The Royal Oak in Rother

Went especially for my sons birthday. Ordered a roast that we were all looks forward to and it was awful:( The chicken looked liked it was microwaved, so rubbery I put it in my bag to give to my dig. Even then I couldnt cut it without scissors in the end ! Everything looked limp and just nit nice . Didn't eat mine and left hungry . Just sad for my son as he was looking forward to it. I explained to the bar manager the situation as he insisted I told him what was wrong with the food , in front of other customers. He apologised and understood the issue . Won't ever go back

Such a beautiful country pub, staff were amazing, helpful, and friendly. Food was yummo, such a historic building. We are from Australia, so it was so good to interact with the lovely staff. Thank you very much for your hospitality, 👌👌👏👏👏

Changed hands since our Last visit but still: Friendly with a great atmosphere. Fascinating ancient well in part of the bar worth a look. The King blues band were brilliant. What a good night.

Very quiet when first arrived but made to feel very welcome. Was very pleased with food and service and would definitely return. Thank you

Stumbled on to the Royal Oak by chance and thank goodness we did, food was almost too much and great flavours. When down this way again will be back.

Lovely small pub, really lovely welcoming staff who are very helpful! Lovely homemade food!

Lovely pub and great food. The ploughman’s was amazing. Dog friendly and we were made to feel very welcome

Lovely pub and great food. The ploughman’s was amazing. Dog friendly and we were made to feel very welcome

Sadly very disappointing. The food was basic “pub grub” at a rather high premium. Service was pushy and somewhat rude. We got asked to leave at 9pm as they were closing however they advertised that they served food until 9 and closed at 10 not what you’d expect from a pub on a Saturday night!

Stopped here in the off chance, service was friendly, food and drinks served promptly. The menu was a bit limited but the enough for most people. Food was tasty with generous servings. Desert was delicious. We enjoyed our visit.

The staff is very welcoming, orders for drinks and food were also taken from the pub garden. The food was very nice and even the chef checked if we were happy with our meal. In all we had a lovely meal and were happy with the friendly staff. We certainly can recommend you this pub.

Stopped here on our way home. A wonderful stop off for a traditional pub lunch. Definitely can't complain the food was fantastic worth the effort to find a wonderful pub

Great traditional old English pub. Stopped on our way home for a traditional pub lunch. Good was outstanding and very moorish. A great location to enjoy great food

There have a back garden and drink relaxing while weather is sunny.

Very lovely staff but roast is overpriced and of low quality. Gravy was very watery, the chicken roast just some pieces of pre-sliced chicken rather a proper roast, and the Yorkshire pudding came straight from the aunty bessy bag. Would’ve been fine if we’d been charged £14-£15, but chicken roast was £17,95 and the beef one £19,95. Staff was super friendly and welcoming, but sadly the quality of the kitchen is no value for money.

How can you ruin soup and a roll???? Cook the butter with the roll!!! Burger batch ??? dry & disintegrated!! Wouldn't mind but it would have cost the best part of £30!!! Freezing cold pub!! ABYSMAL!!!

Roast beef dinner was horrible meat was fatty & very very tuff veg microwaved wasn't very hot would go back if I wanted a microwave dinner I'd of stayed at home

Lovely traditional pub. Well kept cask of local brew Long Man and good honest pub food at a reasonable price.

The pub itself is nice but the food is overpriced. We had fish and chips and a burger and chips also ham egg and chips .all the chips were under cooked .the fish was under cooked and the burger was tasteless. And the pint of fosters I had tasted like it had been watered-down. We wouldn't eat there again unless they hire a proper chef.

Had a Sunday roast recently and have got to say, the food was pretty disappointing... The nut roast was more like a funky tasting risotto without any nuts or roasting! And the trimmings and veggies were totally raw and not very fresh. Not the Sunday feast I was hoping for! :( Staff were nice and helpful, but the food not recommended at all.

Really disappointed in the food, order nut roast, didn't see a single nut in it, just seeds and rice. Tasted truly horrible as if something was wrong with it, only had a nibble and left the rest seeing as it then contaminated everything else on the plate, so it was all bad. Veggie tart was the same, left most of that because it didn't taste of anything. It's a shame, pub is nice, alcohol was good, but food was awful, only reason why we went there and was massively let down.

