to see an isolated rural pub like this making a go of things without having to go down the gastropub / restaurant route.
As an unfamiliar face in an isolated community focused local like this, it's always difficult to correctly judge the appropriate level to which you should interact with other customers, but I found this to be a welcoming and friendly pub, perhaps more so than usually found.
It's a family run pub and it was particularly pleasingly noticeable how the landlandy's daughter, Emma, switched effortlessly from customer to barmaid when the occasion demanded. I bet you don't find that in the Tarantula and Tomato !
Getting here without the car is a challenge, but one well worth taking on. Warnham station on the Dorking - Horsham line has an hourly service ( not Sundays ) and it's then approx a 2 mile walk along the country roads. It's not on a bus route. Despite doing my best Usain Bolt impression, the predicted bad weather in the afternoon found me a bit bedraggled and damp when I eventually got back to Warnham shortly before darkness fell.
I think I prefer the Royal Oak to the other local POTY finalists like the Bricklayers in Putney and the Bull in Horton Kirby, and I wish them well.
In conclusion, the Royal Oak is well up there with the best pubs visited by yours truly in 2009 and I'll defo try and get here again sometime. I recommend it wholeheartedly to BITE readers.
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Hear, hear. What the Oak has done to deserve such swordplay on this site is a mystery, other than be a superb characterful local which happens to specialise in cask ales, ciders and perries. I can't blame locals for getting incensed by - and entering into - attacks made on this site about their beloved pub, but it only serves to detract from the core business of reviewing on BITE: that is to provide some sort of considered critique on pubs, whether it be positive or otherwise. Whilst we will never eradciate it, there really is so little point in slinging mud at each other over differences in pub appreciation.
In response to the "antis" who seem so affronted by the Royal Oak "concept" - if that doesn't sound too corporate for this context, I would say that all too often we cask lovers have to suffer venues which eschew all the aforementioned products in favour of mass-produced, over-priced fizzy lagers, keg ales and ciders. That one pub amongst many many others should have the temerity to stick solely to cask and steadfastly refuse to serve other drinks should not be such a matter for resentment amongst you, who have your way most of the time, in most places.
I appreciate that some visitors may have found Sara's regime - and I am bound to say Sara herself - somewhat inflexible or unduly robust in her defiant defence of her pub, which may have been taken as offensive or a hallmark of cliquiness. I daresay that many consider it legitimate nowadays to expect a pub to serve a bit of everything, including a full food menu. But not everywhere must sing from the same song-sheet, and I think Sara & Clive should be given all the support people can give for managing to elevate this previously tired H & W house into something which is perhaps niche for drinkers, but surely is not lost on the wider market in other respects - I mean, just look at the place! The pub is not inherently superior - just different, and any excess vigour on the part of its licensees or regulars in defending it is usually born not of snobbery but of the unwillingness of some to understand or engage with it, who then feel inexplicably threatened, enough to peddle disproportionately adverse commentaries about it. To make a pub economically viable with a relatively slim range of food and drink in this climate is no mean feat.
Hopbitch - I was probably in situ at the bar when you were unfortunately turned away for food yesterday. You weren't the only ones, and it underlines the fact that there is a definite market for a slightly wider food range here (this is dare I say it something S & C might wish to look again at?!). But when it is available, albeit with a limited choice, trust me, it is hearty and flavoursome, and all prepared using the best ingredients! So I do hope that you persevere and try to get back next week for some victuals. If you like the rest, you can't fail to enjoy.
For those not needing the Full Monty, cheddar cheese, pickled silverskin onions, Bombay mix (should this be "Mumbai" now?!), and salted peanuts are placed on the bar for your delectation, along with a variety of rolls for �1. For the dedicated beer/cider/pery-lover like me who has travelled a fair way to get here and can only do so once every few weeks, this was more than enough.
Don't let the bastards grind you down!
Such is the warmth and jollity of the regulars, in particular, that every visit I make leaves me feeling like I've been one of them for years, and not many places do that.
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I went into this little gem during a walk along a section of the Sussex border path with my husband. I was torn between the range of 7 beers, 1 perry and 4 ciders. I was a little disappointed not to be able to get any food but, as the Landlady was away for the weekend, I understood. We chatted with some of the locals and left having had a nice lunchtime.
I hane to mention, howeveer, that I thought this was a beer review site. Some of the previos postings don't exactly fit this criteria.
I would recommend that anyone considering a visit to this award-winning pub, please igore the negative postings and seek it out.
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I got one of biker's offensive PM's - I sent it straight to BITE management; this bloke and his girlfriend, sam, may be on their way out of the site!
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Yes, wealdman, it would seem so.
And the biker chap is sending out more insulting PM's - beware!
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Silly Sam met a Pie going to the Pear
Said Silly Sam to the Pie
Let me taste your Bear
Said the Bear to the Pie
Has he had too many
Said the Pie to the Bear
I dont think he's had any.
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wealdman Your's is yet another moronic posting on a pub reviewing site by one of the in-breeds!
Get a life guys or, better still, get a beer, and get over it!
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Are beerbiker and sam a couple?
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Offensve, no. Humour, none. Childish, probably. Syntax/spelling, not bad - for a child...
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Just to save any confusion for those looking for this truely excellent but well hidden REAL ALE pub, it's actually in Sussex! not Surrey as sussexfox suggests. Maybe he should synchronize his GPS a little better!
Sorry, thats Royal Oak humour, hardly offensive though.
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Im silly sam from silly land
I keep my busfare in my hand
I'll raise a glass and eat your pie
Im silly sam I'll drink you dry.
Its fraddledaddledoodly.
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Average Surrey local; the same faces almost every day. Many of these chaps have had very successful personality bypasses and think that real ale is very important to their busy and uncomplicated lives.
Staff and beer quality are good, but one must revert back to the 'regulars' - a perusal of some of their recent comments on this site will clearly illustrate the type of humour/sarcasm that appeals to them.
When riled, this fine bunch will often send PM's (sarcastic and humorous ones!) to those who dare to suggest that BITE is here to discuss pubs and beers of all types and standards. It will be difficult to change them now; we can only continue to monitor their Royal Oak timetables to avoid synchronization.
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0k....what have you lot done with mr g? its been 3 months since his last posting....
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thepubvisitor
As you anticipated this, I feel I must not disappoint.
What is it about lager drinkers, they all seem so insecure & often quite febble, maybe even weak, often scared when faced with a REAL ALE pub. However, fill them with lager...well they can then make the Incredible Hulk look like a wimp!
Lager can be drunk in most pubs, most of which I would never cross their doorstep so whats your problem with us real ale & cider lovers having a pub we can call our own. If you or your friends must have lager well you know the answer...go elsewhere especially if you can't take the friendly banter as we try to convert you to a decent beer like Ranmore.
It's only a problem if your head is so stuck in your lager glass that you can't even consider trying something new, surely you try new food, a new holiday destination once in a while. So come on cross over from the dark side you never know you might actually like it and us.
