The Royal Oak in South Lakeland

Called in with the family on a whim. I had heard that a new chef was in and had heard good reports regarding quality etc. I know the pub well and it certainly is well looked after, the fire a massive bonus, service was warm and friendly, menus pointed out to us. There was quite a range of dishes and I settled on lasagne, mum and dad had the sea bass and hubby had the venison. The food was amazing, presentation immaculate. We couldn't manage a dessert but enjoyed a gin or 2 after. Well worth a visit.

The Royal Oak has very recently come under new proprietors. Despite a significant increase in prices, the quality of both food and service have deteriorated. Regrettably, it is an establishment to remove from our Sunday rota.

Lorraine and mike, are very good host, they couldn't do enough for my wife and two sizable dogs, for a start Lorraine upgraded us to the cottage which is very clean and very cosy with the little log fire, flat screen TV and coffee and tea making facilities. The cottage also had patio doors leading to a decking area and a garden for our dogs. Breakfast was the full English all the way for me, and a veggie option for Shiralee, but you could choose from quite a few options, hey ! And even the dogs got a sausage breakfast ! Remember this is a pub, so don't expect hotel 5star, the staff and the local clientle are really warm and friendly. All in all, a very good stay, and did I say the foods good aswell !!!, Thanks Lorraine and mike, see you soon we might get to here the tractor song next time eh !

Stopped at the royal oak for 1 night in november....comfortable stay ...nice meal....very helpfull......would stay again .....value for money

Me my wife and our 3 boys decided to randomly stop here for our Sunday dinner after a local walk, I haven’t been here since I was a child and don’t know anyone who has been here for a long time, as we entered at 12:10 we were met by a polite bar lady who seated us, drink and food orders were taken within 5 minutes, my wife and I opted for roast with the trimmings and the boys went for 2 child nuggets meals and one small gammon meal, food was served within 20 minutes beautifully cooked and well presented, the 2 roast dinners tasted very good and one of the best I’ve paid for, the kids enjoyed there meals and all of us had clean plates at the end, we also asked for some extra gravy which the waitress got instantly, we all had puddings that we enjoyed to, we found the prices not to bad and we willDefinitely go back,

The food was excellent! I had the Royal Oak burger and my girlfriend had the Not fish and chips we both left more than satisfied by the flavour and the amount of food we got, if I'm staying nearby again I'll definitely call back in for lunch!!

I had gammon, uncle C had scampi and kids had steak and ale pie. All left full and happy and the Exmoor ale was good too. Staff friendly and helpful, all in all a super evening, thank you.

We happened across the pub by accident. The food was fantastic - lovely flavours and very obviously home cooked. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this place. Staff were lovely and polite as well, they took the time to make small talk and made us feel very welcome.

Maybe this is the reason why they dont allow reviews on there Facebook page. I had heard the Royal Oak had changed over management during the spring of 2017. The previous owners had it running like clock work and did the best Sunday dinner I've had in the UK. Everything was freshly made and prepared, piping hot plates, real carved meat and a great selection of vegetables with additional real gravy at hand. When i went back one Sunday and saw the new staff I knew wasn't going to be the same. They staff seemed a little distant and cold and not used to customer interface. When the meals came out it was obvious the old chef had gone. Beef was awfully chewy and fatty like something from a Chinese takeaway. Yorkshire was from a frozen one and served cold. Roast potatoes where from frozen aunt bessie type ones. Gravey was powered bisto type. Veg was appalling so there was barely anything edible and I might as well of gone to the supermarket and yea they jacked the prices up too. How you can take something that was all good and ruin it is beyond me. I will never return.

Recently just taken over, approx 3 weeks ago. We went for Sunday lunch. 2 courses £9.95. We both had pate for start and roast beef for main. There was an option of pork or beef yesterday. 4 options for starters which were off main menu. Don't no about pudding but plenty of people had them. Didn't get a picture of starter (forgot) was delicious, two wedges of pate, toast, salad and chutney. Once main meal arrived we were very surprised. The meat was not like every other place you go too. The thickness of my 4 slices of beef were the size of steaks!!! So filling a couldn't eat all my veg or yorkie. Oh and the mash was superb! We will be back again. For the price and the friendly landlord/ staff you wouldn't want to go anywhere else!!

Lower than "Bog Standard" Food. Served attentively, staff keen to please, but obviously not the chef from years ago. Chips under cooked, chicken tough.

We stayed at The Royal Oak for a couple of nights and loved it. Situated in Spark Bridge, we were just 20 minutes away from all the main features of Windermere and Ambleside. The family room we were given was very comfy and cosy, with homely furniture and everything we could need to wind down after our walks and trips around The Lakes. Breakfast was cooked to order and my son, who has allergies, was catered for beautifully. The owners were very courteous, the rates were very reasonable we had free parking and we would definitely come back again to stay with our children. The only thing that could do with changing is to have easier access to free WiFi but not having it meant we spent even more time togetherHence the 5 Stars*****

Just what you want. Good honest pub food in a nice clean pub. Excellent Coniston Bluebird bitter was an added bonus.

