The Royal Oak

As an institution the gastropub is fast becoming my weapon of choice for satisfying my daily recurring longing for food. The mixture of fine dining yet still being at the pub is a niche which feels like it was carved just for me*.
After perusing the list of winners of the top 50 UK gastropubs 2014 and seeing The Royal Oak came a very respectable 6^th it seemed given the proximity to home that the only sensible thing to do was grace them with my presence and see what the fuss is about. If you were to stop reading now then the important thing to remember is all the fuss is about the rabbit lasagne, but you have read this far so you may as well indulge me a little more.
We arrived on a Saturday night, just after 8pm for a 9pm table. The plan was to have a couple of drinks before we sat down to eat. The focus of the pub is clearly on dining and the actual bar area is very small. For a while I was left stood up at the bar as there was only a single free bar stool available upon our arrival and being the gent I am I let my other half have it. This was a minor inconvenience and as other waiting diners were led to their tables we soon had more seating options available while we waited for our table.
Our table was ready just before 9 and as I perused the menu I initially worried I was maybe approaching gastropub burnout. You find a lot of these establishments use very similar ingredients (anyone for curly kale or hispy cabbage?) and I was struggling a little to differentiate what they were offering from what I have seen on menus elsewhere. Turns out I needn’t have worried, and the selection of breads which arrived shortly after we had ordered went a good way towards allaying my concern. The selection of 5 or 6 very different breads along with some deliciously creamy butter paved the way for things to come, the sun blushed tomato bread was my favourite, with the soda bread qualifying for an honourable mention.
Having read the previous reviews before my our visit I didn’t even have to make a call on my starter, I knew it had to be the rabbit lasagne (with a cheeky scotch egg on the side). The lasagne more closely resembled a giant ravioli parcel to me but that is by the by, the taste of it was perfection and I feel forever indebted to my fellow Unilocalers for their vociferous and persuasive advocacy in favour of this dish. My vocabulary is too limited to extol the virtues of it sufficiently, just order it and thank me later. The buffalo burrata was also a superbly crafted starter, the monks beard and blood orange compliment the mild flavour of the burrata well and the presentation of the dish is top notch but I’m not going to get as excited about it as I did the rabbit. Unless you had some bad experience watching Watership Down as a child then the lasagne really is the smart choice.
For main course we had the old spot belly pork and the smoked haddock. Again, the food was fantastic. The mashed potato was silky smooth, the pork was juicy and the haddock was some of the best fish I have tasted for a long time, with a firm and meaty texture and cooked to perfection. I could have eaten a double portion of either, or probably both.
Dessert is a course I usually skip, but when the starter and main are this good I make an exception. My rhubarb trifle didn’t disappoint, it was like a trifle for grown ups. Gone was the jelly layer which always spoils trifle for me, and in its place was strips of tangy rhubarb. Looking back it seems so simple, I can’t believe nobody has done this before. It just works. The lemon posset was delicate and light, but I preferred my trifle.
I totally enjoyed the Royal Oak. The food, the service, the ambiance all combined to make a near perfect dining experience. I shall certainly return, if only for more rabbit lasagne!
*Clearly it wasn’t carved just for me given the roaring success which good gastropubs enjoy. I guess I’m happy to let everyone else share my niche.

Do you like pub food? Do you like Michelin stars? Do you want an amazing meal with little to no pretension? Do you want to go to a pub that’s practically in the middle of nowhere? If you answered yes to these four questions, head immediately to The Royal Oak.
We had a slight concern when my GPS said we had arrived and it was a completely different pub. Luckily, the right pub was just a bit further up the road. We booked Sunday Lunch, because who doesn’t like Sunday Lunch in a pub? If you bring your Ferrari, you can park right in the front as well!
The inside is really warm and charming. There are really friendly staff there to welcome you in and let you sit in some comfy chairs and couches and have a drink while you’re waiting for your fourth dining companion to arrive. So kudos to that.
Our table was in the back in what looked like was an add-​on. But one whole wall is full of windows overlooking a beautiful garden, so you don’t really feel like you’re shoved way in the back corner. The service was a bit slow, but if you’re not in a rush, why does it matter?
We ordered the baked Vacherin Mont d’or cheese (which in the winter, I will be doing at home instead of baked brie or Camembert) and a couple of Scotch Eggs and Rabbit on toast as pre-​nibbles. The eggs and rabbit were nice, but not amazing, but the cheese dip was great. And the bread basket they served was awesome as well. Several types of bread with butter. The olive flatbreads were awesome, and since two diners didn’t like olives, two of us got to eat a lot of them. They’ll bring as much bread as you ask, but it’s super easy to go overboard.
For my starter I opted for something different than everyone else and got the game terrine. What a mistake that was. Not that the terrine wasn’t delicious. It was, but the rabbit lasagne was like heaven in your mouth. I was super jealous of everyone else. For my main I ordered the hare and trotter pie. The crust wasn’t the most amazing, but the filling was probably the best pie filling I’ve ever had. The hare and trotter were soft and luscious and the gravy was phenomenal. It was really rich so toward the end I had to cut the richness with the delicious mash they served with it. The other half had the woodcock and I tried a few bites of that as well. Awesome. Simply awesome. His only complaint was that it was huge and very rich so it was hard to finish it all, and he didn’t want dessert at the end of the meal.
For dessert, two of us ordered the chocolate fondant and one the butterscotch pudding. I loved the fondant, but again it was really good sized and incredibly rich. It was a lot after the rich pie. And the filling was almost too oozy. At least it wasn’t over done. We also ordered some Madeleines and our coffees and teas came with Petits Fours. The Madeleines were kind of boring for me, they needed more flavor, but the Petits Fours (a raisin cake, coconut marshmallow and a chocolate truffle) were great. The coffee not so much. I hate ordering filter coffee and just getting a long pull espresso. They are not the same.
But the bad parts were really minor. The good parts far outshown and some of the dishes we had were some of the best dishes of the weekend. The woodcock was fantastic and I’m still having dreams about my pie. I need to figure out how to make something that good at home. With a better pie crust.
It’s unfortunate that it’s not really conveniently close, because I could see myself ending up here quite a bit. Since I was driving, I couldn’t drink either, but given my state the night before, it was probably a good thing.
If you’re in the area and fancy an amazingly laid back atmosphere with awesome food, book this place!