We were meeting up for what was supposed to be a lovely Sunday lunch but it was a catalogue of errors. We had booked for 2pm but were told on arrival that the kitchen was very busy and we were likely to have to wait. We waited, and we waited and eventually we received our food at approximately 3.30. It took three attempts just to get some water for the table. Unfortunately, that wasn't the worst of it. If the food had been good we would have been inclined to ignore the wait, but it wasn't. Just before it arrived we were told that there were only two nut roasts and no vegetable tarts, and with five vegetarians in our party that was pretty much a disaster. One of our party ended up with two starters! The nut roast was soggy and weird and the cauliflower cheese tasted sour, as if it had been made with milk that had gone off. Nothing was hot. We ate what we could, as we were really hungry by then, but it will go down as the worst Sunday lunch most of us have had. To their credit, the staff were friendly and accommodating and recognised that our experience had been far from satisfactory. We did receive a discount on our bill, but this did not really compensate for the disappointment or the fact that we had to go home and cook something else.

Lovely food all freshly made. The environment is clean and in taking with the oldy worldy feel of the pub. The staff very friendly - would highly recommend a visit

We had to move fast, but this place is for relaxed and enjoying life. What a great burger they serve and our waiter was awesome. I wish and will do my best to come back and enjoy this authentic and great place.

Splendid experience. We came without upfront notice with 11 persons, but we got served well!. Highly recommended

Quaint, little pub, nice garden, and friendly staff. They've updated their menu, so if you wanted some Greek dishes, this is not the place for you, but if you are after some delicious food with a pint (or two) on the side, you will appreciate the Royal Oak.

Staff was friendly and attentive, but the food….. I don’t think £17.95 is an appropriate price for what they was serving lots of frozen veg & the lasagna wasn’t a lasagna it was mince on a plate and cheep mince too, it all looked nice but it wasn’t nice and gave me & my sister a funny tummy. £18 for a plate of mince just isn’t acceptable You can taste that theve used cheep ingredients and frozen …. Ingredients and whacked up the price for a profit.

3 of us had a lovely Sunday roast here today. We all 3 had roast beef which was perfectly cooked nice and rare just how we like it! All the veg was beautifully cooked and the perfect amount on the plate. We will definitely be back

Rather poor, food was basic. One pitta for the amount of hummus you get is just not enough. Not many people in there eating. 2 members of our party had a rather iffy stomach that eve and the next day. We won't be returning

Had a Sunday roast and couldn’t fault it very well presented and the staff were helpful and polite.

Lovely little pub on the A21, perfect for dinner and a few drinks. Small car park out the front, very friendly staff, definitely recommended

Beautiful, delicious food and drink, fast service, friendly people and all around amazing. Would seriously recommend

I was very disappointed with The Royal Oak after reading other reviews. We were there for Sunday lunch and should have realised something was not quite right as we were the only diners in there ! The meal was very poor ,I had the Sunday roast platter which was sliced dry pork and beef which had been cooked hours before and reheated with gravey the carrots were not fresh and the Yorkshire puddings were brought in Probably frozen. To add insult to injury this one course was priced at £19 something. My wife had vegetarian Wellington after which we had to leave quickly as she had an upset stomach which put her on the loo all evening!!

Lovely Traditional Pub himecooked food warm welcome from owner and staff well worth a visit value for money we will be back 😀

Visited the pub and sat in the garden which was lovely.the food was great the staff were lovely will be returning thank you :)

First of all this a a beautiful, ancient and atmospheric pub with a great garden with a good kids area. We were seated in the barn which was full of character with a small area with kids toys which our children really enjoyed. We were welcomed by a charming young waiter who did his best to take our orders with good humour. Unfortunately this was the end of our positive experience. Despite the fact that there were not many people there for Sunday lunch, ( perhaps that should have been a warning?) Our food took well over an hour to arrive. We had been waiting over 45 minutes before being told that the nut roast was not available. When the food did arrive it was a huge disappointment. Expensive but very poor quality. The vegetable tart I chose had inedible pastry, the fish was not fresh and the scampi was poor. The roast potatoes were not crisp, the mashed potato was lumpy and the chips tasted like oven chips. The lasagne was very average. Such a shame for my birthday meal with my family. Sadly we will not be coming back.