I do feel that you may have been reading way to many 'Green Party' election leaflets by calling us "self-satisfied tree-hugging chumps".
I've never actually tried hugging a tree, maybe the odd hop vine but you'd be lucky if your lager has seen a hop let alone a brewer that knows how to brew a beer.
So less of the insults please.
Thank you & enjoy your lager because I'll enjoy my real ale.
Cheers
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Fantastic what can be done with a ex Hall and Woodhouse pub, I cant wait to see their new look pub in Horsham I bet they have learnt lots, NOT Did they ask for any tips??.
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i see mr G has been causing his usual upsets....this time at The Plough , Coldharbour. He really is losing the plot! Hope the collections going well!!
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Hi pubvisitor, I can not totally agree with what you say as when I get confronted with a lager drinker I try hard to find something they might like instead, some will be led and try something else and some will not. The banter from the locals is ment as a bit of fun and not to be taken seriously, my advice to lager drinkers is to goodhumouredly give as good as you get and join in.
The bit I must take issue with is the self-satisfied tree-hugging chumps, for a start I see no need to be so rude about my locals, secondly, tree-hugging implies to me vegetarians, to my knowlage we don't have any of those, we don't cater for eating disorders and frown upon them more than lager drinkers, as for the self-satisfied........well maybe, after all they are in the best pub in the land!
And before YOU get up in arms this is all a bit tounge-in-cheek, don't take me seriously ......... no one else does!
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I will no doubt get a load of flak for this, but I do feel it needs to be said.
This is a lovely old quintessentially English country pub. Hidden away down charming country lanes, it draws customers like moths to a flame, guided by the array of fine English ales on handpump. So everything is great.
Unless you are a lager drinker. When one turns up you can see the locals chortling away in their tankards, waiting to see what happens. Inevitably the person who asked for it will be chastised for making such a faux pas, because after all this is an English pub, and not for closet Johnny Foreigners.
If you are an ale drinker you are going to love this place, and will be met by friendly locals. If you don't fit this description then you will see the pub in a different way.
Full of self-satisfied tree-hugging chumps.
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Visited the pub again on wednesday, this is getting to be a bit regular again..
.. same boring selection of 8 real ales and 5 ciders and perrys,
When are we gong to get some lager in.....????
Hopefully never...lol!!!
Keep up the good work, the pub never disappoints....!!!!
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I finally managed to get to the Royal Oak for the first time today. The pub reminds me of country pubs as they used to be about 30 years ago when I first started pubbing. Small, quirky, friendly and selling excellent ales. The sandwiches are just that, properly made tasty sandwiches without garnish etc. A first rate pub well worthy of its reputation.
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beerbiker you only have to ask! We will always let people put their bikes in the back yard if they are worried about them, only this morning one got picked up after three days storage! The only problem with leaving them overnight is that you might get a chicken roosting on the handlebars!
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May Day B/Hol at the Royal Oak.
One of Saras' excellent lambs spit roasted,as well as bbq. Cafe Racers playing in the afternoon but not in the marque thanks to a moanie old neighbour who doesn't like us enjoying ourselfs!
Beers tasted; Hammerpot Mild, most enjoyable, my second mild of the month of May so far, & Freeminer Speculation a very malty ale that drinks a lot lighter than its 4.8% would have you believe.
After a long and sweaty ride its was just a little cold for me this time so not a long visit.
Good to see other beerintheevening bloggers Big_Gee and Cider_Al around as well.
I think as a very keen cyclist I will start a new campaign re pubs and bikes;
Safe storage or somewhere to lock your bike up, because not all bikes cost �100 and come from Halfords! I think this would encourage more people to cycle to their local especially if they knew the bike would still be outside when they came back out.
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Big_Gee & beerbiker....
Drinks received and thoroughly enjoyed, a memorable afternoon!!!!
Any postings on here by 'Perry_Al' will be entirely coincidental!!
Well done Sara, Emma, Jo and Clive and anyone else who helped, a great afternoon!!!
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Big_Gee & beerbiker....
Probably caught you both unaware here, I am actually in the Royal Oak today, bank holiday monday, for a bit of a change, having literally done Breakfast at Tiffany's in Brighton (we cider drinkers get about a bit...lol!
Was a bit shocked to get charged double time for the taxi here (shocked but not surprised, i suppose) but the (Slaughtered) lamb roast promises to be worth the visit, the group are about to set up outside and the sun is starting to shine!
Shame we don't have Cheddar Valley on just yet, but plenty more ciders and perry's to go at, and 8 cracking real ales on, judging by everyone's reaction!
If you do make it before I have to make my way down to another venue in Shoreham by the mud this evening, I'll take you up on those drinks, the Broadoak Perry is slippping down fine right now......
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There's a thief about in the Royal Oak.
One of the many attractions of the Royal Oak is that during a session of their excellent Real Ale & Cider when nature calls for a trip to the little boys or girls room is the calander! There is one in the gents & one in the ladies - well there was one in the ladies until this last week!
The calanders are a very tastefully done farm folk in the same vain as 'calander girls'. Earlier in the year one month was stolen from the gents which is almost understandable knowing what pervs some blokes can be, but last week the whole calander was stolen from the ladies!!!
The worrying thing is that we either know them or we sat next to them enjoying a drink or two.....What can be done? Well if you know who it is I think they need a good talking to. If it was YOU then please return it along with a donation to St Catherines Hospice, if you want to retain you anomimity then do it quietly I feel you will be barred if you don't!!!
On a lighter side my last visit saw me taste some excellent Otter Bitter & Amber both top notch SW beers.
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If this mjeeves idiot is a user of beerintheevening, then surely he must know it is a real ale pub.
If he comes here asking for lager then he deserves all the contempt he is getting. After all you wouldn't go to a greengocer and ask for washing up liquid. The man is obviously a fool and thank God he will not be seen in the Royal Oak again.
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Cider_AL
I'm with Big_Gee, the second pints on me, unless Mr Grumpy & mjeeves would like to join us!
Cheers
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And the prize goes to Cider Al!! That really has made me smile - your next pint of Cheddar Valley is on me when I next spy you in the Royal Oak!!
What a great start to a bank holiday weekend!
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Oh dear, 'mjeeves', it seems that mr grumpy has a new friend?
"As a local, the Royal Oak was one of a few pubs in the are not visited by myself. Wish I had bypassed it."
So do we mjeeves, so do we......
"I was made to feel like a social pariah for having the temerity to ask for Lager"
Well if you will use swear words like LAGER in the second best real ale pub in the country, what do you expect? Would you go into a muslem meat shop and ask for bacon?
" ( obviously the devils brew in the eyes of the owners)."
and, thankfully, in the eyes of 99% of the regulars, too!!
