The Royal Oak in New Forest

We are fairly local, and I hadn’t been before. My friends had advised me that the landlord could be quite rude. When being served we asked him several questions regarding the ales, to which he kept silent and blanked us. What a strange way to treat customers. Very odd behaviour, and frankly off-putting. Why you would purposely be standoffish and rude is just bizarre. Anyway, the pizza van outside was great, which also had nothing to do with the pub. Unlikely to go again

I was told off for parking in the wrong place, when I say told off I mean TOLD OFF!!! By a man presumably the landlord. There weren't any 'No Parking signs' but apparently my car displaying disabled badge was blocking an access point for horses. The experience totally ruined the lunch, my disabled elderly mother had asked to be taken to this pub as she had never been there before, the experience was memorable for the wrong reasons. By the way the ploughman's was huge but I had lost my appetite. Tips for landlord - Display polite 'No Parking' signs Talk to people politely If a car is found to be in the wrong place (no car park, just road parking) please write down the number plate on an A4 sheet of paper in a black marker and walk from room to room (3 tiny rooms in total) plus pub garden displaying number plate to identify the owner. Thank you.

I love this place. Food is delicious, and you can have whatever you want as long as it is a ploughman.

Brilliant pub, lovely country views and vibes. Large outdoor seating area, plenty of space but gets busy. Every kind of ploughmans you could imagine. That's all they sell. Stroke of genius. Delicious ice cream. Wonderful on a sunny day. Food was delicious and fresh, service was fast. Local ales. Parking a little awkward and small for the size of the pub. Dog friendly outside. Walks nearby.

Beautiful surroundings, great selection of drinks, friendly service. Ideal for a day out in the New Forest of you want a delicious pub lunch in the sun.

Great traditional food. Wonderful views and atmosphere. I want to come back here and try more specialties!

Great place for walks, dogs and ale

Love this pub! Always good cask beers. Ploughman's are legendary!

Great pub with a choice of cask ales and outdoors by horses. Lovely during nice weather

Met with friends who had been here before, but we hadn’t. Certainly off the beaten track, but what a lovely track to get there, and well worth it. The charming pub is tiny, so get here early if you want to be sure of a table, and be prepared to share if you opt for a table larger than your party…. However there is loads of outside space if the weather permits. Similarly pot luck with parking, but there is some parking a little further on in the Forest. Friendly and helpful staff, and excellent variety of real ales, beers and other drinks. The Ploughman’s menu is clearly a winning formula for them. Between us we sampled the gammon, the cheddar, the Stilton and the pork pie, and all were deemed to be excellent. The accompanying salads, chutney and bread were also delicious. Only one slight niggle…the plates are piled high, and don’t give you room for manoeuvre…. Next time we might ask for an additional plate! Neither a cheap venue, nor a particularly expensive one either, quality comes with a natural price tag.

Great New Forest pub, ideally situated for walks or cycling in the forest. Ploughman's lunch only but what a choice, great quality and service.

The Best Ploughman’s In The South of England! The Royal Oak catered for my friends wedding and when my Sister in Law visited from Australia and wanted a Ploughman’s Lunch, we knew there was no other place to go! A big thank you to Cathy & The Team @ The Royal Oak, we had a fantastic dinner 10/10 as alway, I would definately recommend!

Beautiful setting on a sunny day. I had the mackerel ploughman's and it was yummy. The garlic cheddar was delicious. Big portions and everything is fresh. Service was excellent even though it was a busy Sunday. Definitely visit again to try the Ham ploughman's.

It was fine. Menu basically soup or ploughman's - the ploughman's had excellent ham and cheese but even the "traditional" had uncommon things, fine if you liked them but less so if expecting the traditional ones. Send like it would be very busy at weekends etc but the facilities to handle that look a bit odd at less busy times (empty marquee, closed kiosks etc ) Good beers, from barrels stacked behind the bar. Fantastic location and views. Ideal if you're biking and we might well visit again if doing that but we probably wouldn't visit again otherwise.

