The Royal Oak in New Forest

We went for Dinner on August 26th (Bank Holiday). There was no atmosphere and the Restaurant was less than half full. We were asked if we had booked and told that the kitchen was closing early, it was only 6.30pm!! There was music in the Bar and outside although nobody was in either but none audible in the Restaurant. The staff seemed to be untrained and unprofessional and not at all welcoming. Some training is definitely needed. This used to be an excellent food Pub such a shame to see it has gone so down hill.

An exceedingly good meal in lovely surroundings. Very friendly staff. Very accessible for people with mobility issues.

We waited 35 minutes for desert, apparently you need a chef to scoop ice-cream onto a dish and serve it - plenty of other staff could have done it, they seem to have little else to do. Other visitors ordered and then left because the waiting time was so long. On the upside when the main meals did arrive it was all hot and very tasty - shame about the service.

Lovely pub and restaurant. Beautiful interior. Friendly and welcoming staff. We're stating at Shorefield and we popped in as this place hasn't been open when we have visited before. We just popped in for a few drinks on the way back from the beach and came the next day too. The tables were reserved for evening meals so we're looking forward to come back and try it.

This pub has had a bit of a checkered recent past having been flooded a few times……. But it’s back open and it’s great ! Good beer, even better food, good selection on the menu and specials all home cooked so you can be rest assured it’s fresh and hot, we had lunch and it was the best pub food we’ve had in a while, with a friend from overseas who enjoyed the steak pie !!! We seem to have eaten out a lot these past couple of weeks looks like we left the best to last ! Highly recommend! Great staff too !!

Sunday lunch and the menu, food, staff etc is all great as before - but the servery let them down this time as we found although our excellent lamb shank was very hot the rest of the meal was not - the yorkshire pudding and gravy was decidedly luke warm - sort of took the edge off the experience tbh - you are looking forward to digging into piping hot gravy and find it is not (piping hot I mean). Just an aberration I guess and a timing issue as if the plate of food was waiting for the meat - it would not put us off going there again - all our four plates on our table had the same issue. The sunday lunch was £17.50 for the lamb I think. Dessert was excellent, service superb.

As I wasn't feeling very hungry I decided to order something light and chose coconut prawns with red Thai sauce and a side of french fries. Slightly surprised the sauce was cold, more like a mayonnaise but not as stiff but so tasty and delicious with the prawns. The fries were good and a good sized helping. I thoroughly enjoyed this meal.

We decided to go back and give the Royal Oak another go after having a negative experience last month , as usually this Establishment is first rate . I have to say that today it well exceeded itself on service and food . The food was delicious and service second to none .Special thanks to Darren who overlooked our service and am looking forward to my meal there next month Thank you all once again

We had an excellent lunch here on Tuesday lunchtime. The pub wasn’t busy but still had a lovely warmth and atmosphere to it. Service was everything you’d hope for and the food really was exceptional. The 3 of us had the £9.95 2 course lunchtime Mon-Friday special which is amazing value for money. Best liver and bacon I’ve ever had. Loads of parking at the back.Definitely recommend it and will be returning next time we’re in the area.Thank you, this is how a pub lunch should be.

We visited of a quiet November midweek lunchtime. The car park at the rear is large and the dining area is large, and there were plenty of tables with space between them, a pleasant surprise.We'd seen the set menu advertised in the local paper, 2 courses for £9.99. Both the main courses and the deserts were very good, tasty and well presented but both were small, or rather very small portions. So, with everything else being very good, I'd suggest one splashes the cash and goes for items off the main menu unless you want only a small meal.One other thing to note, a gratuity or service charge of 10% is included on the bill. We were given the option to remove it but declined to do so, as we'd been pleased with the service. However, we subsequently noticed that the gratuity was on all items including drinks, my preference if tipping is to tip purely on food. You may of course have a different view.

Booked a table here for my daughter in laws birthday while we on a long weekend break. Made to feel welcome straight away, had a lovely friendly atmosphere. Our waiter was very pleasant and jolly. Our food was enjoyable and reasonably priced. There is a 10% service charge on the bill which we was told we dont have to pay,but as we usually leave a tip we kept it on there. Would go there again if ever we in Dorset in the future.

Eaten and had drinks here many times. Lovely food and great staff. Had a couple of very good Bloody Mary’s here recently.

We came here on a rather dull Monday evening. We have often thought about popping in and rather than cook we got in the car and decided to come in.We are glad we did. I had the seabass with a parsnip puree on a lovely bed of veg. I must say the sauce that come with it was absolutely fantastic. My friend had the liver and said it was cooked perfectly. Will definitely be coming back.The service and drinks were also lovely and we had a great evening.

