The Royal Oak in Mid Sussex

Really nice place :) Had the nut roast and loved it the vegan gravy was suparrr and i enjoyed everything:) also so nice people💗

I met a friend for a drink at 8:30 on a Thursday, we ordered a second round of drinks at about 9:40 but by 9:50 they where trying to get us to leave…even though we had barely started our drinks, by 10pm they where switching the lights off..we had spent over £36 pounds there but the staff treated us like a couple of stray dogs that had wandered in. The staff were incredibly rude and kept constantly nagging us to leave just so they could get away early. We shall never go there again and I would advise anyone to avoid it like the plague.

It was a really rainy day and it was the perfect day for a roast. I cannot fault the food or the service it was excellent. I had a succulent beef roast to my friend had the chicken. It was incredibly colourful and I remember being told once in a cookery lesson, always make your food colourful. The only thing I would say it was on a Sunday, and as more and more families arrived with more and more children it got so loud we couldn’t actually hear ourselves speak, so we decided to leave. I’m not sure if there could be maybe a family area it might help , but that is my only criticism. I would highly recommend the food and the service.

I recently visited the Royal Oak and had the pleasure of being served by Grace behind the bar, and I have to say, she is an absolute gem! From the moment we walked in, Grace greeted us with a warm smile and made us feel instantly welcome. Her service was impeccable, and she handled a busy crowd with ease and grace (no pun intended!). She’s incredibly attentive, knowledgeable about the drinks menu, and always has a friendly, upbeat attitude that truly enhances the experience. Grace goes above and beyond to ensure everyone is taken care of, making sure that every drink is served perfectly and engaging in friendly conversation that makes you feel like a regular, even if it’s your first time there. It’s rare to find someone who not only excels at their job but also genuinely cares about the customers and the atmosphere they help create. If you’re heading to the Royal Oak, be sure to say hello to Grace – she’s a true asset to the pub and will undoubtedly make your night even better!

This completely surpassed our expectations. We've eaten at the pub before a long time ago and booked it as we were meeting friends in the area. The food and service were really excellent. The chicken caeser salad was delicious, with a really generous portion of chicken and a crispy egg with the yolk just right. The service was friendly and really efficient, despite the pub being busy. It was the best pub meal we've had in a long time and at a fair price.

Wonderful food and friendly service in this gorgeous village pub. It was a busy Sunday, so rather slow to get served but great atmosphere in the pub and lots of fun events planned. Very tempted by their Oktoberfest celebrations!

The food here is well presented and equally delicious. Izzy was very attentive while taking our booking over the phone and also swerved us upon arrival. She is a credit to the pub :)

An excellent lunch with generous portions. We all had a splendid time. Not busy, but it was a Monday. Difficult to find down narrow lanes. On site parking, Electric charging. Plenty of outside seating. Good range of local (Harveys) ales etc. What's not to like!

Like other reviewers the roast beef was like a piece of old leather and on mentioning this to a waitress was told that was because I'd ordered it well done. Accompanying roast potatoes also like leather and veg, kale and red cabbage, not to my liking. So for £21 I didn't get a lot to eat.

Nice pub. We had the pork and pear pie. It was excellent. The service is great and very friendly.

Was too chilly on a summer night. Air con maybe?

Awful Sunday Roast, £21 for 2 pieces of dry roast beef it was genuinely like eating cardboard and the trimmings weren’t the best either. It was also luke warm. The garden is fab though, and there is a pirate ship play area which is great for kids. Terrible value for money but I think because of the location they get away with serving bad food. Disappointed.

Absolutely joke of a service. After 1h of waiting for a burger we ware told that we need to wait another 20 minutes and they offer free drinks. Which they came and ask to pay for. Absolutely joke of a service. Edit: after waiting an hour and twenty minutes for a burger I got raw burger

Had a Sunday roast and wasn't blown-away. Nice place and great service but the food itself was very average for the price. £21 for a roast pork with crackling that was too chewy to eat and a lot of fat. 3 small roast potatoes which were hard and dry and tasted like they had been reheated. One large overcooked and tasteless yorkshire pudding which took up the majority of the plate. All in all very disappointing for £21.

