The Oakfield in Cheshire West and Chester

This was an oasis in the middle of the zoo. We’d made a reservation (recommended) and were able to sit and have a drink while waiting for our table, as we’d arrived a little early. We were seated at our table, and were introduced to our server, Holly, by the host. The food came fairly quickly, and was excellent quality. The setting was beautiful, very much like a top country pub vibe.

Went here for lunch as hate the canteen/fast food type outlets. Did not expect much and was really pleasantly surprised. the atmosphere was much nicer ans the service was good. Food was excellent and really good quality. We had the shoulder of lamb, chick and ham pie and sausages and mash. We all cleared (scraped!) our plates. Will definitely eat here again when we return.

Visited today with 3 friends. The food as always was excellent and we had lovely efficient service from Mark our waiter. Would really recommend

After we were greeted and seated we were completely ignored by the waitress for the next half an hour. Other diners came in after us and were immediately served. Our food arrived and to be honest, surprisingly, was absolutely great. My wife had the burger and I had the lamb. No one came to see if the food was ok or to see if we needed more drinks. After trying to get the waitress attention without success (she was leaning on the counter, on her phone) I had to go and get more drinks myself. For pudding we had sticky toffee ginger cake and tarte tartin. Again, both were excellent, especially the tarte. The food here is really good. The guy with the beard who brought some customers food out was knowledgeable and attentive. The young lady who was our waitress was ignorant and disinterested. Also the conservatory that we were seated in was freezing .

Fabulous lunch in the beautiful oak dining room excellent food attentive service from Liv …..highly recommend all staff were happy knowledgeable especially about the gin ….lovely lovely way to spend Valentines Day

Fantastic place - great beer selection

First visit since they started doing food, and loved it. The interior is lovely and full of interesting photographs of the zoos past, and all the staff we interacted with were very friendly and attentive. We both had the cheeseburger with chips, which was absolutely delicious. The food is on the pricier side, as it's proper restaurant prices as opposed to some of the other food places at the zoo (18.95 for the burger and chips, though on the day we went it was buy 1 main get another half price, so that was an absolute bargain). We also shared a dessert, a pecan and pear cheesecake with pear sorbet which was also delicious. A really unusual dessert, but I love anything pear so had to order it when I saw that on the menu!

Food was good once it arrived. Waited over an hour for main course. Had to chase! No apology. Unfortunately impacted our time at the zoo!

Friendly staff, food was lacking had the roast dinner, beef.

Relaxed friendly atmosphere. Food was first class. Great idea tco open on a Friday evening. Couldn't h a ve been much closer to home. We live a cross the road.

Visited the zoo there was a deal on meals 2 for 1 so we popped in at midday there was no seating so booked for 2pm. Returned at 2 to be told some excuse the kitchen wasn't cooking any more so turned away. Mrs was less than impressed!

The food got a 2 or 3 star from me. Had a burger and it was pretty dry and dense. The actual place is really nice though and we had exceptional service from Bethan (or might have been Bethany). Honestly the best service I've experienced in a long time and it's her that earned this 5 star review. Promote this person immediately!

Service was great. Such a cute little restaurant at the zoo. Food was fabulous great fish and chips. My only criticism was that you couldn’t add chicken to the Thai green curry even tho it was options on other dishes.

The service was good but unfortunately the adult meals were poor, mine arrived only just warm and my partner had the burger but the chips were just all the bits and not nice. I wouldn’t go again, it use to be a nice meal.

Had the pleasure of booking a surprise afternoon tea for my mother’s birthday. This excelled all expectations. The staff, Mark and the gang were truly wonderful, we were seated in the most historic room, which had the most wonderful Xmas tree and surroundings. The food was incredible and I had asked for a ‘birthday plate’, which didn’t disappoint. The chef created a beautiful wonderful decorative plate with perfect little cakes. Thank you so much for making our day more memorable.

Food is amazing, just the right amount in a portion that you're full, but not bursting. Definitely one of the pricier options on site (£15-18 for the mains), but worth it for a special treat. The atmosphere inside is lovely as are the staff (shout out to Liv, who was our waitress today and was absolutely lovely!)

One of the best Sunday roasts we’ve had in a very long time. Lovely spot to get away from the crowds, amazing food and a great drink selection. Staff were all lovely! We will definitely be going every time we visit the zoo from now on.

Stunning gluten free fish and chips. My husband and I stopped for lunch as the weather was poor. We were served by Mark and the service was excellent. Very friendly atmosphere and very accommodating with our five month old. Will certainly be returning again.