£3.50 for a machine coffee ! Really grumpy service too, big let down. Nice pub in cool location . Toilets grim. Honestly, live up to your reputation Lol

I visited your pub today with my family. Unfortunately, we were "greeted" by a member of the kitchen staff (Blonde hair, wearing a lilac top) shouting at and being rude to another family with a young boy with them. We left immediately and won't be back. maybe she shouldn't be working with the general public. hopefully she doesn't ruin it for anyone else.

Great place, 2 open fires, rustic and simplicity at its best. It was my husbands bday today and they gave him a pint on the house! Ploughman’s were exceptional, homemade and fresh and lovely warm bread. We will definitely be back.

This place never disappoints, we have worked our way through the menu twice and will keep going back. There is ample outdoor seating and a small amount of cosy indoor seating with log fires. The portions are good and everything is fresh and local. There is a good selection for kids but nothing deep-fried, so be cautious if taking a picky child. The beer selection is outstanding, lots of local beers in rotation. Staff are always friendly and the service is really good. If the weather is nice it will be busy, so go early or a little after lunchtime as they are so popular they don't take reservations. There's a good amount of parking around and there are great walks in the immediate area the walk of lunch. They are dog friendly as you would expect, I couldn't recommend this place enough.

Lovely pub. On edge of New Forest. Very Close to good walking. Real Ales and ploughman speciality. Plates could have been bigger for the lovely food served. That is the only criticism- otherwise a lovely experience. Recommended.

Nice no nonsense place for a ploughmans and pint. Great selection of ales.

We just stopped for e real ale which was excellent. Straight from the barrel.

Visited with family (4 adults, two children) following a cycle through the New Forest and it was the much needed half way point before our cycle back to Sandy Balls. Two log fires on the go which made the place feel warm and homely which was quickly cooled down but the atmosphere of the bar man whose service was uncomfortable and borderline awkward. Limited choice for lunch but it was the lack of flexibility I found frustrating- can’t have a sausage roll on it’s own, must come with kids meal deal (crisps chocolate and an apple) meaning adults can only have soup at £8 or a full ploughman’s at £18. Recommend order one ploughman’s between two adults as there is plenty to go around. The food and serving staff were next level which made up for the uncomfortable bar staff so would still recommend a visit if you are passing through.

Food options very limited and what there was, very overpriced

Lovely pub serves fantastic home cooked quiche and locally sourced ingredients for their wonderful ploughman lunches. Huge garden and lots of great walks in the local area.

Had a very lovely visit to this pub for the first time. Ploughman's was the best I've ever eaten and got to sit near the crackling fire and sip a cider. Heaven!

We visited this morning after walking our dogs nearby. We got there just before food started at midday and there was a queue at the bar to order at midday. The service was prompt and within 5 minutes we had our meals. We choose a gammon and a cheese ploughman and shared it between ourselves. Everything was freshly prepared, the bread had also been warmed through which was a lovely touch on a crispy morning. The portion was plentiful, tasty and fresh and you certainly got your money’s worth. The staff were all very helpful and polite. We will definitely be back next time we are in the area.

Visited midweek at 2 o’clock, very busy and lucky to get last table, menu as on line, excellent local amber ale, ate blue cheese ploughman’s and honey gammon/ham ploughman’s, HUGE portions, cheese was lovely, the ham full of taste and the picked onions were sweet, slightly crunchy and delicious. My wife and I both agreed that these were probably the best ploughman’s we had ever eaten! We can now see why it was so busy and we will return.

Popped in with the wife for a quick drink on a Friday at 3pm. Limited parking. Bar area was busy but an empty table was available. Neil was serving, and although initially quite reserved, he warmed to us and actually had a good sense of humour. I had a pint of "Tollgate" served straight from the cask, recommended by Neil , and at a perfect temperature, it was divine. Wife had a whisky and lemonade, which she enjoyed. Both drinks are very reasonable priced. Surprisingly, no dimpled handles were available, so I had a straight handle. As we didn't have food, I can't comment, but from what I observed, this is a traditional forest pub with no frills, very dog friendly, as were the locals present. No seat cushions, so I can't say I sat comfortably, however, the quality of the ale overshadowed this by far.

Very nice place, busy with lots of outdoor seating. Unfortunately inside it is very limited. Two nice fireplaces to keep the spaces warm. The food was good but no excellent. Very convenient location near many walks. Will visit again soon.