Lovely staff food was amazing! Highly recommended! Hassan is a lovely landlord very accomadating, very friendly place

We enjoyed a lovely Sunday roast , followed by a delicious lemon tart. Food great, Hassan and staff very welcoming and friendly. I would recommend to friends.

My husband and I received a warm welcome from bar staff and the owner on arrival. Although it was Good Friday the pub was not overly busy but atmosphere was good. Nice fire and table and ordered fish and chips and bangers and mash. Service was good and the food delicious. Husband was very impressed with beer that was recommended to us. All in all a very good meal in nice surroundings, a traditional english pub serving traditional pub food. Prices on par with surrounding places. Would definitely return and recommend. Wish the owners the very best for the future.

After going to this pub a few times over the last few years I’m really sad to see what has happened to it. I appreciate it’s under new management and everyone has to make their own stamp but I’m am saddened at todays lunch. We went for a roast, the prices were rather expensive £17.95 for a single meat roast dinner, when it turned up the meat was nice and 5 slices- great amount but the potatoes we decided seemed to be frozen, they were not crispy and looked under cooked. The swedes was a tea spoon amount. The beans were over cooked and tasteless. There was not enough gravy. 1 small gravy boat given for 6 people eating roast. The Yorkshire’s were definitely brought in as-well- sad for a traditional Sunday lunch. I’m the crackling was tasteless and dry and a very small bite. I feel the prices were really high for the portion size and standard of the food. Also had a hummus and pitta for starter. 1 pitta was not enough for the size bowl if hummus given, you would need 3 Atleast. Sadly a very disappointing lunch. The owner also kept walking through our area drinking if smoke, didn’t seem to like our children playing with the toys in the play area and me and my friends also felt watched as we paid. Rather an uncomfortable feeling. I would not go here again sadly as before the ownership change the portions and quality of food were exceptional, now over charged underrated food.

Firstly, I would like to compliment the young waitress, who was very accommodating for our large group of three adults and six children, at short notice. Unfortunately, this is where the positive ended. We chose this restaurant as we love coming to this country pub, especially as it has the children’s play area, sadly the play area is roped off and seems to be damaged, fear not, we knew there was an indoor play area for the little ones, however, this was shut off and locked away, the young waitress said we could use it, so the children went to play, however, everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, not to be deterred, the children wiped it off and played anyway. Then we come to the food , we ordered several starters, alongside roasts for adults and children. There is no longer a children’s menu, just smaller portions of the roast dinner and the roast itself is certainly not worth the £17 pricetag! I had a vegetarian nut roast, the nut roast itself wasn’t too bad, however, the potatoes and vegetables were tasteless and bland, and I also believe the roast potatoes being so dry, we are possibly frozen? We ordered extra gravy to try and give the roast dinner, some flavour, together with extra condiments! The starters were pathetic, one simple, slice of pitta bread to go with hummus, certainly not adequate for the amount of hummus served ! It seems that this once a wonderful restaurant, has been taken over by new owners in October, I hoped this might be teething issues, but it seems that the place has gone downhill! So sad for once wonderful country pub, which serves wonderful food. The new owner himself came through a couple of times through to check what the children were up to, this was quite offputting, and what was even worse, was the fact that he reeks of cigarette smoke, hardly acceptable in a restaurant, cooking food! The whole experience has left us with a bitter taste, this was a once favourite pub of ours, I certainly shan’t be going back ! It is now overpriced, for such poor food and really doesn’t have the greatest atmosphere.

I never write reviews but this place was so bad and so expensive I feel I have to say something to warn others and to let them know, what they served for that price is totally unacceptable. Vegetables soggy and plain Meat appeared to be from a packet of sliced meat - definitely not from a roast joint Gravy was thick and likely Bisto Yorkshire pudding was definitely Aunt Bessie Cost per plate £19!! Think of your worst school dinner and multiply it by 5 Avoid