A favourite spot of ours to have restaurant quality food and service on our trip to the zoo. Nice beer too beer 🍺

Good food. Excellent service and ambience

Great spot for good food for grownups in the zoo. Good range of quality meals including vegan, gf and vegetarian. It was a cold rainy day but Liv gave us a warm welcome which was much appreciated. Great spot

We visited The Oakfield on a last minute decision on Tuesday. They had a Wedding on and were very busy, but Magda managed to squeeze us a table in. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was nice. Lovely place if you're wanting a sit down meal, rather than fast food. Magda was very attentive to us, and even though we could see she was very busy, she did everything with a smile on her face.

Easily one of the best gastro pubs to eat at in Chester. We ordered the molasses glazed ham Sunday roast, highly recommended! The service from Mark was exceptional 5*

Poor quality of food and poor service

Lovely birthday meal. Staff were very helpful & food delicious.

My daughter’s wedding was on 26th September/23 at The Oakfield House. What an amazing day it was, the facilities, the wonderful food and most of all the dedicated staff who were on duty that day. Everything went according to plan, even the weather was good. An added bonus was a tour around the Zoo everyone enjoyed the day. Thank you everyone who made my daughter’s and son-in-law’s day wonderful. Thank you.

I came to a wedding here on Friday and it was absolutely amazing. The whole day was brilliant from start to finish. The staff couldn't do enough for us so helpful and kind and really friendly the place is so clean and I cannot fault anything about it. Great day

Lovely decor and ambience, and tasty food. Young waitresses working hard, but lacking experience. Very pleasant though. Overall, our lunch was a lovely and surprisingly good experience.

The food you can pick up anywhere at Chester Zoo is usually pretty good. However, the food at the Oakfield is excellent. It's probably best described as "pub food", but taken to another level. Really tasty, well presented and served quickly too. Even at peak times, the food seemed to come out fast, which is an added benefit if you're trying to see the whole zoo and don't want to 'waste time' in a restaurant. There was a range of options available, from a burger, fish and chips, to slightly more exotic tacos and similar dishes. Coupled with a wide range of drinks, you could spend some time in here and completely forget that you were in a major tourist attraction at the same time. You do need a zoo ticket to visit, so even if you book a table, you'll need to either be a zoo member, or already have a ticket for the day. There's no way around this. One slight downside was, when asked how a particular dish would be made gluten free, as per the menu options, our server replied "don't know" and made no offer to go find out. Didn't fill me with confidence, so I'm opted for something safer. All that said - well worth a visit.

Gorgeous afternoon tea in a great atmosphere and Mark who looked after us was brilliant! Such a good price for afternoon tea where the drinks are unlimited and you can order extra sandwiches. They cater for allergies too.

We enjoyed an afternoon tea, absolutely delicious.

Part of a birthday celebration, I treated my husband to a day at the zoo and an afternoon tea. We were sat in a corner of a pleasant room but under a speaker playing quite loud music of all genres despite when booking asking for our table to be in a quiet area. We expected the afternoon tea to be generous as it was for two people, but what we had was one stand with one of each item to include the sandwich and cake selections (apart from the scones) and two hot drinks. We had to cut everything in half. I questioned this when paying the bill but was told this is how it is served. Maybe I should have just ordered and paid for the one instead as it is quite pricy. There were no offers to refill hot drinks or any more sandwiches either. A disappointing experience.

Always great service! Made to feel welcome even with a baby and great with allergies/dietary requirements! Definitely recommend the fish and chips 🤤

Never had a bad meal ye. A bit expensive but worth it

Great calm spot for lunch within Cheshire Zoo, food was fairly good, if a little expensive. Staff were excellent, Mark was really attentive, welcoming and put up with our kids wanting him to be their best friend.

Not a great experience. My wife and I went to celebrate our wedding anniversary and stated this on the booking. We were led to our table by a lady who seemed distracted and sat us down in an area with lots of loud children, despite walking us through nice spaces quiet spaces with plenty of seats available. We both went for a burger, which sounded delicious on the menu but turned up literally minutes later, looking incredibly sad on a huge plate next to a handful of chips. The waiter played it off that they're just that fast, but it was pretty clear they were meant for someone else as my patty was cold. For the price, this was disappointing. My wife was still eating after I finished mine as she eats slower than me, and the waiter tried to take her plate away. It just felt like we were being rushed out. No mention of the fact it was our wedding anniversary was made, so we eat, paid and left, never to return again. The only major plus was how nice the toilets were.

