The Oaks Highcliffe in Christchurch

Absolutely excellent - will definitely be returning. Nice food, extremely helpful staff the lady who served us could not have been more friendly. Great atmosphere too!

Food was ok. Took an age to serve us though.

We first visited The Oak over 5 years ago, and enjoyed the food. After 5 years, we visited them again. I can still say, we enjoyed the food, good service, good atmosphere. Also dog friendly.

First visit for us and very impressed by the superb and friendly service, great food and relaxed atmosphere. Lovely outdoor areas and plenty of seating choice inside to suit any occasion. Food was excellent and the menu offers an interesting variety of dishes.

Excellent food & great service.

Four of us enjoyed a delightful meal with excellent service on Sunday lunchtime. However, I did feel that I was dining in Battersea Dogs Home! The restaurant seemed to be inundated with barking dogs. One lady came into the restaurant with three dogs! I do accept that The Oaks declares it is “dog friendly”, so in future I shall avoid Sunday lunchtime.

Another fabulous meal at The Oaks Great service Great atmosphere And An incredible Sunday Roast Beef lunch Can’t wait to come back Thank you all for making each meal An experience x

Food is delicious.Staff very friendly especially Maddie & Paulina.Good service and nice atmosphere.

Well ! What can I say .. well surprised .. great food.. had to have the starter twice 😉😍 and great staff.. served by Paulina and Maddie.. definitely go back when we are down the area

Have never been let down by this place, always welcomed with friendly and helpful staff. Great drinks menu from ale to champagne and everything in between. Fever Tree tonic sold which is my favourite for a gin and tonic. Seasonal menus from great sharers, starters, mains inuding game, fish, from the grill and traditional English fayre. Staff always ask if anyone has am allergy and they inform me which dishes I can't have. Disabled friendly with 2 or 3 disabled parking spaces outside and a disabled toilet, RADAR key operated which is available at the bar. Enjoy your meal in the bar, restaurant or outside which is a favourite with many when the sun is out. Menu served on a Sunday evening til 8pm which is extremely useful as a lot of places don't serve food food on a Sunday evening. Definately worth visiting.

Went there for my 67th birthday because I'd heard good reports about it. We were so disappointed, my husband was still hungry after his main meal. I'm a very small eater but ate all mine. I had extra spinach but couldn't eat it as it was so stringy . The pheasant was dry with hardly any supreme sauce. We won't be going back.

Such a lovely place! Staff are super friendly. We managed to get a last minute reservation on a Sunday afternoon and it was so worth it, we ate our main meals inside and had puddings and more drinks in a beach hut that was made up for us. I can safely say the duck was probably the best I've had!! It was a first visit for myself, my partner and our dog but it won't be our last to say the least 🥰

They stop serving roasts at 5 but don't advertise that on the website. Food was good but not worth the money in my opinion. May come back to try the roast

Service was good, attentive but not overbearing. Menu looked fabulous but food was very disappointing. Lacked flavour, looked mass produced, totally uninspiring. Ribeye pork was more like a bacon steak.

Food was ok, service was seriously slow, and the bill was high with a tip already applied (adjusted as requested to reflect service). I’m happy to spend a lot at lunch, we regularly do but I can’t say the speed of service and main meal portion sizes matched up to other quality places in the area. There is nothing wrong with this place, and the staff were friendly enough, I just didn’t feel it was particularly good value. The child’s meal (burger) was also the smallest burger ever, not even filling the bun. What I would say though, is this place is very dog friendly and has specific seating for dog owners if required.

This was my 3rd visit in 4 weeks and I cannot praise this venue enough. I have never had a bad meal here, only fabulously cooked and prepared food, the staff are just amazing, friendly, efficient and knowledgeable. A friend of mine visited for the first time last week, she loved the ambiance of the restaurant as do I , and she said she can’t wait to return the next time she visits. Highly recommend

I have been going to the Oaks since it opened and I think yesterday's meal far outweighed all previous visits. The service was exemplary, I think the waitress was called Paulina, the food was delicious, I had the cod and muscles the wife had pork ribeye, and value for money spot on. Bravo The Oaks

Lovely place superb food. Best place for food in the area, we go often

Not my kind of bar. Very commercial and soulless. Food is lacklustre.

The three stars for food are only because of portion size, excellent flavours, and cooking can't be faulted

Fantastic food and extremely friendly and helpful staff.

Great place to eat; relaxed, comfortable and enjoyable….!!

The Oaks is one of our local pubs and our favourite. Congrats to the chef(s) who delivers excellent and tasty food. The staff are very friendly and professional, and the interior of the pub and restaurant is lovely. We are so lucky to have this establishment on our doorstep.

