Royal Oak Dolton in Torridge

This was a return visit for five hungry fisherman staying locally at Stafford Moor. We enjoyed the steak so much last year we decided to return. The food was delicious and four of us tucked into puddings. All the food was served by Di who we’ve taken a shine to. There’s three real ales to choose from; an angler’s paradise and a well run establishment. Taking nothing away from this some of the locals didn’t appreciate being moved so we could occupy the table reserved for us. While we didn’t feel especially uncomfortable the more fragile may have done, one individual was particularly unhappy and spent most of the time glaring at us. We’ll be back in a year which should give him time to improve his manners.

Lovely old village pub. Really worth a visit.

Descided to go into Dolton on the way back from Exeter having never visited in the 50+ years I've lived in Devon found this lovely pub so friendly great real ales lovely roast dog friendly as well will be telling all my friends about it😁😁😁😁👍👍

Great find in Dolton. Warm welcome from Andrew and his staff and a friendly environment within the pub. The Sunday roast was mahoosive, you won't come away hungry. Loads of tasty veg. Di's homemade desserts were simply delicious. My husband says that Andy pulls a mean pint of Guinness!!

Stopped here for a cold drink when cycling near the village. Lovely proper village pub, lounge bar looked superb.

We live in a small village and our local is so welcoming to strangers passing through unfortunately not our experience here...hubby tried with the locals but really rude and just ignore you ..shame pub and staff fantastic and of course you can't make the locals talk to you ....but didn't feel welcome

Had a great get together with friends and the Sunday roast was one of the best

We use the pubs back room for choir practice and love the atmosphere. Staff are very friendly and all in all this pub represents everything that is expected of a quintessential village Inn. I have not eaten here yet, but I am told it's good.

It is a shame that all pubs etc have to charge so much for drinks and food but when it comes to quality occasionally you do not mind. This place does have free parking and is spacious but because of the government Bs on taxes etc you will notice it is not as packed out as it used to be many decades ago. There is a new landlord they do supply top quality meals and has kept this pub on form. I am sure if everybody had more money this place would be packed out everyday. People do come from miles around to this venue and every one seems happy and friendly. I hope the next general election brings in a government that can create that wealth for its citizenship so that these types of venues can survive as the Royal oak deserves a vibrant future

Best take away fish and chips from a really great pub

Lovely pub, friendly locals and owners. Ate here twice and the food is great. Absolutely recomend the roast! Delicious. We have 2 big Black labradors and they were completely welcomed too. Overall great pup for food, drinks, staff and atmosphere.

Steak night , Total fiasco, 6 of us booked in,AVOID AT ALL COSTS FOR FOOD,The Rams head is the ONLY eatery in Dolton,and it is superb there.walked out after waiting ages,20 minutes after half the table had their food.SHOCKING.

This was the last night of our fishing holiday at the nearby Stafford Moor. As a group of 4 blokes who travel and eat out lots we unanimously agreed this was one of the best fillet steaks we’d eaten. Honestly, the local beef was superbly cooked and delicious with the usual trimmings. We drank Bays Real Ale and Guinness. Service was excellent and we passed on our compliments to the Chef. Excellent beer, top quality steak in a traditional Devon pub - what’s not to like? Highly recommended by all four of us.

Nice traditional pub run by a friendly family who are obviously proud of their baby. We had veggie burger and chips on the first bike night. We will be back again.

Lovely friendly country pub. New owners from July 2022. Very pleasant inside. Good honest pub food at affordable prices. Great atmosphere. Worth a visit.

An excellent Sunday roast today. Pub has fab atmosphere in very comfortable surroundings. Friendly efficient service. We’ll be back.

Great food great service say no more

Fantastic meal the other night, we also took our son who is nearly 2 and the staff was brilliant towards him. Thank you Andy 10/10 see you soon mate

I would highly recommend this pub for excellent food and service and great value for money. Very welcoming atmosphere. The steaks were cooked to perfection - didn't even need my steak knife! The pudding menu was perfect - quintessentially English - brought back memories. We will go again!

Great pub and wonderful staff, the bar manager was ver professional

Unique , interesting , relaxing, peaceful. Walk around at your leisure and take in the picturesque village and standing stones.. I must add this is Avebury stone circle

A friendly pub,fairly new owners who are gradually updating things. A limited menu of typical pub type food,although tasty it was not hot enough and the presentation was not good.

