The Royal Oak in Mid Sussex - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

It's for sale so could go either way sept 2024

I would forget about the Sunday lunch menu, not unless you want a cold roast dinner and tough chewy meat, hard cold vegetables which consists of a strand of cabbage, 3 broccoli stems and chopped leeks for a Sunday dinner, the lamb was tasteless, bland and chewy, potatoes were dry and yet again no taste, the rest of our party had chicken and that also was cold, bland and very chewy, the whole meal for our party was a washout and I personally wouldn't recommend this place at all, the bar manager was so unsociable I think he would be better off working in a lighthouse on his own as he isn't a people person, the young girl working was the only one who was happy to serve guests, overall experience was dreadful and id definitely wouldn't want to waste good money on food for poor quality and pre frozen food as you could tell the chicken breasts had been frozen and the lamb was pre sliced frozen rubbish and all very bland and tasteless and I think the photos must had been taken when the pub was refurbished as its definitely a dump inside and outside and doesn't portray what it's advertising. The only thing going for it is that the presentation of the food looks good but otherwise stay well clear of this pub and eat somewhere decent and enjoy what you've spent.

Fantastic food, we sat outside as beautiful day. But inside looked lovely. Serving food all day , perfect

It was a rainy summer's day and we opted for a lunch at The Royal Oak. We got there at around noon and the place was not busy. We were a party of 7 adults and a 20 month old. The pub set our table including a high chair as requested. We loved the decor and we felt right at home. Being rainy, we ordered several pots of tea, and they were arriving at the table one by one. We thought it was funny. We placed our meal order. The food was delicious, everyone enjoyed their food. By the this time, more guests have arrived to the pub. Service was still fine although it took a while to bring our dessert. Most of us ordered sticky pudding, and let me tell you, it was divine. I did get an oddly shaped corner of the pudding, but it still tasted amazing. The pub has its own parking, and it was very much appreciated especially on a rainy day. Looking forward to return once again when in the Lakes!

Nice looking pub. We arrived for a booked Sunday lunch for 6 adults and 2 children. When we arrived, the table looked great and the place looked great! That was the best part of the whole experience. Positives - Two of our party of 8 enjoyed their food. - The table was well set up nicely when we got there and the pub was quiet. - Limited menu options for the food but well thought out menu Negatives NOT child-friendly at all. - We asked for 2 high chairs for our children and they said they only had one (not 1 available, just 1 in the whole pub). I had to sit my 2 year old on my lap for over 2 hours!!! - I asked where the changing facilities were and they said that there isn’t one in the men’s but there is one in the ladies changing room. That meant, had I not come with my wife, my son wouldn’t have been able to be changed. This really needs to be addressed. Apart from uncomfortably going into the ladies toilets, I would have had to change him on the pub floor or in my car. Not impressed. - My 2 year old niece knocked my drink over when she was sitting down and the lovely wait staff said to not worry about it and she came over with another drink without anyone asking for another one. I thanked them a lot and then when we got to paying, I was charged full price for another one! We didn’t even ask and had I known we had to pay over £5 for another one, I wouldn’t have had one. - It would have been nice to have some colouring or something for the children to do. Even some children’s cutlery for the meals or something that would help families out. Food and drink - There were 4 options for Sunday lunch. It took a very long time for the food to come. - Two of the party asked for orange juice and lemonade and were given squash and lemonade. - The roast beef was tough. The roast potatoes were bland. Neither of the two who had the roast chicken even ate their chicken as they said it was overcooked and dry. Overall, very disappointed. Suggestions for the pub: - More high chairs - Gender equality for men for changing facilities - Children’s cutlery available - Children’s colouring sheets and crayons etc - Time for food orders

Food and drink were just what we were looking for and they found us a table on Saturday night despite not booking. Thank you

Nice meal although ran out of pigs in blankets!

Nice little pub hidden away, food was really good and staff very accommodating and friendly

The food was beautiful, well presented and came out quickly. The staff were friendly and couldn't do more. Really impressed and better than other pubs in the area. Also reasonably priced :)

Hate to leave a bad review on somewhere that is clearly struggling, but came here with high hopes and was massively disappointed and don’t want others to make same mistake. Drinks and service were fine, however food was not good at all. Clearly frozen food heated up and verging on inedible. Reading other reviews looks like chef/kitchen has changed recently and may be the reason. The toilets were also in dire need of redoing - women’s were covered in black mould.