My husband and I visit the zoo regularly and had never eaten there so we decided to book in for a Sunday Lunch (my favourite meal of all) When I say I’m glad we tried it here , that is an understatement!!! … the food was absolutely AMAZING! I had the Molasses glazed ham and hubby had the beef (we shared the meat) - cooked to perfection, the Yorkshire was absolutely delious and didn’t taste greasy like some do. The staff were very friendly and very attentive

Came to a wedding here. Absolutely beautiful venue for a wedding. Food and service were perfect, and we all got a trip around the zoo which was excellent!

Excellent pub lunch with comfortable chairs and tables. We overlooked a green swarde so the 10 yr old could run about between courses. Bookable

We were there for a wedding and it made an excellent venue. Food, service and location were all superb. We'll worth considering!

5 visits so far. Main menu is a bit small. The fish is just perfect. Batter light and crispy. If you are a zoom member, don’t fir get to show your membership card for 10%.

Amazing service and excellent food, accessible as well for power chair.

For my first timeat Oakfield .Came into a friendly atmosphere staff very polite and helpful not even 3 minutes and my drink and starter was on my table. The salt and pepper calamari was amazing and the burger was soo worth it!!! Mark and Tarnie thank you for making my experience above and beyond with your 5 star customer service!!!!!! 😊😊😊😊

Didn't have anything to eat just had a drink

It was a fabulous day. We stopped for lunch in the Chester zoo pub, and the food was a high-quality and delicious

Food was lovely, service was ok.

Had a lovely time at the Zoo. The lunch served at The Oakfield was really delicious. I should have had extra.

Lovely setting, with good food and great service (served by Mark). We would recommend it to other zoo visitors.

The food was delicious. Quite pricey though. Service was good, but didn't like being approached over and over again to ask if everything was alright.

Really impressed, despite it being lunchtime on a member’s day at the weekend and the whole zoo being packed we were immediately given a table and advised it might be around 45 minutes due to a large booking. As it happened our food and drink order was taken at the same time and arrived at the same time about 10 minutes later. They may have slotted us as a small table of two’s food in first but very impressed. It was delicious too. Can’t fault the friendly service, speed and communication even at an extremely peak time. Thanks team.

An afternoon tea with my son, daughter in law and granddaughter - this was a belated Christmas present from them. What a lovely surprise to find such an excellent place to eat - the interior and decor are lovely, toilets spotless. The Oakfield is clearly very well organised and cared for. Service spot on - from the moment we arrived nothing was too much trouble. Afternoon tea was excellent - and our waitress would have brought more food and drinks had we asked - but we had more than enough. Delightful experience - so nice to see such high standards.

I visited here as a guest to a wedding and I was pleasantly surprised. The place was very welcoming and had a relaxed classic atmosphere. Being vegetarian I usually struggle at events like this but the food was brought out especially for me and it was superb. My only issue was getting to the venue. Please double check which gate you need to enter the zoo! Did this venue it’s the delivery driver entrance and not the main zoo entrance haha 😆

Amazing pub, really smart clean and tidy and a touch of elegance and regal. Not something you expect to find in the middle of a zoo but a nice cold refreshing pint of Giunness went down really well. Deffo pay it a visit. Extra bonus they serve old mout on tap!

I wouldn't eat anywhere else when visiting the zoo, the food is really good and this time we had the afternoon tea. Really good value for money!!!

My wife and I had a delicious meal and the service was excellent and we will definitely go back highly recommended by us

Gastro pub in the grounds of Chester Zoo with good food, historic building and great atmosphere.

Good food and the WINE is good az well lovely staff

Nice to relax the legs after walking for ages around zoo lol

Went for lunch on a Saturday and the food and atmosphere was amazing. Friendly, happy team who were very welcoming and couldn't do enough for you. Highly recommend to everyone. Thank you so much for making our visit an enjoyable one.

Nice surroundings lovely food apart from mum's duck, which was very tough it spoilt her lunch, and no one seemed to care

Arrived at the pub yesterday without a booking. Spoke to a lady at the counter who said this wouldn't be an issue and that we would be seated in 5mins. We then sat for 30mins before watching another couple (Both of us a party of 2) come in and speak to the same server who asked if they had a booking, much like us they did not. They were also asked to be seated in the waiting area until about 2 mins later the same server collected them and took them to a table. We then asked why we have been waiting 30+mins to be seated when people are getting seated without bookings ahead of us. They apologised and said they would get us sorted as soon as they could. Unfortunately we had parts of the park to see and we didn't want to waste more time waiting so went to the food court and had food.