Much better after spruce up. Happy hour makes it quite inexpensive. Revisit tonight, Carnival night, absolutely heaving. Really nice to see it doing so well. Using regularly now. Always stop for a Guinness after walking the dog. Pub has very nice friendly village pub atmosphere. Still not eaten here yet but will do soon.

Great beer, locals made us feel totally at home, good music too, give it a try the "Oak" is a great night out

A great country pub, friendly staff and locals, well worth a visit...

Great pub newly renovated, beer spot on and service great

Known the pub for years New people good beers & when food up & running the pub will be back to it's old excellent self Well done Bert Bell.

Very good well worth a visit very friendly people.

We went in with a neighbour and had a drink, it was very friendly and had a good atmosphere, I am looking forward to when they start serving food.

Absolutely disgusting food cold and not cooked properly The lady carving the meet at the carvery grabbed the meet and put on our plates my her bare hands Seriously really!!!! And prices expensive £46 for 3 x carvery and 3 x diet cokes

Chris really knows how to keep tasty beer.

Looks like a very old pub hardly changed since it was built. The food here is exceedingly tasty.

Lovely pub, great food, nice welcoming people

A small local village pub, nice atmosphere, came here during the euro 2021 finals.

1st time ever going to this pub. Proper country pub fabulous food and staff friendly and very helpful. They go the extra mile 👌😊

Lovely leisurely Sunday lunch, great food, great service.

The food was absolutely delicious and the staff were very friendly. Felt safe, excellent service. Highly recommend.

My partner and I wanted "just a pub meal" as we stayed somewhere close by and were treated to such a lovely, tasty and hearty meal that was clearly freshly made! Good portion size for a very good price as well. Very friendly staff who made us feel super welcome and cosy atmosphere. This would become my favourite pub if I lived nearby.

We visited the Royal Oak whilst staying locally having visited in the past. The menu was a bit underwhelming with not much choice and whilst perfectly eddible the food was really just ok. Not somewhere I'd rush back to in a hurry. Staff were very lovely though.

We ate here with two friends on the pub’s curry night. Have to say the chef had made a lot of effort with four or five interesting dishes on offer with rice,poppodums, naan bread, raita and pickles plus a kind of bhaji. We chose butter chicken and it was very good. Our friends appeared to relish the lamb. Bit chilly in the dining room but kind staff closed a door for us.

Great pub pub good landlord and staff

Lovely place to stay. Staff really friendly and a really good choice for breakfast

We booked a table for 2 on valentines night and it was absolutely perfect. The food was divine, we could not fault it anyway. The service was perfect, staff were very friendly and we were given a box of handmade truffles to take home with us from the chef herself. The price was very reasonable. Highly recommend this

On a wet and windy Sunday lunchtime the pub was warm and welcoming. The Sunday lunch was excellent and great value for money. The local meat was thinly sliced, well cooked and tasty. I could have eaten more of the nut roast. Will definitely return.

Came in as the bus terminated in Dalton had a drink and spoke to Chris the owner he did all he could to help us and much appreciated lovely staff lovely setting was great thanks Chris again Lyndon and Tracie... ☺

Great value, friendly efficient service.

Lovely pub good beer and welcoming

Had a really excellent Sunday lunch today Great value and lovely food Service was very thoughtful and customer focused Thanks again

Lovely ,warm, cosy and great live music

It's a warm and friendly local pub

Excellent service Great food Fantastic company and great value for money Really had a lovely evening very welcoming Beer was great and food very nice

This place is really friendly. The food is lovely and I would highly recommend a visit

My wife and I were on holiday in the village of Dolton, so we decided to try the local pub for a drink and some food. It was noisy, all the tables were taken with drunken louts cackling away, many seemed to be staring at us and making us feel uncomfortable. Bar staff ignored us completely and continued serving other people. The whole place gave off a very negative vibe, so after constantly being ignored we left. Luckily the pub down the road, The Rams Head is much more friendly and managed to fit us in.

I have to be honest, i cannot understand the reviews on Trip Advisor or Google For this pub. The odour on entry was immediately off putting - and whilst this could be subjective my family were surprised that something rated so high could smell so bad. My wine was off - and whilst instantly replaced by the very helpful barman - it was replaced with something also undrinkable. I would question the cleanliness of the pub and did not hang around to eat. Sorry i cannot be more positive.