The food tasted great but the portions are very small for the price. Service was very good waiting staff very friendly. Cashless idea is ridiculous. As a couple we spent £114 on 4 drinks & a 3 course meal & both felt hungry an hour later.

Second visit to the Oaks and it did not dissapoint.

Lovely place. Friendly staff. Great for dogs too!

Our latest visit was on the 12th January 2025. Unfortunately, the food offering only has slight changes. The cabbage was not hot and some of the other vegetables looked like they may have been reheated. The cauliflower cheese had dried up. Even the crab bites lacked flavour. Also a cold draft, I had my coat over my legs, on previous occasion we asked to be moved because of this issue, noticed in one corner they put a portable heater. Our starter arrived before the drinks. I noticed that they turned away one couple and although I booked online and certain times were unavailable they weren't that busy. I may go back on week day/ Saturday in warmer weather. Sad to say this as well, were regulars.

I used to be head breakfast chef in a five star hotel, so I am quite hard to please.....I went here for Sunday lunch today. I walked in out of the very cold day to a very warm and clean interior. The welcome was very warm too, from the front of house lady, Alina, who was very professional, courteous, friendly, kind and caring. Just a lovely person. The rest of the staff were also very good, friendly, attentive and aware. I ordered the roast chicken. It was just right in terms of quality and quantity, and all cooked very well, very satisfying, and with the added bonus of unlimited roast potatoes, Yorkshire pud, and gravy. A nice touch, which I availed myself of, to the extent I felt I needed to walk for two hours after lunch along the beautiful Highcliffe coastline nearby. The desert was a new and innovative twist on apple crumble, again, a nice sized portion, and cooked very well, delicious. I dine out often, and in a varied assortment of venues. I would not hesitate to say that this was my best experience currently of Sunday roast dining. They have a very good balance here of efficiency and friendliness, good food and good atmosphere. A class act overall, in my opinion, I shall certainly be returning. 10/10.

Fabulous lunch with great service even though it was New years day and the staff were very busy.

Wasn’t what we expected, lots of things missing off the menu, had 3 different servers, not very child friendly, charged for an extra lager we didn’t have. Gave us the dessert menu, we picked what we wanted and then told they didn’t have the things we had picked. My son had the mac and cheese and it was so dry and basic. It was very small portions for the price you pay. Personally I wouldn't be rushing back.

Lovely place with fantastic food. Cozy warm and dog friendly too. The staff were very attentive and welcoming to us the kids and the dog. Definitely recommend it when in the area for lunch or dinner. Easy parking too.

We came for New Year's Eve. Great live music added to a fab night out. Food was delicious, well presented, good portions and enjoyed by all. What a great end to the year. Can't wait to return.

Second visit all staff are very welcoming, the decor lovely and the food delicious, what's not to like. Our group of girls will be regulars 😁

Always delicious food here. Beautifully decorated for Christmas. Sat in the orangery but it was a tad chilly!

Description did not match the reality, foodwise. Slow cooked venison casserole, over 8 hours, sounded lovely. But it wasn't. Rather bland and boring. Not gamey, not very flavoursome. My companions liked the souffle, although it tasted like Yorkshire pudding to me. You can take the boy out of Yorkshire but ... you know the rest. The oaks is a large pub that seats many diners and is cleverly arranged . Outside seating and play area. A nice pub feel. Very friendly staff, very caring and accommodating. One of our mains was lukewarm, replaced with no hesitation and apology - this was really appreciated by us. Thank you. I wish I could be more complimentary but the food lets the Oaks down.

We visited for Sunday Lunch last week, (4 people) having previously enjoyed the experience and expecting the food to be up to the same standard. However, the portions were notably smaller, very thinly sliced beef and very few vegetables. The cabbage was cold and the small serving of cauliflower cheese had hardly any sauce. The roast potatoes were not crispy and were hard on the inside, probably not even roasted at all. All in all, it was very disappointing and so very different from our previous visit, following which, I had recommended The Oaks to family and friends. I had already made a booking for News Years Eve, prior to last Sunday, but this has now been cancelled.

Service was excellent. Foo was OK but venison over cooked. They would not take our cash as payment. This should have been made clear at time of booking not when we came to pay. As we could not pay any other way the waitress took the money in the end.

Took up one of the Oaks recent offers - we hadn't visited for a few months due to a bad experience. So glad we did! Food was very good, everyone's dishes - Halloumi burger, Venison, Cod and Duck mains- were well prepared, served, and delicious. The wine was part of the offer and very drinkable. The atmosphere was friendly and overall, a great experience so much so, we will be back later in the month!