Had looked at reviews which stated 4.4 stars, so had high hopes. Food was terrible, ordered fish and chips, batter was solid, fish was incredibly thin and chips saturated in peppercorns. My partner had "steak and ale pie", which he said tasted like supermarket, chips also saturated in pepper. Woman behind us had also complained about the same pie. Would not recommend this place to anyone.

Terrible food but very friendly service 😆

This place needs to make its mind up what time the kitchen closes. We arrived at 7.40pm as it's stated that the kitchen closes at 8pm, only to be told by a pretty miserable staff member that it they'd stopped serving 5 mins ago.

Loved our visit here. Very friendly staff. Lovely atmosphere. The food was excellent. Going back later in the week. Highly recommend. 🙂

Good selection of IPA and device spot on

Lovely food and attentive service

Our lovely local is back to the place we remember. Good food, nice atmosphere and lovely staff members.

We booked a table for 6 today (Sunday 9th June ) , service was great, great value for money . The food was spot on couldn’t fault it . It did put us off reading the bad reviews but it didn’t disappoint us . We would go back .

Last orders at 2130hrs with at least 50 people in the pub..... shocking. As a veteran and with their post of D day on face book, disgraceful. George, you were out of order.

I had been here once before; and really enjoyed the food and atmosphere of what used to be a great pub. Fast forward two years and how things have changed. Bar staff were rude and completely uninterested. No greeting, no pleasantries.. nothing. 2 out of the 3 meals we ordered were absolutely terrible. One was a pie - that could have been Asda’s own - that was blatantly chucked in a microwave and heated up. The size of which wouldn’t have fed a mouse. The second was scampi, chips & mushy peas. The scampi was slimy, clearly frozen and clearly out of a supermarket freezer. The mushy peas were tinned and microwaved. The only saving grace was the steak - pictured - that proved that the chef had the ability to cook and not just warm things up. However, memory was clearly lacking as the mushy peas & tartare sauce for the scampi had to be asked for twice and the onion rings to go with the steak had been forgotten completely. For the price, it was a complete rip off. The ‘To Let’ sign on the front of this building is a clear sign the owners have given up and don’t care, which trickles down to the staff and the products that are served. If you’re staying in lindale, AVOID! Do a bit of research and go further afield. It WILL be worth it.

Popped in for food after a busy day out. Service quick. Food excellent.

Absolutely brilliant lunch, all homemade food and gorgeously cooked and prepared. Welcoming atmosphere and lovely people. Would definitely come again!

This place has clearly changed hands or chef recently. The pictures of the Sunday lunch from past reviews are nothing like what I received. Ordered turkey roast dinner which cost £18 before any drinks which by the way were substandard clearly not actual diet coke. The dinner consisted of 2 small bits of meat, an small scoop of mash, a teaspoon of peas, a tea spoon of mashed turnip, cheap supermarket frozen roast potatoes, rock hard stuffing ball with some cranberry sauce and a tiny bit of gravy and a yorkshire pudding. Literally about £2 worth of ingredients massive lack of effort but high price. Would not recommend probably the worst Sunday lunch ive ever had.

Lovely pub with very nice staff. The food however was far from the best. Served on cold plates, and if I'm being kind, it was mediocre. The only hot food was my sisters fried fish, which she did enjoy. I don't enjoy leaving a poor review, but it wasn't great.

Friendly efficient staff, food standard pub food. 2 down sides, firstly lack of ale choice, both blonde and citrus, not to our taste, also dogs are allowed everywhere in the pub so not great if you have pet allergies.

Good food wife had a couple of issues with service but fair play to staff was sorted in the end. It was a quiet time on a Sunday afternoon so atmosphere I guess reflected that I would have no issues returning if in area again

Was quality chips oinion rings my chicken burger back one was stone cold only let down

I always seem to be commenting on food 🤣 All jokes aside this is the best pub grum in Lancashire possibly in the country

Had a decent dinner Monday and was spot on. Food was massively worth the money and a really lush and cosy pub. Brilliant service 👌

Food very disappointing.. one of our meals stated it was served with chunky chips but it came with fries. And the other meal was a jacket potato which was not even cooked properly it was solid. Such a shame as was a lovely pub, with very friendly staff and nice atmosphere.

