Royal Oak, Poyningsback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Visited last week and blimey it is very very expensive.
The bar was full of screaming kids and their posh parents so if you are looking for somewhere to take your Dolce sunglasses and your Armani purse, and show off your ill disciplined public skool offspring, then this is just the place for you.
The bar servant tells me she would have to work for an hour to buy a bowl of soup. She's gotta be the best paid bar servant in this part of Sussex.
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tiny portions of overpriced average food
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Nice pint of Harveys but overpriced.
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We had a table booked for 6 adults and 2 four year olds for Sunday Lunch at 1 o�clock yesterday. Although our daughter and the twins were very slightly late arriving, the food still took around an hour to arrive after we placed our order. After about 40 to 45 minutes we asked if the kid�s sausage casserole could come first, so that we could at least feed them. What was served, however, (at the same time as the rest of the food) was sausage and mash, not a casserole. The sausage casserole shouldn�t have been on the Sunday menu we were told! When the rest of the food arrived the person who had ordered a Three Bean Burger was served a Smoked Haddock Fish Cake in a bun instead. Fortunately she is not a strict vegetarian and does eat fish or seafood. (Someone at another table who�d ordered a Fish Cake complained when they got the Bean Burger on their plate, by all accounts!). Admittedly the manager took the price of the kid�s meal and the Bean Burger off the bill, but all of the vegetable in the side dishes were shrivelled from being kept warm under a lamp and the roast potatoes, being burned on the outside were only luke warm on the inside. My wife liked the Nut Roast, my daughter and I found the Roast Beef OK and the Sirloin Steak was OK (except that it came with a great big dollop of mustard sauce on the top of it � when the person who�d ordered it doesn�t like mustard). Our son-in-law found his Fish & Chips �OK�. Drinks seemed to take forever to be served and they got the order for coffees completely wrong at the end as well. The service was chaotic to say the least and when compared with other Sunday Roasts in the area, �15.00 for the beef was excessive. We have had much better quality, quantity and service for much less elsewhere. The place was heaving with people (all of them eating it seemed) so while the management clearly tried not to turn away custom they managed to overloaded the kitchen as a result.
Why is it that almost every time we have friends here from overseas we seem to be let down by poor service? Our only saving grace this time was that both the manager and our friends were from the same island continent, down under. We will not be returning to the Royal Oak to eat though.
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The Royal Oak is Royally overpriced. Kids serving the tables and tiny portions. Go down the road to the Shepard and Dog. Better food, Drink, Location and it's abit cheaper.
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I just popped in for a half of Harveys bitter & a packet of crisps, but I thought � 2.90 was a bit steep. Still, it's in a nice location....
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I agree with the majority of the other reviews - this pub is poor. I can't comm.ent on the food because I generally go to a pub for beer. This is a site called beer in the evening after all!
I have recently moved to Brighton from the West Midlands and am genuinely gutted about the quality of the ale down here and the Royal Oak is no exception. I spotted they had some Theakstons on tap and thought my search for a nice pint was looking up. It wasn't. Too cold, too old, flat and lifeless (like the barmaid). Tried a Harveys which was a bit better but still not right. I have drunk many a pint of Theakstons and even been to the small town of Masham where it is brewed. They make some lovely beer, some of the best you will taste, I can't imagine what Mr Theakston would think. I had a quick look around the very busy pub and only one other person was drinking beer rather than foreign lager. What a shame.
The barmaid, the same one mentioned in other reviews I reckon, actually pushed me out of the way at one point. And it was very expensive.
Who is running these pubs down here - its all style over substance.
The Evening Star by the station in Brighton is brilliant by the way. One of only 3 pubs that are doing it right in my search so far.
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The best advice I can offer to anyone planning to visit the Royal Oak for food is... eat before you go, and take lots of money with you.
I've never seen such pathetically small portions in a pub at such inflated prices. I had a cheese ploughman's and whilst it looked
all right on the wooden platter, the key ingredient, namely the cheese, was represented by 3 puny slivers barely the size of my little finger.
My partner ordered fish and chips which consisted of an incredibly small piece of battered fish resting against a few chips stacked log cabin style
next to a tiny bowl of peas. My first thought was... where's the food? We ate the meal, which surprise surprise did not take long and asked for the tab. With a coke and a small house white the bill came to over �30. I was horrified and very disappointed. The food was average and vastly overpriced. The staff were friendly enough, but whoever owns the place is being downright greedy. With such high prices you would think they could afford some clean chair cushions, and not the vile and nasty stained examples that we had to sit on.
It reminded me of a very old British Rail train seat. This place clearly thinks it's a restaurant, but it isn't. It is just a pub, and not a very good one. Whatever it is, it should offer value for money but unfortunately (like the cheese) that is sadly lacking. Personally I will never go there again.
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what a disappointing visit - we took a "pub walk" around Devils Dyke & had parked our car just out the front of the pub. After a lovely walk, we wanted to have a couple of drinks in the pub before making our way home - we also wanted to have a look at what the meals were like as were planning a lunch out for quite a large group of our family to celebrate our engagement.
