The Royal Oak, Lewes in Lewes

Loved their old menu but have been told that the new one is just as tasty if not better. Will be returning at some point to try it out. Lovely pub and the staff as so friendly.

Nestled in the picturesque town of Lewes, UK, the Royal Oak is an absolute gem that effortlessly blends historic charm with modern comforts. From the moment you step through its doors, you're enveloped in an atmosphere of warmth and hospitality. The exterior, adorned with traditional Tudor-style architecture, sets the stage for a truly memorable experience. As you enter, the cozy interior welcomes you with its rustic yet elegant decor, featuring exposed beams, glowing fireplaces, and comfortable seating areas perfect for intimate gatherings or lively conversations. The menu is a culinary delight, showcasing a tantalizing array of dishes crafted from locally-sourced ingredients, each bursting with flavor and expertly prepared by the talented kitchen team. Whether you're craving a classic British pub fare or seeking a more innovative culinary adventure, the Royal Oak delivers with finesse. Pair your meal with a carefully curated selection of wines, craft beers, or signature cocktails, and indulge in the art of gastronomy. But it's not just the food and drink that make the Royal Oak shine; it's the impeccable service and genuine warmth of the staff that truly elevate the dining experience. Their attention to detail and passion for hospitality ensure that every guest feels like royalty from the moment they arrive until the last sip of their nightcap. Whether you're a local looking for your new favorite haunt or a visitor seeking an authentic taste of British hospitality, the Royal Oak in Lewes is a must-visit destination that will leave you longing to return again and again.

Attended a Quiz Night in the function room last night, Buffet food provided was excellent and staff/service were the same. Would highly recommend them for an event.

We held a private quiz night upstairs in the function room, 50 quizzers attended and had an amazing evening with an incredible atmosphere, Max and his crew were incredible, looking after us from start to finish, The chef provided a stunning buffet using locally sourced ingredients, this was delicious with all quizzers raving about the food, Highly recommend this venue, we will be returning, Thank you to all at The Royal Oak,

Great pub and the food was delicious 👍

Great pub with amazing food and very friendly, welcoming staff! Lovely cozy atmosphere with good music. Sport is shown daily and big games will have sound on but they’re happy to seat you further away if you’d prefer a quieter meal. Cocktails are definitely worth a try too!

No food available when we visited but the bar has a good range and service friendly

First time there everybody at my table was freezing the temperature in the room to 62°. The food was cold no bottled water we kept asking for them to turn up the heat. Nobody paid attention for $72 for a night there. It was not worth it. I was very disappointing.

Great pub very friendly and helpful, and live football on every wall

Very noisy , wrong day place to go on a first date

Great for watching sport and meeting with large groups.

Great beer and food plus I was able to watch the football

Great find to watch some sport upstairs in the function room when that can be hard to find sometimes in Lewes! Stayed for beer (good selection) and decent enough food (burger and chips).

EMPFEHLENSWERT! Dieser Pub hat alles was man braucht und vieles mehr. Sehr gutes Essen, eine gute Auswahl an Getränke, freundliches Personal, Sportübertragungen, sehr sauber und eine angenehme Atmosphäre. Auch mit Kindern und Hunden 🐕 zu empfehlen. Wer in Lewes ist, sollte unbedingt hier vorbeischauen! Vielen lieben Dank für die Gastfreundschaft

