Royal Oak in Stafford

My mother in law, Valerie Foster, had a lovely time at a friend’s anniversary celebration recently. She said that the service was brilliant and the food perfect . Hannah and her team did them all proud, so a “big thank you” She wouid thoroughly recommend The Royal Oak in Gnosall to friends and family.

I was a guest at a 60 Wedding Anniversary last Saturday. I loved every minute -the kindness of the staff- the good quality of the food - the atmosphere. Congratulations to Hannah and her able staff.

We recently celebrated a family anniversary as a group of 20, first time dining since Hannah and the team took over. The meals came out almost simultaneously and we're hot and tasty. We couldn't fault the professionalism of the staff and we were made to feel very welcome. We will definitely be back.

Although we phoned to say we would be late by over an hour we were given the original meal warmed up it was disgusting

Went out for a family meal and gathering as the pub has been closed for a number of years now new people have taken it over thought we would give it a try . what a suprise done out really nice. Nice and friendly space now as unusual when a pub has been closed for a while usually done over on a buget but not The Royal Oak its a really nice place service is great by Hannah and her team always smiling and polite nothing seems to much for them. The food isnt michelin star but your not paying for that your paying for pub grub and its outstanding.I had liver and onions and when its better than you can cook at home thats the idea you go out for food.So when you go out your not disappointed its even better.If you dont want to sit inside a nice big beer garden but hey ho its not the weather now but a big old space for you to enjoy. A big carpark maybe for about 20 cars so go and see Hannah and her team and enjoy or not its your experience but see how you do.

We thoroughly enjoyed a family meal for 8 for my birthday the other night. The staff were great and the food was absolutely top notch; high quality and beautifully cooked. Would thoroughly recommend it and will definitely be booking again in future.

Our extended family of nine visited for a birthday meal last night. We could not find fault with anything. Everyone commented on how delicious their meal was. Top quality, thanks Rachel for looking after us so well. Highly recommend The Royal Oak. Five stars all round.

Fabulous place now with new owners. Highly recommend it.

Bar staff are nice and friendly, and they do great family days in the summer! Food is now much better and came out very quickly.

A nice place to have a few pints

Friendly, welcoming staff, delicious food, lovely atmosphere, highly recommend the lamb shank.

Great Sunday....Great service and an apple pie to die for. Excellent 5star

The menu was really impressive as so varied, there was something for everyone - just made it difficult to choose! Staff were friendly and welcoming and the pub lovely inside. When the food arrived, the presentation was great, good sizes and tssted delicious. None of us left a thing! The noodles were amazing. Wish had room fir the cherry crumble! Next time maybe! Compliments to the chef and all the staff there!

We had booked for lunch on the basis of reviews and the meals we recently had at The Bell in Haughton. On arrival we were quickly seated by a friendly young lady. We requested the Light Bite menus and our drinks order taken promptly. A little hiccup then ensued whereby one of our party is gluten free. Despite two different servers trying to take our order we were at stalemate with the gluten free until common sense prevailed from a very pleasant and efficient lady whose name I did not get. However in typical customer service focus she helped and hey presto our choices were on the way to the kitchen. Everything else went smoothly and the food was delicious and well cooked and presented. It was a quiet lunchtime but we all enjoyed the experience. We will return to try the main menu next. My only other comment is that there is always a solution to a problem particularly in customer service and full marks to the lady who turned it around for us. Well done and thank you.

Probably one or the best pub i have ever been to. food is amazing brilliant grilled sammon whith teraiki sause which was perfectly made, great sea bass and very nice pizza, the halumi fries where also great. the staff are all extemely friendly, if you have small children there are pic-nic tables outside where you can sit and they can play in the open area of grass or the small playground. the waiters give you a buzzer to help them find your table seemlesly, they accept cash and card have many outdoor seats and indoor seats amazing menu there is something for everthing aswell as desert (i didnt have any but juding by the quality of the food we did have i asume they would be great aswell). if you are in the area and need food if you go here you will not regret it. if you are on the canal look on google maps and near the pup the green line is the path connecting the pub to the canal which we walked along and is a nice path.