" Was given a short sharp 'no' to my questions as to whether they have draught or bottled lager"
..... er, surely not selling (yuk) Lager would actually seem to pre-empt any further questions as to whether they sell it on draught or in bottles, or in fact by any other method whatsoever?
"with no explanation as to why and not offered an alternative."
You still wouldn't have got any lager even if they HAD given you the weary old explanation, and there were at least 13 'alternatives' on draught, without going any further? Unfortunately for you (and fortunately for us!!) none of these 'alternatives' taste anything like lager (heaven forbid....)
"Even the CAMRA stronghold, The Surrey Oaks, serves Lager for goodness sake."
I would suggest you visit there, then if you HAVE to drink lager, but please don't compare the pubs, they are in different places, have (mostly) different customers and therefore offer their customers what they think they want? The Royal Oak does not sell lager because nobody who regularly drinks there actually wants to drink Lager!
"This is the worst kind of Beer snobbery"
Actually there's nothing 'snobbery' about the beer, or the cider, or the perry, it's always well served, reasonably priced and well presented, and has always tasted fine to me and others?
"Lager is a Beer. just of a different brewing process"
I think we all realised that one, however it doesn't mean a pub HAS to sell it, and by the way, I don't think Lager is actually the only drink NOT available in the Oak, you probably didn't notice there's no Guinness either?
"When will Pubs like this appreciate not everyone who wants to use their facilities is a real-ale drinker."
When will people like you appreciate that there ARE pubs where nobody actually likes lager, and the fact that, for the second year running, this pub came second in the CAMRA national pub of the year competition, so obviously they must be doing something right?
This pub is actually THRIVING, unlike most of it's lager selling counterparts who seem to be closing down in large numbers?
"I have given this place 1 out of 10 because I didn't have to wait long to be insulted."
Shame I never found your comment earlier, I could have got 1 out of 10 too, then?
"Ruspers very own Slaughtered Lamb, avoid."
I think you'll find the Lamb is actually at the other end or Rusper, and just as far outside it.....
"In case you're wondering I'm a respectable, 53 year old middle-class businessman. "
Well there you go, we DO have something in common after all, I'm 53 too, but only for a year....
.... though I wouldn't claim to be resepctable, or middle-class, or anything like that.
Lets just say I am a 53 year old 'happily practising' cider drinker, who (unhappily) only manages to get to the Oak once a month. Once a month more than you apparently will though......
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Having now managed to squeeze in the tortuous but still delightful journey out from Chez TWG to the Oak a few times since my opening gambit in January, I am on the verge of obsession, and my liver, and indeed general wellbeing, should think itself damned lucky that I can only ever emerge here once a month at best, and so far always avec voiture. As any closer and it would be a surrogate local and I would never resist the temptation to be manacled to the bar - notionally of course, although if Sara wants to try it literally then so be it!
Despite having numerous fine qualities that make up the full picture, the ale selection, and quality, is paramount here, and from my experience it's no wonder the reputation is most certainly being cemented in this area. Always 6, and always from a canny mix of local and farther-afield breweries - yes - Devon! The Dark Star offerings always shine; oh dammit they all do. And all washed down with genuinely convivial chat from Sara, and Clive - he seems to have been overlooked here somewhat - which one rarely receives from sometimes all-too-complacent rural licensees who seem to assume punters are putty in their palms. I took my old mum here for her borthday on 1 March and she was incredibly impressed. And she doesn't even drink real ale! The food menu was worryingly brief with only a smattering of hot offerings, but it centred on a homemade pheasant stew. Needless to say, said pheasant had been alive and kicking only a few days previously, and when tasted, it became immediately apparent as to why there is no need for an expansive roll-call of victuals. Everything is simple, local, properly-cooked and prepared. That is really the main issue. Better still, one can pick up all the veg one needs to help re-create this hearty fare at home, which I duly did. Haven't tasted carrots as sweet for years!
All visits - even at quiet times when S and C are having a well-earned break - have been a solid-gold joy, and it is clearly the same for other customers, who frequently appear in relaxed and jovial mood and don't make suburbanites like myself feel unworthy.
I also think it's marvellous that the pub and its licensee has drummed up so much passion to create such a dialogue on this site - there aren't many who can keep it up this long!
I feel compelled to upgrade my already hard-to-exceed score to double-figures, and I just can't wait to keep getting back here to remind myself of why.
Right, back to Mr Grumpy and co. God, if he lives in Redhill I might know him! Then again, there are - understandably - a large number of grumpy-looking blokes in Redhill.....
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anotherpintplease looking at it like that you are absolutly right!
Fullbelly, I like K.P. but I wouldn't want his luck..................
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and aint ken the lucky one...................
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Brother groucho said he would never join a club that would have him as a member.....you cant please all people all of the time,sarah your loss is kens gain!
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Sara
I was trying to point out the irony here.
According to their posts, mjeeves is a lager drinking "respectable" business man. Beerbiker is just an ale drinking business man.
Who would you prefer in your pub?
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anotherpintplease, respect is something you earn from other people not something you can assume for yourself, could we please try not to get this too personal
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beerbiker
I note that you do not consider yourself to be a respectable business man.
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mjeeves.
You have sadly missed the point with the Royal Oak which is such a shame for you.
The Royal Oaks claim is that it is a true Real Ale Public House i.e It serves only Real Ale and is somebodys house that is open to the public!
Being somebodys house they have the right to serve what they want, it is not tied to a chain that forces the sale of products not wanted by us locals.
About as traditional as you can get.
It doesn't claim to sell lager, it doesn't claim to be a Gastro Pub so does not have a huge food menu.
The banter from the locals is always good humoured. OK,yes we do rib any lager drinkers but it is done in jest and most of the time one of us will offer an opinion on what you should try instead,maybe you just misunderstood our humour or maybe your sense of humour had been left at home that day.
I think any pub you go into for the first time can seem intimidating but if you have an open mind and the sense of humour I mentioned you usually get on OK in the end. Trust me there are plenty of pubs I've only been into once where maybe I should have tried again.
The atmosphere in the Royal Oak is second to none, I find myself talking to new people every time I go in as well as with more regular locals than myself. The pub raises a lot of money for charity and champions the traditional drinks,sports & activities that most other pubs have forgotten.
For all that the Royal Oak should be applauded. If you must have your lager, Oh well we will have to go our seperate ways, we'll just chalk it up as a failed conversion. Now where's the next lager drinker - repent my son!!!
Oh and incase you are interested, I'm a 52 year old middle-class businessman who has lived within 15 miles of Royal Oak for all of those 52 years. Yes I am a real ale drinker, but like you I too once drank lager - Yes that feels so much better coming out after all those years.
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As a local, the Royal Oak was one of a few pubs in the are not visited by myself. Wish I had bypassed it.
I was made to feel like a social pariah for having the temerity to ask for Lager ( obviously the devils brew in the eyes of the owners). Was given a short sharp 'no' to my questions as to whether they have draught or bottled lager, with no explanation as to why and not offered an alternative.