Apparently they had a new chef. Unfortunately, not a great one! Food tastes good but the portions were tiny. £16 for some lamb, a Yorkshire pudding, few bits of squash and then a slice of carrot and a quarter of a potato

Midweek evening meal, good sized portion of fish n chips. Very enjoyable

You can see why this place is very popular. Friendly and helpful staff, decent beer and a proper pub atmosphere.

Decided to come for a roast to celebrate our 5 year anniversary in the Lakes, we were silly and didn’t book which we should’ve done but luckily they could squeeze us in and the food was incredible. Extremely generous portions, only £23.95 for three courses which is very reasonable and the service was excellent. We will definitely be returning next time we come to the Lakes, thank you so much for a lovely lunch!

Tasty food & fab, friendly service

Enormous portion of Sunday Roast, cooked to perfect. Exceeded our highest expectations. The lemon posset was the best I've had, the spiced pineapple and home made cookies took the dessert to another level- do try to leave a bit of room after the roast, it's worth it! Staff were super friendly and amazingly attentive despite being run off their feet. Recommended to book the Sunday roast to avoid devastation, they run out quick (and for good reason!).

Great pub but increasing the cost of cooking lager by 70p is outrageous, this will inevitably put locals off drinking in their own pub and I’m sure will also put off a lot of tourists. This has to be the dearest in the area and is not great for the village. Get a grip Robinson’s or sell the pub to someone who actually wants to make a go of it!

Undergoing management change and installation of new kitchen- hence 4 stars. Look forward to revisiting when it's fully up and running once more. Great for a drink though and great location.

Great Sunday lunch, get there early to avoid missing out! Lemon posset was delicious.

Stayed in the area for 2 nights ate here on both. Lovely food piping hot and generous potions staff lovely and friendly and very attentive really enjoyed it will definitely visit again.

A very welcoming, friendly pub with great food.

Nice pub, most amazing fish and chips and burger ever. Value for money! Will be back soon and hardly recommend

Excellent food and service , very clean pub with an amazing atmosphere highly recommended visiting

Lovely pub atmosphere, food & service very good. Staff are very helpful

Just called in for a glass of cider after my adventure with my 2 companions and also it has a great atmosphere and staff are friendly as well as to they liked my 2 companions and its dog friendly as well 👍

Lovely pub, warm and welcoming. The food was amazing and huge portions. X

Had a lovely roast beef dinner Tasted fantastic and the portion was massive 😋

We had a lovely time at the Royal Oak. The owner was very friendly and made us feel at home. The roast was very tasty and a very generous portion! They were also able to accommodate a nut allergy. Highly recommend- we’d come here again.

We were made to feel welcome as soon as we walked through the door .

Had a really nice Sunday lunch here. Good food and good service.

Beautiful pub in a wonderful area. Food was absolutely delicious, the steak was huge and was cooked to perfection. The couple running the place were so warm and welcoming, really lovely. I will definitely be coming back

Went here for my wife's birthday, and it was perfect. The food is amazing - the best pub meal around. Between the party we had the steak pie, the beef dinner, and the Cumberland sausage. The food was absolutely gorgeous, and the helpings were gargantuan! We've had their fish and chips in the past, and that was really nice too - the fish was as big as the entire plate, lol. The staff were really friendly and attentive, couldn't fault them one bit. We will be back.

Lovely pub - great service good beer!

Great food at a good price (especially with the deals). Friendly landlord.

Lovely food in massive portions. Nice people too. We really enjoyed it.