Thank you to the Royal Oak team for hosting us this evening. Great service, lovely people, great atmosphere, immaculately clean dining room and homemade food. We stopped off in the area on our way to the Lake District and luckily found The Royal Oak. Very dog friendly for our high-energy Cocker spaniel and puppy. Including house treats and fresh water. The homemade beef lasagna was 10/10. Well done chef! Great vegetarian options, fresh salads, everything cooked to order. This is a restaurant with a great gastro-pub attached and the warmest of Gnosall welcomes! Thank you from Daisy the Campervan, Dr. Watson and puppy Agatha x

Nice food good service nice beers staff very friendly will be going back 👍

Did not eat there this time but saw the menu which looked good. Great open mic nights on Thursdays.

Great music at their open Mike night.

Excellent. Food fantastic, beer 🍺 Excellent. I'd recommend the Royal to everyone

Wonderful !! Discovered this place whilst biking, called in and enjoyed a few drinks, went back a week later to try food and it didn't disappoint, it was fantastic from start to finish, staff were very attentive, I had 8 oz steak the wife had pork belly, delicious, having spent time viewing menu we are keen to revisit an try Sunday lunch, menu is varied and good prices, many thanks and best wishes, see you soon

Since the new owner Hannah has taken over the food is amazing. The staff are friendly and great. The new bar manager is lovely very handsome

Enjoyable evening with friends. New management which clearly shows they are experienced at running a pub. Outstanding food and service. Huge choice on menu. Reasonable prices. Nice to see a village pub thriving. Will be returning soon to sample the sticky toffee. Thanks for a nice night.

This is a great pub. Great beer, great food and great service with a smile! Katie and Annie are always very welcoming as are the barmaids. Superb 👌 ** New owners have now taken over. We went for a meal last night (29th June 2024) for 10 people for my daughters birthday. The service was excellent as was the food. The owner couldn't do enough to make sure everything was spot on for us. Will DEFINITELY be going back again and will recommend the pub to everyone I know. Top service ***** 5 Stars

Really lovely meal made to order and very nice .I would recommend the Royal Oak 👌

Just beautiful and welcoming staff, a pure joy to eat and drink there 👍🏼🤗❤️

I can't stress enough how incredible the food is and my photography skills does not do it justice! Literally an experience for anyone looking for a fantastic meal out at a stress-free, cozy family-friendly pub. Going to have to keep finding excuses to keep coming back!!

I have yet to have any food here, but the staff are always very welcoming and pleasant to punters and very accommodating. I have visited several times when helping my friend's band and they are quick to see if we need any help and to make sure the performances go well. There's always been a friendly and upbeat atmosphere when I have visited and I've never had, or seen, any negative issues! Look forward to going back every time!

We were celebrating 90th birthday 🎂 round 13 people booked 3-4 weeks in advance. when we arrived we have chosen our starters and mains, after we just finished chosen waitress back and told us they do not have some of the dishes 🤪 I was confused as we were the first people that day in the restaurant. After changing it again. It took at least an hour to get our starters. After finished it and plates were collected we were waited for at least another hour for our mains. Food was OK. Service very slow, you can see they were understaffed. Our waitress was really nice just because if her I can give this placec2 starts. Wouldn't recommend it for food.

Worst beef I've every had, rotten roast potatoe, veg poor, pudding shortage including no ice cream, coffee half cups with cold milk, overhaul very poor experience and will not return, another family walked out as no-one was intrested in taking g their order. place only had 3 tables occupied at time.

Needs to have better lighting. The room we sat in had really poor lighting, a bit of a slow service when ordering food. The food was good, not excellent, but still good.

People really friendly, nothing to much trouble would strongly recommend a visit

After a long walk from Stafford along the Derrington Trail, the dog friendly Royal Oak is a lovely place to rest and have a drink. I had the Gammon Egg and Chips, and Fiona had the Camenbert, both very tasty.

Breakfast again, still by far the one to be beaten.... Never had a meal in here that wasn't great.

Looks nice place even when u go in still looks nice tried it a few times now But wouldn’t go back not with the kids In fact wouldn’t go back at all

Just had breakfast, WOW this is now the one to beat.... Thank you.