Just wanted soup before our walk. It was superb on such a cold day!

Very cosy pub, really helpful staff, Dog friendly, Excellent place

Not a good welcome when ordering food. First impressions count. Fortunately made up for by serving staff who were much more pleasant.

GreAt food, better than standard pub, in hearty old country pub atmosphere with open fires and cosy corners

Great little forest pub. Only do ploughmans and soup on the menu and do it very well!

Lovely and cosy pub.. especially if you can get in by the fire. Good beer.

This is a wonderful place to visit, serves a variety of wines, some very locally produced, beer, lager, craft ale and great food.

Great pub with an amazing selection of traditional and non-traditional ploughmans

Amazing reception today walked straight in on a very blustery day. No lights but I thought it was because of the windy weather and also it was early-just on 12 noon Tried other doors to find someone in charge they were open too. Then the landlord came in and bombarded me with a very bad temper saying he couldn’t believe I thought it was open as there was a sign on the front door( there wasn’t) and I must have broken in😳 He made me feel v nervous and he locked the doors after us!! Just a mistake but left shaken up

Brilliant pub fantastic ploughman’s served with good beers

Lovely fire. Get there early to nab a table as no prebooking.

One of the best pubs in the new forest

Food was excellent. Nice pub. Warm outdoor marquee.

We came today for a friends 70th lunch Log fire burning Food top drawer Great bit of banter with the very friendly bar staff. A must visit

Great country pub. Open fires, real ale and a good ploughman's.

Fantastic ploughman’s, the pork pie is hands down best I’ve ever had 😋 huge portions 😳 lovely friendly staff, super dog friendly, fantastic pit stop, tempted to book the shepherds hut so I can ditch the car on the next visit 🍻

A favourite! Great as ever. Top beer and food 😎and fantastic walks in every direction 🎯

Really lovely country pub, super cosy inside, plenty of room outside, good selection of beers 👌

Having seen The Royal Oak on the 'Great Places to Eat' TV programme, we decided to give it a try. It's a very small pub, with a big garden and an undercovered area with wooden tables. It was packed inside, so The Wife & I took the drinks we'd bought at the bar to a table (shared with another couple) in the undercovered area. Food is ordered at a kiosk overlooking the garden and the choice is pretty much 'Ploughman's lunch or Ploughman's lunch'. However, the Ploughman's can come with cheese, gammon, smoked mackerel, smoked trout pate, quiche, sausage roll or pork pie, and there are vegan and/or vegetarian options available. All are served with warm ciabatta, coleslaw, pickled onions, mixed leaves, chutneys, pickles - fantastic! At £14 per plate, this is great value. Wonderful place... will revisit.

Very atmospheric pub at the end of the road. Good selection of beers, and knowledgeable staff that can give beer advice. Sheds in the garden may need improving as they are downgrading the view of the pub from this perspective. Beer in the garden still tastes the same though. 😉

Lovely friendly pub, would definitely go back

Rightly famous for its ploughman's, which are superb. Very popular place.

Very familiary pub, very friendly staff and fabulos traditional ploughman’s…THANK YOU FOR AN WONDERFUL AFTERNOON!

Best ploughman's on earth!!! Service is great, always with a smile , our server was Fergus, really helpful and cheerful. Lush glass of red to wash it down 😋

This pub is famous for ploughman's and yes, they are are amazing! We had Brie, Stilton and a Cheddar ploughman's and they were big and hearty and tasty. Beautiful warm bread. Really reasonable price for both food and drinks. We will definitely be back. Also, I want to mention a gentleman behind the bar who was very kind to us. I don't know his name but he has a Sheffield accent maybe? My father has parkinsons/early dementia and sometimes people don't understand and can be dismissive as he is very passive, but this man was so patient and made an effort with him. He then went got us from outside when the table inside was free as he must of seen us trying to find a table inside when we first arrived. Just lovely and intuitive and thank you very much.

Visited from a recommendation....Did not disappoint! A very quaint traditional pub with an array of ploughman's. 10/10 and more for all. Will definitely visit again. Thank you 😊

Great food,pleasant staff and quick service,easy parking especially if you're on 2 wheels,big outdoor area with plenty of tables and dog friendly,I'd get there fairly early on a Sunday as it does get busy.