My husband and I came to visit the Royal Oak whilst on our honeymoon in the local area. The pub had a lovely cosy feel on arrival and staff appeared friendly. We were excited to try the pie of the day and had a conversation with who we believe was the owner/landlord about ordering the last 2 pies! Our drinks were quickly served with a very nice Big Sur IPA that my husband was impressed with. We could tell there wasn’t a lot of staff, however the pub was not full or that close to being very busy so expected food to come quite promptly. Unfortunately we ended up waiting over an hour with no sign of food or staff checking on us or making us aware of any delays despite walking past us several times. I finally asked how much longer for the food and then after a few minutes was informed by the owner that our food order had not been put through to the kitchen!! Although given an initial apology this was not followed up with any real empathy for how long we had been waiting or to say when any food could possibly be ready for us or something complimentary whilst we waited again. Nothing. We decided to leave having not eaten and feeling bitterly disappointed as we had been looking forward to the pies. Because of this we didn’t find anywhere else to eat and ended up back at our hotel eating chips at 10pm! Not the romantic honeymoon evening we had hoped for.

Fantastic food and price staff polite and friendly hopefully will be back plus spend more than £50 on food you get £10 reduced

Went to Royal Oak for Sunday lunch. Generous portions and good value for money. The proprietors were very helpful, charming and attentive without being overbearing. The pub is also well presented, clean and appears like a "proper" pub, unpretentious in nature. A very enjoyable experience and, if we visit the area again, we will definitely be returning.

Lovely place and amazing atmosphere

Excellent food and very reasonably price. Highly recommend the pie of the day, homemade steak and kidney pie and the 8oz burger. Matt the host was charming, we will definitely be going back. Thanks to Matt for a very enjoyable evening.

Great food, great service. Amazing roast, huge portions. Lovely staff.

Only enjoyed drinks, however the Yorkshires looked immense on the roast dinners.

One of the best meals we have had in a long time. 😋 We had the mushrooms to start and the Thai curry. All fresh ingredients, nicely presented and large portions. 👌 Jade took care of us today and glad to know The Royal Oak is open 7 days a week. Fantastic chef 👨‍🍳 hats off to you!! We will be back..soon

What an absolute gem!!! Great food, great value, delicious drinks and wonderful people, the landlord Andrew couldn't be nicer and more accommodating. Matt and Jade were also a delight and nothing was too much trouble, really attentive service with a smile and charm. I didn't get to meet the chef, but how they can produce this consistent quality of food at these prices is beyond me. Outstanding value, it was deservedly busy for a reason and I would recommend booking in advance. Dog friendly to boot! We stumbled across it by accident, we would make a special journey in the future. Great vibes, exactly how pubs should be!!!!

We had a lovely meal at the Royal Oak, the service was outstanding as was the food. We had a delightful Sunday roast and cheese cake for dessert. The rest of the menu looked delicious so we will have to come back! Would highly recommend you choose the Royal Oak for lunch/dinner. Friendly, fast and delicious!

We visited last night to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary. From the moment we walked in we felt incredibly welcome and at home. Matt and Jade (hope I got your names right!) were amazing hosts even recommending gins for me to try (that Boes passionfruit was awesome!) And what can I say about the food?! I don't think I've ever seen so many halloumi fries as a main course let alone a starter. Cooked to perfection! As were the chicken wings The main courses were also incredible quality and huge portion sizes. I had the meat and potato pie with a huge helping of wonderful mash and veg and my husband had the best steak he's ever tasted. Cooked perfectly to how he requested. We've never asked to speak to a venue manager before, but we had to meet Andrew just to thank him for our lovely evening. It really is a gem of a find and I was so glad we found it. Thanks again all for being so lovely

Absolutely AMAZING! I can’t fault this place what so ever, we had amazing customer service and unbelievable food! We come to visit lake windmere for the day and stumbled across the Royal Oak and I am so glad we did! The portion sizes are HUGE and are such good value for money! We will most certainly come back when we are next visiting! Thank you for a fantastic evening! - table one 🥰

Great pub to have a drink or a meal. Sunday lunch is always popular. Plenty of seating outside for those hot days.

Nice enough pub. Other customers fine. Service runs OK. Landlord bit off though. Maybe he had had a bad day but his customer interface was laced with a condescending vibe. Your response implying anyone was nasty to you or your staff (who are the nice part of the pub) showcases the point above.