Huge beer garden and play park great to drink your tipple of choice on a nice warm day. Food and service is more miss than hit though.

Warm friendly welcome and the food is proper home made tummy filling delicious!

Proper Pub Menu just gutted they didn’t have any Sticky Toffee Pudding. ⭐️ friendly helpful staff 🍽️ great selection of classic meals and also snacks 🍺 good beer and drinks selection 🐶 dog friendly 🅿️ plenty of parking was available 🛝 outdoor kids play area & kids menu

Very welcoming after a sad funeral

Lovely pub with nice friendly staff, the food is always great and good vfm. 👍

I dined at the Royal Oak on Sunday and had a truly wonderful experience. The atmosphere of the pub was cozy and inviting, and the staff were friendly and attentive. The food was delicious - I particularly enjoyed the beef and vegetables, which were perfectly cooked and seasoned. Overall, I highly recommend the Royal Oak to anyone looking for a fantastic meal in a great setting. I give it a 5-star rating. This is my second review of the Royal Oak and it did not disappoint. Paul

Fabulous cooking Katie, fantastic staff who go above and beyond definitely recommend for both cosy and family get together ❤️

Most dog friendly pub in Staffordshire. Great beer, great food, wonderful atmosphere.

Great atmosphere and friendly staff. Went in today for Sunday lunch with a frend. The staff are friendly and a nice atmosphere. The waitress was lovely and very polite (sorry we forgot to leave a tip - make it up next time). My friend was very taken with the pub (2nd visit) and want's to have a Sunday meal there in a couple of weeks time. We will be back for sure. Paul

Stopped here for lunch off the cuff and very impressed. Service good, nice atmosphere inside liked the decor, also had quite a large outside area. Hubby had the 5oz steak chips and mushrooms off the lunch menu which was plenty for him. I went off the main menu and had chicken and mushroom pie with mash and fresh veg delicious. Prices good and would go back, good menu choice

Food was exceptional. Probably the best chicken burger I’ve had. I had with mayo instead of bbq, I’d definitely recommend!! Very friendly staff too.

Great food and service! Really pleasant meal- recommend to all!

I think some of the positive reviews on here must be for the Royal Oak in Church Eaton because the one in Gnosall is awful. The food is not fresh - it's over cooked and the service is really really slow even tho there was hardly anyone there, it took half an hour just for someone to come and take our order. On top of that our cutlery hadnt been washed properly and had dried on food stuck to the fork and dirty marks on the knives.

Lovely place to be! Great atmosphere and very welcoming and friendly staff. The menu looks great with vegan dishes! 😍

The best food I’ve ever eaten yet in the U.K. It was exceptional both times I visited so not a fluke. Don’t know what your patting your chef but you should double it.

Lovely food and good portions. Food nice and hot and cooked to perfection. Not a long wait either. Staff were very friendly and seemed like they enjoyed their jobs.

Cycled over from Derrington for Sunday lunch today. Totally delicious. Lamb roast, roasties and veg plus extra sides of cauliflower cheese, a yorkshire pud and extra gravy. Fabulous welcome as always. Great service. Plenty of space for eating outside on a lovely sunny day! Loved it. Had a couple of pints of ‘Boondoggle’ too. I often come for Sunday lunch with my partner who is veggie and she always enjoys the veggie option. Also we bring the grandkids here because they have a great play area too. The team is made up of such nice people. Sometimes there is a bit of a wait for the food but that just reassures me that it is being lovingly prepared. It the worth a wait for good food, in my humble opinion. I will continue to visit often! THANK YOU!

Staff are friendly and welcoming, couple of mistakes with the order once food eventually arrived, however once rectified was lovely.

Service is appalling, there are not enough staff, takes ages to get served, half the menu is "run out" due to their incompetence, even the beers run out. Laughing stock of the village sadly.

Excellent friendly and helpful staff. Sunday roast well worth travelling for, well cooked and generous portions.

What a fabulous experience from start to finish A great welcome Fantastic food ( restaurant quality) We have been back since as a group and had another fabulous evening

Great food and great entertainment

Waited ages for my Sunday roast only to receive 4 tiny bits of overcooked roast potatoes and a semi burnt Yorkshire pudding and parsnips. All for £13, a cheese sandwich at home would have been better.

