please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I visit this pub on a reglar basis - I tend to use the Village Bar more than the saloon bar (Village Bar = Public Bar). There is always a warm welcome and the locals are also very friendly. If you're from out of the area, you are made to feel most welcome.
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Olde-Worlde mixed with �new-ish but a bit tired�.
The landlady having a fag at the front door was a bit off-putting but I suppose she�d only smoke out the back otherwise so hey-ho. The owners seem to be East European or something but spoke great English, were pleasant and very helpful. Only a couple of beers but both on top form, food good but not cheap (yes we�re Northern) and they have Wifi if you�re interested. Worth a call.
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A tradional looking pub that offers even more on the inside. Good bar and restaurant with very friendly service. The Harvey's Best was in excellent condition and the home-cooked food was good value and a notch above the usual pub fare. A pub definitely on the up and well worth a visit.
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Lovely pub in lovely location. Unfortunately, it seemed to be run by grumpy teenagers who seemed a little lost! The food too was disappointing. Overpriced and rather overcooked. Went for Sunday lunch with friends. Will not be going again. I hope they make a few changes because it should be a great little pub
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Recently visited the oak in the wonderful settings of ardingly,
It's a very old traditional pub serving local real ales to my delight making it a must visit, staff were very polite and helpful. We popped in for a drink after our nature walk so we decided to have food for six of us.
As a chef myself for many years I enjoy my food which was better than I expected from a rural pub/restaurant real home-made food on the premises rather than a factory home-made, and from my expertise not a single microwave used as the meal was juicy and succulent. I would definitely visit again if one thing was changed and this being the prices on the menu, I understand that home cooked food costs a little more than pre packed microwave food, but still far to expensive with fine dinning prices but for real good pub grub. I myself had there stuffed chicken breast which could not of cost them more than �2 a meal but selling at a price of �12.95 making a profit of around �10.95 which for a meal that was very tasty the price leaves a sour taste once we paid our bill.
This I believe is why they were very quiet on a Friday evening a word of advice lower your prices and therefor more people will visit and you will end up receiving more money/profit then they are bringing in now.
These are the sort of steps taken by a big industry business who end up taking at least 4 times the amount of customers and turning over a larger profit.
Other than that a very lovely pub great ales/beers and very good food a must visit if you have money to spend or special occasions.
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Went with 2 friends on a quiet Thursday evening for a meal, good beer options but sadly 2 choices of starter were unavailable. We decided to skip starters and go straight to main courses which were very good but we thought overpriced. We also had desserts which were o.k but not special. The service was unenthusiastic and disinterested at best, which is a shame because this could be a really great pub.
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Beer! The Oak only keeps local beers on, with the ever present Harvey's Sussex always crystal clear, the landlord told me he sells 5/6 firkins of this a week so no wonder it is fresh!
Dark Star's Hophead is another local favourite which seems to make a regular appearance, and the 3rd beer is usually a seasonal ale from one of the smaller breweries.
A pretty garden and really good food, the steaks are great!
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A newspaper offer took us to the Oak for a 3 course weekday lunch. On asking if there was a special menu for the offer we were given a menu far better than those usually found in country pubs! the portions will probably be small we thought. Wrong! local produce is used and there were some unusual dishes - including apple and parsley soup. J's main course was a proper fish cake - huge and more fish than cake. My chicken breast stuffed with bacon and cheese melted in the mouth. We were feeling very full but managed to have puddings - rhubarb crumble for J and home-made Christmas pudding for me.
Surroundings excellent. Plenty of elbow room in the dining area.
Harveys and Dark Star - both beautifully kept. Service excellent.
Only 1 niggle - the Ladies rather primitive but it IS a very old pub!
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Paid a brief visit here early Wednesday evening. The pub is in a quiet village location and now appears to cater more for diners than for drinkers. The furniture in the small bar area is a little gaudy. But the welcome was warm. They had 3 real ales - Harveys Sussex Best, Adnams Broadside and Darkstar Hophead, plus a real cider - Weston's 1st Quality. The pub is under new ownership but still appears to be open all day.
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Visited circa 1600 on a beautiful Sunday afternoon...we sat in the garden and it was just fine...I guess we hardly put the pub through its paces but the service was fine and the beer was Hophead...it all looked in good nick and certainly didn't out you off wanting to return!
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Myself and 10 others visited the Oak last night for a celebration meal.
The food
Excellent home cooked meals. A very varied menu, something for everyone. In our party were 2 vegetarians and one cegaphobic and they all had plenty of choice. The meals were freshly prepared, served hot and very promptly. 2 in our party spotted something they fancied on the lunch time menu and were allowed to have it at the same price in the evening.
The portions are incredibly generous.
Cost
11 people in our group, we had wine, cider, cokes (at least 3 each), lemonade, starters, main course, deserts, coffee and mints...�198 for all of us! Normaly I dread the bill after eating such a sumptuous meal..but it was very very reasonable. (I had allowed �260 so was pleasantly suprised)
Waitress service was good, smiling lady, nothing was too much for her.
Atmosphere
Now this is a hard one really as we had a laughing happy crowd with us, so we brought our own atmosphere if that makes sense...if it had been 2 people with not much to say to each other then I suppose it could have been different.
There is music in the background, this dosnt take over the room, but instead adds a nice atmospheric feel...
In my party were:-
1 person aged 71
2 people aged 44
1 person aged 43
1 person aged 19
1 person aged 18
2 people aged 16
1 person aged 15
1 person aged 14
1 person aged 13
All were happy with the meal and surroundings...so a mixed age group all cattered for.
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This is a quinticential English village pub with low oak beams and an inglnook fireplace. It is a cottage style pub, which looks very inviting from the outside. It's the sort of pub that if you drive by, you will want to stop, turn round and investigate.
It has a restaurant area in a new extension, and a public bar with a pool table. The lounge bar has lots of nooks and crannies. There is a lawn out the front with tables.
There was Harvey's, which was very good and two other ales.
The whole thing seemed very nice, but somehow lacked a bit of atmosphere. I was told that sitting in the inglenook in winter is a pleasant thing to do, but it just seems to be one of those pubs where you go and need to stay quiet. I may be wrong as I visited in late afternoon when it was quiet anyway.
Not really my cup of tea, but it wopuld appeal many other I am sure.
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