Even the CAMRA stronghold, The Surrey Oaks, serves Lager for goodness sake.
This is the worst kind of Beer snobbery, Lager is a Beer. just of a different brewing process. When will Pubs like this appreciate not everyone who wants to use their facilities is a real-ale drinker.
I have given this place 1 out of 10 because I didn't have to wait long to be insulted.
Ruspers very own Slaughtered Lamb, avoid.
In case you're wondering I'm a respectable, 53 year old middle-class businessman.
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I'm another that doesn't get here as often as I'd like (I live in Streatham, S London) but when I do visit I always vow to make the effort more often. Fantastic beer and cider/perry, the sandwiches are about the best anywhere, and I never seem to fail to get drawn into an interesting conversation sitting at the bar. If more pubs were like this , there perhaps wouldn't be so many closing up and down the country.
First class!
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What a great day!
My better half and i enjoyed a lovely walk to Royal Oak, under cloudless and planeless skies.
Good to see this race meeting has the stature to attract thoroughbreds from as far as wildest Dartmoor!! Fine course with superb facilities for punters. Well done Steve Swindle.
As for the beer. SUPERB as always. The wife and i had perhaps one to many Sarah Huhes Ruby but still managed to stay awake, just.
Thanks Sara and all those whose hard work helped raise funds for St Catherines Hospice and make this a terrific day out for everyone.
PS beerbiker.
Look forward to sampling your brew and also info on Flagstaff/Durango
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Oh Mr Grumpy, do cheer up! Try getting out the right side of the bed in the morning and smiling, it will make you feel better and uses less muscles too!
Being the grumpy sort you are I'm sure you didn't make it to the Royal Oak this past weekend. Well I can tell you it was a fantastic day. The sun was out, the events were fantastic, the food was second to none and the beer was to die for.
Congratulations Sara on yet another superb day, roll on your next event, I shall be at the front of the queue.
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Harveys is widely available,especially in mrgumpy's home town of Redhill and elsewhere around the south east.
The Royal Oak should be commended for supporting the smaller breweries of Sussex and not going main stream.
The mix of beers from the South East, West Country & the Midlands makes for an excellent choice every time you visit.
The nearby Surrey Oaks generally has Harveys Best on plus another good selection of beers often from the North, so between them Sara & Ken do a great job allowing us locals to experience a very wide range of beers.
Also for those that complain about having 7 beers on cannot be good,at the Royal Oak day charity do, the Ranmore was changed 3 times along with several of the others keeping Clive very fit!
Don't complain, enjoy.........
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There is a very good reason for the Oak not selling Harveys as there is also a good reason for the continued sale of the lamentable devon beers. If mr grumpy would like to enquire of the fiesty landlady on his next visit I am sure she would be pleased to explain.
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I note this fine establishment is one of the runner ups in the Camra Best pubs in Britain competition.
However, as mentioned by someone else, they do often sell "lamentable Devon beers". Well I wouldn't go that far, but I do think that if they sold Harveys (perhaps the finest of Sussex beers) instead, then they may just be able to do even better in the competition.
Still, the Royal Oak is always worth a visit if in the area.
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I second that fullbelly, What a day it was. So much money raised having so much fun & drinking beer!
The sad news was that Badger Boy owned by the Woodhouse brothers had to be destroyed after falling at the first fence in the 3rd Panto race.
I look forward to working closely with Dark Star having out bid everybody for the cask of specially brewed beer. As it stands the BeerBabe and I intend to put it on in the pub around late Sept early Oct to celebrate our 21st !!!
I'll keep you all posted.
Did anybody see Mr Grumpy? Everybody was having such fun I doubt that he would have stayed if he had turned up.
Well done Sara,Clive and all those that helped out, anybody seen Martin?
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Some very helpful, enlightning and informative comments there, Mr Full Belly !
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what a day.....
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Has Mr Grumpy turned over a new leaf and changed his name to Mr Happy?
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I would like to support the comments about the Pantomime Horse Race happening this weekend. There are multiple activities happening on the day, all designed to raise funds for St Catherine�s Hospice and provide a great family day out for anyone.
Tug-O-War kicks of the agenda which is one of my favorites. If only more pubs could encourage their 'friendly locals' to participate in such activities, then this could become a regular fixture on the weekends throughout the summer.
The fact that that a pub team from Devon is travelling up to Sussex for the occasion, is testament to how passionate the regulars are about supporting these activities that bring communities together.
Some of the fundraising activities on Saturday, include the Horse Races, Auction, Raffle, and you too can enter a chicken in the chicken race. Even 'Martin the Plant' is having his hair cut for the first time in years, to raise money for this worthwhile cause.
This truly is a pub to be proud of, and one that I feel privileged to drink in.
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For Mr Grumpy
I went to the Royal Oak this evening, my monthly visit, much as I would like to visit more. I got a train from Burgess Hill (where I am working) and changed at Three Bridges and then a taxi up to the pub, reverse coming back. Irrelevant details but shows it's not a 5 minute walk away...
(A lot easier than from my home in Milton Keynes though...)
I was made quite welcome, as usual, and I thought it quite funny that there was a collection box on the bar for 'Mr Grumpy's one way ticket to Sheffield' and I know the relevance of the destination, the Oak once again attaining the distinctly high standard of Runners Up in the CAMRA pub of the year!
I actually have a network rail card that I am quite prepared to donate to the collection box in order to reduce your one way fare to Sheffield by 30% but it expires at the end of April.
Can you let me know if you will be making the trip, before or after that date, please, as I will have to make a special journey back up to the Oak (quite willingly though) in order for you to benefit?
As for tidying up the front of the pub, you obviously haven't actually seen this pub in it's glory through the summer, Sara makes a total effort in making it look nice, despite Horsham not accepting the pub into their besat dressed pub or whatever it is called?
You obviously seem used to High Street pubs that may be 'prim and proper' and don't sell local produce on thier fron porch, but how many of those pubs have even made it into the CAMRA gude, let alone achieved what the Oak had done?
Time for you to walk away, I think, and realise that this is simply one of the best pubs in the south of the country, unless you are actually prepared to turn up in person and discuss the matter with those of us that know what a great landlady Sara is?
Dare I say.. Put up or shut up?
We won't be sorry to see you go, hence the collection box.....
Cider Al....
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Mr Grumpy, the Pantomine horse race raises a lot of money for charity for which Sara is to be commended.
The mess outside the front you refer to I believe as a local of the Royal Oak is the sale of fruit and veg which helps to make this glorious but remote pub viable!
Perhaps you would like to help in the fund raising at the Pantomine horse race before your trip. Maybe you could jump in front of the horses ala Emily Davison, that would certainly raise a laugh as well as some money from the 'friendly locals'.
I am glad that overal you enjoyed your last visit, the Six Hop was indeed very good & well served the two times it was on.
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Mr G :is that cleaning up after the last pantomime horse race then?? Ive heard of realism but that really is taking things too far....shame on them horses....