Great food very well presented, seasoned and tastes excellent. Staff are friendly and accommodating.

Just popped in for the excellent Sunday quiz. They also have a great selection of beers.

Delicious food, friendly atmosphere, dog friendly, staff bought dog a bowl of water and doggy treats on the bar

Excellent well cooked food. Very friendly staff.

A brilliant find Lots of things on the calender, kiddies play area, food was fabulous even though they'd had a really busy day they still got us a meal sorted with no problem Will definately be back

Food was nice the pie was small for the cost. Also the mash potato was very peppery

Always a pleasant experience, staffs are friendly and nothing is too much bother beers and spirits are what they are. The food quality is on par with the price and the quantity makes it very good value for money. Would recommend anyone to go in and sample the goods, they won't be disappointed, the only reason I'm giving five stars is because I can't give any more

Lovely experience and food service really good

All the food is amazing - Indian inspired fish and chips, belly pork with great crackling, perfect burgers, great roasts and steaks. Good quiz night on Sundays as well.

We’ve been here twice and on both occasions been very impressed! After recently moving to the area, we are so happy to come across this charming local pub that serves great food. Both of the owners are absolutely lovely, they are very welcoming and we found ourselves chatting for a large part of the evening! Food is rich and flavoursome with a good choice of a variety of foods available on the menu. Prices are also very reasonable. We will definitely be returning often! Thank you!

Really friendly and dog friendly too 🙂

Great friendly staff and excellent service

Good atmosphere and friendly staff

Sadly the food was pretty awful although the service was good.

Poor meal pub was cold food poor and no friendly atmosphere Will not recommend it

Nice redecorated interior, very warm welcome but unfortunately two of our six meals failed to impress. Firstly the pie of the day , steak and ale on this occasion. The meat was very tough, this we pointed out to the waitress who said that she would let the kitchen staff know. If she did they certainly were not interested because nothing more was said until the end of the meal when she simply asked again if everything was OK with our food. Once more the meat in the pie was mentioned along with the duck , which was overcooked . No offer of a cost reduction or apology. Not very impressed I'm afraid.

Good Sunday dinner at a reasonable price. Food felt home made. All the family enjoyed it

Absolutely amazing sunday lunch, friendly staff and best of all sensible prices. Will definitely be going back.

Lovely atmosphere. Friendly staff. Good selection of beers

The new staff are making a go of it well done

Very nice lunch.Staff were very friendly.

Sorry to say wasn't impressed with our meal. Could have been because it was a nice night and they were quite busy.

Hi quality food and very friendly service. The beer wasn't bad either. Not the cheapest place you'll find, but the black olive mash was really lovely

Eaten today there fantastic menu is brilliant great portions great pub

The food was ok, but such a long wait for it to be served. Well over an hour from ordering to arriving on the table!!

This is a local pub which has just reopened. Went for Sunday lunch. Place has been given a new paint job, but the furniture still remains the same. Could be phase 2? Very little customers for lunch although the bar was busy with customers and their dogs. Lunch was substantial and good value. Some small issues throughout, but could be teething issues. Give the pub a chance as Covid has seen pubs needing help from the locals.

Fantastic food, great service and a lovely venue.

Run by two sisters. I really want them to succeed but, the person looking after the cellar does not, currently?, know how to look after their real ales. Annie is very friendly and was listening to my comments. The one pint I had tasted musky. A sign of cleaning fluid in the pipes according to some people I know. I was told the pipes have been cleaned out 3 times and no-one else has complained. I have been drinking ale for 40 plus years. 3 different and bad. Talking to friends who have also frequented The Oak concur and send the beer was bad. Please learn. taste it before selling it. By all accounts the food is great by the way.

We went in for late tea on Sunday. It was a very hot day. We were put in a very hot room and all windows were closed even though it was quiet inside. Food and drinks took a long time to arrive. Food was nice and priced well for both adults and children.

Lovely staff lovely service fantastic food thank you for the birthday cake

Lovely family run pub in a peaceful setting. Lots of outside space with an area for children to play. Great service and selection of drinks. Would highly recommend!

