The Royal Oak in New Forest

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.

Lovely friendly pub, would definitely go back

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

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 😋

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

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.

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

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.

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 …

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

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

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!

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.

Great pub food is really good and the service is brilliant

£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.

Great little pub. Loved the sausage and chips! 🍟

Had a great ploughman's. With a super pint on a sunny day

We had the ploughman’s I enjoy mine but my wife was disappointed

Lovely pub with a wide selection of ploughman's lunches

New Forest ancient pubery at its most intimate location. Good food and real atmosphere are a given but go there after you've had a great walk in the Forest...

All the doggos! This is an incredibly popular spot within the new forest. Had lots of outside and inside areas. As it's so busy, there's quite a queue and wait for the yummy ploughmans, but it adds to the charm! These portions of cheese are HUGE! Loved how many dogs there were!

Customer service was awful, the owner thought that he could pick on us as we were younger. We bought drinks, but still didn’t qualify customer to him. He seemed to be very fixed on this issue. Do not go here if u are young.

We just had a drink in the garden. Lovely views. Lots of space. Beautiful little old charming pub which is so well located in the New Forest. Lots of donkeys roaming around outside.

The landlord is such a friendly chap!

Great unspoilt gem of pub down a quiet dead end lane within the heart of the New Forest. Feels a bit like the wild west. Excellent choice of well kept real ales straight from behind the bar.

A lovely little pub with various ploughman's lunch options and a good choice of ales. Nice after a little walk in the New Forest. No bookings. Keep it quiet though, we don't want the atmosphere ruined by too many people 🤫😉

Great place to walk to. Very busy and very limited menu but really lovely

My family and I arrived at the Royal Oak today after a long cycle ride desperate to refuel only to find it was shut (the pub closes on a Monday and Tuesday). A member of staff was just leaving when they noticed us and when we explained, they were only too happy to help us and provide a drink and snack. This was an incredibly kind gesture and can only make me think what a warm and friendly atmosphere the pub has when it's open. I can't wait to go back and enjoy spending longer there next time. This small act of kindness the staff showed us means I will always remember the pub and it will be the first place I frequent next time I'm back in the New Forest.

Friendly staff, good food, great beer. What more do you need.

We had the BEST time and experience at The Royal Oak. My husband and I arrived after a long walk at 3pm. We were welcomed by the lovely AGM and service staff. So lovely to speak to and with great food! We were very happy to be served at a very random time on a Thursday!

A great place for lunch. Simple menu and very reasonable. Basically lots of different ploughman's and all really tasty. No bookings taken so you might have to wait a bit at peak times. If its busy its well worth the wait. Will definitely be going back.

Best Ploughman’s we’ve had and wonderful setting

A perfect pub, one I've frequented over the years, by bike and car. Idyllic surroundings, good selection of local ales (Hopback etc), tapped straight from the casks, racked and chilled behind the bar – it does not get better. The ploughman's ingredients are again all locally sourced: the quiches (superb), cheeses, hams, trout (pate), pickles, you name it. Please never change this pub, it is perfection.

No meals ,small but place, but it was way to crowded with no meal option

It's a fantastic pub with fantastic food. Highly recommend the ploughman's. Lovely location to have a walk, before collapsing in front of the fire, with a pint and food.

Small and quaint pub. Opens at 11 food starts at 12. Lovely long fires 🔥. Can get busy and sign asks people to be open to share tables.

Avoid at all costs. Customer service was extremely rude.

Quite simply the best Ploughman’s Lunch set in a lovely old, friendly pub. We’ve been several times since we first discovered it in early 2023.

We were greeted by a very unwelcoming member of staff. After asking if we could have a table for 7 we were told with a scoff ‘if you can find one’. After then ordering 5 cups of tea we were rudely told off for ‘dirtying’ the saucer with our tea bags and had the milk and sugar thrown down in front of us. Was the most expensive cup of tea in the new forest and was NOT WORTH IT AT ALL. The owners of this establishment would do well to replace this rude barman. This is unfortunate as the rest of the staff were friendly and have been going here for years and was always pleased in the past.