Very welcoming, great selection of beer. Dog friendly. Do outside BBQ and drinks with great seating as well as food indoors. Plenty of parking. I will be back. Only thing was 2 joint men/ladies toilets upstairs so queues. I believe there are some downstairs but didn't explore. I will be back. Came here as disappointed with Dog & Shepard in Fulking as far too many snooty people and didn't feel welcomed there nor did our group like the larger and cider options.

Excellent food and service. Rib eye steak was superb, pie was fantastic full of delicious meat and veg. Staff could not do enough to make our visit so wonderful. Fantastic lunch and definitely top of our list to visit again. Bonus was parking and plenty of garden to enjoy.

Lovely pub, the outside area especially! Much recommended :)

Very nice country pub with a lovely beer garden looking forward to a return visit

Food very good and sufficient, a bit expensive, mediocre clean, very nice service

Disappointing. We wanted to open a tab as we were in a group of 6. We weren’t allowed to do this as we were sat in the garden?!?, we have travelled all over Europe together yet we aren’t trusted to do this here! As we couldn’t do this I then had to pay for drinks for 6 people even though we were only going to have a drink each as I wasn’t going to return back to the garden empty handed... thanks for that Royal Oak you just stung me out of £30! Then three separate couples had to schlep from the garden to the bar to pay for individual meals, as a result of this the food then came out at different times. The food came with no cutlery so we then had to go and find them ourselves as well as any of the cheap branded packets of condiments they stock. I had the fish n’ chips and 4 hours later the oil is still swishing around my stomach. They are having a laugh charging £17 for a mediocre salad. Avoid

Lovely food, attentive service.

A great village pub with excellent polite service and good food including the outdoor barbeque kitchen.

Popped in for a drink to celebrate "our" birthday which I share with my friend...We had 2 lovely jugs of Pimms ... A big thank you to Charlie in particular .. he will know why , but we have promised to return to eat there very soon..... thank you very much

Great pub to visit, friendly locals.

This very well maintained pub sits in a lovely small village nestled in the South Downs country park. The service was friendly and helpful abd the food was excellent. They have three different seating areas outside together with a car park but there is also parking on the street.

Lovely countryside pub - we didn’t eat but we had a couple of drinks in the beautiful garden, great selection of beers , lovely rose. Excellent garden for kids ! We’ll be back !

Lovely and cosy pub, easy parking and great for kids because of their playground in the pub garden.

Lovely pub lovely staff lovely food and best of all local wine It was a lovely afternoon out at this pub Highly recommend it

Popped in on a whim for lunch. Very chuffed with the setting, beautiful country pub and really nice staff. However, the food was so disappointing. The lentil burger wasn't bad but the miso aubergine was seriously lacking any flavour. It seemed very much like a token offering of a vegan option and was just bland all-round - like they'd forgotten a sauce or something. Over priced for what it was and on top of that was a hefty £6 for a non-alcoholic Guinness 😱 Wouldn't visit again.

Nice beer garden to sit in on a sunny day, but food and drinks very expensive

Nice pub, friendly service, appealing menu, beer garden. Bosh!

Went in for a roast. Ordered the nut roast which was £18 so definitely on the premium side. Staff had been told not to deliver the roast to walk-in guests sitting in the garden, though if you ordered a burger they would deliver to the garden. Bizarre. When it arrived there was no Yorkshire Pudding which was an extra £1. Carrots were cold and the potatoes chewy. Very little food on the plate. The nut roast itself was bland. Sent it back for a refund, which is a first. I think for a premium price you expect a decent Sunday roast. I was happy to receive the refund though and no hard feelings.

Great spot for a family day in the sun. There’s a pirate ship in the children’s play area and BBQ specials in the summer - I had a lovely lamb burger with feta and tsatsiki.

Booked for dinner for a family celebration. We all had different things from the menu and everyone said their food was delicious. The portions were generous too unlike some more expensive restaurants in town. The service was very good too.