We had a lovely afternoon ,we had a lovely lunch too nice place ,

I was warmly welcomed at the bar, and ordered a meal from the menu on my table. The meal, an all day breakfast, was served promptly, and an item I did not want was swapped from the order without problems. The venue served the Glitterberry J20, available only in the winter. I am surprised by some of the poor reviews that this place has received; it seems that they must try harder for a consistent standard, and it would be helpful if they respond to as many reviews as possible.

This place should be shut down to start with. I wouldn’t be surprised if the owners try to get this review deleted but they should be ashamed of themselves. Dined as a group of 4, greeted pleasantly and shown to the table after ordering some drinks at the bar - that’s where the pleasantness finished. Ordered our food, some nachos from the ‘starters - sharing platters’ section so got the two servings between 4 of us, both with chilli on. Out came one plate with some cheese and chilli con carne on - then nothing else. Raised the issue that we were missing a serving of nachos for the other couple only to find the chef only made one, and he’d used all the chilli on them. So the other couple got sauces on theirs instead. Now why didn’t we get told you’d run out of the chilli in the first place. Secondly, if you have to pay extra for the chilli on the nachos, without that ours would have just been tortilla chips and cheese - no sauces given as standard. After we’d sorted the above out, much to our amazement all of a sudden our mains were at the table - we’d only eaten 3 mouthfuls of our starter and we were already being offered our mains like it was some fast food restaurant. Later on we found out the waitress put the starters through as mains so the chef made it all at the same time - but use your common sense, we’re not going to order 6 mains when there’s only 4 of us. A simple question ‘would you like the nachos first or with your mains?’ would have solved any confusion. This anyway seemed to swing our waitresses mood all of a sudden and she obviously couldn’t think of a worse place to be than serving anyone in that restaurant. When finished starters obviously our mains came straight away as they’ve been ready for 10-15minutes already. Asked for sauces etc as you do but the waitress left every time to get what we asked for before we finished asking - can we have some sauces? Off she went. But we also needed more coleslaw so asked when she came back, off she dashed again. But we also needed more drinks. She was obviously thinking we were taking the p**s but she was already in the kitchen rolling her eyes before we could finish telling her. Then the food itself, the lasagna was still cold and the burger - well you could have cracked nuts with it it was that solid. Obviously been cooked a long time ago and then just reheated - the fat was solidified on the top of the burger. This was obviously the final straw for us and we left our mains and wanted to pay up and leave. But even after this long essay I’ve just written it’s only the start of the fiasco. Asked to see a manager and some man came to our table, I can only presume he must be the landlord. Drunk and aggressive - ‘theres nothing wrong with the food. Do you know my friends just committed suicide. You know what after the week I’ve had, have it - have it all and don’t bloody come back’. The waitress couldn’t believe the mains we’re ALL bad, talking over us not letting us speak. I’d had enough and just wanted the night over with, went to the bar to pay. Drunk landlord (presumably) stood at the end of the bar shouting to the bartender ‘Make sure they pay for the nachos, don’t take the nachos off they’re paying for them’ - £47 later and it was done. Paid for drinks and nachos because we ate them but obviously not paying for the mains. While walking out one of the people (think it was the landlord again but can’t be certain) ‘hope santa brings you something nice for Christmas, now f**k off’ At this point we started filming as we couldn’t quite believe the abuse being thrown our way. We do have this video at hand if TripAdvisor would like it. Few unprofessional unpleasantries exchanged and we were out of there. Now even that wasn’t the end of it. (bearing in mind we called prior to visiting to see if they had a table for 4 people and were serving food) 10:40pm that night we get a call from ‘No Caller ID’ who quickly hangs up. 5 minutes later same again and I answer again - low and behold the Royal Oak has fished through it’s received calls and found our number and cold called us. Pranked us first and then rang properly the second time. The woman claimed to be the manager so I asked where she had been all night - said she wasn’t there. I’m not naive and know this woman was one of the waitresses calling back trying to save their asses. impersonating a manager as well - icing on the cake if you ask me. They claimed ‘the woman that we videoed was a minor’ trying to get us to delete the footage. I explained that was neither here or there, firstly she wasn’t a minor - we’re not daft. Secondly that wasn’t the point here, if you were the manager you said you were, it’s a training issue within your business if that’s the sort of customer service your staff are providing. It’s also a food issue if that’s the sort of food you’re giving out to paying customers. I asked why they’ve cold called me and hidden their number, her response was ‘she didn’t want me to have her number’. When in actual fact I didn’t give you permission to use my number either and as of this year falls under GDPR regulations People probably won’t quite believe this review, and might think it’s bending the truth however it isn’t. We’re not from around here so have no bias or previous experiences with this place however I can categorically say it’s the worst experience I’ve ever had; in this country or the abroad; for food, service and management. Stay clear, save your money, time and sanity and go elsewhere because this place is atrocious.