Wow - a real proper pub that serves decent honest food cooked well. If we had the money and lived 400 miles closer we'd be in each night!

... at lunchtime as they were opening and we happened to be passing. Decided to eat because they offer half portions on a menu that has a decent range of what I would call proper 'pub grub'. What we got was cooked well, tasty ... and a good size at half portion. Staff were friendly and service was great - plan on going back on our next visit to Coniston.

We stayed here as a family for 4 nights during the school Holidays.

Used to live in the local area... revisited for the local duck race.

Popped in here whilst visiting a friend for the evening. Service was fine and we personally found the staff very accommodating. Gammon and eggs were great, curry very tasty although there could have been more rice, but the lamb burger wasn't great - definitely not home made!

La comida era de muy buena calidad, muy sabroso y de buena calidad. Sólo estuvimos un poco decepcionados de que tomó un largo tiempo para ser servido y noté cosas negro en la parte inferior de la sidra. Una buena parada para cenar con suficiente comida sabrosa.

Una estancia de una noche especialmente por una cálida bienvenida , buena comida, buena habitación dormir bien. Me alojaré de nuevo en el futuro. . Encontrar un buen poco.

Stayed two nights for Cartmel races and Tom Jones live. Lovely country pub. Lorraine and Mike great, friendly hosts. Lovely relaxed atmosphere. Great food - breakfast and dinner. Stayed in separate garden cottage with living room, shower room, bedroom with very comfy bed and own balcony overlooking garden and hills. Lorraine and Mike have just taken over and beginning to make it their own. Such a lovely, welcoming couple. Thank you so much. Andrew and Pat.

Me my wife and daughter stayed over for one night, so my daughter could do the great north swim. I telephoned to say we would arrive late, which we did, they put themselves out to make us something to eat which was very nice. The owners are Mike and Lorraine who are very friendly and helpful. The room we stayed in was very nice and the big breakfast sets you up for the day.

If we had had a drink before booking a table for dinner, we would never have eaten here, sorry Royal Oak but you need to go on a course for customer service. Not interaction with their guests, tatty old pub full of fly traps paper with hundreds of flies stuck to then. Food is basic, not much choice , especially if you are vegetarian and drinks warm. Would NEVER go back again

After seeing the reviews Im surprised on how we ended up having a bad visit, me and my partner came on Thursday lunch time we ordered our drinks and food, there was a table of three and us, the food took 40 minuets to receive which was bad for such an easy order and only a table of three before us, we received the meal by that time we had no choice but to eat it as we had things planned, the gammon tasted okay but was very fatty the egg was well done and burnt so no dipping my chips (very upsetting) it was covered in oil also, the chips had been reheated to much they weren't terrible but they were pushing it, the peas were overdone, the onion rings weren't onion rings they were just strands of onion with batter on them, also very oily, Why didn't we say anything at the time. The food took 40 minuets and it was literally dead we didn't dare send it back as we were hungry and we didn't have the time to mess around with an easy order. Why did you eat the meal it couldn't of been that bad if you had some? (We left more than you should for 13 quid a gammon) We hadn't eaten a thing we were starving we didn't have the time to mess around with the order we'd already waited 40 minutes for ,which should've taken 20-25 The reason for this review is for the fact we were still charged 30 pounds for two meals which was an absolute joke, the lady was going to take one gammon of the bill but the guy told her to take the drinks of instead ( the coke was to watered down and 3 quid a pint is a silly price for 97% soda water ) should've just taken the gammon off I'd of let it slip and appreciated the kind gesture to the fact you understood we had a terrible time and that you were actually sorry. Would we visit again. Maybe in a couple of years hopefully we just came on a bad week, we don't expect perfection but we expect a certain level of enjoyment and satisfaction, I hope you read your trip advisors as this should be taken as constructive criticism.

We stayed here for one night for our anniversary. We took are 2 doggies and stayed in the bungalow. Lorraine and mike the owners made us feel very welcome and even got us an anniversary card and Buck's Fizz. Staff here are friendly and amazing. It's very quiet and relaxing. The bungalow has a sitting room area with a tv and choice of DVDs if your looking to chill out for the night. There is a private sitting area out the back perfect for the doggies to chill out. They offer to bring drinks over from the pub as well as food but we opted to go sit in the pub for food. There's a good menu for the day/evening and breakfast the next day was delicious!! Very quiet area. Highly recommended especially if you have doggies they love them here and even the fur babies are made welcome. A big Thankyou to the owners and staff here for making our anniversary night relaxing and memorable

After not being to the pub in a few years decided to go with the girlfriend and her family and can honestly say that the food and service was outstanding, the new owner seems quite a nice chap taking on board various suggestions that we suggested. Safe to say we will be coming back in a lot more in the near future.