What can I say that hasn’t already been said. I am from the states and saw it on Remarkable Places to Eat. I could eat a ploughmans every day of my life and be happy.

Disappointed with cheeses ploughman’s. Cheese was lovely but two thin slices, but the bread was a hot doughy panini , rock hard Pat of butter, sliced large onion that had been pickled so far too vinegary unedible, small pot chutney, side salad bits from bag, half sliced apple and soft pickled carrot? Would prefer chunk of cheese real granary or farmhouse type bread, pickled onion etc traditional. Will stick to soup as previously.

Tremendous pub situated in the New Forest. Amazing range of cask beers sold from the barrel. Multi - roomed two with roaring fires. Clearly it's very popular & I can see why! Pub also has seating outside & a food menu but would recommend checking when available. It's slightly off the beaten track so to speak but we'll worth seeking out.

We all enjoyed a delicious ploughman's. Lovely cosy pub, friendly and attentive staff in a beautiful setting.

We stayed at the shepherd's hut in the pub garden and had a terrific time. The pub has a good selection of old fashioned beers and a magnificent ploughman's lunch. It is simple food but so well done as the cheeses and the quiches were top quality. I don't know why more pubs don't do food like this. All the staff were friendly and interested in us. The hut was warm when we arrived as the log burner had already been lit. The bed was comfortable and we had a lovely peaceful nights sleep . We look forward to going back

What a great little pub, took the in-laws out to the new forest for a walk with the dogs & stopped here for refreshments. Open all afternoon on a Friday so turning up at 3:30 wasn’t a problem

The best ploughmans in the New Forest by far. Huge portions. Local and high quality produce. Very nice garden in which to spend a summer afternoon.

Heaven. On Earth! If only they had Summer Lightning on always!! Oh they have!!!😋

There aren't many pubs as good as this around

Great country pub, think open fires, a warm atmosphere and genuine hospitality. I'm sad to read a recent review about grumpy staff; this was entirely the opposite of my experience. It's well staffed so there's never a wait, and all the interactions were lovely and open - felt like a wonderful team. I loved the limited menu, and they've honed what they do: soup and ploughmans is just about perfect after a long Saturday walk. Couldn't fault them and wish it was my local pub!

Limited menu - mainly a choice of Ploughman's that said it was excellent. Might just be a Sunday thing to accommodate the vast number of walkers in the area. Dogs welcome, large garden area some undercover. I thoroughly enjoyed my cheese Ploughman's the menu does say 'Cheddar like' local cheese it might not be to everyone's taste but it was mine. Some in the group had the sausage roll, pork pie or ham versions all were to the same high standard. Portions were very generous.

Quaint looking traditional pub. But service was grumpy particularly at the bar. Food is very expensive and they are pretty much serving only ploughman's, soup and mac and cheese. Not great for a country pub, where most visitors are country walkers with dogs. There was not even a bowl of water for dogs like in other pubs.

This is a lovely traditional old pub in the middle of the New Forest. The beer is very good and poured direct from barrels behind the bar.

We stumbled on our dream pub, wish we were locals! The staff were so hospitable and friendly, simple menu but you don’t need variety of choice when the options on hand are 10/10!

Had soup x4 and 4 soft drinks came to nearly £40. Service was very good.I

Friendly country pub. Still trapped in time.

After a very long unexpected walk , we found the Royal Oak, we were recommended to come here and wasn't disappointed. The Ploughman's was amazing and great value. Will be coming and recommending as well.

Had a super lunch at this lovely little pub. All very nice and great atmosphere. The ploughman’s was excellent as well as the quiche.

Love this pub. Good selection of beers, and they do a fantastic ploughman's.

First visit. Nice surroundings. Busy

Love this pub, you definitely should visit, I'm sure you wouldn't be disappointed.

Lovely Ploughman's lunch. Haven't found a better one elsewhere. Nice choice of Ale's too.

A must if you're in the New Forest. Perfect pub garden vibe, super dog / horse friendly. Great selection of ales and the ploughman's is so good! My favourite place to visit on a sunny afternoon after a long walk!

Excellent fish and chips ! Best I have had in years !