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I see there is another pantomime horse race here. Let's hope they tidy up a bit out front first! A nice half of Dark Star Six Hop on my last visit, but not much else took my fancy this time. Friendly locals though.
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This pub is runner-up for the 2010 CAMRA National Pub of the Year.
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Only been to this pub a couple of times since Sarah took over and have to say that she has done a fab job turning an okay pub into a sterling one. Ales and cider are extremely well kept with a good choice. It's a lovely little pub and the local's have always been friendly to strangers. I totally agree with Sarah's policy about lager, it's a real ale/cider pub which she passionate about. I have never had a bad pint and nor have I ever found Sarah to rude. We used to go there when we lived in Capel years ago as the Crown was such a horrible pub. The Royal Oak then was stuck in a time warp with the strangest landlord I have ever come across. For those that don't drive, there is a bus that stops at the south end of Capel village which runs between Horsham and Dorking. It's only a 10 minute walk to the this gem of a pub.
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Unhappily, it took me over a decade to revisit this pub, and not before time, as although I don't recall it being anything special in the late '90s, as we enter the '10s it has numerous features to commend it, with local and regional awards abounding, and an arsenal of ale for the cask beer lover to revel in. Even more unhappily, my visit was cruelly brief, owing to having visitied a raft of other pubs that afternoon, and my presence being required at the dinner table for some much-needed solids! But what I found during my short drop-in was exactly as I'd have hoped: a broad range of 6 ales; a busy bar atmosphere where locals were conversing convivially and generally having a jolly time; and a thoroughly pleasant welcome from the landlady, despite not being known.
There is little point in me continuing with my descriptions as John Bonser seems to have covered all the necessary ground and more in his post of 23 Nov '09. Just be assured that this pub really does live up to its current hype, and I would just love to live close enough to become a regular. Besides the barrage of beers to work through, I genuinely feel anyone would be welcome who appreciates what the licensees have worked so hard in recent times to achieve.
Keep this well and truly up folks - I shall be back as soon as is humanly possible! PS the rating of 9/10 is tentative; there may well be room for increment once I get to visit for longer and more regularly.
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Mr Grumpy...perhaps the next time you visit the Royal Oak you would like to introduce yourself to the feisty landlady!!
I am sure she and many regulars of this superb pub would like to make your acquaintance.
Best wishes to all for 2010
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I have not been able to visit this pub much recently, but a change in the weather allowed a quick pint. The feisty lady who owns the pub was actually rather pleasant to me.
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Fabulous pub with ever changing ales from all sorts of micros. Lager is definately not high on their list, if available at all, which is fine by me. Let's hope they bring the title home to the Southeast this year, though I have to say the Surrey Oaks in nearby Newdigate is just as worthy.
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short,concise review there John!
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Splendid, rural and isolated free house situated in the West Sussex countryside approx 5 miles north of Horsham.
The pub was voted CAMRA Sussex Pub of the Year in 2008, but first really started crossing the radar when it made it through to the last 4 in the 2009 CAMRA National Pub of the Year Competition alongside such legendary pubs like Stockport's Crown and the Kelham Island Tavern in Sheffield. The Royal Oak has made it through to the last 16 in the current year - winner to be announced in Feb 2010.
Prior to last Saturday's visit, I had last visited the Royal Oak back in 1982 when, as a King and Barnes house, it had participated in that brewery's Ale Trail promotion which - I am slightly embarassed to admit - I only ever half completed, visiting around 25 of the 58 pubs comprising the trail. No staying power in those days!
An old King and Barnes pub guide showes the legendary Oliver Reed participating in the Greasy Pole ( funny, thought he was one of us?) competition outside the pub and, pleasingly, the pub still participates in activities not often encountered nowadays - eg Tug of War, Pantomime Horse Race. Various montages of the pub's Tug of War teams and other events make it clear to the passing visitor that this is a genuine community focused local.
As well as the montages of pub events, there's various framed CAMRA certificates displayed as well as a number of photos of the pub in days of old. There's also various items of King and Barnes and King and Sons memorabilia - indeed the pub still displays the round K+B trademark logo on its white walled exterior.
The pub consists of a narrow low-beamed bar which is carpeted and has a cosy traditional atmosphere. An unusual feature in this bar are the hanging straps from the beams to support unsteady drinkers.
A small lounge bar extension on the right has several sofas and a fine fireplace. There's a dartboard, but its positioning suggests it isn't used. Notably, Ringing the Bull can be played though. No food is permitted in here, but there's a small dining area to the left of the main bar. There's no fruit machines or TV's anywhere, which, despite it being a Rugby International day, did not prevent the pub from gradually filling up during the afternoon after a slow start. For the better weather, there's a few seats outside at the front and a garden at the side, which looks rather neglected and in need of some TLC.
A splendid collection of pump clips testify to the wide range of real ales that the pub has sold in recent years. Of the 7 real ales that were on on my Saturday visit, all those sampled by me - Surrey Hills Ranmore Ale, Whitstable East India Pale Ale, Arundel Mild and Sarah Hughes Amber Ale (!) were in top form. All beers were priced at � 2.80p. Other beers on were also from micros - Hop Back, Otter and Bay. Several beers changed during the course of my visit. No lagers are sold, but, if so inclined, you can try some snuff if you're suffering from the smoking ban. There's 5 pumps in the lounge extension selling ciders and perries, but, perhaps oddly, no real ales.
Although filled rolls are available and hot food at certain times if booked in advance, this is very noticeably, to use industry jargon, a "wet led" pub and it is very heartening to see an isolated rural pub like this making a go of things without having to go down the gastropub / restaurant route.
As an unfamiliar face in an isolated community focused local like this, it's always difficult to correctly judge the appropriate level to which you should interact with other customers, but I found this to be a welcoming and friendly pub, perhaps more so than usually found.
It's a family run pub and it was particularly pleasingly noticeable how the landlandy's daughter, Emma, switched effortlessly from customer to barmaid when the occasion demanded. I bet you don't find that in the Tarantula and Tomato !
Getting here without the car is a challenge, but one well worth taking on. Warnham station on the Dorking - Horsham line has an hourly service ( not Sundays ) and it's then approx a 2 mile walk along the country roads. It's not on a bus route. Despite doing my best Usain Bolt impression, the predicted bad weather in the afternoon found me a bit bedraggled and damp when I eventually got back to Warnham shortly before darkness fell.
I think I prefer the Royal Oak to the other local POTY finalists like the Bricklayers in Putney and the Bull in Horton Kirby, and I wish them well.
In conclusion, the Royal Oak is well up there with the best pubs visited by yours truly in 2009 and I'll defo try and get here again sometime. I recommend it wholeheartedly to BITE readers.
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As I am new to real ale and BITE, I had to write about this pub. I like the Royal Oak a lot, as it has loads of changing beers. Perhaps not quite in the same league as the wonderful Surrey Oaks in Newdigate, this is still a favourite of mine.