What a beautiful little country pub - chilled, cosy and spotless. Our room was Beatrix potter themed and was stunning, every little detail was so well though out, my 8yr old loved it!! The food was just gorgeous, prob best beef steak pie I've ever had and the sticky pudding - wow! Bit more custard and would've been perfect. Only room for improvement is shower is hot and cold and not very powerful also boiler/hot water system really really noisy so didn't have the best nights sleep. A strong 9/10 definitely be returning

Booked in for two nights.. A bit out of the way with hit and miss WiFi.... Saying that what a lovely place..... We had all our meals here from breakfast to snacks to evening meal... All of which were delicious.... Try the toffee vodka mmmmmm..... Room we had was very nice overlooking fields.. Everything you needed was in there.. My disappointment was no sachets of hot chocolate or a couple of biscuits to nibble on.... That said we had a wonderfully peaceful time.. Would we go again...... Most definitely....

A great pub on the edge of the Lake District. Not as many tourists in the area and easy access to Ulverston, Coniston and Bowness on Windermere. Also Safari Zoo is only about 20 mins drive and free in the winter. Stayed in the Family room 3 times now, nice to see all the old faults have been fixed.Evening meals were great, Steak and Guinness pie tasted a lot better than it looked. Breakfasts were also fantastic, although it would be nice if they put the fire or even the central heating on in the morning. The place was very quiet. In the past when we have stayed all 3 rooms were booked and the pub was very busy. This time we were the only people staying, and very few people on the evenings. Thought it would be packed over the xmas hols. Owners were very quiet, not unfriendly, but not very talkative.

6 of us went it at 1:30pm on a Sunday, as we arrived we were showed to our table, we ordered drinks from the bar, and then quickly decided on main course, we all had a roast dinner priced at 7:95. So people choose to have a soup as a starter for an extra £1.00. After looking at the soup it was Stilton and leek, not a lot of people liked that, so we asked if they had any other soup, we got told no! After 3 of us ordered the roast + soup, the waitress changed the soup to pea and mint, after asking if we could have that, we got told no we can't do that! So anyways we ordered a few starters off the menu, didn't wait long, and all the meals where lovely, plate was far too hot for the roast dinner, but all in all very good. Will return

Had a lovely overnight stay This pub has a quaint homely feeling about it with everything youd expect from a country pub The staff were friendly and helpful and made us feel completely at homeBedrooms are modern but in keeping with the style of the buildingFood was amazing!!!

Traditional country pub with log fire. Food was nice enough but a few extra chunky chips would have filled everybody up more. Staff tended to loiter at the bar watching you eat. Quiet a limited range of real ales too which was a shame with so many local breweries being so close by. Breakfast was really nice with great bacon and spicy sausage. Biggest problem was the lack of hot water. The taps offered a very tepid excuse for hot water both evening and morning. We asked if there was a problem but was told to let it run through. It didn't arrive in the 15 minutes I stood there. The shower is electric but went from boiling hot to ice cold within seconds all of its own. Plumbing is a saniflow system which is very noisy but works. Sadly the lack of hot water would stop me returning although the bacon really was something special.

Arrived, nice enough pub. Staff were not really very welcoming. Sort of glaring to be honest.Portions a bit small too. Better places to go in and around ulverston

nice pub in a small village with a car park. did not have a meal but food is available other customers were ordering. open fire made the pub have a nice country feel and the staff were good.good selection of beers etc.

This pub has always been good when I have visited. Friendly service, and usually very good food at a fair price. Very creditable to have kept such a steady standard over so long a period.

We walked down to the Royal Oak from our holiday cottage on a Tuesday evening. Lovely cosy pub with a roaring open fire, extremely friendly barman and good wholesome grub. Fantastic pie and homemade chips and huge burgers! Being a Tuesday it was very quiet but this just gave the place a real homely feel. Although I didn't indulge the variety of bar snacks on offer from 12-3 looked incredible!

I wanted to book a cheap quiet night away to start my husbands 30th birthday celebrations and found this place. The food was gorgeous and the bedroom was amazing, very clean and comfortable. We will definitely be returning here.

With the Farmers Arms being closed for food and the Britannia Inn not offering food on either Monday or Tuesday it was a relief to find the Royal Oak open and with a good menu.Service a little slow but they were probably a lot busier than expected! Food was good quality and good value so well worth the visit.

We called off here before we checked into our B&B. We ended up going to eat there two evenings out of a three night stay. The food was lovely. The food we ordered was hot and tasty and fresh. The pub itself is full of charm and character and quite quirky. Brilliant music playing as background noise. There is a fab games area to accommodate children or the more competitive adult! Staff were helpful and friendly. Lovely pub ( with accommodation) and well worth a visit.

We were staying at a nearby cottage so this local pub was very handy for meals as it was within walking easy walking distance for us. We had numerous meals here all evening ones. For the most part they were satisfactory and tasty. Usually there was too much to eat on the plate which I felt was a waste for me. I wish there was an option for smaller portions. The beer and wine served was excellent. The desserts were very tasty.

What a welcome!! Staff were super friendly & very helpful. Menu choice was very good & the food quality was great. Lots of lovely home cooked meals. Shame we only managed one visit.