Had a lovely dog walk and then some food and drinks great day

Really enjoyable meal with lovely service. Came in on the 9th May for dinner and was made to feel extremely welcome. Thank you for a pleasant evening

I've updated my review for this place because it is 100% improved simply by them actually having an open fire in winter rather than save a few quid by not bothering. This was all it needed. Thank you. The food was already excellent and the pub is welcoming and friendly. Good range of beers and a nice garden. Very close to the downs with easy access to Devils Dyke.

Nice pub , lovely open space with big garden. Friendly staff Food overpriced Chicken Caesar salad £16.50 , expensive for the portion size.

nice busy pub on a warm sunday but enough room to find a table. staff were pretty quick at the bar too. young lad who served us today was great. food was tasty and the menu simple which i appreciate. enjoyed the humous starters and the roasts were good quality.. (didnt mark you down for this but,… the mushroom beef wellington didnt contain beef, realised its a vegan option, why add the word beef to the menu to do anything other than disappoint a meat eater on arrival of the dish) apart from that an enjoyable relaxed meal, thank you

Decent pub but shockingly expensive. £7.30 for a pint of Cruzcampo. Not going to return at those prices. Disappointing.

After an epic walk around the fields with the doggies, snuggling up to the fireplace with a glass of wine and an amazing meal was just the ticket. Can't wait to come back x

The location and drive out are epic. The pub is vibey and has good service. My food, the nut roast was thoroughly enjoyed. I did hear rumblings about the beef being a little tough? But not was still enjoyable. The restaurant also accommodated me with a last minute addition to my guest list. Ample parking as well. I always enjoy my visits to The Royal Oak

Huge huge thanks to Charlotte and her team for looking after us for my dad’s wake. It was the perfect venue. The team were accommodating to every request, from food to little stylistic choices around the pub. They were kind enough to close the venue and give friends and family time to pay respects to dad. They even put on a playlist of our choosing too. Funerals are tough, tough days. But I was grinning ear-to-ear when I entered the pub to see it bustling with those who loved and cared for dad - and the Royal Oak will always hold a special place in my heart for how well they handled this huge part of a very important day. Thank you Charlotte and the team a million times over. For anyone who finds themselves in the sad position of needing a venue for a wake, you will be very well cared for by the Royal Oak.

Had a lovely Mother's day meal with a free prosecco! The pub was busy but our waitress Emmie was very attentative. Look forward to our next visit.

Met for a drink with a friend early evening, was going to order food. Totally aware of last order time from website however bar staff advised kitchen closed 15 minutes ahead of advertised time. Would have chosen an alternative venue. Disappointed & not reason given.

Went there for a friends birthday get together, they put on a curry buffet which was superb and served Harvey's beer to wash it down with, great evening, friendly and helpful staff all set in the beautiful south downs. Well worth a visit!

One of the best pub lunches I’ve had in a long time. Roast dinners were amazing and really generous portions. Staff really friendly and the pub itself is lovely. Will definitely be returning.

Excellent service. Patient staff and very helpful. It was a Great atmosphere Food well prepared and presented. Quiz night was extremely good fun. Good price for meal and wine.

A wonderful country pub. The table was set beautifully along with the log burner warming the room and the flames dancing it was a pretty room. The staff were friendly and helpful. Food nice. Lovely Valentines meal.

My partner and I went here yesterday for valentines. To say we were blown away by the food, service, ambiance and other friendly diners is a understatement! My partner is 9months pregnant and was not keen on going out. She's now asking to go back this weekend ! The food was spectacular.

emmie was a great waitress and my family lived her. very professional and kind. will definitely be coming back again, food was also great

Disappointing probably sums up our Sunday lunch experience at the Royal Oak 😏 I've eaten here before (pre-Covid) and it was great, but standards appear to have slipped. It's a nice pub, although I had a cold breeze blowing on my back from a leaky old door. But it was the food we went for and that's where the disappointment really stems from. I don't mind paying top dollar 💰 for good food, but overall it didn't impress at all and it was far from cheap at £19 for a roast dinner, plus an extra £6 for tiny pot of cauliflower cheese and another £6 for sage and onion stuffing balls, of which there were just 3 in the same tiny sized bowl. The roast beef was very tasty, as were the stuffing balls that taste as if they have sausages meat in them. Alongside the tiny side dish portion sizes, the roast spuds were VERY disappointing. The spuds were just poor, lacking in flavour and too hard. I think the owners need to checkout what else is on offer locally and up their game 🎯.