We attended my niece's wedding at the zoo. Was really unsure of what to expect. The venue itself was stunningly beautiful and maintained to perfection. The food was very delicious and presented beautifully. It was a stunning menu, every plate was devoured. The staff were amazing and everything came out on time, and so well coordinated. The whole experience was wonderful and everyone was extremely happy 😊 Thank you all for making my niece's wedding stress free and perfect.

Absolutely fantastic from start to finish! We had a lovely meal here, with brilliant service too. Lovely young waiter who couldn’t do enough for us, and they catered to our requests perfectly! Wouldn’t hesitate to go back here when we next visit the zoo

Amazing! The lady manager couldn’t have done more for us! We have a young child that has severe autism, which means we never get to eat out as a family. When we arrived at the Oakfield, I explained the situation so the lady manager (wished I had asked her name) and she put us in a room just by ourselves. Was the best meal we have ever had, my daughter was very happy and comfortable and we as a family were all able to enjoy a meal without having to leave. The food was amazing, all excellent quality and very good portions. They went above and beyond for us, and really made our experience special. We will always be very grateful for the understanding and care that they showed us. We would definitely be going again.

I don't know of many Zoos that have a pub. The Oakfield is great for lunch when you visit.

Absolutely beautiful. Everything was perfect 🥰

Didn't book but got seated straight away and service was prompt We both ordered roast beef which was beautiful and couldn't fault it but would of like some more vege than pureed cauliflower and a carrot..maybe some green vege on the side?

Wonderful place, great food, great service and reasonable price.

Actually just had coffee. Very nice and beautiful old panel surroundings surroundings . Staff polite and helpful worth ad part of your zoo visit

Lovely establishment in the heart of Chester zoo, would highly recommend booking if you want to ensure you can enjoy their excellent food. Never had a bad meal and we come here quite a lot as we have a membership and live within 30mins

Completely empty but not a single table is available. Awful experience given we have small children and couldn't be accommodated for 40 mins from the weather. Terrible

Was expecting a bustling, overpriced tourist trap and half prepared to walk the 30 minutes to a pub in Upton. However, despite not having the draught lager I fancied, very pleasant and tasty food, especially the deep fried Brie.

I attended the Oakfield today with my wife and 2 children. We were very skeptical sue to the prices. We ordered the kids chicken, chips and beans and we both had the steak and ale pie, red cabbage and dauphinois potatoes and I must say it was one of the nicest meals we have had in such a long time. Even on par with Michelin restaurants we have been to. Excellent meal and we even got an extra 10% off the bill with being chester zoo members

Located in the centre of the Zoo, what a stunning building, full of character and location beautiful. Wonderful atmosphere and staff were lovely. Price moderate and food looked and smelt amazing, had already eaten but next time will definitely try. Separate area for drinking vs eating in, can sit outside too. Lots of wonderful photos on the walls.

Lovely place to sit and eat. The kids can play on the grass lawn. Beautiful

I was so disappointed we ordered the fish & chips which we had on a previous occasion expecting the same tasty meal For some unknown reason the Chef decided to season the meal with a Liberal dose of sea salt I don't use salt, meal went back I thought a fresh meal would have been served NO came back with the fish being put back in the oil disgusting. My friend was treating me I am so annoyed that they had the cheek to charge for the meal.VERY DISAPPOINTED

Really annoyed after eating there today, ordered fish& chips Chef decided to sea salt the meal I do not use salt , meal was taken away I expected a fresh meal No received the same meal fish had been thrown back In the oil making it to greasy to eat also the salt had just melted into the fish & chips.I told the waitress who said she would speak to the chef .I received no feed back .I would not have paid for the meal but my friend was treating me to lunch and insisted on paying.Disgusting service the Chef could have at least cooked me a fresh meal.If im old enough to order a meal I'm positive I can season my own meal.

Amazing food and brilliant staff. One thing you need to do is book. Inside the pub the decor is full of animal pictures (as expected in a zoo) and the pub has a brilliant atmosphere. If you get a chance to sit outside then the little one can run round the back of the zoo with trees and red pandas to view. The child menu offers a variety of options. The little one when for mac and cheese. They know about gluten free (celiac) the waiters brought out the GF food separately. On the menu there is GF highlights

Great pub. Great food. Great location

Excellent food, we ordered a main course each but portions very small, more like starters than main course! The person seating us asked about allergens, which was a good start as I have Coeliac disease. However, they did not then want to listen / answer when I asked about cross contamination. Barely had the question asked when they said this would be addressed later; suggesting a lack of knowledge or understanding about why this would be a concern.