Inside the pub, there was 1 table free which when we tried to sit at a bearded guy came over & stopped us saying the table was booked & stuck a sign on it. So I asked him to find us another table at which point he said "ah dont worry they arent coming in til 3 so as long as youre gone by then" to which I replied we definitely would be as we were only coming in for drinks.
His response was "oh - well I want to keep the table for people who are eating.". And that was it - basically if youre not eating, then youre not welcome at this pub. So they can stick it as far as Im concerned - they wont ever be getting my custom & they missed out on a large party for lunch. If they are a restaurant and not a pub then they should advertise as such & save everyone the embarrassment of effectively being thrown out when they try and sit down.
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what a disappointing visit - we took a "pub walk" around Devils Dyke & had parked our car just out the front of the pub. After a lovely walk, we wanted to have a couple of drinks in the pub before making our way home - we also wanted to have a look at what the meals were like as were planning a lunch out for quite a large group of our family to celebrate our engagement.
Inside the pub, there was 1 table free which when we tried to sit at a bearded guy came over & stopped us saying the table was booked & stuck a sign on it. So I asked him to find us another table at which point he said "ah dont worry they arent coming in til 3 so as long as youre gone by then" to which I replied we definitely would be as we were only coming in for drinks.
His response was "oh - well I want to keep the table for people who are eating.". And that was it - basically if youre not eating, then youre not welcome at this pub. So they can stick it as far as Im concerned - they wont ever be getting my custom & they missed out on a large party for lunch. If they are a restaurant and not a pub then they should advertise as such & save everyone the embarrassment of effectively being thrown out when they try and sit down.
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Poor food!!!!!!!! Talentless Chef!!!!!!!! No Service!!!!!!!! Expensive!!!!!!!! Overated!!!!!!!!
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Attractive and welcoming interior and reasonably quick service. Have not experienced the busy outside scenario so cannot comment, but in five visits have noted consistency. Food a bit dear, but nicely served and a generally good experience all round. Like the locals with their dogs in the bar.
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Went on Sunday and the staff were appalling. They have a gigantic outside seating area and no way to handle that capacity. Food was supposed to take an hour, but friends waited nearly 2 hours bc the kitchen "shut down" at one point. My "root vegetable pie" was actually a cottage pie w/ zero crust. And it tasted like a child's pot. I've had excellent food there in the past, and I went up to the bar and in a nice way explained to Jan*, the old barmaid, that it wasn't a pie as it was sans crust, and I couldn't wait another hour for food, so just take it off the bill. A very tall man followed me out to my table, shoved it in front of me, and tried to start an argument, claiming it was a cottage pie. He was SHOCKINGLY aggressive and rude and my three guests were truly disgusted by his behaviour.
Jan later make a nasty comment about me right in front of me. These people are disgusting.
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Food looked good but as other comments "for the well to do" maybe? Too busy when we were there to eat, had London Pride, but may return?
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Very pricey indeed and not so much a "pub" as a "watering hole" for the well-to-do. (Stepson says that Jordan is occasionally to be seen there.)
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A very disappointing visit. Went for lunch and chose the seafood platter. There was no smoked salmon left which was replaced by a dinky bowl of prawns and two extremely small slices of bread each . The fish on the platter was pleasant enough to eat but it was hardly a platter for two. They did give us extra bread when asked but only two very small slices (they did not seem too pleased at the request). consequently we left as hungry as we came. The bar meals are very overpriced and frankly I would not visit this pub again. I have given it 3 because it Is a very attractive place. Value for money would give it 0.
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Good food although slightly overpriced but you get what you pay for. Nice atomsphere
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Used to use this pub years ago before it went a bit more up market. Have been in a couple of times since and found it tolerable, if people on laptops and mobiles are your thing... Anyway, went in yesterday with a friend and her 2 kids and ordered 4 drinks and 2 portions of chips. Woman behind the bar was a bit curt but no probs as I know what it's like if you're busy, and guessed food may not be quick, so off we went and sat down. Shortly afterwards a couple arrived and placed a food order, which was brought out ten mins later... fair enough I thought, as it was a ploughmans so not exactly time comsuming to prepare, so thought no more of it. Right, 45 minutes later I needed to go back in to 'turn by bike round' so to speak, and thought I would ask behind the bar as to whether everything was ok. Now, before I have a rant, I would like to point out that I am NOT normally someone who moans about pubs in general, and it usually annoys me a bit when I see some poor bar maid getting it in the neck when a customers order isn't there, like, right this minute!! If I hit on a bad pub I usually learn from experience and don't go back, but on this occasion, I just can't help it!! So, off I went to the bar, and there is a bloke next to me who has been waiting 50 mins for a sarnie. When he politely asks the 'lady' behind the bar, she gives him a sharp reply of 'you should have been told it was an hours wait for food - you're order has already been taken out'. God I wish I could somehow make my words portray how rude she was!!!!!
So he slinks off probably feeling a bit embaressed, and she looks at me and barks 'yes?'