I was a bit worried reading some of the reviews. People were giving only 1 star for their meals. As we are holidaying in Lindale this is the local pub. Dad and myself had popped in to look at the menu and saw they had a "Red hot September offer ". Spend £50 on food menu and get £10 off. We decided to risk it and hope that our meal would be an improvement on the reviews we'd read about We needn't have worried. Adam made us feel right at home and attended to our every need. We ordered a starter to share. Hot chicken wings. They arrived and were delicious. 5 pieces in crispy crumb with bbq sauce and a lovely drizzled salad. So far so good 👍 Next arrived our 12 ounce rump steaks, beef steak chips, tomatoes mushrooms and salad. The steak was absolutely melt in the mouth. Cooked to perfection, just the right amount of seasoning and importantly cooked exactly to our personal specifications. Coupled with the well kept real ale 🍺 we were very happy indeed. And to top it off we availed ourself of the offer so a huge meal for a low price. Would highly recommend. It definitely deserves 5 stars for all aspects of our visit

Lovely pub , friendly staff great beer garden 🍺🍺

Back for the second time today, had Sunday lunch and it was up there with the best ever. No hesitation in recommending this establishment for food and drink. And it's dog friendly!

Great atmosphere and staff. Manager Andrew allowed us to stay o/n in camper so had an amazing fish n chips and chicken dishes. Care on entry to carpark, has high level bump. 5 Stars.

Absolutely lovely pub, beer, food and staff. Andrew is a lovely guy. Dog friendly.Goodness me what a gem 💎 of a spot. Level carpark, lovely landlord Andrew, tea and coffee available in the morning! Toilet 🚽 available in the morning 🙂. Great food and a properly pull Guinness! Highly recommend this pub stopover.

Absolutely fantastic , Andrew the owner could nt do enough to make sure everything was spot on , the food was well presented and was cooked to perfection , will be back again , well worth the visit .

Terrible steak. Chips undercooked. Staff lovely.

chicken curry very dry and over cooked

Nicely maintained pub and the beer was excellent. Sorry to say that the Sunday roast was only average. We had the roast pork: there was no crackling and the meat was very thinly sliced and still chewy and rather tasteless. Good Yorkshire puddings! The staff don't trust you to run a tab, which we found rather odd. Despite it being Sunday, it was very empty with no atmosphere. Relpy to rude owner, Andrew, made 7 September 2023 I'm rather astonished to see a business owner, make such comments! I think this says it all about this place. I gave my own personal review, as I, and my two guests found the dinner. They have just moved to the area and are trying all the eateries in the area. They were the ones, as we left, saying the food was only average, and wouldn't be going back. Why would you go to a place to enjoy a meal, and then be treated like this for making an honest review? I hope others read this and take note! You will see from my other reviews, that I eat out a lot, and very much appreciate the catering industry in all its forms, and I definitely can be pleased and am very often! But Andrew's response is unacceptable. 160 happy diners? Maybe they'd picked up on your attitude and didn't want abusing by telling you something you didn't want to hear. The last Google review before mine was 3 months ago..... Maybe people should read your TripAdvisor reviews: 31 Aug: 1 star: "Bad experience, rude arrogant landlord, staff lovely try their best "; Aug 23: 1 star: "Disappointment", then a 5 star, then 14/8/23: 1 star: "Very bad experience". Very poor attitude and response by Andrew. I for one won't be going back and I hope your new, nearish neighbours, will be letting others know about your behaviour and your average Sunday lunches. I feel sorry for your staff.

Returning to Wales from a trip to Scotland, stopped for food and a place to park the camper overnight, a lovely welcome from Andrew the landlord and staff, food was delicious, great pint to go with... Marked down as a definite place to return..... Many thanks James and Emma

Pub standing in good area easy to see, beautiful inside, sevice very nice, food ok short menu.

What’s not to love! Beautiful and they love dogs too. What a gem!

A very friendly welcome. Drinks ordered at the bar and taken to our table. Really good selection on the menu, unusually a good choice of curry’s. I struggled to choose between the Honey Glazed Pork Belly or Old Fashioned Lambs Liver & Sweet onions. Decided on Liver and it was really delicious. Really beautifully cooked. My husband was torn between the Steak and Ale Pie or Ham, Egg and Chips, choosing the Ham in the end and he was well pleased with his meal. The Liver and Bacon was served with Buttery Mash and vegetables and my husband finished it off for me…it was a very hearty portion! The trio of Cheesecake was a well chosen desert😋 Will definitely return again, lots of choice that we would like to try. Wild Forest Mushroom Curry sounded good. I’ve taken a picture of the menu (18/08/23) I always like to see other reviews that include that! 👍

Beautiful food. Beautiful old pub. Really helpful and friendly staff. Definitely recommend!