We only popped in for a quick pint. Pub looked really old and traditional. Basic bar. It was busy and they had a fish and chip ban outside.

Nice new Forest pub with lovely views across open fields. Nice place for a refreshing pit stop.

Ploughmans lunch fantastic. Recommend cheese and ham!

Small, cozy, big garden. Range of cask beers to choose from, and great access to the forest. Love this place.

The quality of the food has gone up this visit. A real plate of real food. And gluten free options with nice GF bread. And GF Crop Circle real ale! Friendly and helpful staff.

We walked here from Ocknell campsite and it was a real delight. Really cute pub with fantastic ploughman’s lunches and super efficient service. We really couldn’t fault it.

very nice staff AMAZING food !! Lovely atmosphere and nice walk after , go if you are in area !

Amazing Ploughman’s here today.

This is our second visit because the first visit was excellent, however our Second was unfortunately very disappointing. The price's have increased and the food portions have decreased. I ordered the cheddar cheese Ploughman's and although the salad was fresh and the bread was nice, the cheese was hard around the edges and very dry. It would have been much better to have had fresh tomatoes with the meal. We won't be returning because the value for money was poor and I was still very hungry.

Excellent ploughman’s, will be returning! All fresh produce, large portions with the option of adding extras. We had the cheese, ham and mackerel which were all devine. Can’t wait to try the pork pie, it looked so good. Really friendly and efficient staff.

Fantastic ploughman's, great selection of beers and cider, lovely location

Had a ploughman's lunch and a drink with the family. Love this pub, and I'll definitely be back for another lunch in the future.

We came in for a drink on way home ended up having the camembert sharing platter absolutely divine. The staff were all so friendly particularly the front of house chap . Looking forward to returning for a meal as the roast and fish &chips looked lovely and can't wait to see the everyday menu . Excellent and of course Guinness the pub dog xx

Fantastic pub, amazing food lovely garden

Great beers and amazing ploughman's. We go every time we're in the new forest.

This place is ALWAYS busy and it’s easy to see why. Food wise, they only serve ploughman’s. But if you’re going to do one thing - then you do it really well! Lovely homemade pickle, dressing, pickled onion and coleslaw. Delish ham, pork pies and sausage rolls. Lots of beers and lagers on tap. Interesting Gins like mermaid gin. I believe they try to source everything locally and you can taste the quality. The perfect pub to walk through the new forest and enjoy a pint afterwards.

Great ploughman’s, nice beer and garden. There isn’t anything not to like apart from lots of other people

Went here on a Wednesday afternoon. Pub is in a beautiful location and has nice beer garden . The ale I bought was flat. I think the barman knew it was from an old cask when he served it. The cask had clearly been sitting there for ages; the pub is not open on Monday and Tuesday. Probably the worse conditioned ale I have ever had. There were lots of local ales to choose from. For a pub that specialises in ale it js not really great. The brewery would not be happy to know this pub is serving its beer in the state it was served to me.

Best ploughman’s we’ve ever had. Quality , homemade , or locally sourced produce. Superb service , so friendly. Glorious setting.

One of the best pub lunches I have ever had, so, so tasty, presentation was incredible, just amazing ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Excellent choice of beer from the wood. Wish it was my local 🤔

We dropped by here during our walk on a Friday and we timed it perfectly with when they started serving lunch. They had a large range of Ploughman’s lunch options with veggie and vegan options too. The atmosphere was great and we sat outside in the lovely pub garden.

Been coming here for years when camping at the nearby (well 45mins walk) Ocknell campsite. Great garden, but on this showery day we sat under the big gazebo thing which was perfect. Good ales, the Jungle Pop pale ale was nice and loads of 0% drinks. But the food is the best and the ploughmans did not disappoint. Liked the kids portions at half price, and would never hesitate to come here for lunch. Remember food stops at 3pm so get there early before they run out of pork pie. Must be good, a wedding party who arrived on horseback was having lunch too, congrats! We will be back when in the area.