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A pleasant little pub away from the bustle of modern life. They don't sell lager and tell you off for asking for it. This, I think, just adds character.
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Ah, another blinkered visitor finds the Royal Oak. creekygoose, you must look at the pub beyond just the array of beers on offer. Did you not notice the Official Notices around? Don't do this, don't do that?
The beer can be good, just not always. However the landlady has character, and I do like that in a little woman. So its actually a 5 out of ten from me.
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I visited here for the first time on Saturday (17/10). It's a good thing I hadn't read mr grumpy's comments first, as they are simply ill-conceived rubbish. I tried 5 of the 7 ales, and all of them were excellent. It's a shame I couldn't stay longer (had to get to Brockham for their wonderful beer-fest) as the 5 ciders/perries they had on were extremely tempting.
This is a gorgeous old country pub, well off the beaten track, with a comfortable, relaxing atmosphere, and a fine beer and cider choice. Just the kind of pub we should all be fighting for, not needlessly slagging-off. True, you shouldn't really be able to know what a pub is like until you've visited it a few times.... but first impressions are all-important.
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I visit pubs several times and make my comments based on this, not just one visit. Anotherpintplease is a fool if he thinks I am trying to wind people up. I am just making my view known (which I think is reasoned and of value)
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I have been looking at mrgrumpy's other "reviews" and think he is trying to wind you up. This is a very good pub indeed with great customer focus. Perhaps there are too many beers on at times and one or two may not be at their greatest midweek (this is not to say there are undrinkable), but this is something which can easily be resolved. As for "lamentable Devon beers", well perhaps some of them are not to your taste, but that is the beauty of craft brewers, they are producing a product that is not the same as the next brewery and some you will like and some you will not. And the Surrey Hills Ranmore has never been less than superb on my visits.
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No offence intended , I have always found the beers here to be very good even given the wide choice. Sorry to Sarah if she thought me rude.
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Congratulations to The Royal Oak on becoming CAMRA Surrey and Sussex pub of the year for second year in a row.
This pub continues to sell superb beer, cider and perry with the regulars providing an atmosphere of convivial banter. However new visitors are always made most welcome.
Speaking for my wife and i we enjoy our visits and have made many new friends since Sara and Clive took over and we even enjoy drinking the "lamentable" beers from Devon.
Sara, Clive and Jo keep up the good work. Your efforts are appreciated by all of us. (even Norman).
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Congratulations to all at
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I'm an infrequent visitor here as it is unfortunately a bit out of the way. However it is always a pleasure to come here for the lovely friendly atmosphere (people actually talk to you when you walk in as a stranger). As mentioned by several others, there is a great choice of ale on sale, and a number of very good ciders.
But here lies the problem, and it pains me to have to critisise the pub, but I agree with Mr Grumpy. There are too many beers on sale, including on my visit, some lamentable ones from Devon. If driving I will limit myself to four half pints and out of these I can sadly guarantee that one will be off (and by this I mean a cellaring problem and not a brewery problem).
The other issue I have is that they don't sell lager. Now this doesn't worry me as I don't touch the stuff, but surely it would not hurt to at least have a few bottles of it on sale so that lager drinkers don't get humiliated when asking for it?
Still, as I say I'm only an occasional visitor here, although with a couple of tweaks to the running of the pub, I would love to come here more frequently. And if the landlady reads this, please don't take offense as this is meant to be constructive criticism.
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Interesting to read your comments, MrGrumpy, I thought I was the only grumpy person when it came to pubs and the drinks they serve (or rather the drinks they DON'T! or CAN'T)?
I can assure prospective visitors that there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with any of the drinks I have had at this pub, going back over a period of over almost three years! Many local brews on which may not be what you are used to, and so perhaps taste differnt, but nothing wrong with the quality (or the quantity!!!)
It WAS very poor before Sara and Clive bought the pub though! Choice of just one beer if I remember rightly, the choice being take it or leave it.....
I have ample experience to judge this pub, I think, I've been drinking since I was (well lets say old enough!) and that spans almost 40 years, amd I've drank in many pubs across the UK, Belgium, Poland, Spain, Germany and Holland, to name a few!
Never have I been made more welcome in a pub away from my home area, nor had the choice of such a range of drinks to chose from, this is the only place I have ever found 5 ciders and perry's on draught for a start!
Don't suppose you are a lager drinker, MrGrumpy????
That's the only serious reason I could ever see for anyone moaning about this place?
I also read that someone mentioned the pub is in the middle of nowhere, so you need a car? I live 100 miles away and I can get there, and I don't drive......
.... mind you I do stay in the area during the week, about 5 miles from the pub, it's a amazing what you can do with your feet, a bike, a horse or just a taxi...????
(or you could enlist a lager drinker to drive you there......
... mind you, they might be seriously tempted themselves if they try the 'chernobyl', my favourite tipple!!!)
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August 1st being a Saturday...............
too much time on line not line cleaning then.......
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I look forward to it!
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I will be back. I know pipes are banned, but could I bring my slippers and sit with a cup of cocoa in front of the fire?
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Sadly you don't have time for sex if you run a pub! My husband is far too busy earning money in his own profession to change beer, I am afraid all the rubbish beer is down to me! But it is his money that keeps the pub afloat, we would hardly survive on 12 customers after all! We may have a difference of opinion on beer quality but you do seem to have a sence of humour so all may not be lost! If you ever manage to find your way down all these country lanes again do please introduce yourself!
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Well the little lady of the house replies, and firstly I must thank you for your kind offer of some compassion.
I had a look at your profile and see you appear to be abstaining from sex as well. This should mean that your nice husband will have the time to change the beer.
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I was a little upset by the comments from the aptly named mrgrumpy so I thought I would look at his profile and other comments. I am no longer upset, indeed I almost feel some compassion towards him! Under sex there is a ?
Obviously not for some time!
I read through all his comments and get the impression that he doesn't like pubs!
As for the smell, we are lucky enough to live just up the road from a huge rubbish tip and with the weather right we benefit from all those wonderful odours of methane gas!
If he would like to get in touch direct and let me know if he is comming again I will try and get a nice keg beer in for him!
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Having heard and read all the hype about this pub I thought I had better get myself down there. Its quite a trek to do so being hidden down country lanes coming off country lanes.
Bit of a mixed bag really. Great looking pub, bit of a strange smell around the place though. Lots of comfortable seats, mostly friendly people there. But the main problem was that most of the beer was rubbish. There were about six or seven different ones (which was about one for every two customers). Landlord, please cut this down and improve quality.
Also there were hundreds of officious notices around the walls which was not very welcoming.
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Visited here on a Sunday recently to see a local amateur dramatics society take on Midsummers Night Dream.
There was a hog roast barbecue outside in the car park and the landlady, Sarah, and the bar staff were very friendly.