The food was fantastic, and portions are generous. Visited with a big group of us on holiday, and we all left very happy and very full!

Staff are lovely, place is nice, food is great. Definitely coming back here

Had 3-meat Sunday Roast. Pork was fatty the beef like plastic- unable to cut (or eat). The whole plate was swamped in gravy ( presumably to hide the poor-quality meat?) which ran off onto to table. I complained,but I just got " sorry about that" from the waitress. The manager ( in his Basil Faulty guise) summoned me to the bar with his finger as I was leaving and said " Something wrong". I repeated my complaint about the beef. He replied "All our beef is 30-day cured to make it tender." "Maybe or standards are too high for you" " You won't be coming again" I said I probably wouldn't after that but had been previously and went back today as it had been so good. I said I would leave a report in the Holiday Complex in which we are staying. He relied "You do that" and I was dismissed! This man should not retain his job!

Quality food, friendly service - we had a lovely meal at this popular cosy pub. I recommend booking in advance as we had to squeeze in for an early dinner, but the manager was very accommodating, was lovely with our kids and we had a tasty, hearty meal! Great location for us too as we were staying close by at HPB Merlewood. We will be back for sure.

Cannot quite explain how brilliant our visit was! Squeezed in when we were in need, the most amazing service and welcome throughout and easily the best gammon, egg and chips (proper perfect chips) I’ve had ever! To say making the decision to visit made our evening is an understatement. Andrew and his staff are all so friendly and lovely and if we have time to make it back again before we leave then we will. Highly recommend stopping in for any reason if you want to be in a cosy Cumbrian pub with great drinks, delicious food and the best people 🤩

Lovely pub with fantastic food and service, we were able to park the motorhome in the carpark overnight which perfect. Only one small issue the speed bump in the entrance is very high and catches the underside of the motorhome, it's obviously caught a few vehicles as very marked and could cause damage but would definitely use it again 😁👍

Lovely meal of one of the tastiest steaks I've had for a while served by very nice and friendly staff. Andrew took our booking and was so helpful fitting us and our three dogs in at short notice. Good ambience. Easy parking and a beer garden for a good day. Very attentive staff and noted tables, well cleaned after use. Only a short drive from Grange over Sands. We will definitely return next time we are in the area. Thank you for making our visit a good one.

Okay very expensive, reluctant to serve at 10 45 pm. Drinks OK

Would thoroughly recommend eating here. The fish had a very light batter and was delicious as were the chips (haven’t had such great chips for a very long time) the Pork Belly melted in the mouth, beautifully cooked and it was superb. The cheesecake was also delicious. Service was great and we were made to feel very welcome. We are going back again when we are next on holiday nearby but don’t miss out on this Gem of an eatery. Superb.

Such an amazing place. I don’t normally write reviews, but the food and staff here are 10/10. Above and beyond actually! I wish I lived near here so I could come every week

Good food, though menu was limited. No coffee available. New proprietor trying to get settled in.

Great beer, service and food! Recommended.

Wonderful Sunday lunch ,food excellent and fabulous welcome and lovely atmosphere 😀

Would not recommend this pub. We ordered 2 black angus sirloin steaks from the specials board, what a disappointment, both were fatty, tough and inedible and we were unable to eat them. When we told the staff we were offered of a free dessert which we declined they deducted 10% off the total bill-£6, for 2 steaks we couldn’t eat. Complete contrast to The Pheasant Inn where we had a great meal the night before.

Went for Sunday Lunch. Extremely tasty and VERY filling! Large portions but everything was delicious. Just too much to finish. Traditional pub cosy and atmospheric. Well patronised.

Great atmosphere, not a bad pint either. But food was excellent, and the service was very good, especially as it was really busy on a racing weekend

We stopped off here for some lunch on our way to Seascale. The food was fresh and tasty. The best home cooked chips I've had in a long time!