The Royal Oak in Bedford

Great food and the staff were just as good. Be nice to see a few ales instead of loads of lagers but will definitely be back. Really nice menu

Just had an excellent Sunday Roast. Staff were friendly and the service was spot on. Will be back again to try out some of the other dishes which looked great. Looks like they have some passionate foodies running the pub now. Keep up the great work.

Always a great pub with good food, friendly staff as always what more would you want from a country pub. Well done to Paris and Ben for bringing a brilliant pub to Carlton

We attended a Murder Mystery Evening it was so entertaining.. The food was amazing.. the staff were superb .. The chef's produced the most amazing array of dishes for a large amount at the same time.

Went to see what the pub looked like, so only had drinks this time. Looking for ideas for my sons birthday meal. I'll be back soon.

Thankyou to all the staff who made our large party feel so welcome today. This is the second time we have had Sunday lunch here (10 adults and 12 children) and we can’t fault it. Organised and efficient, beautiful food, lovely atmosphere and great outdoor space too. Highly recommend.

Stopped for a light lunch on a bike ride. Didn't disappoint. Beautifully cooked sardines & some tapas we shared.

Stopped for a light lunch on a bike ride. Didn't disappoint. Beautifully cooked sardines & some excellent tasty tapas we shared.

Lovely village pub, nice decor, great staff and super food! We only live a couple of miles away so decided to give it a try and weren’t disappointed! We were warmly greeted and offered a choice of tables. The menu was varied and reasonably priced and the starters, steak and gammon steak that we ordered were all of great quality and nicely presented. The staff were friendly and helpful and we can’t wait to go back!

Father’s Day Lunch and as always, the food was absolutely top drawer - I love the gammon as an alternative to normal roast pork. All the trimmings and sides are always spot on too. New one on me were the corn rib starters which were absolutely delicious too - Best way I have ever eaten sweetcorn. Final thing to mention is that I left booking to the last minute and even added to our numbers extra late but the excellent Paris and her team made it all work for us without any fuss. Wonderful setup - Keep up the good work and high standards guys ❤️

Fabulous Sunday roast. Friendly staff, great outdoor space. I would recommend a visit. Great setting in a rural Bedfordshire village.

Fabulous Sunday lunch, including vegetarian options. I’ve only given 4 stars as the service was really really unacceptably slow.

Went with family when I was visiting the area. Dad recommended the pub for its really nice Sunday lunch. They said it’s a young couple running the place and it possibly lacks a little atmosphere in terms of a typical pub, but they assured me the food was good. They were spot on, great food, but “young service”. Once they warm up and are able to chat to locals and get to know people, they could be onto a winner. The place has lots of potential and I think they will eventually do well.

Delicious Sunday lunch, well cooked, hot and plenty of it. Lovely atmosphere.

First visit to The Royal Oak today. Cannot fault the service, atmosphere or the food. Our Sunday roast was exceptional, the best we’ve had locally. There’s a great choice on the menu and we wouldn’t hesitate in recommending this place. We will definitely be back and this will be our first choice when it comes to meals out locally.

We had a lovely evening at The Royal Oak to celebrate a birthday. Great food, service and atmosphere. The vegetarian selection was very good too, and the cauliflower steak was delicious!

My wife and I visited The Royal Oak last Sunday for lunch. The meal was outstanding. Firstly the welcome was excellent into a very clean and tidy dining area. The roast lunch was tiptop - served hot and on hot plates. The roast chicken was to die for -- very, very tender and extremely succulent. All the vegetables were cooked thoroughly and NOT al dente: perfect. I am struggling to find a critical element to this review because that would add status and honesty to the comments. However, I have been unsuccessful in finding anything to criticise. Well done. We will undoubtedly visit again. You should know that although I am enthusiastic about my praise for the occasion it is a fact that we are related to the chef and I am happy to declare that. Another noteworthy matter to comment upon is that we understand that on the Sunday of our visit the dining tables were fully booked and the pub was turning hopeful customers away. What better evidence could there be of a popular lunch venue.

