The Royal Oak, Borough  fancyapint.com rated pub, rated5 pints - click for an explanation of our ratingsreviewers award winner 2004 - click for an explanation of our awardsCask Marque pub - click for an explanation of the Cask Marque scheme

follow us: follow us on twitter, click to sign-up follow us on facebook, click to sign-up Subscribe to our newsfeeds and stay up-to-date. Click for more details.
 
 
tell your friends:
*

location:

Borough

address:

44 Tabard Street, SE1 4JU

phone:

0871 258 9747*
* calls cost 10p/minute, click here for more about 0871 numbers.

nearest stations:

Borough London Underground station
(190m) - zone 1

London Bridge railway stationLondon Underground station
(670m) - zone 1

Elephant and Castle London Underground station
(820m) - zones 1/2

London Bridge City Pier River Thames boat service
(870m)

Southwark London Underground station
(1Km) - zone 1

how to find it:

Leaving the tube, cross over Borough High Street and head down Tabard Street, past the church. The pub is just down the street on the right.

click here for a larger map

nearby attraction(s):

Cross Bones (390m)

The Old Operating Theatre, Museum & Herb Garret (580m)

London Dungeons (720m)

picture of Royal Oak
A wonderful Victorian pub in the heart of Borough, the Royal Oak is a winner in every department. It serves a selection of excellent ales (including Mild, Pale, Best with Christmas Ale and Porter in winter) all by Harvey's of Lewes and also offers a very good menu; on a previous visits, we've enjoyed such delights as an excellent steak and ale pie, Lancashire Hotpot and rabbit casserole. The service is friendly and efficient, the shortish wine list is pretty decent and is mostly French (good) and now there's an extensive list of ciders should ale or wine not be to your taste. The pub has the feel of a vibrant local rather than just an after-office drinker, with a good mix of people who are in no hurry to leave. On this evidence, why would they? And nowadays it's open at the weekends - great!

reviewed:
09/07/2010
reviewed by columbo

Eating at The Royal Oak ... we last ate here on 04/02/2010

Proper pub grub, tasty and cheap; pies are especially good and they serve Sunday roasts, too.
food rating 3 - quality
price rating 1 - price

pub features:(click on an icon to see an explanation)

second opinion:

Have your say! - showing the most recent 5 of 6 comments on this pub
click here to add your own comment and read all of them
posted by WarmBeer - Tuesday 20th April, 2010, 6:18pm
OMG this is so much a 5 pint pub! Plain outside and a bit of a time warp feeling inside, but as soon as you taste that beer.. Every one of the Harveys beers we tried were in perfect condition, The Best, Pale ale and Armada were especially good. The best ale I have tasted in London in 5 years+. It was fairly quiet when We arrived around 6:30 when central London pubs would be crowded. Ideal as we could order food with no wait. We saw a decent sized menu on the wall- hang on this is just the specials there is another regular menu in addition. Food was excellent, a real home cooked taste and good size portions, no hint of freezer-to-microwave food typical of many pubs it was the real thing. The place really filled up around 8pm but never seemed noisy. Maybe that was just the anesthetic affect of that georgeous beer
posted by Vincenzo - Thursday 8th April, 2010, 3:55pm
It's a cracking pub. Great Harvey's ales, and old skool pub food (and portions), all in a handsome-looking boozer. One of the best.
posted by bernie5 - Wednesday 10th March, 2010, 10:16pm
I think it is a pity that the comment here revolves around a single incident, albeit a serious one. Let me offer a rounder view. The Royal Oak is a very old fashioned pub, but a really good one. The furniture and fittings are very ordinary, no comfy sofas here, but the beer is excellent and it is usually served by someone who knows and actually cares about it. The food is wholesome rather than gastro, but it certainly lines the stomach if you are in the pub for a session. In summary, the Royal Oak won't deliver you a knockout party experience, but it does offer you the chance to drink a variety of great beers, in the company of like minded souls.
posted by johnwillielees - Sunday 13th April, 2008, 12:51am
To John Clement I did not even get a chance to complain, let alone become aggressive, as both my wife and I were so stunned and shocked at the unprovoked outburst and repeated usage by the co-licensee of the "f" word that we departed from the premises to formally take up our complaint in writing elsewhere. I sincerely hope that you never have to experience such disgraceful behaviour from any licensee and I also hope that for the sake of everyone who ventures across the threshold of The Royal Oak that I do prove to be in a minority of one.
posted by John Clement - Tuesday 12th February, 2008, 3:01pm
Well what can I say, I have always found this to be an exceptionally friendly pub. I know the person who you are referring to and I can say that he is usually pleasant, friendly, courteous and helpful to customers, which is why in my opinion this is one of Londons best pubs. It may be that your complaint was delivered in an aggressive manner, which caused some offense. I think you will find yourself in a minority of 1 in complaining about staff attitudes in this establishment.
showing the most recent 5 of 6 comments on this pub
click here to add your own comment and read all of them