The roast dinner was dire. 3 roast potatoes that were barely even roasted, green beans some carrots and cabbage. The driest Yorkshire pudding ever. Cost £18 which it certainly wasn't worth. The only decent thing was the pardon peppers as a starter. Food also took over an hour to arrive. Won't be coming back.

Our dogs had a wonderful welcome from the staff very friendly.

Very disappointing. Sage & onion stuffing balls as said on menu had meat in & we weren't told this, we told them we were vegetarian. We asked for Yorkshire with roast dinner & didn't get . Adult & children's portions were the same just a smaller plate for kids. On the whole a very disappointing experience, we're new to the village we won't go again.

Lovely pub with tasty food well worth a visit

The Royal Oak is your typical old English country pub. The food was good and the service professional.

Had a lovely afternoon in this pub. The staff were nice and polite. The locals were lovely and friendly. Only had a bowl of chunky chips but they were good. The food we saw go past looked amazing and healthy portions. A little expensive but worth it, I believe. Plenty of seating inside and out. Dogs welcome and parking onsite with electric charge points.

Sunday lunch and a beer with my Dad, really welcoming staff and a great atmosphere with the log fire. Parsnip soup to start was well prepared and can highly recommend, roast lamb was also well cooked and really enjoyable . Highly recommended.

Wonderful place for family celebration. We will be back.

We stop at this pub once a year in the summer but have not been here on a cold, damp winter's day. However, nothing has changed but for a blazing log fire; it still has that village pub feel with undressed wooden tables, benches and village hall chairs. Booking with the young lady was a delight. Very pleasantly handled with all dietary queries expertly dealt with. The welcome and service was as good as possible. The sunday roast was extremely good with choice of beef, lamb or chicken. A good range of beers but the wine list was limited and expensive. Recommended.

This is a great pub for kids and the staff are great but we have been 4 different times and each time the food has got worse and worse. It is very expensive for the quality. We went today and thought that the food was really not good, the burger was over cooked and dry and the coleslaw was mainly onion. The steak pie was dry and the meat not tender Although chips were ok. If you want nice food I would avoid but if you are looking for a place to go with kids and not too bothered about the food then go for it.

Good pub with a great outside space and a lot of parking. Worth a walk too...just remember you have to walk back after good food and a few drinks

Haven't visited here for many years as moved away from the area but my recent visit exceeded expectations. The menu on this occasion had a Welsh theme and I wasn't disappointed. The star of the show was a "Lamb Cawl" which is a Welsh take on a lamb stew and I was very impressed with the quality and taste of this dish which was way above what I would normally expect. Compliments to the chef. Additionally the bar staff and waitressing was second to none. Bear in mind this was on a Thursday afternoon in November so I was blown away. Highly recommend.

Food was nice but was a touch expensive. £18 for a burger and £6.50 for a pint

My friend and I decided to take a trip to the country on Sunday 8th October. I prebooked a table for 3 for a Sunday roast. I’d not been to the Royal oak for a number of years, but remember having a nice experience the last time I visited. We arrived for 3, stood in the bar for some time there was no acknowledgment by the 2 young girls who were making coffee and drinks, not even a hello. After an uncomfortable few minutes an older man came over to us and said very insincerely “ I’m afraid there are no roast dinners left” he then showed us the 4 options still available chips, bean broth stew and some other awful choices. We could not believe it! Never ever have I experienced anything like this when I’ve reserved a table somewhere. We said to the man “ surely in situations like this it would be courteous to give us a call so we don’t waste a car journey up here, in all honestly it was apparent he couldn’t care less. After making some calls we headed back to hove and got a fabulous roast dinner at carne. Due to this experience I will never return to this pub so unprofessional, also there were so many reservations still on the tables, I’d imagine there were many more very disappointed customers after us. Surely when people prebook it should give the kitchen an idea of how busy the day is going to be!