Absolutely beautiful food.. three of us went for sunday lunch. 1 gammon, 1beef and 1 lamb shank.. all said it was perfect.. can’t wait to go back.

Very nice Sunday lunch.. everything cooked lovely only downside was the meat portion was tiny on each of our three plates.. but won’t stop us going back soon. Went back today(8/10) absolutely perfect,all three of us couldn’t fault a thing.. service was great, food fantastic and the place is spotlessly clean.. keep up the good work👍 UPDATE Been again with two friends and it’s even better.. 👍

Friendly service and food was delicious. Will definitely make the trip again!

Great beer, nice comfortable seating, good bar staff. Enjoyed my evening and would go back again

Popped in for lunch. Friendly greeting, comfortable seating and very clean. Good selection of food on offer, lasagna was absolutely delicious and other guests enjoyed their food. Would have been nice if the fire was lit as it was a bit of a chilly day. Will definitely return and recommend, and look forward to trying more of the menu!

Great food and attentive staff. Well done.

Tasty home cooked meals for good value! I went for lunch last week with a friend. Really enjoyed the food, including 2 smaller portion meals which were great value and not too filling. The décor is fantastic, very friendly team. Love the ‘Wishes for Kids’ door - well done!

Great to see the RO open again. I wish it well. Well kept London Pride , a snip at £4.45 a pint. Super garden out the back. Superb loos. Can't comment on food yet. Great centre village location. Rather anodyne decor....all G/greys, whites and blacks... Lacks a touch of soul/character and so misses out to the soaraway Sun, the chocolate boxy Bell, the legendary Fox and the stylish Oakley Arms in surrounding villages. And you can cut out the fairly dreadful muzack. Better without!!

Great Sunday lunch worth a visit

Highly recommend Royal Oak , lovely country pub with great atmosphere . There is always a warm and friendly welcome from Paris and Ben 🤗 we had a delicious homemade shepherds pie which I quite can honestly say was one of the best I’ve ever tasted . Followed by home-made toffee cheesecake.

We had the best nut roast we’ve ever had. The food came out very quickly, and the hosts were very accommodating of our dietary requirements. Cannot recommend enough!

A good place to visit for a drink in the nice garden. The pub is conveniently near to the park, across the bridge, we enjoyed a walk and some drinks with our friends. Thank you

Food was nice but poor WiFi though. Aimed to use as one of my "remote working hubs" but with the slow WiFi this won't be possible. The food is 👌🏾 thgh

Very nice Sunday lunch.. everything cooked lovely only downside was the meat portion was tiny on each of our three plates.. but won’t stop us going back soon.

Fantastic family run restaurant and bar. Great for couples and families alike with a beautiful inside area and outdoor garden area too. The food is amazing and I loved the passion for providing awesome food with a great service. A rare find.

We have heard lots of varied feedback about this pub, but we thought we'd give it a chance, WE WISH WE HADN'T. The service was slow, felt like we were forgotten about and it took forever for our starters and mains to come out, we didn't have time to stay for dessert. The burger that we had was burnt and the bun felt stale. My wife's Caesar with added halloumi wasn't great either. With most of the lettuce seeming old and it was still gritty. We will stick to the Sun in Felmersham and The Oakley from now on.

Really welcoming staff with a beautiful pub The garden is secure for kids n dogs with some lovely views over the village....I'm always greeted with a pleasant smile

Arrived at the Royal Oak and was somewhat underwhelmed with the atmosphere. I don't know if it was down to staff shortage but the first thing I noticed was the floor did not look like it had been swept for a while and there was cobwebs covered with flies in some areas of the ceiling. I feel that part of the venue lacked decorations which made it feel less cosy and comfortable.There is a large outside area which did look more appealing and had toys at the back for children which was good. The food however, was good and I cannot fault it at all. Looking at other meals on the menu coming out of the kitchen, I feel I would probably return to try them. The service was ok but not as engaging as I hoped. but I can only believe that is down to the experience of the staff. Overall this Pub/Restaurant has a lot of potential and only has to make a few improvements.