I was visiting some friends from Canada who knew of this pub and suggested we met there. Wow a stunning friendly traditional little pub in a stunning location. Very friendly staff, very well prepared food, reasonably priced. Absolutely nothing to fault. A splendid location for a wonderful evening. Will definitely be back next time I am in the lake district.

We stayed at the Royal Oak for one night with our daughter n son in law to be as it was not far from Windermere where we were visiting for wedding appointments. Lovely friendly welcome, checked straight into our rooms( there are only 3 rooms in total) and then straight to the cosy welcoming bar area for a few drinks. We had a table booked in the pub for 7pm but were told of we wanted it earlier it was no problem. We chose to order some bar snacks ... Homemade pork scratchings and a bowl of olives to enjoy with our drinks. Fantastic! Our evening meal was also fantastic. Morecambe bay shrimps for starters, local sausage and mash, fish n chips and a rack of ribs. Could not fault anything if we tried! The pub was packed with families, couples, and several dogs, it was a lovely atmosphere. We retired to our rooms early as we were tired from the 5 hour drive. The rooms did not disappoint. Warm , cosy and very well thought out with everything you might need from an iron to bottled water. ! Breakfast in the morning was lovely.. As expected.. Local sausages again from the butcher down the road. Friendly , welcoming service once again. Highly reccomend this little gem of a pub to anyone visiting the area.

Very pleasant pub meal. Plenty of varied choice. Nice traditional pub setting. Friendly and efficient service.

Not been here for a few years.Simple tasty food and good value, both had the chicken, nice piece of breast with a lovely sauce.

When we visited it was early evening, the place was empty, we were greeted in a very friendly way, we ordered 4 meals all of which were lovely, fresh & hot, the staff were very friendly, by the time we had finished our meals the place was full, definately would visit again . . . ;-)

Staying nearby & thought we would have a little walk to this lovely looking pub. Staff were very welcoming & the menu looked varied. My hubbie & I ended up ordering the same - local wild venison sausages, mash & veg. 3 very meaty sausages!! Absolutely delicious. Wish we had been in the area longer- highly recommended, excellent home cooked food.

Spent two nights at the Royal Oak with my family in a lovely family room (one double and two single beds). Very clean, comfortable and nicely decorated with loads of space. The pub is dog friendly so our dog came too. I thought it was a little expensive but it is in the Lake District at high season so I can't really complain. Breakfast was between 8.30 and 9.30 in the bar there was a good choice and plenty of it if you were hungry. We had one evening meal in the bar during our stay which was of reasonable quality, my only complaint was the steak and kidney pie which appeared to have been reheated more than once.

We visited today as a family of 6 and all really enjoyed our food. Only two of us had starters which were lovely. The roast dinners were good and the children enjoyed the kids meals. I especially enjoyed the sticky toffee pudding. It is also very reasonably priced we will definitely be visiting again.

The food was fantastic! However we bought a bottle of wine to have with our meal and asked for three glasses so that our 16 year old son could have a glass. THe glasses were provided and we began our meal. A few minutes later the a member of bar staff demanded to see my son's ID. When we explained that he was only having one glass as the law states he is allowed to do with a meal accompanied by adults we were told that they didn't allow it. We ear out regularly and have never come across this lack of tolerance before. My son was made to feel embarrassed and we considered leaving our meal unfinished. Will not be returning.

Stayed here for one night. The meal was excellent; best vegetarian lasagne I've ever tasted! My husband (who is not vegetarian) stated that his meal was also delicious. The room was lovely too. Spotlessly clean and a very comfortable bed. Only downside of the room was that we couldn't open the window so the room was very warm. This didn't spoil our stay though of which we thoroughly enjoyed. The breakfast was delicious and there is a great choice for vegetarians which is rare.

We had a meal at the local pub as staying in the village, very friendly staff and the food was lovely. I would recommend a visit if your in the area

We tried the Royal Oak , after a disappointing previous nights dining nearby .Extremely pleased to see them promoting local real ales unlike neighbouring pubs .Both which were excellent quality .We ordered homemade pork scratchings & apple sauce . A joy they were ....top notch !Followed by 2x fresh battered fish /chips .Hand battered in ale which you could tell & homemade chips . Brilliant .The pub was full to bursting & people staying as well .A camra members goldmine for enjoying good beer & food .We shall be revisiting for sure again this week , for pies /beer & some more great service from the excellent staff .A credit to the the staff/chef & owners .Keep it up .

My wife and I ate at the Royal Oak for three nights recently, as we were staying in a hotel just one minute away by car and our own hotel was unable to provide meals.The Royal Oak had a really pleasant ambience and we really enjoyed eating there three nights running. There was enough choice between the menu and the specials to more than provided many choices for our meals. Over the three nights, we enjoyed different kinds of soup, vegetarian salads and prawn cocktails for starters, while for our main courses, we tried rib eye steaks, roast pork and several 'pies off the day'! All of these were extremely good!We also tried a number of desserts and really enjoyed apple crumble, ice cream and sticky toffee pudding.The same staff member was on duty all three nights, a very able and personable young man named Will and he was very helpful, very friendly and looked after us very well indeed. Thank you very much to him!The Royal Oak provided very good value for money. It was not particularly expensive and yet the food was well prepared, well served and well presented - and we thoroughly enjoyed it all.We would heartily recommend the Royal Oak and will certainly visit it again when next we are in the area.