A very friendly happy place to go

We parked in the Square, Dolton ostensibly to get a picnic lunch from the village shop, but could not leave without visiting this great pub. We were welcomed warmly by the landlady and landlord and learnt that we could have brought our dogs in. We had a pint and a half of local ale and one look at the lunch menu made us wish we were statying to eat. The bar had a slate floor, old games on the table and interesting pictures on the walls. What a gem.

Lovely bar with great food and very friendly staff.

Great thatched village pub, with lots of food choices, daily themed food such as Thai, Curry , Steak nights an English menu and Daily Specials too. A monthly quiz and open mic and other events through the months too.

I hadn't been there for a couple of years so I was well impressed with what the new management had done regarding the menu by having theme nights. The Thai food was superb and I will definitely be going back next year with my son and grandchildren.

Nice place, lovely owners. Food is fantastic

Kids and dogs welcome. Food very good and good value. Lovely unspoilt old pub. We discovered when staying many times at the late lamented Ham Farm, and we stopped by for lunch while staying at Beaford in August 2018.

Friendly local old pub with good food. Has special food nights at times and may get busy so phone to check availability.

Lovely pub, great place stay and breakfast was yummy. Everyone really friendly we felt so relaxed and at home

Warm friendly unpretentious pub. Well cooked food with a themed menu most nights as well as main menu. Reasonably priced and a variety of events. Check Facebook for latest menu updates and specials

We went here today for Sunday lunch. The staff are very friendly and attentive. The food is great and very reasonably priced. The pub is clean and cosy. We will definitely be returning.

A little gem of place with great hospitality and food

Nice local pub decor is a bit rough around the edges but food was fantastic

For the second year in a row a group of friends have stayed here during a two day bicycle ride from Ilfracombe to Plymouth.

Lovely pub, cracking owners, good food, what more can I say, awesome, Nuff said.

Stopped in here en route to lands end Cycling. Only had a coffee but what a friendly village pub. Wish I’d had more time was great chatting guy’s

Ate here with my wife last week we had the Thai deal they had on, 2 courses for a tenner. I had the Thai Green which was full of flavour and she had the massaman, equally enjoyed. Staff were very friendly, would recommend this place to anyone.

Fantastic village pub and great atmosphere and made to feel very welcome. Have previously eaten in there which was very nice. It's worth looking out for nights they do special offers on meals which is certainly worth a try.

We read the reviews but unfortunately it didn’t live up to expectations. The fire was warmer than the welcome. Felt ignored more than anything. Hubby felt it was a bad idea, but I persevered. £3.00 for a pint of coke didn’t go down too well either. Foul language abounds in spite of children being present.

Traditional Devon Pub with good grub

A warm welcome in this friendly pub on a cold winters day. Lovely log fire to keep you warm and simple but nice pub grub on offer.

Friendly welcome and the food is fantastic. Lovely little pub that is dog friendly! You are made to feel very welcome and it has a lovely atmosphere.

Warm and cosy pub, full of locals which is always a good sign. Staff friendly and welcoming. We had the ham and bubble and squeak, it was the nicest ham I've ever eaten, the bubble and squeak was seasoned to perfection. We also had the steak, again delicious, no horrible chewy fat you sometimes get and cooked exactly the way we asked. The kids meals were a good size and the puddings were proper homemade dishes. Will definitely eat there again!

Six of us on fishing trip nearby poppe in without booking to see if we could eat. The staff were obliging and friendly and we all enjoyed our food. The food was good and the prices were reasonable. All six of us left satisfied and will be back next year when we come back for our fishing trip. I went back the next night and played in their little poker tournament. Good friendly people.

Nos alojamos en una cabaña cerca de este pub durante una semana y es precioso!

Just a great pub. A place where you can get great food and beer

Tuvimos una estancia de una noche en -Dolton y decidimos comer aquí. No nos decepcionó. Los dueños no podrían haber sido más acogedor y tuvimos una comida agradable, con excelente servicio y personal muy atento. Buena relación calidad-precio y bien recomendado. También la próxima vez tendría una estancia de una noche aquí.

Friendly bar staff and locals. A lovely village pub.

Estamos parando en -Dolton y decidimos ir en el Royal Oak para tomar una bebida y comer algo. El personal era muy amable y servicial. Pedimos algo de comida y cuando llegaron, todos estábamos sorprendidos por la calidad de la comida. Recomiendo la pierna de cordero - - - muy bonito.

Good pint. Nice day. Welcoming our stag party. Had open Mike night.