We came here today for a traditional Sunday roast, and really wish we had driven a bit further to our favourite place, The Ostrich in Robertsbridge. Anyway for £17.95 a head we were served microwaved veg, which was some green beans, a desert spoon of something mushy and yellow, 1 tiny cauliflower floret, some carrot slices, and one minute bit of something green which was so insignificant I cannot remember what it was, perhaps broccoli? The 3 small potatoes were not roast potatoes as advertised but the lazy "chuck them in the fat fryer" type. The meat was dry, as if it had been cooked the day before. Aunt Bessie had done a great job with the yorkshire pudding. Thank you to Bisto for the gravy. You could drive a bus through the room left on the trendy square plate, the portions were so small. This looked like the sort of meal that gets served up in institutions. No love had gone into this... it's canteen food at restaurant prices. I had to ask twice for apple sauce but I expect the delay was due to the lid getting stuck on the jar. I think I was served apple pie filling. The food was not hot either. The Ostrich will serve 9 different veg, and everything else for £13.50. and the chef will visit you to make sure all is well. I have reviewed them before under a different user name. The dining area was cold too. It's February. They have open fires, just don't light them. We didn't complain as we were in a rush. On the way back we contemplated getting something else to eat as we were still hungry. No, we are not fat over eaters either.

expensive for whats on offer not good value and very cold there also no atmosphere some little greek bloke giving his staff hard times

We had booked here because we read it had recently changed hands. We arrived the place was freezing .The radiators were lukewarm. There were no fires lit!! It’s a country pub…..It could have been so very different. We asked if they could turn up the...

Myself and bridal party came here as our wedding was just up the road. We arrived shortly after 730 and ordered. We were the only people in there, we had no started just a main and it took 1hour and 15 minutes to come out....

So a group of us went for Sunday lunch at this pub for the first time. We phoned in the week and booked a table for the 3pm sitting. We asked for a table for 6. 5 plus one high chair. The gentleman who took...

This pub is under new management and we were pleased to find that it has a traditional pub menu. We were made most welcome and were glad (being long-standing customers) to see that few changes had been made inside. The meal was beautifully cooked. Portions...

Visited for second time , first 3 years ago and the Greek meze menu as fantastic as ever.. value for money , authentic Greek food and lovely pub all round with very friendly staff

Passed this pub many times and always wanted to pop in for a lunch. Finally managed that today and I was so pleased I did . I was so impressed with the gluten free options and had the mushrooms in garlic to start then the...

I was really looking forward to having dinner here as I love Greek food but was very disappointed. Ordered the Moussaka which came out cold in the middle ..quick microwave and it was back. It was very bland and really had no taste. My husbands...

This is a beautiful, traditional pub full of history and comfort. The food was gorgeous. The staff were friendly.

Such a beautiful classic country pub with a twist. We loved that you could get the classic ‘pub grub’ but we chose the Cyprus platter which was delicious! We will be coming back again, not just for the food but the really friendly staff!

Great food and service! Recommended! The food is excellent and service top drawer. Only downside is that it is popular so can be difficult to park!

Nice pub with great food, especially the Greek items on the menu. We had the sharing platter.

Very nice food, the Greek yoghurt was heavenly

Lovely little pub built in 1409 with a deep well at the back of it. Very quaint

Just experienced yet another brilliant steak dinner and the starter of Jumbo prawns and the yogurt desert was excellent.Well worth going to in sizzle night

Lovely place. Great food, friendly staff who were very patient with the group of children we were with. Will definitely be returning.

Well what a wonderful pub, we went for Greek maze the food was fantastic Maria fabulous cook and authentic Greek music would definitely visit again, full to the brim highly recommend thank you great hosts

Walked in tonight had prawn starter and garlic mushrooms starter both really lovely, we both chose to have the beef stiffado main which was stunning, absolutely perfect. The servers were attentive without being annoying, just can’t fault it, highly recommended

Very friendly staff and amazing food

Great menu selection 👌 food portions are very generous Fast and friendly service

I'm sure you will have read all of the other reviews before getting to this one but what a great evening we had. We sat, we ordered some drinks and within 5 minutes of asking if we were ready to eat, the fabulous food just...

Lovely pub/eatery. Staff great too.

Great to have authentic Greek Cypriot food in Battle/Hastings / whatlington area. Just off the A21. The sign “Greek meze “ caught my eye so we had to try it out. Delicious . Also have souvlaki platters, Greek wine and dessert.

This place is magic. A very old pub and the greek food is delicious. And the people are very friendly as well

We had lunch today after inadvertently passing by and recognising it from our last visit September 1921. An excellent pub with good ale and superb food, friendly staff. Shame this isn't closer to home.