I expect many people heading for The Lakes would zoom past and not realise down off the main road there is a sleep village and a classic inn.We were walking the Cumbria Way so did not miss this place, it is fantastic. Service was superb, the little snug with games aimed at families is a nice touch, the food was great- a blend of traditional dishes but served with a dash of panache, a great choice of specials on the board and cracking real ales and some of the best chips we've had in a long time! The garden was lovely- again something to keep the kiddies occupied with rabbits to feed.Well worth booking at busy holiday times, it was great that the staff were honest about waiting times when people came to ask to eat- just because there might be tables free doesn't mean the kitchen hasn't got lots of orders so it was good to see they didn't just take orders and make money from families and then leave them waiting an hour while their kids got more and more tired. We'll be back.

We stayed for one night & had an evening meal. The room was very spacious, well equipped, quiet & decorated with care. We stayed in Wainwright room. There was a very nice atmosphere in the pub, the staff were very friendly and we had a good evening meal. Breakfast the following morning was very tasty. This is a very dog friendly pub, dogs allowed in the bar which was great for us.

Cremated vegetables, reheated meal, drowned in Bisto type gravy (all the same whether you had beef, lamb or pork), stuffing with beef. Very cold room, asked for fir to be lit, but was told the heating would be put on. Hardly instant, we left quickly. £7.95 but not good value.

Stayed in Lowick Green and this pub was one of two in the area. We tried both but this was by far the better for both food and ambience. Highly recommended.

My partner and I went for dinner on the recommendation of friends and couldn't have been more pleased with the total experience. The menu offered typical pub fare and everything we chose was perfectly cooked, served piping hot and very tasty. The staff were welcoming ,cheerful and attentive , and we loved our allotted table by a roaring log fire (it had been a very cold day !).Faultless in all respects .

Lovely well kept country pub with lovely staff. Food is really good no nonsense stuff, well presented and good value. Recommend the Chicken stuffed with Cumberland Sausage, its awesome.

Great family room ... Fantastic food ... Stunning views ... Helpful staff .... Highly recommend .... Gem of the lakes ... Many thanks !!!

Booked a table for 4pm on Sunday - it was fairly quiet but had been packed earlier in the day so always worth booking! Ate roast dinner which was delicious and plentiful for both the kids and adults. Plenty of meat, 2 different potatoes, stuffing, Yorkshire pud and loads of veg and gravy - yum! We were stuffed but manage to fit in a pudding ;-) Highly recommend the sticky toffee pudding.

Our first visit here and we were pleased with our meals. I had the stuffed chicken which was nice, my husband had the steak which was cooked jyst right and our daughter had the pie of the night which was mince & potato. She said it was one of the best pues she had ever had!Real chips is always a winner in my eyes, i would have just liked a few more and the same with the veg, a bigger portion would have been good but that's probably a personal preferance!!The burgers being delivered to neighbouring tables looked good! Will go back to sample more dishes!

Lovely, comfortable, good sized rooms, all very quiet and well laid out. Restaurant which is pet friendly serves good home cooked food and as yet I have not been disappointed. Always a good ale on draught and the service is friendly and prompt without being rushed. Would definitely return.

Me, my partner and 3 year old son stayed here for one night. Was a lovely place everyone was so welcoming and very helpful. Food was fantastic. We will hopefully going back and staying againg soon. Its a hidden gem!

Gorgeous rooms, lovely idyllic pub and friendly staff! Meals were great however my partner said his portion was small but I thought they were fine - value for money as it was 2 courses for a set price so you can't complain. Really enjoyed my pie and treacle tart!! Breakfast was the winner for me. Absolutely divine local produce. We are already lookin to book again this time for longer. ☺️

Visited pub a few years ago and thought couldn't go wrong with their new early bird menu. Ordered fish n chips. The fish was over fried and soaked up in fat, fish inside was soggy. Suspected the fish might have been frozen for it to look like it did. Served with garden peas and chips that were wedge type but powdery inside.desert was a sliver of cake that was hardly worth the effort. If this is the effort to tempt new custom a word of advice charge a bit more to improve your quality. Terrible.

We were renting a cottage over Christmas 2015. We visited this pub a couple of times. Very friendly staff and owners. Food delicious and plentiful. Lovely traditional pub with real fire. Highly recommend.