Sunday evening Raymond Blanc dining experience. Super food but a quiet evening so hard to judge the atmosphere. Extremely friendly and helpful waiter with great descriotion and advice on the menu offerings. Fully recommend visiting for the superb quality tasty food.

Extremely helpful and friendly staff. Went for a light Saturday lunch. Good general selection on the menu, good choice of wines and beers, but perhaps a bit on the pricey side.

Great place for a catch up with friends. Great service from the moment we walked through the door. Lovely food with plenty of variety

As a first-time visitor, I was excited to try somewhere new, and The Oaks didn't disappoint at all. I'm not a vegetable-ist, but the Halloumi burger was good enough for me to consider it. Prawn and crayfish cocktail ticked all the boxes as well. Staff were friendly and attentive without being intrusive, and there is a good buzz about the place, still plenty of pub atmosphere without being too noisy, but also plenty of restaurant feel without being stuffy. Well done, The Oaks!!!!

Nice pub, friendly staff. We had the Rump steak= good, Beefburgers & chips =good, Halloumi burger & chips= good and the Tribute steak pie & mash = underwhelming (tiny pie and nothing special) the small tot of Tribute beer was a nice touch though.

Amazing stuff team. Food is very, very tasty, and it is served by very friendly and professional servers. top notch x

Lovely food , drinks expensive ,decor lovely staff great so altogether decent place for food and drinks

Brilliant service and delicious food. Thank you to Tim and the team for a really lovely evening and experience!

Friendly staff, lovely beer garden and dog friendly. Great food and good menu (see pics). We will be back!

Great and dog friendly as well.

Our first visit - and thoroughly enjoyable. Great food & service. And thank you for the anniversary 'gift' which was very generous 👍

Had a fabulous Sunday roast here yesterday with the family. It was very busy, so glad we had booked in advance. Food was amazing and cooked to perfection. Will definitely return another day. If you have not been then you must go.

Always great food and service. Dog friendly.

Had a fabulous lunch here. Great service and food.

A Lovely meal in this dog friendly gastro pub. We always pop in when we are in the area visiting which has ben a lot this year. Its our g to for an evening meal. Plenty of food choice and always have a good meal.

A really delicious meal, I had the pork rib eye which was beautifully cooked and well.presented

A wonderful time at the Oaks celebrating our son’s 18th birthday. Gorgeous food, lovely atmosphere and exceptionally attentive staff. Would highly recommend ⭐️

Excellent food - family birthday meal on 15th September, 2024. Staff are always very friendly and helpful. Would highly recommend this restaurant.

Fabulous place to eat and spend time with good friends or family. Exceptional atmosphere, service and food.

A very welcoming Restaurant Bar with a rang of flexible dining locations suitable for couples, families or lager groups outside under cover. Or even in pods. We don't tend to post food as there are enough out there already. We can recommend the Beef and Tribune ale pie and mash with green beans. Simple meal but served v hot and v tasty. It even comes with a 1/3rd pt taster of Tribune Ale as a bonus. We also had the Half Chicken which once again was excellent with a proper home cooked roast flavour. We turned up without a booking on a Sunday, but we would recommend booking as it was still quite busy after the Sunday Roast Rush! Toilets well kept, upstairs with Accessable toilet on ground floor. Can't wait to pass that way again.

Lovely pub. Good food. Friendly staff and good atmosphere.

It was my best friends funeral reception there the pub is nice to be in but service was slow then manager was very good even when one of the guests had a fit and he call for the paramedics

We eat here regularly and are never disappointed! The food is delicious and feels very special and healthy. The staff are always friendly and helpful. They seem to be interested in their diners.The drinks are also high quality - they do a Mean Bloody Mary! Not the cheapest, but I consider it great value for money. Would dfinitely recommend.

A pleasant family meal. Food was nice, service was friendly, very attentive at first but patchy later as the pub emptied a bit. Plates were very hot, food was warm. Table next door was incredibly loud, but certainly not the fault of the pub. Two older couples having a fun night.

What a beautiful gastro pub, I cannot thank the staff enough so attentive, the food is cooked to perfection and the atmosphere is a 10 out of 10. It was our first meal out as husband and wife and you guys smashed it out of the park! Visited 04.09.24 Cheese souffle is a must!

Thoroughly enjoyed our family Sunday lunch at The Oaks. Excellent food and service with a smile. My daughter is dairy free and they couldn’t be more accommodating and mindful of this. Looking forward to our next visit.