Had some drinks in the garden. Had full sun and great atmosphere. Also had some garlic bread and ice cream which was some of the best ice I have had. Speak to the staff the told me the ice cream was made local. Very happy and will certainly be back

Superb food & great service! The gluten free menu is brilliant! Overall such a wonderful pub with a beautiful garden with a great atmosphere! Throughly enjoy visiting the Royal Oak every time! Thank you Ben, Paris and the team!!

Really good food will definitely come here again loved the roast dinner 🍽

THE ROAST IS THE BEST OUR FAMILY HAS EVER HAD!!!!

Really nice place, Good food, nice atmosphere, nice garden 👍 needs more support and greater use.

Took my family of 9 here for a Sunday Roast and I have to admit it was the best Sunday roast I have ever had! My Wife and I are vegetarians so it is always difficult to get a nice roast without the worry if we will be catered for. We had the nut roast and was advised by our waitress our Potato’s were made separately without the duck fat which was really great. The rest of my Family (meat eaters) had different choices of meat advertised. My father who is Jamaican and is not a fan of Sunday Roasts usually (He like heavily seasoned food) said he could eat THIS Sunday roast every weekend and already asked when I am bringing him back! 🤣 The new owners and staff were very accommodating and seemed like genuinely lovely people. This is definitely going to be a place we will be visiting frequently! Highly recommended

Absolutely amazing fish and chip lunch today with my wife. The mushy peas mixed with mint was a fantastic change and so tasty. We thoroughly recommend the food.

Wonderful pub, great atmosphere and nice drinks on tap

Visited on Saturday when they had live entertainment all afternoon, three different acts all superbly talented, wife and I had a lovely cooked, very reasonably priced 3 course meal, locally sourced ingredients used where possible adds to the quality of the food, the staffs attentiveness couldn't be faulted, the royal oak is about 60miles from my house but I wouldn't hesitate to make the journey again to make an occasion a memorable one and would highly recommend anyone to try the Royal Oak food and hospitality

A great pub with a wonderful welcome from Paris. Also fantastic food: the steak was perfect and served piping hot. Thorough recommended pub with very comfortable seating.

Had a wonderful day with friends at the royal oak Carlton, wonderful welcome and atmosphere, lovely food and entertainment with three different acts throughout the afternoon, would highly recommend the menu, and as a side note in my opinion they had the cleanest and pleasant smelling men's toilets I have come across in a pub, just brilliant

We went on the festival day there was singers from 1.00pm to 7.00pm what a great atmosphere people singing along The food was delicious we had starters main and desserts and the staff where all outstanding

Great place, nice staff, the food is wonderful. A nice drive to a lovely place, a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Definitely recommend.

Good to return here to eat & drink in the lovely garden. New owners & we really enjoyed the food & drinks. Food was really tasty & high quality we will definitely return. Pub is dog & family friendly.

Had a great meal with the family in the garden, with toys for the kids to play with too which is a great touch, burger was delicious, salads just right and all the kids enjoyed there food which is a massive win! The ice creams were delicious especially the salted caramel! Overall fantastic and would recommend/return!

Me and my mate popped in for dinner whilst camping nearby in Carlton. Lovely and quiet, and still serving food by 6pm 👍🏻All members of staff were a delight and absolutely made the visit pleasant! Will 100% need to come back to treat the girlfriend 😉

Fantastic venue, family of 5, friendly and attentive staff and the food was fantastic and real value for money, would thoroughly recomend, a kids area in the garden was perfect to keep our kids entertained and a beautiful garden on a warm evening! We tried the salads and burgers and were all full of flavour and presented well at a reasonable price! Also the local ice creams were delicious! We know where we will be going when we are next in the area!

Impressive, our compliments to the chef and team at the Royal Oak. Excellent locally-sourced food, cooked to perfection. Professional and friendly staff, highly recommended.

