The Royal Oak in West Somerset - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Being regular visitors to Porlock, we have experienced this pub under different management throughout the year. The new decour is fabulous and the bingo and quiz nights are a great new touch but please, please, PLEASE bring back the previous menu and the previous slick service that was offered earlier in the year! It was really something to rave about and elevated the pub to am entirely different level . The old food and service combined with the new bingo and quiz nights would make this an easy 10/10

Geweldige echt Engelse pub. Leuke lokale bediening g, kokkin kookte speciaal voor mij een glutenvrije maaltijd de tweede dag dat ze wist dat ik kwam en het was heerlijk!

Can not recommend this pub enough, having had 3 meals there, lunch dinner and Sunday roast, the food and service has not missed a trick. The chef really knows her stuff and the choice and variety of food and dessert is exceptional. Very friendly and clean pub, definitely will be going back. Sunday roast is the best I have ever had, even my son said the same.

I would love to award 5 stars but, alas, it's not possible. The menu is decent. The quality of the food is very good indeed and the chef is talented. Unfortunately, the Royal Oak needs to take a serious look at its seating layout and service - both in the front and back of the house. - Servers are little more than order takers and food runners. They lack knowledge of the menu and are inattentive. They also don't clear away empty glasses and plates. - Bar staff know nothing of the "food side". Their focus is on pouring drinks only and cannot answer basic questions such as, "What is your soup of the day?". There appears to be absence of coordination and communication between the bar and kitchen. - Service is slow. A one hour wait between being seated and the main dishes arriving is far too long. This is made worse by inattentive servers. - There is insufficient separation of the bar/drinking area from the tables/eating area. Diners share space - and are crowded over - by standing drinkers. One table is situated directly beneath the area of the bar used for glass collecting/washing. Thus, conversation is routinely disturbed by the sound of glass trays being dropped onto the bar and loaded into the washer. Even worse, that side of the bar is reserved for the empties skip. Empty glass bottles are thrown into the skip in the immediate earshot of diners. Either remove that table and make it a drinking area only, or find an alternate method of disposing of empty glasses and bottles. Diners should not have to listen to bottles crashing every couple of minutes. The Royal Oak has the potential to be Porlock's best pub restaurant, especially as The Top Ship's menu has [for some reason] taken a backward step in recent years. However, it needs to fix the above issues to make this a reality.

We were camping at Sparkhayes and came here most evenings. The staff were great, quiz good as was the beer. Amused our selves playing the games that are available in the bar and chatting to the staff. Great little pub. Cheers Conor and Sam

Very Friendly pub, the most hospitable in the area. I could have stayed here all night. I will be returning. Lovely staff ......

Great staff, great food, great selection of beers.

Brilliant service wonderful food would recommend

This is the worst pub I've ever visited they changed management and chef recently and omg the service has gone down hill that is if you get served the food takes forever to arrive and tastes awful and If you go out the back it smells like the sewers have backed up please don't go there it looks quaint from the outside don't be fooled

Amazing food and service, friendly chef and good beers!

Despite staff issues. Lovely meal beautifully cooked. Staff couldn't have been more helpful. Worth a visit.

One week we had a very good meal there, lots of choice and many specials, the next week they had hardly any dishes on the menu and only 2 very expensive specials. The chef who always cooked delicious food is no longer there. That is probably the reason for the limited menu choice. A shame, because we always enjoyed going there. Hopefully they can find a good chef.

We are a group of 8 and had two meals here twice this week. Well done to your chef . All meals were superb, all staff friendly and helpful. Well done, made our holiday.

Nabbed the last available table for Easter Sunday Lunch time and boy were we glad we did! Lovely homely atmosphere, friendly and accommodating staff and the roast was gorgeous. We shared dessert as the mains were very big so worked out about £20.00 per person 😋 so good value too. Will deffo remember this pub when we come back to the area.

We were there for curry night, but regular menu available. Nice place, relaxed atmosphere and attentive staff. Many thanks the Phil, George and Ellie

Great food in a cosy atmosphere! Will be back!

The girls behind the bar were amazing. Really welcoming, polite, friendly and helpful. They also have a cracking sense of humour. The chef clearly loves his job. Very engaging. Happy to talk about his food. Actively seeking feedback. And it's clear he does love his job by his food. Both of our meals were delicious. Presentation was good and the flavours spot on. Pudding was even better. The toffee apple crumble was by far the best I've had. Nice little selection of beer and a friendly pub. Thanks to all. See you in the autumn. X

Had a wonderful meal on Valentine's evening. Locals all very welcoming and friendly.