We visited on an August bank holiday weekend, Sunday lunchtime, without booking. There were plenty of parking spaces. We were immediately offered a choice of tables and we took a table in the marquee outside. The staff were very friendly and welcoming and the atmosphere was buzzy and cheerful. There were several families, but because the garden is quite spacious it did not feel crowded and wasn't noisy. The food was great and we couldn't believe how fast we were served with slow-roasted pork with crackling and marinated chicken with mashed potatoes. Certainly the fastest service we've ever had in a pub restaurant, 10 minutes max. The bar service was also quick and efficient, especially given the busy weekend, not far from the coast. It was a breezy, cool day, but there were plenty of radiant heaters over all the marquee tables. To our delight, an excellent singer/guitarist, Sam, set up near us, elevating the atmosphere further. Sadly, a very angry neighbour began shouting over the fence, threatening to call the police and the music was stopped. Staff members came to each table to explain and apologise to the disappointed diners, but the friendliness of all present and the supportive conversations between Sam, all the tables around and the cheerful staff was a delightful outcome of a potentially negative situation. The hot chocolate was a delicious alternative to our desert and I had two. In all a thoroughly recommended discovery for us and we'll definitely choose The Oaks again when we're in the area.

I co-hosted a quiz there on 26th August - terrific evening, lovely staff. I had too much delicious rosé! Looking forward to doing so again!

We had a really great lunch here. From the second we set foot in the door, the staff could not have been more friendly - the best service. The food was delicious, the garden was great and there were lots of activities to keep our children entertained. Thank you!

Beautiful pub/restaurant. Outdoor old style games. Food amazing and reasonably priced. Staff lovely and helpful. Good menu choice.

Excellent food in really nice surrounding with pleasant efficient staff. Still as nice and excellent value

A fantastic place to eat, amazing service with excellent choice of food. Our starter and main course were both excellent., great value for money, will definitely eat here again.

Fantastic food, and Francesca was our server, she was wonderful

Been here several times and it's always a pleasure. Food, staff and atmosphere just right. Prices are surprisingly reasonable for the quality. Plenty of seating choice, dining room, conservatory, and outside in "beach huts". Will be going again.

Very welcoming on arrival. Delicious food served promptly by very cheerful staff. Our second visit was every bit as enjoyable as our first

For our first and only time experience, with the Oaks, last Sunday, 11th August 2024, this place is definitely a real find and worth going back for more...and not just for seconds!! Our party of 11 (9 adults and two children) was accommodated at short notice with a phone call the same morning. The place is massive and very spacious inside and out. Great layout. For our size party they gave us bench seats in the garden under a huge canopy (good cover in any weather). The food options were great and varied, and tasty. Most of us opted for the roast. Huge yorky puds, along with tastefully presented meals. They also accommodated our requests for more roasties, puds and gravy. The desserts were sublime and I tried a mint choc souffle with choc ice cream. All gratefully appreciated. No disappointments and the service was first rate too. Attentive and personal. Noted for next time when staying/visiting the New Forest area. Great entertainment for family and kids too with the beer garden games and furniture.

Our visit to Oaks was a great experience! We saw the restaurant by chance on the way to Highcliffe Castle and spontaneously reserved a table online for about an hour later. Worked great! We were warmly greeted by Maddie and then shown to our table. The Oaks is typically British rustic and very comfortably furnished. The service was excellent and the menu very varied. The starters we ordered (French fish soup and bread with three different dips) came quickly and tasted heavenly. We didn't think the main courses could top this. But they could! The grilled steak was medium fried to the exact second, the tagine was orientally seasoned and the slowly cooked pork roulade with apricot sauce was a dream! For dessert we treated ourselves to a sorbet and espresso. 😊 It was fantastic all around!!! I would definitely like to highlight the young waiter who served every dish with as much pride as if he were serving the royal family! Great! This restaurant is absolutely recommended!!!!

Has a Beautiful outside seating area. Nice place to be on a hot summer evening enjoying a pint and some food.

Booked on recommendation from a friend and was not disappointed. Our server Francesca was incredibly friendly and attentive. The menu was varied and had a large number of dishes I would have been happy to try. Was nice to see a menu that didn’t just focus on the usual meat/burgers. We ordered the boquerones and heritage tomato salad to start, both of which were delicious. Mains: I had the Bouillabaisse and my daughter ordered the sweetcorn fritters. My Bouillabaisse was perfect with huge chunks of fish and really tasty. The basque cheesecake was wonderfully light too. The place had a lovely busy and buzzy atmosphere and we found all the staff to be very friendly. It’s not often that I’m impressed when eating out anymore so this w as a bit of a gem. We would definitely return.

