The Royal Oak in Rother

Positives - Free parking (provided you remember to check in at the bar on arrival). Warm welcome. Dog friendly. Good value drinks. Had only intended to stop for a quick drink on the way home, but ordered a takeaway fish & chips from the pub side before we left (2 cod & 1 x large chips). All cooked to perfection. For info, large chips does actually mean large portion!). Less positives - Quite chilly in the bar, and only two other customers in the time we were there, which was probably 1 1/2 hours. Hopefully, The Royal Oak will gain more support and customers as winter turns to spring, and can avoid having to close like 2 other pubs close by in Lamberhurst.

Very disappointing to say the least.. Firstly the pub had no atmosphere, it was so quiet. They did not have half the food on the menu but waited 20 mins to tell us after ordering, when the food came out it was bland and missing items.. I ordered a pizza and it was the most greasiest I have ever seen, you couldn’t even pick a slice up without it folding into a slop! I am heavily pregnant and I couldn’t eat it, I felt so ill after having 1 slice. I asked for some money off as £12 for a pizza that was inedible is expensive. The women who I assume is the owner was incredibly rude and was reluctant to give any money off until I said I am pregnant, she offered £2 off with no apology. I felt sorry for the young lad taking orders, he barely looked old enough to be selling alcohol. There was children messing around in the kitchen which is against health and safety regulations. The pub was grubby and all the food was frozen and re heated in the microwave.. it was absolutely disgusting. Do not waste your money on this pub.

The roast was luke warm and the beef was tough and very chewy Hollumi burger was meant to come with a mushroom salad and coleslaw, it was just Hollumi in a roll. The pizza was so greasy . That when my daughter picked it up you could see the grease dripping from it. We all went away feeling very sick. My daughter and grandson were unable to eat the pizza and asked for some money to be taken off. The women who I assume is the owner was very unprofessional was making faces! She only agreed to take £2 off after my daughter told her she was pregnant. She refused before hand, She also make faces when I complained about the roast and pizza shortly after bringing them out. No apology and no offer to fix the problem. Awful will never go there again. We all feel very sick. Also having a young child run around in the kitchen is a health and safety risk as they run it as a fish and chip takeaway to . The owner allowed the young man to deal with the complaints but I think he felt very awkward about, he was polite, she stood there shaking her head! Found her to be rude

This was my first and last visit Frozen fish tasteless and full of water Cheesy chips OK v small portion The guy cooking no catering clothing the place grubby I left most of it as did my wife

Very disappointing. Stopped off for some dinner and the pub was freezing cold. No heating was on and the fire wasnt going. Both my boyfriend and I sat there in our coats the whole time, this isnt on for mid december! When we ordered our food, it took 35 minutes for some macaroni cheese to come out, and even then the macaroni cheese was barely warm. We didnt bother asking for it to be replaced due to having waited so long and we had places to be afterwards. Very quiet, no one else was in, there was no music or anything to create an atmosphere, and am empty tealight candle case just left in the centre of the table. Probably wont be returning in a hurry. Young lady behind the bar was very polite and friendly though, no complaints with her service at all.

We have recently moved into the area and stopped here about a week ago and these were the nicest chips I have ever tasted. Generous portion, crispy, fresh, tasty, perfect in every way. Easily the best I have ever had. Then tonight went in again and I can’t believe the chips I was given. They were greasy, stale, tasteless and were like cheap frozen chips, the type that pubs buy in bulk and churn out. I don’t know what has happened in just over a week and hopefully it was a one off.

I and my family have visited the Oak for drinks and meals for 15/20 years, and when the new owners took over recently we had hoped this would continue - especially when our visit once they took over seemed positive! However mid Summer, after opening their Fish n Chip Take Away(Converting part of the bar to do this), they suddenly closed the pub - despite calls and emails to them, where I was told the pub was still open IT REMAINS CLOSED - why lie if you have no intention of reopening the pub.

We stopped off yesterday afternoon en route to Bewl Water to collect dinner for nine of us. What a great decision. The food was lovely, cooked freshly for us and piping hot. Adult cod and chips was huge and lovely crunchy batter with beautiful white cod. The small portion was a good size too. The children's nuggets were proper chicken pieces and were soon eaten up. I would recommend this place, easy to stop as just on A21 with parking.

We stopped off en route from Hastings to Home for some Sunday lunch, We were immediately made to feel welcome, we ordered our food and it was promptly served, piping hot and certainly hit the mark. A lucky chance find for us

Fantastic food and service didnt wait long for the food to arrive. Friendly host. Good prices. Will be going back very soon . I have booked our Christmas party.