Beautiful setting shame that it is a bit run down. But drinks were fine and served in a friendly manner

If you can find somewhere better let me know as this was amazing , we was in the new forest the first time we went but just come back from the West Country and made a detour for lunch, well worth the extra miles, it’s a small pub with a big welcome

Really nice large beer garden with stunning views, lots of ponies and cows around. Some great cider on tap. Had the gammon ploughman’s & sausage roll, very tasty. We are more of hot food eaters ‘pub grub’ type but ploughman’s satisfied us :). Only 4* as small plates and we wanted an extra sausage roll but were told they do sell separately …

Stopped for a beer and light food after a long walk. Ordered the Vegetarian quiche which was excellent. The service was good as well. Would definitely visit again

Ploughman’s perfectly created on the edge of the New forest. I like this place a lot and dog’s welcome.

We always visit when we are in the area. Lovely lunch (only do variations of ploughmans) with a very big garden area with lots of picnic bench style seating. Good choice of beers. There is a small amount of road parking but forestry car parking is close by.

What a beautiful place, food was amazing, definitely the best ploughman's lunch I've ever had and a pint of blush cider to wash it down in the sunshine. PERFECT 👌

Absolutely Fabulous Winchester Cheddar ploughman's. I had to take half the cheese 🧀 home. 100% recommend this fantastic pub.

What a fab place. We heard about it from the TV programme Fred Siriex was in so wanted to try it. We went for the nettle and garlic cheddar ploughmans and the gammon and cheese. They were very big portions for £14 and it was really lovely. Everything homemade. Couldn't fault it. Lovely area to sit and look over the fields.

Excellent combo of flavours in ploughman’s. Best I’ve had for a while. I had ham and cheese; husband had cheese (would have been too much cheese for me). Great cheese, great ham, excellent red pickle and chutney, tasty apple. Loved the roasted carrots in the salad. Bread was a bit boring but nice and warm. Excellent beer. Downside was plate too small so food is a bit piled on and items fall off as you eat. Biggest downside was we sat in main bar and though it was lovely when we arrived, a huge queue formed behind our table. Lots of fully kitted cyclists and less than polite people staring at our plates. It also meant we couldn’t order more drinks without joking that long queue. Advice would be to sit in the back, or outside and get there to order at 12.00, as they had run out of trout. It was so busy for a Wednesday.

As seen on TV 📺 😀 great ploughman's (it's what they do ) and fine selection of ales ...tiny inside huge outside

We came here for the ploughman’s lunch as we had seen it recently on a TV programme. To say they have mastered the humble ploughman’s is an understatement! Between us we had two smoked mackerels ploughman’s, one smoked cheddar and one smoked trout and horseradish pate. All four were excellent. They really have mastered each element of the dishes they serve. The pate was undoubtedly the best fish pate I have ever eaten. The homemade coleslaw was delicious, the red onion pickles were perfect and the bread was spot on too. The place was heaving and there was a really nice buzz. Get there early to avoid disappointment!

Great pub food is really good and the service is brilliant

There are 15 different choices of ploughman's. The cheese one has a lot of cheese. 2 large slices of hard cheese with a waxy paper on the edge. Not cheddar but similar, as the menu says. The gammon and cheese has one slice of cheese and 1 of ham. Both were delicious. Small plates but fully loaded. Wife couldn't eat all of hers. Clean crisp salad, lovely coleslaw and chutney. Ciabbata bread was fresh and warm. Food ordered outside in the garden and drinks ordered inside the bar. The website says £12 for ploughman's but it is now £14.

£14 for the ploughman's and limited days and hours to visit but worth it ..We did a bike ride and there was an area were you could park up in the garden .We will be back

Absolutely fabulous ploughman's lunches, you would be hard pressed to find better. A fabulous IPA as well.

3 star atmosphere simply as it was lunchtime.

Great pub serving great ploughman's lunches. Good place to stop if you're walking or cycling around the New Forest. Relax and enjoy a drink, food, the beer garden, views and good vibes

Great pub lunches,all fresh made and large selection of cask ales

I stopped for an afternoon pint at The Royal Oak after a beautiful walk in the New Forest. You really can’t beat the outlook from their pub garden – it’s just stunning. The drinks were good and reasonable too, and I will return for one of their amazing looking Ploughman’s!

A must go visit the ploughman's lunch is the BEST you will ever have.