Royal Oak in Basingstoke and Deane

If I could give this this a 0 star I would!! Absolutely discusting!! Food was gross!! Didn’t have half of the menu so choice was limited! Would not recommend!!

New tenants and doing great. Atmosphere and service great, food tasty. Price in par with any pub in the area Well worth a visit.

Amazing friendly welcome and gorgeous food

A lovely pub with super friendly staff who are very welcoming, for both humans and doggos! They do the most 👌🏼 Hot chocolate too, highly recommend a visit.

This pub was until very recently a great place to visit. Unfortunately it changed management in October this year and has gone to the wall. Lunch was lukewarm and looked and tasted reheated. Ordered roast chicken which arrived as a leg cut rather than breast meat - there was virtually no edible meat on the leg with skin overcooked and middle undercooked and unpleasant. Roast potatoes were soggy instead of the crisp fresh skins that would be expected (clearly reheated). To fill out the plate the leg was placed inside a large yorkshire pudding that was undercooked on the base and very greasy around the top edges. There are serious issues in the kitchen. We will not return.

Amazing hot chocolate at the Royal Oak!

Very homely in the local bar and everyone is very friendly. Love it here wish i lived closer!

Fab night down the Oak. Great atmosphere and super friendly bar keepers.

Had a Sunday lunch with with a party of 10, really friendly service, but not over bearing and even had free popcorn while waiting for food!, roast was half chicken and all the trimmings, new landlords are making the oak worth a visit.

Excellent. Really friendly staff and lovely food. Would highly recommend

Lovely roast dinner, large portion and plenty of gravy. We will definitely be coming again. The pub has a lovely atmosphere and all the staff are really friendly and helpful.

Great pub, really friendly staff and good selection of beers!

Fantastic Hosts Fantastic Service Fantastic food Fantastic Beer Best pub in England well done Royal Oak

Had a lovely Sunday lunch there, great food and atmosphere. We shall be returning

I went for the steak night to try the wagyu and tomahawk steak... Absolutely perfect. The wagyu was fantastic value and cheaper than most top end restaurants. The service was on point and they had a live band that was great for the atmosphere. The new owners are super friendly and a pleasure to talk with too. I can not wait for the next steak night!

Really lovely pub, we enjoyed the food, generous portions and very tasty 👍🏼Chef Dean did a great job and the owners Ali and Maddie were very welcoming.

A great local pub, food is excellent as is a he beer.

The current landlords will be leaving in September, which is a shame. They are a lovely, hardworking couple. He does all the cooking. The food was very tasty and well presented. I recommend the salmon fillet with hollandaise sauce. There is new younger couple due to take over when the current landlords leave. There is a lovely well maintained garden with covered seating in some areas. The pub is tasty decorated and retains navy original features. Definitely worth a visit.

Set in a beautiful little village this pub could be amazing but it lacks character. Admittedly it was a sunny Sunday afternoon but the place was pretty much empty (8 people). The garden is lovely. No one was eating which meant the chef could relax in the garden.

We visited The Royal Oak, for lunch today (13/07/24) and really enjoyed the whole experience. Very friendly and welcoming atmosphere, great service and the food was excellent. We had a prawn starter followed by a lamb kofta and a Caesar salad with bacon. Really good quality fresh and tasty ingredients, well cooked, prepared and presented. Well done to the chef. The menu is not huge but it offers a very good choice of home-made starters, mains and puds (try the home-made ice cream, and especially the lavender flavoured one. Delicious 😋). A lovely, charming, real English pub with friendly owners, excellent food and choice of drinks. Don't usually write reviews, but this was so good we really wanted to share it. Try it - we are sure you won't be disappointed.

We called at the Royal Oak on the drive home from the New Forest to Bedford. We were warmly welcomed and seated almost immediately. The food was adequate. I had the beer battered haddock with skin on fries my partner had pork fillet and cheek with chard and mash. The fish was well cooked not overcooked as is so often the case. My partners pork fillet was slightly chewy but the cheek was tender. It could have benefitted from a bit more gravy. The service was great.

Delicious meals - highly recommend the pork and steak. Lovely staff and atmosphere. Incredible choc fudge cake for dessert.