Great place , nice food , nice hosts what more do you want

My wife and I recently got married in Lewes and we selected The Royal Oak as the venue to hold our wedding reception. The main pub is very spacious, with a cosy atmosphere and different sporting events aired. It has a really great vibe, whilst sports are shown and will appeal to those wanting to watch a game (they schedule matches on their website) you'll be well catered for at The Royal Oak whether you're there to watch a match or have a few drinks with friends (or both!). The outside seating is delightful and a bit of a hidden gem, it's well designed for the space available, particularly as the sun sets and the fairy lights come to life. The function room is a great asset and is where we held our wedding reception. It's equipped with a pool table, audio system, a wall mounted TV and a large projector screen - all of which are available to use if you hire the room out. The TV was an absolute asset and we were allowed to hook up a games console to keep the kids entertained which sounds ridiculous but was one of the best decisions I have ever made! The function room has a small private bar which can be hired, its own entrance and a separate toilet meaning guests don't really have to navigate to the main bar area unless they want to. I want to give a particular shout out to the manager, Max, who went above and beyond to make sure our day went smoothly. We dealt with lots of people when arranging our wedding and Max was by far one of the best people we came across, he was very communicative and accommodating and gave us free reign to decorate the room as long as we put it back as we found it. He understood how important the day was to us and he really showed that with his diligence and attention to detail with the planning and his (and his teams) hard work on the day. The food at The Royal Oak is prepared on site by Chef & Butcher and is outstanding. We had numerous platters ordered, catering for vegetarians and meat eaters (as well as a couple of coeliacs) and we received so many positive comments from our guests about the quality of the food which I can attest to. It was superb! To top this all off, the pricing for the bar hire and food was all extremely competitive which makes it really easy to recommend a trip to The Royal Oak, whether that's for a quiet drink, a wedding reception, or anything in between!

I can't speak highly enough of Max, Shawn and the whole team at The Royal Oak for turning a disaster into a success in 48 hours. Our wedding venue suffered a fire two days before the reception and I was recommended the pub as a place with a function room. After my first chat with Max I was reassured that they could host us and all would be well. The food was delicious, plentiful - catering for a variety of dietary requirements - and excellent value. Same with the drink. I’m pretty sure it was the two of them that organised the sun to come out after ten days of rain as well! Brilliant communication throughout and 100% accommodating of our wishes. I cannot recommend the service of the pub and hospitality enough. Everyone had a fantastic evening and the best compliment I was given was that, ‘if no one had known (about the fire), no one would have known (it wasn’t our first choice venue). Definitely my new favourite pub in Lewes with great beer.. And it shows the cricket!! Thank you all so much for both saving the day and making our day.

Great service, really nice place

Pub muy acogedor en la bonita localidad de Lewes. Tienen una carta variada con entrantes (hummus, patatas, nachos, anillas de calamar) y principales (hamburguesas, con opción vegana, perrito caliente, ensalada cesár y el típico fish and chips). Nosotros probamos la smash burger y la burger de pollo y muy ricas. Todos los platos acompañados de patatas fritas caseras El servicio un poco lento pero muy amable. Pagamos unas 20£ por persona.

Awful food quality. Easily the worst meal I’ve had in a long, long time. Flavorless. Terrible value for money. And servers that don’t care much for any sort of feedback. Avoid.

Popped in for lunch today. From the welcoming service to the amazing food, quick service and choice we couldn’t find fault. A must if in Lewes. The ribs and buffalo cauliflower both dish recommends

Only drinks used to be our local still good.

Visited here as the Pub had Sky TV on , to enable us to watch the Ashes Cricket. A varied selection of Cask and Keg real ales.

Lovely pub, quality beer, nice friendly staff and a great history 👌🏻

Loved the food selection on the menu especially on the Chef special menu that’s regularly updated. The food was tasty and really liked the wooden beams in the pub.

Lovely food, bar staff friendly, helpful and informative.

Дуже дюдно. Завжди дивляться тут футбол та рекбі.

A great pub for lunch time. Nice fresh beer, the chicken burger was incredible, plenty of TVs for sports, and a decent looking bar

Sunday roast is to die for.. Plenty of potatoes and veg, best beef I've had in an age!

Nice bar in the centre of town. Good atmosphere and lively for sport.

Great loaded fries. Nice decor, good choice of beers. Inchs cider is always a plus. Will swing by again when I'm back in Lewes.

It's changed a bit. Picture of top room needs updating

BRILLIANT!. What a hidden treasure..Word of mouth about the new Chef (Sean) and Butcher (George)Team taking over the Food led us there...and believe me..it will bring us back again and again.. Fantastic food..across the board.. everyone in our group said their meal was the best..🤭 Always a great sign.. We are going back ..It was a such a great visit ..Great Pub and Amazing food. All you could wish for and MORE! I think I can say..it was the best burger I have ever had... We cannot recommend it enough..Brilliant atmosphere too.