In the mean time, I have realized that she has put down cheesy chips not nornal ones (not a big ussue, but by now, i'm feeling it's more a principle thing) and I ask if everything's ok and mention the chip situation and.... Well, if looks could kill i'd be six foot under a tomb stone that might read 'Death by food order enquiry'..... this bird was ready to blow!!! To cut a long story short, she was very very very rude and in got the same treatment as the sandwich man, and having paid for cheesy chips, got non-cheesy ones but no offer of a refund (don't mind that) and i'm pretty sure that 'Sorry' is not in her vocabulary. She was the one who served us and she never mentioned a hours wait, not that it was a problem, but she could have just said 'sorry love, it'll be there soon'. The lad who bought the chips out (5 mins later!) even said she was horrible old wotsit and that ironically, she is head of customer service ha ha ha ha ha!!!! You have to laugh I guess!!!!!
I found out her name but I don't think it's fair to write it here... but if you ever pay a visit to this nice building and you spot an old blonde thing behind the bar who you think would look more suited sat in a hut with 'FIDO' written over it, chewing a bone.... Run away!! x
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Visited here Tuesday night. Not busy, prices for food a little high, but main courses good. I had sea bass fillet, though, which was small, and on a bed of rice which was undercooked. Deserts were good - berry crumble with blackberry ice cream was excellent. Overall, pleasant athmosphere.
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Overpriced food but nice pub with decent beer garden
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My elderly mother came here for lunch last week. She enjoys eating out and ordered the fish and chips but the fish was inedible. It was overcooked and had the texture of cardboard. She left it uneaten and when the waiter cleared away the plates she told him it was the worst fish she has been served.
He did not offer a refund!
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This is a great village pub. It has been updated fairly recently, but this has not detracted from its country atmosphere. You still get ramblers, cyclists, dogs, horse riders - all things country which is what you should find in a country pub. If you are eating, the food is a bit overpriced and a bit fussy, but the beer and the atmosphere is great. Well worth a visit.
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Agree with many of the posters here, the food is a bit hit and miss and yet mysteriously it is always packed!Is overpriced and a bit 'nouveau cuisine', has been non smoking for a while but unfortunately isnt non smelly, every time I have been there it is full of stinky muddy dogs, dribbling around where people are trying to eat
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Was very tempted by the Sunday barbecue, and the garden certainly makes a good setting. A shame then that the food is only one step above burger bar ambitions: burgers, chicken, lamb sausages all with rather fatty chips and a few lettuce leaves.
At close to a tenner a meal this is hugely over-priced. Great idea, badly executed.
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Seems very middle classy. Fancy menu and expensive. Food was ok, arrived in good time, but very salty. On the plus side it's a non-smoking pub and the toilets were clean and nicely decorated.
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Fantastic location and nice garden. 2 Westons ciders on (Stiwford and scrumpy). Bad news is the food ... a side salad consists of 3 cherry tomatoes, a handful of spinach leaves and a dribble of Olive Oil. Ploughmans skimpy, mundane and expensive .
anonymous - 16 Apr 2007 21:48 |
Went to this pub for a meal to celebrate a special occasion. Phoned up on the day and booked a table for 2. On arrival, staff were very friendly and helpful. Food arrived in good time, even though it was a busy Saturday night. They do not overload the plate with food like some places, but it is an adequate quantity, especially if you are having a 2 or 3 course meal. Ordered a medium steak which was cooked perfectly. All food professionally presented, not just thrown on the plate. Will definitely go again and would recommend to anyone.
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They have had a make-over & its very smart, lots of attention to detail. Shame then that the menu looks lovely but frankly tastes like they've opened a packet. Ordered duck pancakes & it was dull with "Blue Dragon" hoi sin & sweet chilli. Fish & chips was very expensive, very small & 15 chips! They have a great concept just not executed well, maybe give them some time to settle??!
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gone downhill alot this pub. food ok, but still expensive. beer so-so,but pub needs a bloody good clean, it is filthy. i'd give it a miss if i were you.
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Went there with a large group last night - we had booked and told them of our main course choices beforehand. Despite agreeing to seat us on the patio area by the pub, we found ourselves at the far end of the garden, under a canopy. Our food took an hour to arrive after the scheduled time, they forgot one order and got another wrong. We had been asked to tell them whether we wanted some dishes rare/medium/well-done, but when they arrived they didn't ask whose was who's. My burger (ordered medium) was burnt, not that you could tell by looking because they didn't have lights on and it was 9.30 when it arrived. Bar service was unfriendly, other customers were canceling because they had waited 70 minutes. Basically they have a huge garden, and the kitchen doesn't seem to be able to cope. It's not cheap either - �10 for a Lamb burger with chips (and not many chips at that!)
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Good pub to walk to from Devils Dyke, shame staff so rude and food just average
anonymous - 29 Jun 2006 14:04 |
Have often seen dogs in, perhaps smuggled in? Gets very busy at lunchtime, food middling to expensive. Usually lots of specials, Roasts on monday appear to be reheated from sunday, otherwise good portions, imaginative menu, lots of vegetarian options
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Decent beer and classy barmaids, shame they let dogs in even if they were well behaved.
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