Excellent food & service. Dog friendly. Meals are around £15 to £30 per head but nice quality & good sized portions. Homely pub atmosphere.

After a VERY long day seeing clients (Brent Knoll Bristol Minehead Yeovil Barnstaple Coombe Martin for Honey Legal) I was heading home over a starlit Exmoor and dropped down to Porlock..this is a small pub but it caught my eye. Parked up the motor and ambled back for some rehydration..friendly staff friendly locals CRACKING atmosphere..menu is really good (not your Witherspoon level..cod wrapped in para ham and mouie marinere level) WELL worth a visit

All out guests have a great meal here and love the atmosphere.

Gastro pub food but within a Pub that feels like a Pub (Friendly, place to have drinks, dogs, tables spaced in a pub vibe way - not columns). Some reasonable priced stuff like Burgers or you can pay £25+ for a special In my view, they've got it exactly right. Just go for drinks, some good value pub grub or a bit of an occasion

Fantastic Sunday roast ✅ Great drinks selection ✅ Amazing dessert (Sticky toffee pudding / waffles) ✅ Very sweet staff ✅

We arrived late and after the kitchen closed. But the pub manager Dan and customers helped us order a takeaway from Minehead that was brought to the pub and enjoyed with a drink. Dan then gave me a lesson in astrophotography and where to find the planets in the night sky. What a warm welcome to Porlock.

Great atmosphere, friendly staff and great food. Thanks Dan

I was visiting Porlock from Australia and we came here for dinner and it is the best pub dinner we’ve both ever had, and in fact the best mussles and risotto we’ve both eaten. The food was so delicious, top restaurant quality and the service was amazing. I would come back here time and time again if I could.

Was able to order gluten free food. Chef was very helpful. Friendly staff. Cheers!

Had a lovely night in the oak with great food and friendly staff look forward to returning 😀

Fantastic food with good beer and a really great service. Even the dog was looked after Highly recommend booking in for a meal here.

Went into this establishment on the 4th of October, waited five minutes at the unmanned bar to order a drink. Decided We would leave by the rear exit to discover the barmaid sat outside smoking and on her mobile. She obviously knew we were at the bar because she was sat with a young man who had seen us upon arrival

At the local camp site helping on a D of E practice expedition and was in need of some food after a busy, got to the Royal Oak, and that was busy too. They were so accommodating and found us a table. We ordered food and more drinks, and the food was excellent. I would go there again 😋

Excellent food, definitely better and more variety than your average pub, and super friendly staff :)

Great pub! Excellent staff, friendly end welcoming. The landlord went above and beyond to look after us. The food was definitely worth the wait.

Perfect place to stop and have a drink and meal. Food was excellent, one of our party was Gluten free and coeliac, they catered no problem for them , very accommodating. Definitely recommend. Dogs welcome too x

Lovely food and very friendly service

Super friendly staff!!! Great local pub with great atmosphere. We were camping in the area and had a couple of drinks at The Royal Oak. Great pub

Came for a Sunday lunch. Can't say much more as they had zero vegetarian options and we had to leave. The staff didn't seem to care and were rather unfriendly. Disappointing.

Super welcome from all the staff as soon as we walked into the bar. Great selection of different beers and wines. Table for 2 for dinner and we were given a larger table (for 4) in a corner with plenty of space around for our dog to settle and not be in the way. It was hard to choose from the menu but settled on a Chicken Pie and the John Dory from the specials board which was huge. Both meals were delicious and freshly cooked by chef and his team. Dessert was a homemade chocolate cheesecake (plenty to share). Our waiting staff were all friendly, helpful and knowledgeable, I only got Annie's name (sorry!), but credit to everyone. Chef came out after our meal to say Hi and check all was well. Highly recommend this venue and we will definitely return when we are next in the area.

After 1h waiting for a table for dinner (and in last 20 min with 2 tables free, just waiting for the waiters to clean them up), we finally sat down and had to wait again for the girls to notice us and take our order. Most of the customers looked pissed but they did not seem to care. Finally, they rudely asked me to go and withdraw cash as 3 different cards did not work (and they admitted it was their fault). Worst experience in a long time.

We had chargrilled sardines. Some of the best food I've had in a long time, perfectly cooked and presented. But the service and the atmosphere really made it perfect - what a great team. Highly recommended.

