We visited for lunch in the rain , and again for dinner the next night. The lunch of calamari and whitebait was nice and tasty. Just what we needed Dinner was scallops and venison. Both nicely cooked and enjoyed . All beers we tried and all good. Staff very friendly This is the best pub in the area and worth a drive.
Just spent two nights at The Royal Oak… an old country pub with lots of atmosphere. Our room was good, clean, with a really comfy bed. Breakfast was brilliant, l can honestly say l have never had such a super breakfast. The pub meals were equally as good, lots of choice and cooked to perfection. The staff were really friendly and helpful. If l had to criticise, the only issue l could find was that the rooms were still not being serviced due to covid. We go away a lot and have not experienced this for a while now…. Withypool is a beautiful village on Exmoor, making the Royal Oak an ideal place to stay when visiting the area.
Passed this pretty looking pub on the way to a hike through Tar Steps and was so glad we did! After our climb and skinny dipping in the river we were absolutely ravenous, there was a cute little place at Tar Steps but only offered cream teas after 3pm. So, we hot footed it back to the Royal Oak for some proper sustenance and boy were we happy!!! The menu has a good choice of pub favourites including light bites or main meals, all sounded yummy, however we both fancied a ploughman’s my boyfriend was super hungry ordered and ordered a side of chunk chips 😊 Wow!!! When our lovely barmaid/landlady bought our food out we were thrilled; beautifully presented with lovely fresh leaves, tomatoes, large pickled onions, slices of apple, pot of pickle, slice of gala pie, four pieces of fresh warm baguette and three generous slice of cheese; Red Leicester, Cheddar and ripe Brie. It was absolutely delicious and filling, the most wonderful crispy but fluffy on the inside chunky chips.....soooo good, best chips ever! It’s a lovely cosey pub, with lots of seating options, lovely outside area and two inside bar areas. All the staff were friendly welcoming and so helpful, our lady (sorry I don’t know your name) was really informative letting us know all the good dog friendly beaches or hikes to try, she made us feel really special, well done great customer service. She also let us know there were rooms available; all dog friendly and dogs even had their own menu! Lovely find in a good location for Exmoir and North Devon beaches.…
Altogether very satisfactory. We had a room overlooking a quiet back road (a deluxe room, I think) and it had a decent-sized en-suite bathroom with a proper bath. The food was excellent, both at evening meal and breakfast - really tasty fresh local produce, nicely cooked, good choice. A new dessert was being tried out that evening and was particularly yummy. Staff very friendly. Price perhaps a bit higher than the normal village pub, but these are difficult times and we certainly don't want an a place as good as this going out of business because they don't charge enough!
We booked for a B&B 1 night stay & meal last Saturday, as a bday treat. The room was clean & comfortable. A friendly waitress took our order &, after a while, starters arrived: baked camembert with a lot of bread, described on the menu as crusty but was in fact soft & had an unpleasant taste; a duo of whitbait & calamari - lots of whitbait that was soggy & bland & no calamari could be found. We ate very little. We were asked for our opinion on the starter & politely fed back our dissatisfaction, our friendly waitress apologised citing problems in the kitchen & we all hoped the next course would be an improvement. After some time the waitress returned with two mains, unfortunately, not what we had ordered; again she apologised explaining problems with the computer system. After some time an older waitress arrived, perhaps one of the owners? As the lady never introduced herself we are unsure. She curtly informed us she was aware of a complaint & wanted to know the problem which we calmly explained. As we spoke the lady seemed somewhat annoyed with us & repeatedly demanded to know what we had ordered. She left & some time later our mains arrived - fish of the day. The large megrim sole was pretty bland and the fresh, seasonal vegetables were neither fresh nor seasonal. The older waitress returned asking how our meal was, we replied not great & that thus far we had found her manner towards us rather aggressive. In strident tones she informed us she just wanted to make sure everything was ok & left. Next morning, we were offered breakfast but, at the same time, rudely informed by the male owner that he would want a word with us after. We decided at that point to forgo breakfast & simply pay up (minus the charge of the evening meal) & leave. On sharing this news with the owner he told us that he would not tolerate abuse of his staff and we told him we wholeheartedly agreed with that sentiment. He then accused us of having been rude to his staff saying he had witnesses. We explained that, having been present, we knew his accusation was untrue but rapidly coming to the conclusion that the owner was not going to listen to reason and clearly models his behaviour on Basil Fawlty, we chose to pay our bill and leave, never to return. Fortunately, after leaving the Royal Oak we quickly found the Withypool tea rooms where, in complete contrast to the pub, we found delicious, tasty, locally source food & wonderful service.…
I booked lunch here as they were so dog friendly. Arrived on time at 1pm and table reserved and just what we wanted. Staff and service very good. We were optimistic and very impressed when my partner was asked whether she was a vegetarian or vegan and options explained fully after ordering the nut Roast. This is rare in a pub. I ordered the riast pork. When the food arrived it was clear we should have got there earlier! Roasties been hanging around, soggy and tasteless as was the cauliflower cheese. Yorkshire pud cremated. No crackling. The separate bowl of vegetables was the only fresh item. Nut riast OK, pork dry, gravy nice. All in all, very disappointing. No treat, no treat for the dog either as at other tables. Perhaps we were just unlucky.
We arrived at 7.20 for a table at 7.30 when we were booked in for supper in the bar at this oh so atmospheric Exmoor pub. We went to the bar to order drinks and our supper and were told crisply to sit down and wait, someone would come and take our order. Ages later we managed to order a starter and a bottle of wine, an hour later the starter and a bottle of moderate Pinot Noir appeared. Further aeons later there was still no sign of the main course, at 9.00 pm we left, never to return.
A nice welcome on a sunny early evening, sat outside on a very comfy wooden bench in a very quiet village setting. We had 3 large slices of real quality ham, properly cooked fried eggs, and chunky chips and a curry with nan, poppadum, large portion of fluffy rice, at least 10 good sized pieces of chicken in the curry. Just a shame we were not staying closer or we would have used most days. Would recommend, and I`m quite picky when eating out.
The winter chills of Exmoor still persisted when we visited at the end of April, but a welcoming warmth pervaded as soon as we entered the pub from the Landlord and the staff. Lovely to return to the Royal Oak after many years absence. The woodburner, service, good beer and wonderful food with generous portions made a lunchtime vist a pleasure. Great value for money. Wished that we could have stayed longer but we will be back.
Had lunch, after a walk on the moor. Tasty food and prompt, pleasant service. Had an enjoyable meal and left, Several hours later, I discovered that I'd lost my phone. My wife rang the Royal Oak first thing the following morning and they said that nothing had been found. Despair, all that info and photo's, messages, buying a new phone..... They rang my wife at about four o'clock and said they'd found it after a closer look! Wouldn't even accept a thank you drink. We will return!
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim Your Listing