Cheap and cheerful, terrible wifi, and signal, but really good food...

Nos alojamos en el trabajo los lunes por la noche cerca de re, happy hour de 5 hasta 7 atrajo la gente divertida y agradable. Buena comida, buena habitación y el desayuno era impresionante. Muy relajado y nos sentimos como parte de la vida del pueblo por una noche.

Family run pub. Very friendly staff who made us welcome. Great food. Recommended.

Really good food with a 'local pub' feel.

Me alojé aquí en un viaje en bicicleta de costa a costa con un grupo de amigos. Este pub tiene un ambiente genial y los dueños nos hicieron sentir muy bienvenidos. Incluso guardar nuestras bicicletas con seguridad de noche. Habitaciones cálidas, limpias y cómodas, pero quizá necesite de modernización (sólo 1 habitación tenía baño en suite). La cena era buena (carne) y cervezas a través de la lista de gran vino era limitado. Desayuno inglés completo () era el mejor de todos. Gracias nos lo pasamos de maravilla!

8 de nosotros nos alojamos en el Royal Oak en un paseo en bicicleta de Ilfracombe a Plymouth. El actual propietario sólo ha estado allí por un año y claramente es un 'trabajo en progreso' para mejorar el sitio. . . . Pero, la recepción era muy amable, la familia encantadora y el ambiente por la noche era genial.

Was a nice place very quiet and friendly, the building it self is very old an looks nice inside an out

He estado en este pub en numerosas ocasiones, la comida es fantástica, el personal es absolutamente encantador, los niños son bienvenidos, lo cual es una ventaja. Adoro el pub, y el personal cuando estoy visitando la zona, es relajante y muy acogedor, es un hogar lejos del hogar. Año Nuevo fue una noche fabulosa con Phil Lewis era una buena noche tenía por todos. Feliz año nuevo, Royal Oak. . . . D

A big thanks to the team who made my birthday celebration very special. All my guests thoroughly enjoyed their meals. Food and drinks were reasonably priced and we had quite a party dancing the night away to reggae music. A lovely family run pub with a great atmosphere.

Great place for a couple of drinks, especially after one of the 'Dolton' walks - as advertised in the brochure left in the bar or in the campsite. Beer really well kept and great value. Well done to the landlord. However, curry night wasn't at the same standard unfortunately. We were given a table in the empty restaurant - the bar, which seemed very friendly, had a couple of tables but we presumed these must be for locals. The curries we ordered were very bland and very ordinary. The service was good but it didn't make up for the lack lustre food. I would return - and did for the beer - but not on curry night.

Good friendly service, well designed and upgraded interior with pretty bedrooms but the Food is over priced for the quality. £20 for a steak with absolutely no flavour at all. Chips were delicious but perhaps frozen. It is a pretty place to stay, breakfast is superb but lunches and dinners very disappointing in quality.

Excellent highly recommend!!! Enjoyed a lovely breakfast at a traditional Devon Pub! look forward to Sunday Lunch soon.

Had a wonderful stay in Dolton for a long weekend, popped into The Royal Oak for dinner one evening with our parents who were staying on the nearby campsite. This place is what good old fashioned pubs are about. Local, friendly and good pub grub.

The Royal Oak in Dolton is a tradition, old country pub set in the village square. It is a fascinating building with so much history and we were pleased to see it. We were, however, very disappointed with our lunch - perhaps we just chose the wrong thing. Being in the middle of the Devonshire countryside we were expecting a cheese ploughman's to be wonderful, but it consisted of one variety of not very tasty cheese, a small piece of bread (part of a white baguette), small amounts of apple and pickle with a bit of lettuce and slice of tomato. We have had many far more exciting cheese ploughman's elsewhere. Service was perfectly welcoming and friendly but sadly we wouldn't rush back for food.

Called at the Royal Oak while on holiday 28th June 2016. The owners gave us a very warm welcome and we stayed for lunch. Didn't know what to expect but was pleasantly surprised, the food was excellent and well worth the price, will definitely make a return visit. Nice picture post card setting, good parking, good atmosphere,seems to have plenty going on in the evening - wish I could have stayed. Would recommend to anyone.

Visited this pub a couple of weeks ago whilst on holiday. We managed to get a table for 4 in the bar which had a nice atmosphere, my wife and I both had the Pad Thai special which we thoroughly enjoyed. Staff were all helpful and the prices very reasonable.