Lovely to have to Royal Oak back open in the village. Had a nice lunch here with my wife and son. Food was well cooked and reasonably priced. Seems to be a real focus on making the pub child friendly with a box of toys under the covered awning at the top of the garden and a colouring book and crayons brought to our table while we were waiting for our food.

Great lunch today with my wife for the new owners menu launch day. For a first service and newly up and running pub it was fantastic. Great traditional pub food at a good price with local ingredients. Will definitely be visiting again and look forward to a Sunday roast in the near future. We had 3 course meal with drinks for around £70!

Very limited menu and even then not everything was available, but what we had was good. The beers and cider available on tap are a bit more interesting than a lot of places.

Group of 8 and we had the small marquis in the garden. Staff excellent really made to feel welcome. Wines well chilled in fact all the drinks were just right. Really good atmosphere.

This is our second visit to the Royal Oak in Carlton and have booked again for next weekend. Delicious food, lovely beer garden and friendly staff. Highly recommend

Nice friendly pub with a good menu. Friendly staff and great chef. Fast and efficient, tasty food. A few beers - could do with a few more local beers on tap but overall I would recommend.

Had a lovely lunch, good choice on the menu, would recommend this to anyone.

Have just had a superb dining experience here. A real hidden gem. Steve and Jacob are some of the best chefs I have had the pleasure of eating their delicious dishes. The staff were friendly and was so impressed with the food that I asked to speak to one of the chefs personally to pass on my appreciation. Thoroughly recommend you go here. Great outdoor dining and dog friendly too. The car park is a bit small so you may need to park in a side street if it gets busy here, which I hope it does do because this place really did impress me and I have experienced lots of fine dining places.

Excellent food, not just a bog standard roast, you can tell they are using quality ingredients and care! Good service and lovely garden too. Large portions and very good value for money, although it did mean we couldn’t manage dessert after starters and mains as we were too full! A good excuse to come back again I guess :)

I don't know who the chef is but what a fantastic treat Sunday lunch was. I had the beef and it was tender, perfectly medium and very, very tasty. The gravy was probably the best I've had in Bedford (and I've tried a few.) The roast veg was a nice touch, I've never had beetroot on my roast before and now it's a staple at home. Then there's the secret, genius surprise, the butternut puree. I could eat a bowlful of the buttery goodness. The pork was very tasty also. The cheesecake finished me off. Fantastic venue, warm welcome. We shall definitely return in the new year. What a gem!

Well all I can say to Emma and her team was what a fantastic day for Norton and Shakira's wedding. The food and service was great you made the day very special with all your teams hard work. Thank you all once again and would highly recommend the Royal Oak if having a drink, a meal or even that special occasion.

Great Sunday Roast. Exceptionally tasty and generous portions. Friendly, professional service. Would thoroughly recommend.

We heard on the grapevine that Emma the previous manager was back at the helm. We popped in and it was like the old days, friendly, cracking food and environment. So we went back for Sunday lunch 2 days later, and we were met with...

Love y’all especially Catherine. Very nice cider on tap, lovely staff and vibes. Comfy furniture outside :)

What was once an amazing village gastropub is now an absolute shambles it is style over substance, overpriced terrible quality. Managers hiding and leaving young kids to field the complaints Place should in its current state give up on food and rely on the exceptional...

Very poor service, My wife was asked for her number due to COVID track and trace, to which she received a very inappropriate image and various messages from the general manager! ABSOLUTELY AVOID,Extremely disappointing considering the times in which we find ourselves. A very poor...

Rather odd extensions to this village centre pub, but good food and service for our lunch there. We both had beef dishes - both the blade of beef and beef cheeks were perfectly cooked, and the accompanying vegetables also very toothsome. The trio of desserts...

Lunch out with my brother today at the Royal Oak. Always something different on the menu and the specials board to tempt you. Chicken Pakora starter and Confit duck leg for myself with my brother choosing Crayfish stack on purple potatoes and the twice cooked...

We visited on our holiday and frequented this pub two nights in a row. The staff were so: welcoming even though we were a group on holiday, friendly and efficient. The roast we had on the Sunday was sublime. l Couldn’t recommend this pub more.

