The Royal Oak in North Dorset

Seriously yummy Sunday carvery - I had the nut roast option, with Dorset apple cake for dessert. Would recommend

Saw this pub but past it from Blandford Forum direction, and we were hungry. Luckily there was a right hand turning where we could turn around 200yrds away. Good size car park, warm greeting, and extensive menu for a pub lunchtime! I had a delicious beef stroganoff, and hubby had game pie with stilton. All hot, and home made. Such a refreshing change from all the same chain pubs. Portion sizes are generous, interior homely and plenty of space. Lovely big fireplace, prices reasonable, well worth a visit!

We visited the RO for their Pie night. Even though it was not my cup of tea. I have to highly recommend it, the choice of pies were great, I would have preferred a little more choice of potato's and veg, however, you could eat as much as you like, and many did 😂 the service was great, and for those that can eat masses the price is a bargain.

Fantastic carvery and the other food looked good too and great staff good beer selection

The Royal Oak is a good community pub servicing a big range of pub food all cooked well. Good selection of drinks and friendly service.

The Sunday Carvery Roast is one of the best in Dorset. It's a favourite of mine and my partners on a Sunday, pub is cosy and the staff are so welcoming and friendly

I came for a birthday, scrumptious food and delicious coca cola! highly recommended for all!

A Dorset gem. I've only ever had the Sunday Carvery here because it's fantastic value (£14.50) and absolutely delicious. I always end up asking for a box so there is bubble and squeak to go home with! The staff are great and friendly. I'd say this is a proper pub and Sunday lunch experience! Booking very much recommended they are popular.

Went for a carvery roast last weekend. From the moment we walked through the door we were met with brilliant friendly customer service. The staff were humours friendly and hard working. The roast was great and the atmosphere pleasant. I would 100% go again and glad we booked!! Thanks for a lovely experience.

Legendary! The food is exceptional and reasonably priced. The variety of drinks available is fantastic. I will be returning again and again! Especially for a pint of Stan's and a Royal Oak burger. Hey nommy nommy!

Absolutely lovely evening out tonight. Incredibly warm and friendly welcome. Very attentive staff, and delicious, home cooked food. The menu is nice and varied and caters for all tastes. Lovely relaxed atmosphere and I highly recommend it. Thank you

We booked for Sunday dinner and please do book it you will be disappointed as all the tables were full with happy punters. It's not only a carvery on Sunday they also offer the menu which is great. Well organised in the way they serve menu items and then invite you to the carvery which means you all eat together and there is no massive queues at the carvery. The carvery has three meats and a nice selection of potatoes and vegetables, all very nice.

What an absolute gem of a place! Definitely recommend this place. The menu is amazing. Choice is extensive. Food quality was amazing ! Connor the owner gives hospitality at its best ! A must go to place

Great food great pub ..... ploughmans is amazing shame they don't do the sharing platter no more

Friendly staff, lovely atmosphere - tasty food and fresh beer on tap.

Good food, good value and pleasant service

We stopped in on a really grotty afternoon around 3 pm, not expecting to be able to have food. Amazingly they served food all day! Staff were lovely, food amazing and excellent quality. Recommend the veggie Thai green curry or the salmon ans asparagus pasta, carpacchio of beef was great too. 💯 Recommended and reasonable prices

Stopped for a light lunch Fancied the chips cheese bacon Mistake Well over cooked greasy chips bacon was 2 crunchy pieces size of my thumb nail cheese tasty quite disappointed naturally ate it as been bought up not to waste Bit of a throw back to how I remember how things were in this place Won’t stop us going here again better luck next time

Yogi says what a lovely pup for a Sunday dinner. Staff are 5 stars for Customer service.

The carvery was absolutely gorgeous. I'm coeliac, so gluten free, and they made me a separate gravy and yorkshire pudding so I didn't miss out. The staff were so helpful and friendly, even brought some toys out for my little one when he was getting upset. Would definitely visit again!

Amazing ! You can see why they have won awards for their carvery 😍

Went for carvery Sunday lunch today. Excellent, friendly , helpful staff. We had young children with us and they were so accommodating of them. Roast lunch was delicious- good quality meat and lots of vegetables to help ourselves too. We were in area on holiday but definitely a pub to visit for good value lunch.