From the second we arrived to the second we left we were treated like royalty. We made good use of the buy one get one free drinks when we arrived and then ordered a bottle of wine which was fantastic and reasonably priced. Both adults had scotch eggs to start which were fantastic and the warm buttered baguettes were really good and a big hit with both adults and our two children. For our main we had the chateaubriand to share and this was outstanding! Lastly I had the sticky toffee pudding which was one of the best I’ve ever tasted and I’ve tasted a lot! All in all we had a fantastic meal and the service was second to none. Thank you for a wonderful dining experience. We will be back.

We had a great meal there, staff were great, happy staff, nothing was to much effort. Food came out in good time and was very tasty . A great dining experience We will be back with friends Thank you The Oaks

What a disappointing experience here. This is one of my parents favourite restaurants and was so looking forward to celebrating my Dad's birthday here. However, the majority of dishes were not up to the standard we were expecting or the standard they had experienced before. The worst: The bland beetroot terrine which tasted of sweet chopped up beetroot with creme fraiche and no taste of the horseradish which would have cut through the sweetness. A requested medium steak cooked well done. The dressed crab which was warm (not sure why), dried out and mainly brown meat. It was quite unappetising. The crumble which was dry as I am sure the top and bottom were cooked separately with a miniscule spoon of ice cream. When we spoke to the manager at the end of the meal he was very apologetic and had a good attitude in comping some of the dishes although we would have preferred a good meal to a reduced bill.

Really good service when waiting for your food. Burgers are ace! Beef roast is also BANGING!!! Overall I would rate it like 4.6

Excellent food and service, very attentive, overall a great meal out.

The food was well presented and delicious

Went for the set lunch on Monday, party of 4. Neither the starter nor the dessert I wanted was available. Main course of pork comprised a nice piece of pork, some cabbage and about 8 minute cubes of "Parmenter potatoes"! We had to order additional potatoes. The poor waitress had to wrestle with 4 different special offers for our party of 4. Suggest the Oaks cut back on the promo and concentrate on actually providing what they have on the menu!

Beautiful food, relaxed atmosphere. Fabulous service 👏 👌

We popped here on a Monday night at 7.30pm whilst in the area on holiday. It was incredibly busy. The manageress of the restaurant was so helpful as we were a party of 7 who wanted to eat. She tried but couldn't fit us into the restaurant but said we could eat in the bar area. The food really was excellent and very reasonable. The cheese soufflé and steak & ale pie were particular highlights. The children's meal portions were a really good size. The ambience was lovely - a mixture of locals playing board games and holidaymakers having a good time. The only small negative was the speed of clearing the tables in the bar area was slow but that was because it was busier than expected and the staff were stretched. We had a great evening.

Lovely lunch , good service & good prices

As soon as we walked in the service was amazing. We loved the dog menu. Was a great touch. The food was really good. Couldnt fault it. Would definitely go again.

First visit to this lovely pub. We had a light lunch and a glass of wine. The staff were obviously well trained and it showed. The decor, especially the garden was amazing. A big area but nice atmosphere. Food was excellent. We will definitely be back!

While the food and surroundings were excellent, it was the warm, friendly, and timely service that really made the occasion for us. Front of House appeared to be a close knit team, and they made us feel so welcome and well looked after.

Excellent food,service and setting. Tim was amazing as our first point of contact making us feel at ease and very welcoming. The staff and food were of an excellent quality all round. Highly recommend for an amazing dining and food experience.

Staff friendly and efficient. Food ok

Phenomenal resteraunt, staff are really lovely, food is fantastic and the atmoshere and look of the place is great, one of the best places ive eaten at in a long time

Great service, great food and great environment, what more could you ask for. The are dog friendly also, so it's the perfect place to come before or after a beautiful walk around Highcliffe Castle, the high street and surrounding beaches. They even have a dog food menu! 🐶

Delicious food, lovely staff and good beer. They're dog friendly and even have a specific menu for them. Definitely worth a visit, book in advance!

My previous review was incorrect. I would never give a 1 star review without speaking to the venue first. I did think the portion size was on the small side for the price but it was tasty

Sunday lunch was excellent . The beef was cooked pinkish just as we liked it. The dessert was lovely too. The waitress Fran was cheerful, helpful and explained the menu to us. She was attentive to our needs. The malbec was smooth too. We visit here every year on holidays and would highly recommend it.

The food was delicious has always the staff are so nice and friendly

The staff were very attentive but not overbearing, the food was very well presented and tasty. I would definitely return.

This was a lovely find just driving home from Highcliffe Beach . Staff were spot on . Lovely chilled atmosphere made very welcome . Three of us I’m vegan other two are not so I’m always going to be limited for choices . In this case there were a few options Grandsons were very happy with their food . Would recommend.