Brilliant booked in advance as it can get busy and we have been there before and could not get a table. It was a Sunday so they have a slightly different slimmed down version that included a roast dinner. There were two adults and one child we were promptly seated and they were very accommodating with a wheelchair. The food arrived quickly and was lovely very friendly staff even when rushed of their feet. The only point that was bad is that the disabled toilets are also the baby changing facility so had to wait to use it as there was a lot of babies that needed changing and only one disabled toilet and someone with a child was rude to me for taking a while whilst in there as I needed to transfer out of my chair it takes a while but that is no fault of the staff I just think that they could move the baby changing from the disabled room.

Lovely staff, lovely food. My Son took me for an afternoon tea. The egg and coronation brioche buns were the best. All the cakes tasted amazing! I need to go back!

Amazing food, great, prompt, friendly service! Definitely recommend!

No sign saying booking required. Stood for ten minutes by a sign saying "wait here to be seated" before staff came over only to be told we needed to book. How hard would it be to put a notice saying booking required?!!!

Wonderful food, great ambience, and stellar staff!

Disappointed with the meal for the price, I had the beef carbonara,it tasted bland as if just dipped in gravy granules. Staff were excellent and very polite

Great food Quick service Sunday Roast great Cheese cake and toffee pudding to die for 💚 Thanks ! Fab food and staff🤍 Well done all

Excellent service, excellent food at reasonable prices and a nice atmosphere.

Excellent staff building out of this world atmosphere peacefully and relaxed food good ,I would really recommend anybody to try .(Ps log fire 🔥 a dream ) and thank you so much

Aweful service, booked table for Mothers Day. Waited nearly 30 minutes to be seated. We was put in conservatory so did not get to enjoy aesthetics of the old interior of the building. Service was slow and staff rude. The menu is not as advertised in the website, when I questioned this as we decided what to eat whilst waiting from the website menu. An the menu provided was cut down to basics ( burger, fish and maccaroni) and even then there was no mash and other ingredients. I was rudely told by the girl ' well what do you want me to do! So 3 burger and chips and 1 childs burger and chips. The burger was not a steak burger as stated on the menu but a burger that was similar in quality of a road side truck stop. (Not one person ate the burger in our group). My daughters 8 week old baby would not settle. So tried to take turns walking baby outside as staff was huffing. Meaning my daughter ended up not eating her meal. After 2 hours waiting and a crying baby, furthermore, the zoo closed at 4.30pm. We asked if my daughters could be boxed to take home (the staff refused) stating it is policy that "they can not allow food to be taken out if the restaurant". However, they allowed a group of 4 senior looking ladies to take theirs out in 4 seperate brown paper box. Ad they exited with the boxes as we were strapping my 28 month old Grandson in the pram. I was fuming at this point and was tempted t go back in an ask for a manager. But at this point it was now 2 and half hours in and the zoo was closing. Completely destroyed our experience of chester zoo. Ending in an 8 week old crying, an 18 month old and 5 year old crying as they didn't get to experience the zoo now crying too, my daughter ( mother of children) sobbing with her partner and myself trying to comfort her and to help with the children. And the zoo was closed now too we had to leave the zoo with aweful memories. Due to the oakfield Resturant. If I could give minus point I would. As a lifetime member myself I will never eat here again. Better burgers at thd other places dotted around and never had this issue. Other tickets were paid for and nearly £90 in the restaurant. Absolutely devastated!

Everything was great apart from the portion size. The roast dinner with beef apparently comes with all the trimmings, unfortunately one carrot and 3 roasties is satisfactory.

Here's a photo of the trench we dug for the surface water drain outfall during the extensive and tasteful refurbishment works that were undertaken. A few years on and it's better than ever.

Fantastic food, the best Sunday roast dinner. Absolutely first class

Fabulous meal today , service excellent so had a lovely time xx The Duck meal and The pie of the day highly recommend Kids loved burger and chicken gouging too

Lovely place. Amazing restaurant I never expected to find in a Zoo. Full of history!

Limited menu but good food, great friendly service

Beautiful surroundings and decor. Only had drinks but what we saw the food looked amazing.

Superb food very good service, staff super friendly.

Superb service and delicious nibbles!

Amazing service and great food and good value for money the woman serving us was lovely very polite and chatty