Taking advantage of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme my friend and I, along with our 3 young children, had dinner here. The service was faultless, the environment very Covid-friendly, and the food was amazing! We both had the steak, which was cooked to...

Five of us visited today for lunch and were impressed. We've had the pizzas from The Royal Oak previously which have also been good. Three had the beef which came well cooked and with an impressive Yorkshire pudding. The other meals we ordered were similarly...

Lovely visit this afternoon - great country pub and the food was wonderful. Went with husband, cousin and her husband and the welcome was warm. The food was lovely, fresh, reasonably priced and great portions. Added bonus - dogs welcome.

With the success of chain & independent restaurants I quite forgotten warm beer and warming food but the Oak renewed ancient memories. The decor & cleanliness were all very good, service prompt but regrettably the food was very disappointing. There was a limited menu, but...

The Royal Oak in Carlton Beds is a gem of a place. Nice decor, busy but friendly environment, coupled with outstanding food at reasonable prices. Equally welcoming to families or couples it is an relatively well kept secret. Highly recommended.

We have just had a fantastic family meal at this pub. The food was really tasty; there was a good selection of beers; and the service was brilliant. We will be visiting again!

Visited the Royal Oak several times and they get it right every time. Has the decor and stonework one now expects from village bistro pubs plus a pleasant garden currently being upgraded and a pleasant open feel. The staff are welcoming and the menu on...

Very welcoming atmosphere. Good range of real ales, tried 2 , both were well kept and tasty. Decided on 4 starters to share between the 2 of us and some skin on fries. All were well presented with lots of good salad, tasted really great. Good base menu and lots of specials, all of which I fancied. Will definitely go again.

We had lunch at this restaurant last mouth and the food was uneatable the chef must like spiceses as it was in all our meals as to say we will not be eating at this place again.

The building was pleasant. The the staff were pleasant.I ordered the Pulled Beef dish. The beef portion was very small and very chewy with a strange dryish texture. It was not particularly pleasant. The Pulled beef dish was removed from the chalkboard after I placed the order.My wife ordered Cajun chicken. It had so much hot powder all over it, it was not edible.Neither were the accompanying chips that were very soggy.Leaving a plate of food did not prompt any questions from the staff.We did not pass any comment at the time because we were with friends who had made the booking. We paid the waitress our share of the bill and left.I would not wish to repeat the experience.

We joined our friends for a spot of lunch on New years eve. A nice pub, good atmosphere. A few nice ales on tap which is always good. A good choice from the menu. I went for Thai fish cakes to start with haddock and a side of onion rings. Food was very good. Hot and tasty. Everyone appeared to enjoy their meals. Service was very good. The only negative point was we felt the food was a little overpriced for what it was.

We dined at the Royal Oak for Sunday lunch. The food was at best poor; - one of the courses was cod with tomato and pesto but when it arrived, was basically an overcooked piece of cod with a tin of tomatoes dumped on top (distinct lack of any pesto); and at worst, terrible - when one of us asked for burger without bacon - it arrived with bacon, we reminded them of our order and they simply took it out to the kitchen, removed the piece of bacon and then returned the burger! Appalling. At no point during our meal did anyone of the staff come over to check if the food was ok, which was probably a telling sign that they knew it wasn't up to much. The acoustics of the place meant we had to shout to be heard amongst the other diners so an ambiant meal it was not. Needless to say, we decided not to stay for dessert, and we won't be returning.

Had a lovely roast dinner here on Sunday afternoon. Was tasty and quick service! Staff were helpful and we really enjoyed our meal. Good price too.

Lovely pub, beautifully re-furbished and very clean and comfortable. Friendly staff and excellent service. The food was beautifully presented and perfectly cooked. I don't get the pleasure of eating out very much so this was a real treat as we all enjoyed a delicious meal.