Popped in on a wet and windy afternoon.Pub was quiet but had a warm welcome from the young lady on service.Ordered our meal and it arrived promptly and was freshly cooked and very tasty.The price was reasonable with a couple of drinks and all in all very impressed.Have been told that their Sunday lunch is well worth a try so will no doubt be back.

Came in last night for a family meal, the girls serving us were lovely, couldn’t fault! The food was amazing I had the special Thai curry and my husband had the tandoori chicken. Toilets very clean! Very busy evening but great night! The assistant manager Leah couldn’t do enough for us!

I am so disappointed to have had to write this review but have been here many times for evening dinner and Sunday lunches and has always been so good that I have recommended this place , but unfortunately tonight was awful.From start to finish the service and food Was appalling .Drinks order not correct , ordering another round of drinks took half an hour , the food was disgusting my friend had salmon which was lukewarm and had what could only be described as a dried out piece of shoe leather , but we were told it was a rosti.Soup was served no spoon was with it had to track one down ourselves , I had chicken curry which looked as bad as it tasted and I just had to leave it all .The flatbread with it looked as if it had been left out for a day or two was totally stale .Not once were we asked if everything was ok and clearly the waitress must have known as we said we have been waiting half an hour for our drinks .Also when the waitress took my food away it was untouched but nothing to ask if anything was wrong .The attitude of the waitress was couldn’t care less . I actually did say to one of the waitresses what’s gone wrong here as always been good here but I explained it’s been awful from the service to the food and she said she would let the manager know .No manager ever came over too see us except when we paid the bill and she said I’ve taken a round of drinks off for the drink mix up and haven’t charged you for the curry that you didn’t eat .I think that was very poor considering the whole evening was a total wipe out .The manager who is usually there when I have been is a man called Darren but he was not in tonight unfortunately as he has always ensured good service and good food .its a shame as I will not be going back again or the other three people that also came said never again .

Lovely Find as re or ended by our touring sitePopped in early evening and had a lovely meal with great wine and serviceThe burger was fantastic and the chips swapped for a lovely side saladThe lamb my wife had was thoroughly enjoyable as was the chocolate desert we shared!Great wine and we took a second bottle home with usThanks for a lovely experience!

Came here with hubby end of last week on Friday evening. The menu was very big and seemed to suit for all. I had the cod off the specials which was absolutely lovely on the risotto and husband raved about his lamb rump which was cooked pink. It seemed very busy but service was also wonderful. Husband thought beer was a little expensive but other than that everything was perfect. We will definitely be back.

My husband, dad and I visited on the last night of our weeks holiday. Large restaurant with a specials board. Vast menu to choose from. I had the belly pork which was delicious and of a large size, dad had gammon and my husband had the beef stroganoff. Service was brilliant with a smile and personality.

Knowing as I do that pubs do not actually employ Chefs, just people who can reheat food I went for what I thought was pretty simple.......Macaroni cheese it arrived pink. What more can I say BUT that our bill was not cheap either AVOID this place.

First class service, food as good as any top class restaurant, fish week this week, fantastic choice of fresh fish

Nice place, good atmosphere. Unfortunately it was the evening before owners left and felt that things were a bit lax. Food was very nice, but the wait for the order was far too long. Will put it down to the finger being taken off the button !!

Went here for our evening meal. A good selection of dishes, and excellent service. Food was well presented and tasty. Great value. What more do you want in a pub meal!

We went for the first time since the new Management took over, in February 2019. We were so impressed and now recommend to our Bed and Breakfast guests who have all come back very happy. I have just booked for my Mother's 93rd birthday celebration having confirmed disabled access and a quiet area within the restaurant. I have high hopes of another lovely evening.

Visited it for an evening meal, no booking made, just called in on the hop. very warm welcome from the Manager. All our meals were served hot and tasted delicious. We certainly all enjoyed our desserts.

Stopped here on the way back from mudeford for lunch.

We visited the Royal Oak twice , once for lunch and then Mothering Sunday . The food is very good quality, desserts are ok. The service overall was good abit slow on Sunday but it was busy, staff are very welcoming

I took my husband for dinner while we were away for his birthday. We booked in advance as it was a Friday night. We both ordered soup to start mine was cold but my husbands as warm so we swapped as he doesn't like his too hot. I had prawn curry and he had chicken. He wasn't over enthused but my prawn curry was nice. When we received the bill I couldn't believe how expensive it was and the girl with the card machine who took our payment hung over me wanting a gratuity! Wouldn't go again we have had nicer food at a lower price.

The Royal Oak changed hands recently and we are delighted that this pub is now serving great food, giving great service in a friendly and warm atmosphere, just 'down the road' from us. Our second visit was a Saturday night when they were extremely busy with large groups in, we were a table of 4. Our food came out on time, was as hot and tasty as on our previous visit on a Thursday evening when it was quiet - and with tasty properly cooked vegetables. This has now become our 'go to' place for food and atmosphere, always a warm welcome.