Absolutely LOVED it. We had heard the Food was now under a new Chef and team who were 'Something Else'... Well.. ? They were, as was the food! Mind-blowing good... great Service and atmosphere too.. We cannot rate this highly enough.. A real jewel in the Crown that is Lewes... 5 * Food Service and Ale! We will be...regulars.

Room upstairs booked for a party. Friendly staff.

Lovely proper pub with good atmosphere and great selection of beers

Nice Greene king pub. Smiley staff and a warm location.

Nice atmosphere, good range of beers. 👍

Got myself a pulled pork taco here at Royal Oak and I must say it was mouth watering, seriously such good value for money. Would reccomend if anyone fancies some Mexican grub

Nice upstairs room that can be booked separately. Lovely pub.

Such a lovely cosy pub. Always has a great atmosphere, good range of brews on the Tap, and great food. Best of all, they're really accomodating and friendly to dogs.

Remarkably good service. Clean function room upstairs, also. The chef's home-made sauces were truly successful, and the atmosphere in the pub itself was quiet, though background music was gently playing. The small enclosed garden is a tidy, useful and dog-friendly meeting space.

Great pub in Lewes. Very cosy with friendly staff & a good selection at the bar. Also they do gigs upstairs every now & then, which is definitely worth keeping an eye on. Would recommend

Have been here a few times through the years. I meet an old work mate in Lewes for a beer. Decided to do a Saturday for a change and happened upon a DJ that absolutely ripped the place apart, totally awesome tunes. Funky as fook !!

Nice surroundings Comfy chairs Good wine reasonable prices

Excellent, good food and welcoming staff.

Went here in September, to celebrate finishing college. Absolutely gorgeous place tucked away from the highstreet. Wonderful welcoming atmosphere, great food and lovely staff. Tad bit expensive but so worth it. Would definitely recommend! x

Great selection of local and popular beers on tap. Boardgames, Great Music and lovely Staff.

Nice pub, nice atmosphere and nice staff.

I go on two buses with three little dogs to visit this pub in Lewes. It's so welcoming, with a relaxed and caring attitude towards my pets. Yesterday I was talking to Charlotte who works behind the bar. She is a lovely girl, always happy, makes me feel comfortable and looked after. Well worth the trip, with kind bar staff like Charlotte!

Lovely old pub. Head quarters of the Waterloo bonfire society. I wish their chairs were more comfortable. Possibly people would stay longer,and buy more, if their backsides weren't hurting.

An excellent venue for drinki alcohol.

Whenever I am back in Lewes I always pop into the Royal Oak for a pint. Today I went in and they had this racket coming out of their speakers, (I think that they call it music, but I wouldn't be that polite). Luckily as the weather was lovely I could go out to their beer garden for some peace.

Locale accogliente con giardino interno, personale cortese, piatti optimiert. Perfetto

Lovely atmosphere, great food but they can't make a Negroni

I was here for a wedding and can easily recommend it for any kind of function. Great pub and good atmosphere...

We held our wedding reception in the upstairs function room at the Royal Oak. Mitch and his team were fantastic from start to finish and I could not recommend this pub enough for any event you are looking to hold! We look forward to popping back soon for lovely food and a large gin and tonic!

Quiet, clean & staff are friendly

Really lovely pub that looks like it has undergone a fairly recent and very successful refurb. I only stopped in for a pint on my way to the station but it was a great place to pass half an hour and I'll definitely be back with family or friends for a longer visit soon.

Really nice decor, friendly staff and a nice little beer garden which gets the sun. We had drinks and food on a quite Sunday afternoon.

More a wine bar than a traditional pub. A number of cask ales on offer.

Had a delicious chicken burger (seriously, one of the best I've ever had!!), Good variety of beers on tap, Leffe (bottle) was offered with the proper Leffe chalice - which apparently really does complement the flavour, aroma and the entire drinking experience as a whole 🍻 I then enjoyed a couple of fantastic live music gigs (BabyEleanore, Micheal Baker) in their upstairs venue, ran by the fine folks of "Hilltop Sessions". I believe they run it there (and in other places in Lewes) periodically, totally worth checking them out!