Stayed here for a long weekend in the oak cottage with our 3 year old son. The cottage is lovely, a stones throw from the pub so close enough to have a drink and food but far enough to feel completely separate.Arrived to a really warm welcome! We ate in the pub for both breakfast (included) and dinner. The dinner was fantastic, being vegetarian myself I always struggle to get good flavor and choice, they really excelled here - superb. It is also very reasonably priced for what is clearly fresh produce. It's a village location which for me added to its charm. Highly recommended if you are looking for a weekend break or base for exploring a week in the lakes.

Went for lunch here, while the pub is nicely set out the lunch menu seems to be either sandwiches, soup or a large meal. We didn't want anything heavy so decided on sandwiches which were very disappointing, too much bread and bland fillings (tuna mayo and ham and mustard) and I don't think I've ever seen such a small salad garnish. They were served on a slab of slate - really trying to hard! Two sandwiches and three drinks were almost £20 which I thought was a bit steep for what we got, and I'm used to London prices.

Booked into the garden room for two nights. It was like a little cottage. Is separate from the pub just out the back lovely and peaceful. Lounge had a wood burner lots and DVDs and books to use if bad weather. Spacious bedroom. Bathroom had underfloor heating. This cottage felt like a real luxury bolt hole that was also dog friendly. We had our own decked area too. The staff were very friendly. Breakfast great portions. Yogurts, cereal, Toast, juices, full English and begin options too. Ate one evening meal here very tasty and fresh. Would definitely book Again.

13/09/15 SundayTook my fella here for his birthday treat, looked nice from outside, not bad inside, seemed friendly enough...... That's where it ends!!!! TERRIBLE food, seriously. I got the half a roasted red pepper, it was so small is was sliding all over the plate, big lumps of barely cooked broccoli in it, it was just silly.My fella got the chilly prawns; hot prawns sat on salad leaves sat in an oily puddle, bread on the side wet through from said puddle.Spicy bean burger, nearly raw in the middle burnt round edges, and tasted ..... Bland! Fella had roast lamb dinner, shockin, enough said. I complained, and got an apology and the full bill!!! What a terrible birthday meal, how are you staying in business??????

Omg the beer garden has cute little rabbits to watch!! Local produced beer which is a great pint, the bar snacks are amazing freshly made scratchings, scotch eggs and black pudding Bon Bon wow!! Food amazing staff helpful lovely afternoon

Just returned from a weekend away, having stopped overnight at The Royal Oak. We were not disappointed, we received a warm welcoming and was shown to our "Beatrix Potter" family room. The room was large and clean, with facilities to make a hot drink and complimentary bottles of water.We ate our evening meal at the The Royal Oak, we each had a lovely meal & also had a lovely breakfast the following morning.Really nice people and very friendly. Would stay again.

Pub had a really lovely feel to it, I have stayed in more salubrious accommodation but would definitely return for the ambience. The evening meal was lovely and I would highly recommend the cooked breakfast in the morning. Would definitely return again.

Friendly enough welcome. After a longer wait than in other pubs in the vicinity, we asked how much longer the food would be. It took a further five minutes to find out that the food was being plated and another five for the plates to reach us. My partner's scampi was okay but my gammon was fatty and gristly, and the vegetables watery and tasteless. Potatoes Dauphinoise were good and the eggs were eggs, which was fine.Reading earlier reviews, I'm wondering if we were in the same pub. When the barman was told as we paid that the gammon wasn't good, he was rather sharp, so my partner told him to go and have a look at it. We didn't stay for that! The only bright spot was the pretty waitress with boundless energy who virtually flew up and down stairs with plates. Sadly, they were for too long for people who arrived after us.More training, don't accept that quality of gammon from your supplier and take it off the menu if it causes you so much hassle - and please, no reply to this because there quite simply is no excuse.

This is a great local pub. We were made to feel very welcome by both the staff and locals. There is an excellent selection of local bees and a good choice of wine. the food was well cooked, generous portions and nicely presented. It was very good value for money. The coped reasonably well with my wife' wheat allergy. I can nearly recommend it.

Nice atmosphere, very good service, excellent value food from an interesting menu. Good selection of real ales, and a fine range of local whiskeys.

Booked a table for family dinner whilst on holiday. Lovely food and great service and very friendly atmosphere - highly recommended!

We booked an overnight stay at the last minute and we were not disappointed. We were given the garden room which was lovely and had its own decking area at the back. The staff were lovely and the food was great and reasonably priced. Would definitely stay here again. Great value.

Friendly staff very helpful, the food is lovely home cooked, large beer garden set in wonderful place with beautiful sights, child friendly

Myself and my boyfriend stayed in the royal oak for a little weekend away. We decided to have dinner in the pub. And my word it didn't disappoint !! We both had home made pork scratchings which were absolutely delicious. Followed by steak! Both perfectly cooked to our tastes ( at opposite ends of the steak spectrum ). And dessert! I have never eaten treacle tart so delicious! Although they don't open we also had breakfast which was equally as delicious all local produce!We will definitely be visiting again.