Great food and service, friendly and polite.

Great pub, we stopped here as it was the mid point on our Watership Down 10 mile walk (Fancy Free Walks). The landlady was extremely welcoming and friendly when we arrived some 50 minutes before our booked table. It was Bank Holiday Monday and quite quiet. We sat in the garden with a couple of pints and a jug of pins, all very nice. We chose Fish and Chips, Burger with Cheese and a Cesar Salad, all of which was a delight, generous portions and well presented. There was satisfaction all round. The homemade puddings, Chocolate Torte, Ice Cream and Afogata with Bailey's were all good. We set off on the second half of our walk well fed and looked after. We would recommend the pub as an essential stopping point. The only reason I gave 4 stars for atmosphere was on account of it not being busy at the time we visited. Highly recommended.

We stopped here for lunch on May Bank Holiday Monday, what a lunch. We had great service and the food was delicious. The menu is short and that is a good thing. We had Burger, Fish & Chips and a Cesar Salad, all were a good sized portion and delicious. Would highly recommend a visit.

Wonderful pub! We went to have a Saturday evening meal and were extremely happy with everything. I had the chicken and mushroom pie, I believe it was the best pie I have had in my 56 years. They were trialling cans of short run beers and stouts, lovely hazy IPA. I would heartily recommend a visit, if not for the food, the wonderful building and grounds. Set in some of the most beautiful countryside in the country.

Stopped off here by chance on journey home to Basingstoke. The food was top quality and the presentation was immaculate! We will definitely come back here again. The staff were very nice & had a pleasant chat.

Absolutely splendid meal. Literally everything is home made, even the ice cream. Super tasty. Service was great and the couple running the pub were so friendly

We stopped for lunch from our walk of the North Wessex Downs to find a neat fronted pub in a village setting. Refreshingly, the front entrance was the way in! Once inside we were met by a series of rooms around two generous bars. A warm day so we navigated through the bar and dining room to the garden ... Partly laid to lawn and part courtyard. We chose a very comfortable, clean shaded spot in the courtyard. Just two Cask ales on tap and the one chosen was well served, fresh and well conditioned. A truly good pint...or two. Food was fast but delicious. Overall a friendly well run pub / restaurant and good value.

Were there for a family event that was booked a week previous, the staff were rude running round like headless chickens, they couldnt supply food to some of our party unless they had booked a table couldn't even supply bowl of chips I had booked a roast which was bland and couldn't give us extra gravy and the veg was poor red cabbage being one of them, I feel the veg should of been on a separate bowl for you to choose, one of our guests requested a coffee but told they didn't have time to make it but could do a tea won't be going there again.

3 of us enjoyed a light lunch, in the refurbished garden. Nice ale and good service. Quality food at the right price

Highly recommended. Well worth a detour, very friendly staff, excellent food, welcoming atmosphere. Large garden too

I would like to go. Everybody thinks of themselves. I would like go too

We had a Lovely meal at a reasonable price, about £25 head for 3 courses; food brought to table with good service and friendly staff…we highly recommend !

A gem in the wilds of the outskirts of Newbury. We were welcomed with a lovely atmosphere, properly served drinks and then our food was just Yumm. When I say 'properly', I meant that the quality of the glass was decent not the usual pub stuff and the glass was polished too. The wine I had was chilled and was presented in a glass size which gave it an elegant certain something . If we were nearer, this would be a great place to meet regularly.

Had Mackeral starter, absolutely lovely. Roast turkey was excellent as well and portion was huge. We arrived at 1730 and they served up starter really quickly before their advertised cooking start time.

We enjoyed a lovely relaxing lunch for 14 of us at the Royal Oak celebrating family birthdays. The team were fabulous and looked after everyone really well. The food was excellent. Good size portions and hot when served. Overall good value for money. We would highly recommend.