Very much enjoyed the food here. I think we were too early to judge the atmosphere

Service was friendly, food was really nice and fairly reasonable in price. Sat in the outside tables and it was lovely and warm

Very clean pub, went to a private room for a lecture. Very helpful staff, fast service will definitely going back to have an evening there

Good mix of drinks, great music, friendly service and a comfortable and cosy decor. Nice.

Ok, so this I will say is one of the best experiences I have had in a british establishment. Fried jackfruit was out of this world. The risotto with mint n pea risotto was finger lickin and the Cajun chicken moist on the inside. The staff and the owner chef were also delightful people. If you're in Lewes, do not leave without getting a drink and a meal here.

Nice cosy pub but £3.45 for half a shandy?????

Updated review as the Royal Oak has got it's first decent landlord in many years (Mitch). Now it's a very pleasant pub and recommended.

Lovely place, friendly atmosphere, and well priced food / drink. Highly recommended.

Decent lively pub with lovely staff

Popped in on a Friday afternoon hankering after a steak. The kitchen was about to open for 5pm, the friendly and helpful woman working said I could place an order at 4.45. No steak available! You’d think that Friday night would be the night they’d sell a few steaks so I did think this odd but perhaps they had a few on pre order or something so I made another selection. A rare booze free day for me meant I ordered a coffee although the beer selection looked good. My ham egg and chips was fantastic, everything about this simple dish was perfectly done. Great ham, thickly sliced, crispy chips and golden yolked eggs meant I soon forgot all about my not-to-be steak. The pub was starting to fill up as I left full and happy. Will return soon.

Never used to be a fan of this pub, but it's really turned around now! Very pleasant

Exceptional. Everything was just right, the atmosphere, service, friendly, delicious food, good prices. If only every pub could get the balance right, just like The Royal Oak. Good job.

Nice place for a drink, very cosy and atmospheric with the Christmas lights.

Mitch is a great landlord who makes everyone feel welcome - great food - often live music and overall a friendly happy pub.

Nice pub before football at the Amex, good atmosphere both sets of fans

Lovely atmosphere. Friendly staff.

Very good 👍 excellent 👍 food beer 🍺 and decor well done 👏 Mitch

Lovely Staff, a proper English pub

Superb friendly pub. Lovely feel, wonderfully helpful staff. Real good vibe.

Nice pint of Harvey's Best and good tunes

Pleasant pub with good service in the heart of town. Well decorated & furnished. Quiet when we visited which suited us.

Great to kill time waiting for your train from Lewes Station as its just a 3 minute walk away. Easy to lose track of time, I have missed many a train sitting in their outside patio area

Came here for a drink with a few friends. There's a small but lovely garden at the back.

Very nice food and lovely atmosphere would recommend to friends and family.

Nice pub, lovely atmosphere, great customer service, felt safe there this week. Good choice of ales and drinks. Excellent music in there!!

Just a very nice Pub with a killer Playlist. PERFECTO

Lovely pub, staff are very helpful and friendly

We went into the Royal Oak today and booked the function room for our wedding. We were really impressed by Mitch and the rest of the team. Really looking forward to coming back.

I had a couple of pints in here and im looking forward to my return.

Booked for sunday lunch, turned up and no roast on. Had a drink and left. Staff were not very apologetic.

Very polite staff. Helpful and accomodating. Made to feel very welcome and the Guiness was spot on!

Should be a lot more popular Great space Great service

Lovely beer, and friendly service paired with some of the best pub food I've had, highly recommend.

Looks really nice and very welcoming. Wide range of drinks. My only gripe would be there was only one member of staff during a rainy day and with these covid rules, service was slow. The girl herself was pleasant but too busy to talk.

Probably the best pint of Harvey's nice place good service 👍 always visit when over Lewis 🙂

Great food chicken Caesar burger yummo, nice staff. Love the decor

Friendly staff, nice beer and lovely plants inside and out!

We stumbled across the pub after a walk through the South Downs. Great beer, great food and the service is superb. We had managed to forget our masks back in our car and needed some to take a train - chap behind helped us get some with zero fuss. Excellent pub, would definitely visit again if in Lewes.