Great pub with great beer and a fantastic atmosphere.

We decided to go to the Royal Oak after visiting the Christmas lights. On arrival all seemed fine, we ordered drinks at the bar then went to the table. After looking at the menu we ordered 2 x nacho starter sharing platters with chilli (off the starter section of the menu) along with our main. Whilst ordering the waitress told us there would be a wait which we were fine with. Shortly after one bowl of nachos arrived with Chilli and was plonked down in the middle of all four of us. we asked the waitress if the second bowl was on its way to which she replied "no the chef has run out of chilli so hes put it all on one bowl" she then tutted and walked back in to the kitchen. We then had to ask for a second bowl of nachos, she asked us what sauces we would like with it so we asked for the usual nacho sauces (sour cream, salsa, guacamole) when the waitress returned with the second bowl of nachos it was like her whole attitude had changed, she plonked the bowl down and didn't say anything or apologise about the mix up. Her attitude made us uncomfortable but we dont think our requests had been unreasonable.. 5 minutes into eating our nachos the same waitress arrived back at the table with our mains. I was shocked and told the waitress we wanted to finish our starter first to which she replied "shall I put them back then?” and walked back in to the kitchen. Once we were ready for the mains we let the waitress know..the two lasagne were cold, the beef burger was inedible due to how tough the meat was, the coleslaw with the burger looked like someone had had a mouthful out of it. The waitress' attitude was poor, everything seemed too much effort and she looked visibly annoyed when asked for condiments even though this must be an everyday occurrence in her job role. The waitress asked "is everyone finished” even though all four meals had been barely touched..I told her that the lasagne was cold and the burger was rock solid, we showed her by pushing the fork onto the burger and the fork would of bent if we had pressed any harder. The waitress asked if we wanted them reheating followed by a comment "it's because you were eating your nachos". We asked for the manager at this point.. after 10 minutes he came into the bar the waitress said "Calm down please I will deal with it” deflecting him to the kitchen. Both the barmaid and the “manager” were stood at the table telling us that it was basically our fault as the nachos were put through as main meals so the chef had prepared everything all together, when we asked how this had happened because the nachos were on the starter menu the manager became verbally aggressive telling us he couldn’t care less, we were liars and disrespectful because his friend had committed suicide, and then followed by a comment to the waitress "give it them for free see if I care". we picked our coats up leaving the table and made our way to the till to pay for what wed had (drinks and nachos) where the “manager” was now sat drinking a pint of beer, the manager shouts make them pay for the nachos or were they cold aswell" we paid £50 for drinks and nachos to get out of there. Whilst at the bar the locals had formed a side with the drunk aggressive manager saying "the foods not that bad" followed by hurling abuse from the waitress "my attitude was not that bad until after the starters” the locals again " I hope Santa brings you something nice ..f****ll". We eat out quite often and can honestly say we have never been stood at a bar following an abysmal meal and be verbally abused by staff and locals and didn’t know if our experience was going to end up in being assaulted. As we left through the door the waitress shouted "I hope to see you again soon!!!"

nice friendly pub with gud value varied menu

I've been visiting the Royal Oak for a number of years and can honestly say that if you're looking for a friendly atmosphere, pleasant & conscientious staff and honest pub grub, then look no further!! Oh, and there's a decent selection for the beer drinker too.

Fantastic food . Reasonable prices. Lovely staff

Friendly local pub, very clean, good food and beer.

Welcoming and friendly. Will diffinately revisit