Great food. Super tasty and really friendly staff. Pumpkin decorations were lovely too

Nice little pint here nice pub.

fabulous meal in beautiful surroundings and the staff were so friendly and helpful...I will definitely return.

Lovely country pub with a great children’s play area to the side. We only stopped for a drink and some chips on the way out of Brighton, but the chips were fab and the food we saw coming out to other tables looked amazing, so we’ll go back for lunch or dinner soon. Spacious and a good sized car park.

Amazed and super pleased to see gluten-free beer sold here, truly above and beyond, and very much appreciated. Only popped in for a cool drink on a hot day but couldn't turn down the opportunity to try one I'd not had before, many thanks for thinking of all your customers :-)

Well what a disaster this was. We arrived on a Sunday at about 1pm to be told the kitchen had to shut down taking any more orders as they had a huge backlog. Not a problem - but they had quite a few spare tables. However, had we booked, then no problem, they would take our order (go and figure that one out!). The waitress said she would bring over menus as and when they were ready to take new orders, but in spite of the 45 minute warning, she said it could be even longer than that. Insult was added to injury when people started turning up who had NOT booked and were ordering food - which seemed to take forever to arrive. We will NOT be going back here. TOP TIP - reduce the number of covers; or increase the capacity of your kitchen - it's really that simple. We survived on 2 rounds of drinks and then crisps before having to leave and find somewhere else for lunch.

Bery nice food and lovely garden. Perfect location if you're out on the downs

Yet another first class meal at the Royal Oak. Good old Cod and chips along with chicken creaser salad, both could have come from the Savoy Riverside restaurant. Special thanks to Max who looked after us very well, and the super chefs in the kitchen of course. Only one small comment, dogs in the restaurant area, bad idea we think. a lovely pooch peed on the carpet while we were eating dinner, owners left staff to clear up the mess. TR

It has been super. Good quality, fast service and an orginal atmosphere! Romantic place in a pittoresque village!!

Really suprised about the mixed reviews on here, as we found our visit to this pub in the beginning of August to be first rate. From the staff to the quality of food (one of the best rump steaks we have had in a long time and great chips) The price was reasonable too. Thank you for making our trip along the south downs a memory to remember

Stayed in the village for a few days and dined here twice. The menu was a little limited (the way of the world post covid etc). My wife went 'off piste' for her selection and they accommodated this without a problem (big tick). Nice real ale (Sussex Ale) Great friendly staff and always busy with locals, proper pub! Right on South Downs Way bonus.

This was our last evening out after a wonderful tour of Cornwall, during which all of the pubs and restaurants we visited served wonderful food and beer. I am sad to say that this one left me disappointed. The food was nondescript at best and gave me the impression that it had been heated up from meals that had been bought in rather than created and cooked on the premises. This particularly applied to the desserts, but the burger and chips meal was not great: more in line with a fast food chain's offerings. The salad was a mass of green lettuce and little else. The beer on offer was disappointing. I had got used to an excellent selection of craft draught beer, but not this time. The usual suspects were there: a lager, a Guinness etc., but no really good beer, bar one. Alas, this barrel ran out before I could get a second pint and the pub's replacement had not settled enough to be attached to the pump. On the plus side the service was great. The host at our accommodation has warned us to expect to be disappointed at this pub, and she was right. There was no other open within easy reach so we took a gamble: it did not pay off.

Lovely afternoon here, good service, staff pleasant would recommend.

Ordered a black coffee with a drop of cream instead of milk. Was charged an extra 50p. Not sure why, I didn't have the milk aswell. If they must be that greedy. Say it's extra don't just add it to the bill. It's put me off going there again. The other pubs nearby do not charge extra.