Updated 2023-11 (2 stars): We visited a few months back and several times before under the previous landlord. Our visits were always fantastic: tasty real ales and great food choices. The pub just recently reopened under a new landlord. We really hope that the pub will rise back up to previous standards, but today at least it fell far short for us. We hope this feedback can help the new landlord get a good footing for our intended return. Our reservation that was made through Google / Dojo did not make it through to the pub (the staff says that this wasn't the first time that that had happened). Nevertheless, it was great to see this wonderful pub open again, and so busy. Thankfully a table was found for us. Friendly service ensured we got our drinks and food order right away. Great! The lunch menu was quite basic - pub grub. I ordered the burger, and my wife the fish & chips. For drinks we had their Wainwright Amber real ale. The ale was lacking conditioning, tasting flat which was not enjoyable. We tried their other real ale later and it too suffered the same lack of conditioning. Our food took about 30-40 minutes to be brought out. The presentation was bland (it was not at all like what you see on their website). My burger was overcooked: it was crunchy (!) at the edges of the thin patty. The white bun was crumbly as if it was not fresh bread. The accompanying potato wedges were not flavourful: I had to add salt and ketchup (I don't usually). My wife's fish & chips also was overdone: the batter was inedible but the fish inside thankfully was good. No one came to check if everything was to our liking. No bill was given to us when I asked at the bar, instead just the credit card reader was presented with the total to be paid. I asked for the itemised bill and was told it would come after payment. When the bill did get printed off, it had no prices beside the items - it was a gift receipt. I asked a third time and finally was handed a receipt which did show prices but strangely showed 0% tax but a "total tips" of 10%! We did not know that this service charge would be added on. As we got dressed to depart, one staff member did apologize for our long wait for food, which we appreciated them saying. We truly do hope this is just start-up pains with the re-opening because we do so love coming for walks around the countryside here, and want to look forward to a cozy meal in this pub with great beer. We do intend to return, to support their re-opening. I have uploaded 7 more pics from today, of which 3 are of the lunch and dinner menus. -- -- -- -- 2019 (4 stars): Delicious Sunday roast lunch at this country pub! Very friendly staff with quick service. Good selection of real ales (conditioned and served perfectly). We cycled here from Whitchurch through the lively countryside. One star off because the gents could do with a refresh.

Went for bonfire night. Amazing evening, friendly staff and great time. Perfect for food and a nice afternoin out.

My family and I went for a Saturday lunch to celebrate my birthday and we had a fantastic experience. The food was delicious ( I would recommend the leek, potato and truffle soup- the chef has added A LOT of truffle and it was simply delicious), the staff were extremely friendly and accommodating. After our meal we sat in the cosy bar area which had a lovely fire. Would definitely recommend to friends and family!

Now settling in with New Management (though the old Managers were great too) this is a fantastic village local, with superb food. I go there both to meet up with work colleagues in the daytime, and to catch up with friends & neighbours (and sometime local bell-ringers!) in the evenings. It caters brilliantly for both. A great destination, with a wonderful atmosphere and - in dry weather - a huge garden, where friendly dogs, and kids, seem welcome to run free!

Fantastic evening for family, Hog Roast & bonfire. Wonderful staff and service. We had a really good night. If only all pubs were like this!

Whilst our food was nice, the offhanded attitude of the staff when faced with an issue was really disappointing. The waitress accidently spilt ginger ale behind me, into the sleeve and lining of my coat. I asked if they would the cover the cost of my dry cleaning the coat, to be told she didn't have a budget for that! I suggested it would be the Company that covered the bill not Her personally and was informed it was not a Company but a family run business. Asking for the Manager, She said she was the Manager but then back tracked and went off to think about what she could do and get a Manager. The 2nd lady came out, I re-told what had happened, I suggested She just remove my meal from the bill and we'd call it quits - She agreed and then a 3rd person (the chef I think) came in askig if there was a problem, I pointed out I think it had now been resolved. The bill was eventually adjusted and slapped on the table by the waitress, who by now had taken on a frosty attitude. Total comedy of errors, with no staff member offering to compensate me or resolve the situation and didn't care one bit - really making all of us feel quite uncomfortable. It's a shame the 'Family' business don't treat their customers with more respect and politness. Needless to say we will not be going again.

Great spot for both casual dining and drinking! highly recommended!! the building and grounds are beautiful

lovely pub, food is great, staff are friendly. highly recommended! look forward to returning next time we are in the area

Several lunches and dinners enjoyed under new management

Had a great dinner, fresh high quality food and home made bread ! Apparently Pub now under new management and dining room has had internal refit, so much more cozy….