I had two pints of Ranmore from a choice of six beers.
This is a very cosy, locals pub, welcoming with a good variety of beers.
Quirky as they sell snuff (clearly the smoking ban didn't go down well here - see the sign next to the front door) and will shortly be having a Weed Competition!
The nearest station, Warnham, is a good walk through open countryside.
anonymous - 26 Jul 2009 09:23 |
Hot sunny Sunday. Sitting outside The Royal Oak. Quaffing a pint of Hylder Blonde. It doesn't get much better than this... well at least not until you return inside to get another pint of one of Dark Star's finest. Truly an excellent pub where the emphasis is on the ale, so if you're partial to the real stuff and you're in the area then this place is a must!
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This is what all pubs should be - excellent beer and friendly locals. No lager, Guinness or food, let alone fruit machines, piped music etc etc.
Clearly the landlady and staff know what they are doing and their commitment shows. Superb.
Drop everything and go there now (and take your lager drinking friends with you) - it'll be the best decision you'll make all day.
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Having been a few times before, I expected the beer to be excellent and I was not disappointed. We had intended to try as many as possible but the Arundel Mild proved too good to move on from. Having sat outside, enjoying the countryside for most of the evening, the real fire that we found when we went inside was perfect. The beer fuelled decision to walk back to Horsham rather than get a cab may have been a bit foolhardy without a torch. A fantastic pub, well worth a special trip.
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Went for a drink tonight even though quite a drive for us. Lovely kept beer and cider. A total gem of a pub and so deserve their CAMRA award. No chilled bottled beers, a true ale drinkers pub. Good luck Sara Keep up the good work
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Crikey, this place is not easy to find! Don�t expect to get off a bus or train and stumble across the Royal Oak! Persevere though, it�s worth it.
Before you even enter (car park side), you meet an impressive array of differing barrels by the entrance. This really whets the appetite. On entering you find yourself in a small room with sofas and a really fabulous open fire. There are three hand pumps here, seemingly dispensing cider.
The pub seems small, but it is long and thin and seems to go on for quite some distance. The main bar is down a couple of steps, and it�s here that you find the answer to the barrels by the door�. Seven fantastic hand pumps. From what I understood the Surrey Hills Ranmore Ale and Hammer Mild are the regular beers, the others are all guest beers. Unusually there do seem to be quite a few beers from Devon. The beers I tried were very good indeed.
Just past the main bar there is small dining area and beyond that is another room, part restaurant and part local produce shop.
There is a great feeling about this pub and the CAMRA certificate, on the wall above an amazing model of the pub, indicates that it made it through to the last four in CAMRA�s National Pub of the Year 2009.
Guess I�ll come back to this gem!
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Pass the smelling salts! A real pub where they actually care about the beer and are friendly to the customers even if they are not locals. Highly recommended, exemplary range of ales as well as ciders and perrys. All in perfect condition. Run by very nice people and richly deserved to win if not get runner-up in the Camra competition. Don't tell too many people about it though.....
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Now voted Runner up in CAMRA NATIONAL PUB OF THE YEAR.
What a tremendous achievement.
An oasis at the end of our walks.
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i have thoroughly enjoyed the few times i have visited this pub it is a real gem with a terrific range of beer in great condition. it is also a very unpretentious and the people i have recommended have all said the same.
can not praise it high enough.
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Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! A fantastic rural and rustic country pub, with an exceptional range of local ales and a cosy and enchanting atmosphere. An absolute pleasure to visit and always incredibly difficult to leave. A little gem that deserves all of the awards and praise it recieves.
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It is now 2 years to the day since Sara and Clive took over the reins of The Royal Oak.
What a superb job they have done in this time.
Recently awarded CAMRA regional pub of the year.
Congratulations for all you have achieved.
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An excellent pub in every respect and a truly deserving Pub of the Year. All the Surrey Hills range - the Albury Ruby winter brew was as nectar - plus various others in perfect condition and a warm friendly welcome on a dreadful sleety day.
It's too good for a quick trip out: coupled with some other outstanding pubs hereabouts this would make an perfect target for a weekend expedition.
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ps. a new one on me - the beams at the bar carried some leather hanging straps enabling one to balance while drinking, in the way you would if swaying on a tube/train; I bet we've all been there!
Extra notes say trad wood tables/chairs in 'dining' room, & babbling brook in tiered garden, which I don't recall, but sounds lovely.
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I noticed this to be the sussex/surrey poty and, if you like a nice little local country pub, this is the real thing. Surrey Hills Ranmore Ale & Hammer Mild, Adur brewery�s Merry Andrew (6.2%), 1648 Armistace, 1648 Festival40 had gone, Darkstar Best, Arundel Stronghold � a great line up justifying the rather tricky journey to get here. In addition, a separate bank of pumps for ciders/perries offered Cheddar Valley, Yarde, Prime Farmhouse, Hecks Perry, one unclipped, and the landlady was away in Somerset collecting more beers and ciders � an independent set-up as it should be. Kegs offered just guinness & stella, the latter carrying fake cobwebs thru disuse, haha!
Enter to a very low, narrowly beamed, ceiling around the facing bar, a dining room to the rt (with awkwardly placed dartboard), snug to the left with chesterfield sofa, wingback leather chairs, wood burning stove, ticking clock, beyond to the �country shop� which amounts to a storeroom for pickles and jams, chutney, horseradish, other bits, a couple of pine tables & a piano back here, so maybe it�s an overspill room too. The bar itself seems the heart of the pub & was the gathering point for chatting locals, it sports some used pumpclips & was manned by a jovial barman. Lots of pumpkins displayed on picnic sets out front indicated a recent halloween competition &, by extension, show the pub to be a real family & community hub. Outside, a grassed area has an open-sided marquee/tent for smokers. A notice in one room suggests it was a stage stop for York in 1706 & one opp the loo bemoans the smoking ban & offers snuff samples at the bar! Various sarnies from �4, ham/egg/chips or ploughmans �8.50, evening meals seasonal & meats sourced within 10m radius, so the choice may be limited to a couple of dishes, a fresh approach I rather like. English fruit wines from Lugurshall winery �12btl.
I had intended taking the bus from Horsham to Kingsfold & approaching the pub cross-country from there, ended up walking the dangerous A24 from Warnham stn to Kingsfold, not something I would recommend. Once off-road I�m not sure that I kept to the path (unmarked, but presumed walkable from google satellite?) but left my muddy boots at door as the sign requested. A 2m walk back to Warnham stn, but rather safer along Fri St.
Nb. Royal Oak closes 3pm, so forget the pubs in Kingsfold & get here earlier than I did.
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An excellent pub with 7 real ales on yesterday; tried 6 all of which were in great nick.
There is a small shop at one end that stocks local produce, including fine pork pies which was very handy as food was not being served as it was a Tuesday.
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Good on Sara for sticking up for her pub. We haven't been there since she took over but we will visit soon.