The pubs staff were friendly and funny, not just robots and also not too cheeky it becomes weird. The portions were the size youd give yourself at a buffet. The price was fine. And the menu had a decent selection. I had the pie and it almost had more stake than my girlfriends ribeye. Highly recommend.

Went for dinner food was fantastic extremely generous portions so fantastic value for money friendly service and really good gluten free options would highly recommend

Staff very pleasant and helpful. Great food and atmosphere. Very dog friendly

Came here thinking I was going to have the fish & chips until I saw the carvery! Choice of roast beef, turkey or gammon or all three! Enormous Yorkshire pudding, stuffing and pigs in blankets plus roast potatoes, roast parsnips, boiled potatoes, about 5 additional veg, delicious gravy, horseradish sauce and redcurrant jelly. All that for only £14.50. Beautifully cooked, beef as tender as you like, great choice of veg. My wife had the sea bass that was excellent as well. Super friendly staff, no wonder it was very busy, would recommend booking.

Very friendly atmosphere. Staff are very helpful and polite. Very dog friendly. Food is very tasty and well presented. Good selection on the menu, portion sizes are above average, depending on the time of the year booking is advisable

Having spent three days in the lovely county of Dorset, I have experienced some average meals during my stay. The Royal Oak is definitely a jewel in the crown. From the friendly greeting on arrival to the service,not experienced for a long time, and the chicken tika masala only experienced in a top Indian restaurant. I would recommend the Royal Oak to anyone looking for an experience not found in the majority of restaurants I have visited recently. ' The Customer is King' A special mention for the delightful Anya who looked after us during the visit.

Cracking little pub... we turned without booking but they still found us a table in this already busy lunch hour. I had the lasagne as just fancied something simple... it was a decent portion tasted good and was hot :0) The staff were friendly and humorous which made us feel up beet when we left. Good vibes all round

We visited the Royal Oak as we were staying locally there were three of us plus the dog , we thoroughly enjoyed a delicious carvery and our dog chewie was very grateful for the water and bowl of turkey bits we were made to feel very welcome with a friendly service we would happily recommend to others . If we were staying longer we would book again .

The staff are friendly and very helpful. The food was amazing.

Lovely location and excellent service and food

Stopped on a long drive down to Weymouth, fitted us at the last minute. Nothing was too much trouble, food was fantastic & prices were extremely reasonable for the quality of the food. Very dog friendly was a bonus as we had our 3 spaniels with us. Would definitely recommend

Stayed near by visited for lunch, food was excellent great portions The waitress was efficent and attentive,I recommend the ploughman's its huge and delicious Highly recommend this pub

No words just a great meal and friendly place

I have driven past this pub on more occasions than I could probably mention and always said must try that one. Well today was the day and so pleased that I did! I can honestly say this was one of the best (if not the best) pub food I have ever had. Our table of four all had different dishes and every single one was outstanding quality with a generous portion. Personally I opted for the ploughman's asking for it without the meat element which wasn't a problem at all. An excellent selection, fresh and tasty. I would highly recommend booking, even for lunch, as it was busy, and it's really not surprising why. The service was friendly and a good pub atmosphere made it a great experience and all at a fair price too. This will most definitely not be the last visit to this highly recommended Dorset pub. If you haven't been then add it to your 'must visit' list, but don't leave it as long as I did.

We even went there a second time. Everything OK:)

Ate here both nights while we stayed in the area. Great food, friendly staff but try to book in advance! We were very lucky to be served.

Just how a pub should be! Welcoming, friendly and chatty staff and a great food menu. Best halloumi bites ever and a delicious meaty pie. Nothing but positives about this place.

Found this delightful pub whilst searching for a place for evening meal as we were staying in the area. Lovely staff. Excellent choice on menu including plenty of gluten free options. Had to make room for pudding too!!! Pleasant setting. Food arrived promptly and tasted delicious.

Best ploughman's we've had in a very long time. Excellent service too

Friendly staff, quick service, good food.