We had a fabulous evening here last night .. Vali and Dora are so welcoming! We’d been walking all day in the surrounding area, were weary and hungry but, when we walked into this lovely pub with its roaring fire and friendly staff it just finished off a perfect day ☺️ The food was great 👍🏼 all piping hot and delicious! The puddings were amazing, even the ice cream was homemade- Thank you Vali and Dora we had a great evening

Fabulous meal in a wonderful pub atmosphere. The bitter chocolate desert was fantastic. Lots of gluten free options for my coeliac husband. Very friendly and welcoming staff. Highly recommend!

Steak Night this Wednesday was a delicious meal and good value. Each steak was beautifully cooked and served with an optional sauce, large fried mushroom and tomato with a choice of fries or hand cut chunky chips. This was followed by a surprise sweet comprising a raspberry mousse on a fine sponge layer and this was a delight. The pub was packed out - word has got around the village about the great food here. Total cost £19 - really good value.

Fantastic food, great drinks and even better service. Highly recommended

My partner and I had a lovely birthday meal on the 4th October 2023. I had the Burger. The best I have ever tasted. Very meaty and a large portion of chips. The pudding was homemade , Lemon Tart and also delicious.

So pleased the Royal Oak has reopened! Service was perfect! The greeting from the team was so friendly and welcoming. The food was first class, good choices and quality meals. Drinks service and selection ideal! Certainly back on as one of our regular stops. Greet for the village too! Highly recommended- fabulous country pub!

Sunday October 8th, 24 degrees, after a long and beautiful walk around Sydmonton. a cold pint of Shipyard, and a little marvel of Goat's cheese and beetroot. ,,,,,,♥️✨ The Royal Oak's got the love.

What a lovely, cosy little pub. Great and welcoming staff and really good beer. The best thing though.....no banal irritating music on in the background. Well done. We'll be back soon. Update. Came back today, October 1st. Taken off a star for the awful commercial radio station that was playing. Such a shame. 😔

I have just had one of the best roasts I have ever had!!! The roast beef was out of this world!!!! The service was utterly impeccable and the food sublime. Could not recommend highly enough!

Excellent service and food. Help this pub survive as it was quiet and they need business. I see no reason why they were not busier. Fantastic fish and chips. Lovely village.

Fantastic Sunday lunch at the Royal Oak. Roast dinner and fish and chips were perfect in a great relaxed country pub setting. Great value considering the quality and quantity of food along with the great service. Just managed to fit in desert which was also fabulous. Valy and Dora as the new owners were most attentive ensuring our meals and the experience were perfect. Valy the chef visited our table to ensure all the food was great and explained that even the ice cream is made onsite. We will be back to sample the ice cream soon!

Lovely place for a meal out with family or friends. Food delicious. We'll behaved dogs welcome. Great seating area outside with shelter from the elements. Reasonably priced. Wonderful staff. My grandchildens favourite eating place.

Wow! Went for a drink and food but had 1 drink and went too find another pub. The young lad behind the bar needs serious traing. Never said please or thank you and made us feel we weren't welcome. Shame as this pub was recommended.

Went today for roast dinner, absolutely delicious and great service

Love this place. Friendly and the food is excellent.

Nice country pub food looks lovely

Being out of action for several months through bouts of covid and flu, in recent weeks we've enjoyed eating out with family and friends at three local pubs. The Royal Oak at Ecchinswell surpasses its rivals in terms of quality and presentation of food ordered...

We had the set Christmas menu with the family at lunch time. I am not a massive fan of roast dinners out , but am a massive fan of roasts that are home cooked . I am also not a huge fan of Turkey. But …. The traditional Turkey Christmas dinner we had was exceptional! The Turkey was beautifully moist and tasty, veg all perfectly cooked and gravy was thick and full of flavor .. really highly recommended and great value.. thanks Royal Oak team!

Lovely pub, great food and great service

Excellent fresh food freshly prepared and good portions recommended

Great lovely food and great service

First time we have visited. Excellent food. I had steak and kidney suet pudding and it was beautifully cooked. The vegetables were done to perfection. Very busy, lovely atmosphere and service was amazing. Would highly recommend..