Say what?! Fantastic. So good. Why aren’t you there right now?
Royal Oak was the final stop on a whirlwind Michelin star weekend in Bray and the surrounding area, and it was an excellent way to cap it all off! The staff will welcome you in and immediately offer you a place to sit in the little pub area while bringing you a drink of your choice. The actual dining area appears to be an add-​on to the original pub, although I could be wrong. That being said, it is so light and bright and open, and has interesting original art work on the walls to entertain yourself with.
After a week of heavy dining, I wanted to take it a bit easier and ordered the sea bass for a main, which was so stinking delicious. The skin was wonderfully crispy and the flavor was fantastic. For starters, I had the rabbit «lasagna» which really was more like two open-​faced, overstuffed rabbit raviolis. I couldn’t recommend it enough as it was completely delicious. Despite my quest to be a bit «lighter» on this final meal of the weekend, we did order a range of nibbles including the Scotch egg, rabbit toast and the little tray of ham and melty cheese (forgive me for being too lazy to look up the proper name) to share, all of which were really nice! (Although, I will say the Scotch egg at the Hinds Head had the edge.)
I had nibbles of all my dining companions meals, and I will say that without a doubt in my mind the woodcock (haha, woodcock) was the best bite I’d had all weekend! It was so rich and delicious, and the toast put under it to soak up everything was so darned amazing.
Will they take your coat at the door? No, but who cares? This is Michelin star dining without the pretenses, and definitely worth the visit.

I concur with the rabbit lasagna… incredible. As a main dish, the venison medallions cannot be topped. We had a good business meeting and dinner in the back room, followed up by drinks at the bar. I can’t think I’ll happen to be in the neighborhood by chance any time soon, but it’s just close enough for a Heathrow stay over. A little tricky to find, however, but well worth it.

Wonderful gastro pub tucked away in the Berkshire countryside. Beautiful tasty food (the rabbit lasagna in the starters is to die for!!!), very friendly and professional service, and reasonable prices.
Go for a long morning walk along the Tames nearby and then go and enjoy a warm & hearty Sunday lunch.

Excellent gastropub plus, which has recently been awarded a Michelin star (yes, it really is that good).
Royal Oak is owned by Sir Michael Parkinson, run by his son Nick with chef Dominic Chapman. And it really is exactly what a superb gastropub should be. It retains the relaxing atmosphere and eclectic décor of a great pub, but with a large stylish but unfussy dining area and fantastic food.
I had Chicken Liver and Foie Gras Parfait with Toasted Brioche to start, which was exactly as self-​indulgent as I had hoped. To follow I took Roast North Sea Cod with Potato Gnocchi and Wild Mushrooms. The cod was cooked to perfection and the mushrooms gave exactly the right level of cut through. I was «forced» to try some of my friends’ chips which were also great.
My desert was Bramley Apple, Quince and Rhubarb Crumble with Custard. I had no room for this at all, but feel it was my duty and indeed that it would be a crime to go to a gastropub and not have crumble. The topping was very nutty and again the contrast with the more acidic fruit was worth it.
Good, relaxed attentive (but not too attentive) service also contributed to a very enjoyable evening.
Bray is only 2 miles up the road and snail porridge definitely has its place. But if you want somewhere to come back to time and again, look no further than Royal Oak.

A friendly restaurant-​pub, with good food. A bit on the expensive side, but worth it for the quality and portions!
Very pleasant patio area for those rare sunny days/​evenings.

Sir Michael Parkinson’s (
) son bought this pub last year and has turned it into a super dining experience. Classy yet comfortable inside, there are also ten or so tables outside.
Expect a blend of British and French fine dining, with linen and all those little forks you don’t know what to do with. Don’t let it put you off, though, they won’t fuss over people in jeans and T-​shirts.
My starter, at lunch, was a tasty pot of macaroni and cheese with hamhock (£7.50). My main was roast mallard (£17); to be honest, not as moist as I would have liked. The side of chips was amazing, though. The menu was typically selective: there were about 6 starters and about as many mains. My wife had two starters, which they were fine with, and the lobster salad proved to be fine as a main (in fact, all portions were bigger than you usually see at places like this).
The wine list was a lengthy document, and ranged from about £24 to a frankly ludicrous £2750 La Tour, covering all points in between.
There are two sofas in front of a fireplace near the front door. The rest of the pub is definitely for dining, though, not (just) drinking. Great special-​occasion dining not from from the M4.