Very kind and helpful when we broke down in their car park. Thank you for your kindness

We had drinks, dinner and then stayed over in our motorhome and it was absolutely wonderful! The food was exceptional, the service was excellent and the pub and beer garden are great. We were made to feel very welcome and would definitely recommend!

It's a shame other pubs are not like this. We had the carvery, which was one of the best we have had. The staff were excellent and nothing was too much trouble. Price was good, food amazing. If you choose to go here, book in advance. We will visit again soon.

Good value and agood family pub

Just stopped for a quick baguette lunch en route to the coast. Very friendly pub and staff. Good value lunch. Thoroughly recommend.

Well worth a visit for the Sunday carvery. Very good choice of roasts and plenty of different vegetables and extras. The main menu was available for those who preferred to opt for other meals. Service very accommodating and friendly. All our meals were well cooked and fresh. The cost was very reasonable for both the carvery, curry and burgers. Traditional approach to hospitality, we would visit again.

The manager is very welcoming, she made us a tailor-made meal.

Wow the food and the service was exceptional We love coming out here for a Sunday carvery and this is the first time coming out for an evening meal The reason for this was to celebrate our wedding anniversary The food portions are definitely what you pay for The staff are so friendly, helpful and full of fun I would truly recommend coming here for a meal Thankyou guys xx

Staff great. Great choice of food... some dishes can be overwhelming though... just too much! You will not leave hungry... but at same time, I never made it as far as a dessert.

Fabulous lunch 😋 perfectly looking after

We did a motorhome stopover here (to view a property in the village) and reserved a table for dinner, the staff are SO welcoming, the pub is lovely. It was a Saturday & "steak night" so we both ordered a fillet which came, cooked to perfection and with all the trimmings, the service was absolutely faultless as was the food, if you're driving through this village, stop off, you won't be disappointed....btw, we offered on the property and are moving soon, so can't wait to call this little place our local 😁

Very friendly, efficient and helpful staff, especially as we got our booking time wrong! Lovely food, presented well, very tasty. Hubby had pork belly and struggled with very crackly crackling on thd pork belly, But otherwise fab.

Visited as a party of 14 for a family gathering. Occupied the skittle ally so our young children could play without upsetting other patrons. We had starters, mains off menu and carverys. Excellent service, excellent food, huge portions. Absolutely no complaints.

This was the best meal out I have had in ages,would highly recommend

Great food, nice beer garden. Good ale, even let you stop in the carpark

Very cool pub. Very good food, service was excellent and atmosphere very good. Highly recommended if you are around.

Saw this lovely pub when we we searching for somewhere local to eat. We stopped off on the way back from Stourhead in the middle of the afternoon. Food served all day, with a lovely extensive menu. I ordered the Ploughman’s and I wasn’t disappointed. Lots of ham and beef, Brie, Stilton, and cheddar cheese. Plentiful salad, pickled onions, pickled egg and lots and lots of crusty bread and butter. Plus, coleslaw, chilli jam and pickles. Absolutely delicious. OH had pork belly, black pudding potato croquets, griddled broccoli. It looked lovely and OH said it was really tasty. We sat in the garden and our food was served by a really friendly lady. Thanks so much. We will definatly be back. PS. You wont go wrong stopping by this really lovely pub. 10/10

Amazing place every body should go and try it out

Called for lunch after a long country walk. So glad we chose to stop here. We received a warm friendly welcome and were shown an impressive well priced menu. The food arrived quickly and was excellent, tasty and well presented. The whole atmosphere of the pub was welcoming and we will definitely return very soon. A final point the toilets were some of the cleanest and well presented I have visited in a pub recently. Highly recommended

Proper pub with great beer, good food and friendly service, all at a fair price.

Amazing carvery fresh vegetables home made Yorkshire pudding , pudding too just had room for it. Highly recommended friendly staff

Excellent Food , staff and service, highly recommended .

Typical little British pub but the food was great. Fish and chips were spot on. We came right as the kitchen closed but they still insisted on serving us from a full menu. Great stop if you are passing through.

Fantastic carvery on a Sunday for under £15, would advise booking

Cannot find fault with anything really. The four of us enjoyed our Sunday lunch. We were amazed how everything ran like clock work given the fact that it was packed. We will definitely return soon. 😁

Was booked up but fitted six of us in bowling alley. Put heaters on to keep us warm as well.