Lovely Sunday roast. Excellent potatoes just a little tight with the meat. First class friendly service.

Sunday lunch with family. Great location, relaxed environment, prompt friendly service, great food. Genial Host Enjoyed our visit. Happy to recommend as of 2 October.

Had a large group (14) for Sunday lunch here. Couldn’t fault them. Friendly, efficient staff bought all the food out pretty much together. Good food too. Nice beer garden too. Would definitely go back.

Went for Sunday lunch today with eight friends, we all had an amazing roast dinner the beef was perfection my son had the lamb they also said it was lovely, I can throughly recommend, will definitely be going back !!

Planned a meal out of an old haunt visited years ago. Ordered scampi chips & signature fish & chips. As mains. ( thought about steak but at £25.00 a pop decided against) As soon as signature dish arrived I could smell something was very off....

Good food, reasonably priced. Lovely garden with plenty of tables, and it's right next to a small stream, which makes it quite picturesque at times. Staff very accommodating, and dogs welcome.

Beautiful location and premises, prices are pretty reasonable. In two hot summery visits I'm yet to see the 'rum shack' open in the (gorgeous) garden...

Excellent food lovely outside space and great staff!

What a gorgeous little village pub friendly staff good food, clean, beautiful surroundings . Out of the way for a cosy evening

I happened to be passing and dropped in for lunch and a beer. Two beers in fact. The food was excellent (and another diner was so impressed with the fish n chips that she informed me it was the best she'd ever had, so I'll be back to check that!) The beer was well kept (Triplefff Moondance) and the service was very good, very friendly. A real gem of a pub tucked away in the countryside. I still don't know how to pronounce the name of the village though 😆

Decent country pub. Good ales, and excellent pub food. This isn't gastro pub nonsense, just traditional pub food, done really well at a good price. Lovely beer garden, and a great location to stop as part of a walk. Service was great too!

A classic country pub, with a large garden and a welcoming interior. Menu is traditional and well achieved with all the classic dishes nicely prepared. As always the vegetarian will not find too much choice, but won't starve.

Fabulous pub in a beautiful village. Dogs welcomed with treats! Wish I had a local like this. Good portions, and recommend both the Sunday roast and the fish and chips. Gorgeous garden with a stream and friendly ducks!

Excellent food and super friendly service, nothing was too much trouble. Highly recommended.

Excellent old village pub, parts of which date back to the 13th century. Nice selection of beers and a good choice of food from the menu. The pub has been extended over the years to accommodate quite a few restaurant seats, and seating is spread out over 4 or 5 separated large rooms. Large garden to the rear, with plenty of bench seats, overlooking the village stream.

Had a couple of nice pints and a decent burger

So friendly to my group of walkers. Even unlocked ready for our arrival incase we needed to use their loos before setting out on our walk. Very accommodating allowing us to also order the children's smaller plate dinners which were made slightly larger by leaving out the ice-cream pudding. Excellent!

Great food and atmosphere inside and outside in the garden!

Lovely and relaxed , excellent Sunday roasts, great portions. Will definitely return.

A nice pub in the middle of a pretty village. Well prepared Sunday lunch, averagely priced and nicely served. A good experience all round.

Beautiful pub with great outdoor seating, bike rack in the carpark We were made to feel very welcome What more can I say but, Signature fish and chips😍

Went for 6 mile walk round Ecchinswell and Sydmonton. The Royal Oak welcomed us parking at the pub before our walk. After a lovely walk we had a meal. My wife had a veggie option and I had the herb crusted cod. Both very nice....

Attentive service, well priced and quickly served meals

Food was good quality and staff were friendly and attentive without being intrusive. Lovely location.

Food and service excellent. Food reasonably priced. Nice atmosphere. Good to see this pub in good hands.

Great staff, great location. Just stopped in for a shandy and a light bite. Perfect.

Beautiful surroundings, friendly bar staff and the most amazing food. Thanks for a great experience.

Lovely food and team. Would certainly go again

Hi my name is Ian very very very beautiful place and will definitely go back when I'm in that area thank you very much to that lovely landlady

Simple but Excellent food and very friendly staff

Lovely afternoon in pub garden at last. Good food, friendly staff