Heerlijk gegeten, al twee dagen, en vriendelijk personeel. Gezellige Britse pub

The place is lovely real nice country pub, staff friendly and helpful, food was a bit of a let down the children's scampi and chips was nice my daughter ate the lot and really good size portion, but the beef brisket chilli jacket weren't the best the potatoes where hard and the chilli whilst the meat was cooked really well and tender there was just no flavour, for a chilli it had absolutely no heat or spice at all was more like beef stew!

Daughter had top notch steak, grandkids had pasta and pop. Nice place.

Outstanding In every way! Food for both adults and children has been fantastic. Book now :)

Book now! The food was amazing. It arrived at the table fresh and hot. Honestly, one of the best meals I've had. They love dogs too. All furry friends are made more than welcome with complimentary dog biscuits on the bar. I'll be visiting again!

Great meal at the Royal Oak! We had a couple of fantastic dishes. A beautifully cooked pork shoulder, with a delicious bbq glaze, and a great polenta vegan dish. The service was really good too. It was clear that the team were new, and still finding their feet. But they were great! Attentive. Friendly. And they always had a smile for us. Highly highly recommend!

Really nice meal , great value and so much of it.

Really nice meal for all of our party of 8

Excellent food, we were all really impressed and good beers. Dog friendly with biscuits on the bar so all members of the party were happy.

...just popped in for a quick drink...stayed for two! Fab atmosphere...all tables full of happy Sunday lunch diners. We sat at the bar... very friendly staff. All of them "very on the ball"...as it was busy. Food looked gorgeous as did the menu... Well done new owners. Fabulously refurbished...stylish but not overly done... Great experience all round. Will be back.

Great, only had a beer but very pleasant and and poured with a smile.

A wonderful menu .We chose Scallops and a hake dish both were excellent .The staff and owner were friendly and attentive and it was lovely to see into the kitchen .The kitchen had only been open 6 days and I am sure the team will go from strength to strength .We will be back soon.

A great big thank you to The Royal Oak team from Porlock Mother’s Union. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal on the opening night for your kitchen. We were a big party and you did amazingly well. Lovely food chef/s, lovely friendly attentive staff and a really nice atmosphere. Top marks !!

Under new management and a great improvement. Good selection of beers, great atmosphere, and while I didn't eat, the food being served looked really good.

Very welcoming and friendly staff. A good selection of ales. Well worth a visit.

Welcoming village pub, good beer, pleasant atmosphere

Popped in here with a few friends for a couple of drinks. Local beer and gin had, friendly bar staff. Nice pub to visit.

Great pub, good atmosphere and friendly staff, Dog friendly, had a great evening

Was perfectly fine but then the landlord completely overreacted about someone eating a tube of Pringles whilst watching the football drinking in the pub. What a clown!

My husband and I have visited this pub for years and the way the landlord just spoke to a paying customer was disgusting! So rude and disgusting, shouting at customers for their dogs barking, which couldn't be helped! Considering this is a dog friendly place, the behaviour and attitude of this so called landlord was appalling, and we will not be returning! Not recommended for dog owners and a lovely, family friendly environment

Dam good home cooked food, lovely atmosphere, friendly service

Cosy little pub, fantastic food

Fantastic landlord, Fantastic food. Would definitely recommend 👌

Just what was needed on a dark cold evening. Warm welcome and good hearty food. Thank you.

We popped into here after eating (awful) food at the Castle just up the road and wished we'd eaten here instead. I'm not suggesting the food was anything special but it looked 100 times nicer than what we were served in the other pub. Beer was decent and there was live music.

Good old fashioned pub good food and drinks selection very friendly staff and dog friendly very welcoming

Used to be a very busy pub, we stayed in Porlock for the week and it seemed embarrassingly quiet compared to other pubs in the village, food was ok but didn’t have sides ie peas or salad with fish and chips etc for the price, drinks very pricey, Shame used to be vibrant little pub.

Great atmosphere, fabulous fish and chips.

Very friendly staff. It's a dog friendly pub that serves doggie ice-cream and food. The fish and chips for humans were delicious...

Excellent food and they serve at weekends much later than anywhere else. Their open mic night was really good with excellent musicians. A much underestimated place.