Roast Sunday Lunch for four. Four different choices. Chicken good beef overdone vegetarian nice and lamb good. Roast potatoes were hard and had obviously been cooked hours before. Outside was very good for kids. Parking easy and bar service good but busy and some locals just drinking at the bar and blocking half of it but assume they were regular customers. Drinks fine.

I love The Royal Oak pub, the owners and staff are so kind, welcoming and friendly. Bliss in particular is super helpful and always attentive. Highly recommend this pub, particularly after a long walk!

Good service, friendly staff- all younger staff members dressed in black looking very smart. Good food. A touch pricey perhaps?

Had a midweek lunch here. Great atmosphere, place buzzing with people. Small menu but adequate choices. The food was high quality- the best chilli I’ve had in years.

Fantastic place. Great choices off beers and great service

Lovely meal, perfect after a long hike! The burgers were amazing, as were the chocolate brownie and rhubarb bakewell. The pub had a very welcoming vibe, and all the staff were friendly and helpful. Would recommend to everyone.

Staff and setting were lovely but very disappointed to see just one vegan dish on the menu (just one main, not even one option on each section, no suitable desserts etc) and a very basic dish at that, which was dry, bland and disappointing. I’d hope that this is something you expand upon in future (worth keeping your website updated with this info too as the sample menu doesn’t reflect the lack of options and I wouldn’t have visited had I known)

We just had some drinks after a country walk, garden bar atmosphere is superb and the food coming out looked impressive. Will return to eat sometime soon.

came here today as part 13km walk. fish fingers and chips from the kids menu were absolutely lovely. will return one day

This is a fantastic family pub in a village location. Huge beer garden with lots of seating, an outdoor bar and a pirate ship play area for the kids. Haven't tried food here but good selection of beers/ales and the food looked good from what I saw. If you are looking for a relaxed pub where you can take the kids without feeling uncomfortable- go here!

Extremely over priced but a nice country pub they seem very busy so I don't understand the over pricing shame

Food was disappointing, may have been what we chose. Pie of the day (chicken and ham) was more like a pasty. The outside was crispy but the interior of the pastry was doughy and seemed semicooked. Fish and chips, the chips were obviously triple cooked and although crispy they were also greasy. On a positive, there's a lot of outside space with cover against the sun.

What a friendly oasis. A large well equiped garden, nice selection of food and beverages. And especially worth mentioning are the locals who are so welcoming.

We made a reservation on a Sunday at 1430. Our table had been given away to someone else. Had to wait. Then got told they had sold out of Sunday roasts as the kitchen couldn’t cope. Waited another hour and 20 mins for food even though there was only 4 things on the menu. Average and lukewarm. I was embarrassed as had made the reservation for my parents and in-laws. The redeeming feature is your lovely staff. Fabulous pub garden. Just avoid the food.

Great pub. But like charging near pint prices for juice will never be cool

Both lamb and beef tough- really struggled to cut. Chicken dry. Parsnips obviously reheated and also impossible to cut. Very disappointing.

Great beer garden and great food. Nice and quiet pub in the country

Lovely place for families. Nice garden with shady trees and lots of Roses! A Pirate ship at one end for the children to play on. Outside bar and large sun awning. Food selection is perfect! And delicious! Plenty of parking. Lovely staff as well!

Terrible attitude from the staff working there on Saturday. I felt racially abused by their behaviour. The burger was 8/10 The stake was 4/10 And at last fish and chips was 2/10 Extremely over priced and not very helpful. They didn’t charge us for the drink which we could have shoot off but i was kind enough to go and pay for it.

Four of us called into The Royal Oak for lunch. Once again everything was lovely, especially Millie who looked after us so well. Pleased to recommend. PS. Only downside, lumping a 10% service charge onto the bill. When paying over £100. for lunch it’s a bit of a cheek to charge £10.00 to bring it to the table. Happy to give gratuities but it should be left to customers discretion shouldn’t it ! TR.