Nicely set out pub with good range of Draught Beers.Reasonable sized menu at good price. Special board. Good size Carpark

The pub's website suggests its a "gastro pub". Mmmm not fully conviced. On a saturday night in early May 2015 the restaurant seeemed to be only just coping with the local clientel plus tourists us like us that had booked amd a few extra that hadnt. There were only two staff on duty to man the bar, take food orders and deliver fhe food etc.. Accepted they had a big early table of 8 or so booked for I guess at 6.30pm. Having said that our food was very good and was delivered in a reasonable time. But it all felt a bit fraught and therefore not relaxing. The menu is more pub than gastro pub and choice is quite limited. Recommend the chicken liver pate and chicken stuffed with cumberland sausage.

Had read a review in the local paper which was good so thought we'd give it a try.I ordered the home-made pork scratchings and a roast dinner with beef and pork, asked for them together. My partner chose the roast with lamb and beef.The home made pork scratchings were soooooo salty and burnt that I couldn't eat much of them at all. We both love our roasts and like to try them in different places. These were average at best, very thin pieces of meat, flat Yorkshire pudding and no cauliflower cheese as advertised. The small amount of veg we got for two was cooked nicely but there wasn't enough. The plates the roast was served on were very small and so the veg had to be put on top of other food which is a pet hate of mine. In all, apart from the scratchings it was ok. We were not offered a sweet menu so decided to cut our losses, pay up and leave. I seriously doubt we'll go back.

We arrived here very hungry after a day of activities, we hadn't booked, but the staff were very accommodating even though they were full. The food was amazing and there was a lot of it. Thank you for a lovely time!!

Myself and my partner stayed here for one night over the bank holiday weekend, having selected The Royal Oak at random on booking.com and what a great choice this was!It's situated in a really quiet and rural area, right next to a stream/river and it's more than likely a local pub for the few inhabitants of Spark Bridge, but you feel instantly welcomed as soon as you walk through the door.The room (one of three all named after authors) was beautifully decorated in a very 'shabby chic' style but very homely and clean. The entire place, room and pub included was just so quirky and cute from the quotes dotted around the pub walls to the sweet little rabbits in the rear garden. Breakfast is obviously included in the room, but we would without doubt recommend eating dinner here as it's just gorgeous. It's a relatively small menu, but this is promising as it tells me that everything is likely to be fresher. Dauphinoise potatoes were great and so were the homemade chips! All in all, we would probably go out of our way to stay here again. Anna and her friend that was helping out in the evening were very accommodating!P.S Best pint of Guinness we have tasted out of Ireland.

Well a few years since we last visited the Royal Oak, unfortunately I want be rushing back.We arrived early evening to find the restaurant very quiet and only a couple of tables taken up we sat down and ordered some drinks. Looking over the limited menu and specials we ordered at the bar.For starter I ordered the home made garlic bread plater when the bread arrived after about 10 minutes it looked very nice. Tearing the bread apart the garlic smelt very strong as I tasted the bread I was not wrong the garlic was so strong and had that much on the bread it spoilt the dish. After eating 2 pieces I could not eat anymore the amount of garlic on it ruined the starter. Moving on to the main course I had ordered the scampi & chip. When this arrived a short time later the scampi came in a large old style tanker chunky chip and garden peas. There were 14 pieces of scampi which was very good normally most places only serve 9/10 pieces. When I cut into the first piece I got a strong taste of burnt on further inspection of the scampi I noticed the batter was very well done and hard I think the person cooking must have left them in to long. The chips were very nice. I explained to the person waiting on however never got much of a reply or sorry to here that? We finished our drinks and left and as I said were very disappointed and won't be returning in a hurry.

Called in with friends one lunch time and was faced with home made steak and kidney pie with pastry on top reheated in a microwave with raw chunky chips. The pastry was stuck to the plate with very little meat under it. We had treacle tart for dessert and you could not cut through the pastry you had to bit it off. It was not value for money. I could have done better and I`m no chef. You can`t say they were rushed off there feet as we were the only ones in. That should have told us something.I`t seems we can not survive today without microwave and the mobile phone.

Nice quiet place. Stayed for one night but would have happily stayed longer. The room was clean and tidy, a little outdated but cosy. The bed, linen & facilities were really good. The pub is quiet & has a log burner. We had the 3 course meal for dinner for £10, which was a bargain. The breakfast selection was fantastic. The only recommendation we have is to add to the wine list!

My friend and I were the only guests,Tuesday 11/11/14,midday.Place is out-of-the-way and it was Armistice Day.Barman said it can be quiet.There was a time gap between the present owners and the previous ones(we used to go every month or so),so I wonder if the regulars just- moved on-it used to be busy.There are far worse dining rooms than this one,which is effectively in three parts,though there are no divisions as such.My friend had roast chicken and veg.I had a "veg stack"with new potatoes-this was in effect layers of peppers and corgettes,"sandwiched" by Halloumi,topped with cream.Both were satisfied with food and price.There was,for the area and time of year, a very reasonable "Specials" board,and a sheet of "Lite Bites".We will return-sometime.

Lovely Pub, our room was very tastefully decorated, and very comfortable, everyone was very friendly and the food was good too .... Good location for the Lakes,etc.