All five of us went for the carvery although the duck was a close second for me. Lovely leek bake to go with the very generous portions of meat amongst a number of vegetables on offer . Really enjoyed the roast parsnips . My grandson was well looked after as he loves interacting with the staff and they responded beautifully with him. The staff are so friendly ; they made the evening for us.

Staff very friendly and polite the carvery was amazing. Great atmosphere.

Excellent pie night well worth it

Terrific little pub just a short drive from Blandford. We are most probably their least regular, regular customer they have. Started going there about 12/13 years ago when holidaying in Dorset we always pop in when in for a meal. A Great little pub with a lovely garden and a great restaurant / bar area. Food is all homemade and excellent. They have daily specials and themed evenings, like Steak Night and Pie Night. Puddings are to die for ! - Highly recommended.

Enjoyed a delicious meal here with friends. Food was hot and fresh and served in a friendly and professional manner

Wonderful food and excellent valuefor money, nothing was too much trouble, we were happily supplied a knife so we could cut our own cake up. Get there early as car park on the small side for such a popular pub

Popped in a visit to the area, great service and food options, even going to the trouble of making an off menu GF sauce for one of our party. Highly recommend and well worth a visit. To top it all, great value, too.

What a brilliant gem of a pub. Visited here mid-feb for a family gathering, including young children. Really welcoming, everyone was friendly towards the children, the food was amazing, and the staff were genuinely really nice - something that is rare in this day and age. Highly recommended

A friend and I ate dinner here last night and were so impressed! The staff were really lovely and the food absolutely delicious. The portions are enormous and the prices incredibly reasonable with a huge range of choices on the menu. It was lovely to see a village pub so busy on a Monday evening and just shows what a great little place this is! Many thanks to you all, we’ll definitely be back!

Just had the most amazing food.. portion size very generous.. and tasted absolutely beautiful.. 5 stars all the way..😁💚

My family and I have eaten at the Oak numerous times since moving to a nearby village four years ago. We have recommended it to many of our friends and family, and we have knowingly introduced at least eight of them to the pub after they ended up dining there on our recommendation. Up until now, we have always been made to feel welcome and it has been our pub of choice, for the good food (chef Sam is great), reasonable prices, and the fact it is family run. In the past year, my family has eaten here for all our birthdays and collectively we have visited on another 4-5 occasions, though not necessarily all together. We have never had reason to complain about anything until now, and they swiftly came up with a solution when they lost my birthday carvery booking. However, I will now move on to explain why we will not be returning to the Oak again in the future. Our most recent, and final, visit was this week for their Asian theme night; at £13.50 a head, we thought this seemed to be good value. I visited with my husband and six year old daughter. We explained that she had already eaten dinner (they don't offer their standard menu on theme nights and we weren't sure whether she would eat what was on offer, based on a previous theme night experience), but asked if we could have a side plate to offer her a few small bits so that she didn't feel left out. We thought the food was delicious, but, in the end, she didn't eat anything at all, and her dad ended up eating the small amount on her plate. When it came to paying the bill, we noticed that we had been charged £6.50 for a child's portion. We queried this and explained that our child hadn't eaten anything at all. The price was then reduced to £4, but they wouldn't budge from this, saying that they had to charge "when a plate had left the kitchen" and they were sure we would "understand". Unfortunately, we do not understand why we were charged for a plate; from their perspective, there was no food wastage and she hadn't eaten a bean. I would possibly expect this "computer says no" attitude from a chain, but we were saddened to be met with this reaction at the Oak. It wasn't as though we had ordered her a meal and could then take it home with us, because it was a buffet set up. Equally, this wasn't offered to us. Suddenly, the £13.50 a head for me and my husband became £15.50 - no longer such good value. Although the charge was not significant, it was the principle that upset us, and we felt like we had been taken advantage of. In a way, I am loath to leave a negative review, but after a few years of being happy customers, I'm afraid this disappointing experience has marred our feelings towards the Oak. I understand that people are always more inclined to voice their opinion when they have something to complain about, rather than to give praise. Bearing this in mind, I will score 3/5, considering I probably should have left a 5/5 review before now, and I feel it is only fair to balance this out. Luckily for us, we have had a nearby pub reopen recently and we will be taking our custom there from now on.