We visited here on our way home from visiting Hastings for the day and we were very pleased with our choice! The pub itself was lovely inside, we arrived on a busy Saturday evening however the waitress was more than happy to find us a...

Amazing food and service. We just stopped for late lunch while passing through.

We had a table of four, and all had the Greek Meze. This is definitely worth trying. Plenty of different dishes and good flavours. Plenty of other choice on the menu, but think you have to book the meze. I had the Ale on tap,...

Poor food, wrong order delivered late and cold. Pudding ordered to make up for first course but it was inedible. Waitress was falling asleep on her feet. Such a shame menu looked good

Great food, and really welcoming , friendly service . Will definitely return again

Fantastic service and great food. Lovely pub

Delicious Greek food served promptly by very polite and friendly staff. Great atmosphere and the food was superb. Good choice of dishes. Easy parking and will be going back very soon. Thank you.

Great food and very friendly service.

Lovely country pub and the food was lovely also 4the waitress lol.only reason not 5 stars didn't sell a decent lager .

Excellent, lovely and warm, food was delicious, service was spot on.

Lovely atmosphere and helpful warm friendly staff

Excellent The food we had a Mezza was the best, my husband chose to have a Stifado. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the food. Well done Royal Oak..

I’ve been past this place too many times to mention and we finally decided to go for a meal there, what a superb choice. The service was first class, not to intrusive at all, the food was great especially the Beef Stifado. There was nothing...

We have passed many times and this time we decided to stop and have an early dinner. The inside is lovely and inviting. We had dinner and a drink. It is a Greek inspired menu. Very tasty. Debra was friendly and helpful. It was quiet...

I went to the Royal Oak late afternoon yesterday. A beautiful looking pub inside and out with a lovely cosy atmosphere. The two bar staff were friendly and professional but the best thing was the food. I had Cypriot Souvlaki. Chargrilled chicken skewers with greek salad, pitta bread and houmous. Having recently holidayed in Greece I can vouch for the authenticity of the food. Lovely. Thankyou

The Royal Oak, Watlington, is a 15th century Inn with lots of character. The food and service are excellent, all this at reasonable prices.

We visited the Royal Oak for Sunday lunch with our youngest grandson the staff were attentive from the start taking the order promptly the food was tasty but all of our meals were luke warm and the plates were almost cold this took the edge...

We had a very good Sunday lunch with three children, one who is on a strictly gluten free diet. He was so happy to be able to eat the french fries and chicken skewers. We all enjoyed the meal very much- enormous portions of tasty...

Fabulous food, Fabulous service, we attended last month for a wedding reception. Meze was amazing, will be coming back for Christmas. Thank you.

Lovely non pretentious pub. Greek menu is great. Great condition beer. Had a Spinach and feta pie - it was huge and just gorgeous! Will be back!

Nice and friendly, just popped in for a drink, would like to go back and try the menu

Excellent food. Awesome service. Drinks are very special. One special public house house. Incorporating Mediterranean and English food. Love it. ❤

This pub is so LOVELY ! Decorated nicely (- for Halloween) , absolutely fell in love with the well - what a fantastic piece of history to have inside your pub , staff were friendly and very polite . The food was ok I had...

We had a family wedding reception here last weekend, Greek Meze was the weapon of choice. Amazing food, really very very good and clearly chef knows his food and how it should be cooked and presented. Service was fabulous by the very efficient ladies and...

Just visiting the area very nice meal.

First visit to the Royal Oak we were greeted by friendly and welcoming staff. We thoroughly enjoyed our Greek Meze meal, more than enough to eat and a vegetarian option available for me. A thoroughly enjoyable evening in a relaxing and welcoming environment, so good...

Terrific, interesting and old creaky pub from 1490. Good ales and very friendly staff.

Very unpleasant! Waiters was very nice and polite but when we asked to change our bread because it was burn to crisp (to our liking) - OMG -swearing and yelling from kitchen was just shocking.

Had a birthday meal and was really nice, good food and service

Lovely meal here, 2 adults and 2 kids. Lots of choice on the (Greek) menu and 3 children’s options if they don’t want Greek (burger, chicken goujons or fish goujons). Food was all tasty and well flavoured and service was really good. A nice little...

Fab traditional English pub. Great service, good food.

Dined with family we haven't seen for a long time and the experience was great. Lovely food, great atmosphere and the staff are friendly and fun..