Had an excellent evening meal here with family. We were looking for somewhere nearby and were so glad we found this place. The service was polite, friendly and efficient. We had starters and mains only and all were delicious. We particularly liked the garlic mushrooms on toast as a starter and the seabass as a main course. Will definitely return.

Husband and I were looking somewhere nice to eat for lunch. First time at The Royal Oak and it’s lovely little place. The waitress was friendly and welcoming however, I think she was the manager- she wasn’t as friendly and welcoming as the other staff.

Chef Nick has a passion for everything he makes. We went to the Royal Oak as part of a family reunion and had a roast beef. The six portions were cooked to perfection and the desserts that followed were all very tasty. I have eaten here before on several occasions and I always find it a pleasure. Recommended.

Thank you for resurrecting one of my favourite old pubs and for doing it so well! Cosy bar area to sit for a drink, nice restaurant area, great menu choice, had Thai fish cakes and rump steak.....both delicious and not over priced as some have said. Looking forward to going back!

It's all too common these days to see the increasing loss of our beloved country pubs. The Royal Oak at Carlton has bucked the trend and returned from the grave better than ever! Great selection of beers, wines and spirits, a fantastic menu with a daily specials. Great chef and excellent quality ingredients, many sourced locally. Lovely garden and patio area with plenty of furniture. The only key point is that the Royal Oak is only open Thurs/Fri/Sat/Sun but I'll take that any day over another pub closing it's doors forever! Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

Stunning pub in sleepy hollow in Bedfordshire food quality packed with flavour and real gem real fire great garden and chickens sevice great we loved chlorine our server bright funny and efficient

went for sunday lunch as a family.The staff were very friendly and the surroundings were quite pleasant.The menu looked quite good, two had the broccoli and pea soup, which was quite nice and i had the chicken and choriso croquettes.the taste was very nice but the consistency was quite wet inside which was abit off putting.It was nice to be able to order a smaller portion.the stuffing wasn't very pleasant it was wet and you could tell it had been stuffed inside the bird,The rest of the roast was just ok.I thought it was very expensive for what you got.i wouldn't return.

It’s a relatively new place and very clean. The food is expensive and not really worth the money. Still nice but overpriced.

Walked over to watch the rugby and then a meal with friends. We had a lovely meal and evening. For me, as previously, the food is very good. I had the Arnold Bennet ( smoked haddock omelette ) followed by the haddock and chips. All very appetising and tasty, I think the omelette would have done with a bit of additional interest e.g. a grilled tomato ? I also tried the liver which was delicious. Others in the party thought the green Thai curry could have been a bit more green, and a bit more Thai, probably a bit more curry as well ( what do I know ). By the end we were all pretty full and ended up sharing a cheese board and one other dessert. Overall cost was reasonable, mainly due to the sensible wine prices. I

We didn’t want to go too far for a quick event meal so chose The Royal Oak, we were not disappointed, the staff are really good and friendly and the meal was very good value for money. My wife loved the Ribollita soup and my liver and bacon was very nice, we will be going back.

I love this pub. Freehouse. Clean, chic, nice wines, great food, family and dog friendly, great staff, chilled music. Thanks for a much needed relaxing lunch break!

Visting nearby Harrold we hoped to eat in a local pub. Evidently no pubs left in the town but a few minutes drive over an ancient bridge brought us to Carlton and The Royal Oak. Large car park in the back was a surprise as in so many small villages parking can be iffy. The restaurant has recently been totally rebuilt with a clean, sharp looking interior as well as plenty of outdoor seating. Great menu with a number of specials including a venison stew which one of our party ordered. Personally I ordered the burger which had a very large, very favorable piece of meat .... one of the best I've had in a long time. Good selection of beers and wine plus friendly and quick service.

Warm welcome & great customer service . Food was hot & a decent portion . The place was spotless . Even the lols were sparkling . Highly recommend a visit .

It's rare for dormant local pubs to reopen these days, so we were on the doorstep when the Royal Oak reopened as a free house back in May 2016. The building has been renovated with significantly more than just a lick of paint, and is now a warm comfortable place to come for excellent good value beer and great home made food.