The pub itself seems nice and lovely staff - but the food was tasteless. Ordered a soup and half a sandwich and the soup was supposed to be carrot and coriander - NO coriander and full of either cayenne pepper or paprika that it just burnt the back of the throat. real shame because the setting is lovely and by all accounts the hotel rooms nice. Food was dire

While visiting my family at sparkbridge I stayed at the royal oak and had a lovely 4 night stay, the rooms were lovely and clean.The bed was very comfy. Great breakfast wide selection to choose from. Fabulous range of meals. Great all around would definitely stay again.

Have been in Spark Bridge for a week in holiday and this lovely pub lived up to all our expectations of a small village pub. The hospitality was excellent along with the service and the choice of food. Not over expensive but the choice was fantastic. We came here five times in a week and were not disappointed, the food was always piping hot and very tasty and there was always a good selection on the specials board. Cannot recommend it highly enough.

i had never visited this pub before but my partner had, we called in today for a roast dinner on our way from barrow to allithwaite. we had our young puppy with us and were pleased we could bring him in to the royal oak while we ate, the barman was friendly as was the waitress, the food and plates were piping hot, service prompt, extra gravy requested and delivered, a bowl of fresh water for our pup, very good prices, we were very happy with our visit, we would recommend and return.

I hate to be negative so, this is as un-opinionated as I can manage at the momentHaving last been to this pub over a year ago we were expecting great things for the re-opening.Upon arrival we wondered towards the bar, passing only a few guests. The first thing I noticed was the small selection of real ales. Being in an area known for its many local breweries one would expect there to be a much larger, varied selection. The choice; Blonde or Blonde. I chose the Blonde and enjoyed the beer, although our meal choices would have suited something much darker had it been available.For starters we ordered a ‘Tear and Share Garlic Bread’, and a ‘Whole Brie in Breadcrumbs with salad’ to share. Both starters were obviously not homemade and better standards would probably be available from a budget frozen foods store.We ordered Pie of the Day (Steak and Ale) a Steak (Medium Rare), and the vegetarian option (Blue cheese, Pecan and Butternut Squash Wellington).The Wellington (with salad (again…)) was questionable to start with, very small and possibly not even homemade. We counted two pieces of squash and three pecans, the blue cheese unfortunately did not make an appearance in the slice. The chips were chunky, cooked well and generously portioned. The salad was uninspiring and dull.Next, the Steak, ordered medium rare, came well done at least and on the fatty side which demoted it from 10oz to roughly 8oz.The pie, our previous favorite dish, was inedible (not to be mistaken with ‘Incredible’). The chef clearly cooked the filling with the wrong beer, Cat Bells. Described as ‘A smooth, light, fruity and floral pale ale, for easy drinking’ I would certainly never pair this beer with a hearty pie, never mind cook it in the dish! The hoppy aroma of the beer had tainted the pie filling and caused it to taste somewhat ‘soapy’ and rather bitter.The latter meals were served with a bowl of vegetables. Reheated upon order and smothered in Margarine, not butter. The veg arrived at the table cold and the margarine failed to melt.We thankfully skipped the desert and went home for homemade cookies and fresh coffee.Not a patch on its former glory as a friendly pub with glorious hearty homemade food.

We dined here with friends, and all chose the fish & chips. Fantastic tasty fish - very generous portion and served with lovely chunky chips. The pub was busy enough to give it a really good atmosphere, and has a cosy welcoming feel to it. We were able to spend the whole evening at our table which was great. Didn't feel rushed to finish our food and move on. If you're looking for well priced good pub grub cooked from scratch, then this is a great place to visit. If you're looking for a very quickly served 'ding' type meal then you may prefer other choices. We look forward to eating here again. Thanks Royal Oak!

Very disappointing visit. Pub had been closed for while so I looked forward to trying it again. The menu was limited and when placing the order I was told the dish I wanted had run out; I'm not sure why this wasn't advised when being handed the menu. I think what I should have done was gone 100 yards up the road to the Farmers Arms, especially as my dining partner was struggling to be inspired by the menu. Had the food come in a timely manner it would have be OK but not great, but instead it took 1 hour 10 minutes to arrive. The quality of what arrived was definitely not worth the wait.Whilst in there, people arrived and waited a long time with nobody behind the bar and they eventually left after being very patient but not being served.The bill was not given in a format that you could check (line by line), but based on the total, I can only presume this pub is charging tourist premiums on drinks or a mistake was made. I pass regularly, but based on today I'll not rush back. The outside looks great and would undoubtedly attract people as it did us, but the service and quality once you are inside is a real let down.

Pleasant looking pub, though a bit unkempt inside. The barman also appeared to be the chef, given the uniform and the paper menus were a bit tatty.The food was quite poor, lasagne - a dried up portion of reheated soggy pasta and a game pie that was so salty, it was a coronary waiting to happen. An ambitious dish that really needs a chef that knows what they are doing. Fine to go for a drink, but would not recommend the food.