Called in at the Royal Oak for a drink and a look at the menu as we were thinking of booking a table for the evening, but sorry after being charged £8 for a pint of beer & 1 small coke which when I questioned the price, I was told the small coke was £3.50 Wow!!! and after looking at the dearest menu in the village in what looked like (to us) a quite run down pub, no wonder there was only 5 people in the place, (2 of those where my wife & I, one was Grandma who put her knitting down to serve us and one other couple) we decided to go elsewhere. There where twice as many people sitting outside and probably three times as many inside the next pub, The Castle and the Top Ship was heaving out in the beer garden with a good few inside. TWO same size cokes & a pint of the same beer was cheaper in the Top Ship.

Took our dog with us and my partner jokingly asked for turkey dinosaurs off the kids menu but settled for scampi. They brought her what is in the photo. Great sense of humour. Great pub. Thank you.

Pricey pub, looks good outside but not so sure of the fairy lights and Ukranian bunting inside, a tad off putting for a English pub AND 2 bottles of small cokes and 2 halves of cider £12.00.....ouch. Now that is expensive ! In comparison, The Castle Tavern in Porlock round the corner, a very similar round of drinks on the same day...£7.80 ! I'm all for supporting pubs who are desperate for trade and so will pay to keep them going but although these are challenging times for the pub which I get, please also think of the paying guests too who work hard all year round to enjoy a staycation with family, have similar bills like electricity to pay on top of increasing inflation and feel like they have just been ripped off when visiting such places like the Royal Oak, Ukranian flags and fairy lights or not ! If bills are so high for the pub then please turn off the unwanted Sky Sports x 2 large screens and said fairy lights in the day, they are not wanted or needed when only the dog and landlady were there before we stepped in !

Nice pub with my first Sunday roast and descent beer selection! Roast tasted just fine, but I have no comparison. They are THE sport pub of Porlock, but if your visiting with kids I'd try the Ship further down the road, which has a playground. (edit after response: if you visit with SMALL children. He's right there are fun games and a pool table)

Lovely service, good value. Fabulous hotdogs! Good drinks choices. Very welcoming of dogs and went out of their way to make us welcome.

Very basic pub with basic pub grub. Staff were pleasant and helpful.

Good food, good service and a nice welcome for the dogs too. Thank you.

Good ale, and friendly bar staff.

Best fish and chips i've ever eaten!!

Very friendly staff and a great place to relax when camping at Sparkhayes campsite👍

Came in for Sunday roast excellent food cooked fresh, the crispy roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding were delicious and the red wine gravy was very tasty, I would definitely recommend coming here.

Lovely dog friendly pub, great fish and chips

My wife and I visit Porlock fairly regularly and always make a point of visiting The Royal Oak. The food is really good and there is a wide choice of local ales, but what really makes it for us is the very friendly welcome and atmosphere at this gem of a Pub. It's a lovely traditional village pub and if visiting on a Sunday the Roast Dinners are a mountain - You'll never get through it all and it is such good value. In my opinion it's the best pub in Porlock - and we'll be back again soon.

A bit of a dive in all fairness.

Really nice pub/restaurant at the bottom of Porlock hill staff very friendly lovely food plenty of choice, nice little bar if you only want a drink with a good selection of beers and cider will definitely call in next time we are in the area.

Had a lovely stop in the Royal Oak. Owner was so friendly and talked my partner and dad through a game of bar billiards which they thoroughly enjoyed! Great selection of ales and ciders and a lovely pub dog makes for a great pub experience.

A great meal, with good service, great view and food, only spoiled by a yapping dog on another table....but we can't blame The Royal Oak for an I'll managed dog, can we??

Enjoyed some of the best fish ever as I said our local fish and chip is good but this deserves the 5 stars given

Pizzas were good but they did not get our order correct so we did not get what we asked for.

‘The only pub in Porlock’ so these hungry and thirsty walkers headed in… to find a friendly landlady and dog, and a fantastic Sunday roast. Beer good too. Couldn’t have been more pleasantly surprised!

Not good cold and the bar man could not get half of the pumps to work.

Pizza is great and the beer is good too

Nice pub with a warm welcome very dog friendly and good food, Sunday lunch was superb

Great pub ,good food and very helpful staff, been using this pub for years off and on and it's always a pleasure to visit...

Fantastic food... probably the best pizza I've had in a long time

Lovely food and attentive staff

Lovely old worldy pub, quirky outside area and twisty inside. Food was amazing, we had a Sunday lunch, yummy.

Service was a bit slow, bar staff disappeared to serve food

Very lovely staff. Had a great Friday night. Thanks and see you again. X

Very traditional pub with oak beams. Good selection of gins. Games room for the kids.