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This superb pub has now been awarded Surrey and Sussex Camra pub of the year.
A reflection of the warm welcome you receive, the good food and of course the wonderful selection of real ales and traditional ciders and perries.
Looking forward to a few Stouts and Porters this winter.
Well done Sara and (Clive)
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It is indeed a comfort to me that we sell so much real ale and thanks to the kind advice of a previous reviewer we no longer sell Budweiser.
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Further to the comments made by the landlady, if she doesn't like her customers drinking out of botles of popular beer, then I suggest she doesn't sell them, It must be a comfort to her to know that her sales of real ale are so good that she can afford to lose customers with different tastes due to her blinkered views and manner. Well done!
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I am the rather rude and off landlady of the Royal Oak and I have to say it is true that I can be offish with people with badly behaved dogs.I also find it tiresome enough when people come into my real ale house and drink budweiser but to want to drink it out of the bottle can sometimes tip me over the edge.Sorry.
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Wonderful little pub, we drop by after walking our dog, fantastic selection of alesand cider, I personally drink the cider which I have to say is the nicest I've tasted ever. Landlord very welcoming, just wish I could say the same for the Landlady who appears to be rather off and rude somedays, but all in all a great pub.
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Called in early on a Monday evening - some locals at the bar. Bar staff (Emma)was friendly and attentive. Selection of beer was great. Tasted better. Only to be let down by dirty glasses. Booo!
Will go again on a Saturday and try the food - and crockery!
Moses - 22 Jul 2008 14:14 |
What a find, what a pub. Great beers very well looked after and great service. Love it shame you need a car
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Delighted to learn that my temporary local (while working in Surrey) has received the CAMRA award.
Proper pub with regular changing beers supporting local micros and good beers from further afield.
You will always get a friendly welcome and the food is good traditional pub food.
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Well done on being awarded CAMRA SUSSEX pub of the year.What a transformation in only 18 months.
Always a friendly welcome, great mix of customers and superb selection of real ales.
Only wish i could visit every day.
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Without doubt my favourite pub in Sussex. The first time we walked in here we got a vibrant "hello!" from the landlord, followed by a choice of about six different real ales (Pride was nowhere to be seen - what a bonus). They have a limited menu, but don't let this put you off, as the food is the most amazing value, locally produced and well cooked you could wish for, in huge portions too. I love the fact that they have a notice up stating along the lines of 'do not ask for your steak well done here - we make every effort to bring you the best local beef and will not ruin it by cooking all the flavour out', and that the lagers have been nicely shoved down in the corner where they belong. All round it is a friendly proper beer drinkers pub with loads of character and a lovely atmospere. Classic.
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As close to perfect for a country pub as you could ever hope for. A massive range of well-kept ales, a superb Thatcher's cider and fabulous roasts on Sunday with local organic vegetables and meats.
I've been back several times and if the above ticks all the right boxes for you, you must visit. Cozy and intimate with nooks and crannies to hide in, The Royal Oak is an absolute gem. I just wish I lived in walking distance! Pantomime horse racing in their diary and chicken racing to come soon I'm told!!
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What an excellent pub. Saw the sign from the end of the road and decided to investigate. Huge selection of beers the locals were really friendly even pumped the well so my springer could get some water outside!
The beer was great I have never felt so chilled out on a Sunday afternoon I shall definately return soon!
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Splendid Freehouse which continues to go from strength to strength.Great selection of up to 8 cask conditioned ales all served in tip top condition,with at least 1 porter,stout,mild or old ale always on offer.
Very good freshly prepared food,especially the Sunday Roasts,which my wife says are the best she has ever tasted.
Well done Sarah,Clive,Emma and Jo.
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Pleasant little rural pub with a good range of beer, comfortable corners to sit in, and snuff samples!
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What a wonderful little rural pub! It's well off the beaten track but fortunately clearly signposted from the Rusper Road coming from the A24.
A superb selection of beers from local Micro Breweries and a real cider as well. Sunday lunch was a tremendous experience with great value roasts (served with an incredible choice of vegetables) and a small selection of proper puddings (no starters though - but the main courses were huge!). I can honetly say (and I speak for the party I was with), that this was the best pub lunch we have ever had.
The service too, was excellent and the landlord and his team were delightful - they all must really enjoy their work. The customers were a decent bunch too and all seemed very friendly. Cannot recommend it highly enough - visit it!
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Hidden gem off the Capel - Rusper Road. An ex K&B/Badger pub which is now a freehouse with up to 9 microbrewery ales available. Surrey Hills Ranmore, Dark Star Hophead and Oakleaf Green Gold were all on top form. Lunchtime menu is limited but the doorstep sandwiches with home cooked ham were excellent. Recommended.
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Popped in again after a tip off regarding non Badger ales and was very pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a line up including Dark Star, Cottage and Oakleaf ales.
Only had legal capacity for one but will certainly return again to try the others and the food.
Well worth a visit!
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Not quite sure what the pre-November 2006 reviews were about, but the post-November Sarah and Clive era reviews are spot on. They have completely turned around this neglected gem (and I speak as someone within walking distance who has been dying for this pub to become great again). The beers are always excellent, the food simple but superb, and the hosts charming (great dog, too).
They are currently renovating the outside. Do visit whenever you can.
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Popped in here the other night, and was amazed how good it was. There were friendly locals who actually talked to strangers, and lovely bar staff. Such a contrast to some of the other pubs in area. The beer was superb, and I noted there is a pantomime horse race this weekend. The only drawback is that the pub is in the middle of nowhere, and so you need to drive to get there.
anonymous - 24 Mar 2007 08:38 |
Thanks to the new owners, this pub has turned itself around from the neglected and forlorn establishment it once was. The beer selection is usually excellent and is always on good form. The atmosphere is of the cosy and friendly nature that should accompany a country pub.
The Royal Oak is a hidden gem and well worth a visit.
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This is now a superb pub. New owners Sarah and Clive have transformed this former run down Badger house.
Excellent home cooked food together with 5 real ales, including brews from Dark Star and Surrey Hills.
A lovely place to spend a few hours.
We need more places and licensees like this.
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Major surprise - no longer a Badger pub serving their third rate ales, but a free house serving Surrey Hills Ranmore and Dark Star beer, along with a beer from Archers and real cider. Proper food, real fires, what a great pub. Well worth a visit.
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We love this pub, it's like something out of a timewarp. It's an old fashioned quaint pub that hasn't been refurbished for years but that just adds to the charm. Great Badger ales, friendly atmosphere and attentive staff. Has a sort of Fawlty Towers feel about but so well worth a visit. Recommended
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What a lovey spot. This is the sort of place one can go to when avoiding the wife is of the utmost importance. Kind of like slipping into a parallel universe. Quiet, top notch ales, acceptable grub. The bit about 'watch your head' is too true. Best to sit at the north end of the bar, there is slightly better head room there.
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Mind your head.
Delightful place to go..
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