Carvery for the family was very nice. Plenty of quality food and very good value.

Really friendly pub, good menu and range of drinks. Decent portions without overfacing you and they are quite happy if you order smaller portions. Will definitely go back. We all had 3 courses.

Food was amazing.. very friendly, and the beer was great 👍

Just moved to the area so after a quick visit one day for some amazing “ dirty fries” …we decided when family were visiting to sample their award winning Sunday carvery …wow ! Gorgeous, plentiful, tasty food and friendly staff made it a great experience . Booking essential at sittings 12/2/4 &6pm ….I didn’t how they do it ,but the “ sittings” work brilliantly and all the staff work their socks off! Great to find something so good virtually on our doorstep. We will be back when our waistlines have recovered!

Tried the royal oak for the first time after seeing it was good according to various websites. It certainly didn't disappoint. We had the sunday roast and it was delicious and plentiful too. Well done to all the staff who were very helpful during our experience. Many thanks to all concerned 👍

Having read all the good reviews we weren't sure whether it could live up to our expectations but it most certainly did. Agree with other reviews that parking is a bit tight, but to be expected due to the popularity (we still managed to squeeze into the last space available though). We were made to feel SO welcome, there were obviously regular customers and some pubs can treat regulars/newbies differently but not here, it was lovely to see and hear. We had pre booked a table for 2 with a dog and had been allocated a fab table, tucked away by the window which let our dog be tucked out of the way. Super dog friendly with water bowl provided. We both had the carvery which was AMAZING, Sam served the generous portion of meat and was so chatty and helpful, quality of food was excellent and all home cooked (so hard to find around here now with all the chain pubs taking over). It was all very well organised and managed, the serving staff were lovely and great value too, we will definitely be returning. Wishing we had brought home a slice of the Dorset Apple cake.... next time! Thank you everyone for making our Sunday a lovely one!

A lovely pub, serving a vast array of very tasty food. The bar & restaurant service and quality of the food were only surpassed by how exceptionally tasty my food was.

Great place to eat and drink. I stop in every Friday on my way home from work just for a pint.

Absolutely wonderful lunch with super friendly service from a wonderful team! They have toys, puzzles, and games for kids, excellent food, fantastic service with a smile and will definitely be going back when we're in the area again.

The best pub in Dorset. Great atmosphere and service

Great Sunday carvery..relaxed atmosphere..friendly staff and amazing food.

Booked this pub for an 18th birthday celebratory meal based on recommendations. We were all impressed with our meals, and the portions! Staff were brilliant, very attentive. Look forward to trying the Sunday carvery next.

Updated: back for meals on 2 other occasions and the food and service was just as high rated👏👏 will definitely revisit if in the area again. Fantastic carvery today, food was absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious! Warm and extremely friendly setting. Not just dog friendly but dogs were made as welcome as us. Top marks 👏👏

Nice pub warm and cosy good selection of beer lovely staff we didn't eat but the food looked good

Lovely food great atmosphere staff very 👍😊

One of the best carvery meals we have ever had! The price was so cheap for such a decent meal, the staff were lovely and really friendly too. They fitted us in late notice which we really appreciated. Well worth a trip 😋 x

Really friendly staff, dog friendly very welcoming

Absolutely amazing food I have never seen so much meat on a Sunday and they were still offering more.

Monday lunch on the road. Very generous portions. Attentive service.

Great quality food for such a reasonable price, all members of staff from bar, to waitress to the chef behind the carvery made us all feel welcome all with a smile on their face ! Food was outstanding down to rich gravy & succulent turkey & crispy roast potatoes ! such a nice family friendly & relaxed atmosphere , lovely local village pub with people visiting from far & wide for a top notch carvery! One of the best meals I’ve had and made for a great birthday meal with family

The food is out of this world so tasty full of flavour good value for money and handsome portions the lady with the red hair was such a good waitress/bar person so kind and welcoming would definitely be back for dinner five star service