The Royal Oak

I’ve heard and now a victim of thieft at this establishment.
My jacket and it’s contents were taking blatantly while I was sitting at the bar.

Came in for a few beers, the beers were nice and chilled, not watered down at all (I’ve had some bad experiences at other pubs). Service was great, the waitress was really friendly and came to check on us multiple times throughout our meal. The only negative would have to be the chicken fingers :(but the nachos and wings were great.

Dropped in for lunch, this was my fifth time and not disappointed. This time i had the club sandwich which came with excellent chunky fries. On other occasions I’ve had the Friday fish and chips special which has a dollar discount, a very good deal. Great and friendly staff.

Wandering the streets we were looking for somewhere for brunch and stumbled upon the Royal Oak. Perhaps next time we’ll keep wandering some more. Some parts were okay but there were many little, and some larger areas that were just «ungood»
We asked to be seated outside and no problem. Were I King for a day, and the one seating us, I would have brought the cloth with me to clean the chairs and ask if we wanted coffee before heading back in. After a rather long wait he came back and took our orders. Great support as apparently the waitress for our area had not shown up for work yet. Got the orders and at long last a cup of coffee appeared. No juice or water as requested as that took some more time.
The food finally arrived. The classic bacon and eggs was quite good. Eggs were nicely cooked, light crispy home fries, bacon and nice fresh whole wheat toast.
The chorizo flatbread though was a different story. It more closely represented a freezer pizza. The scrambled eggs (bit of an assumption as to what they were) were dry and over-​cooked. The sauce was runny and not overly hot. The chorizo looked like an after thought. A few pieces of dry, over-​cooked sausage. With lots of tabasco sauce and salt and pepper it was okay.
While our waitress was certainly pleasant, I couldn’t help but wonder why she didn’t bring the coffee pot with her when she came to check on how we were doing. No offer to refill the water. Many little things lacking finesse.
So with the substandard ‘flat bread’ and so-​so customer service, I would never recommend this place for brunch.

I came here for lunch with some colleagues on a Sunday and it was pretty good. Nothing Special. Standard pub fare.
It wasn’t very busy (there seemed to be some regulars in for curling) and as a result the wait staff were doing some chores, which was fine, but they definitely could have been more attentive given the small number of people in the place.
I might come back if I’m in the area, but I probably wouldn’t seek it out.

Go on a night with music or a game, so much better

My friends and I stumbled into the Royal Oak at about 11:30 on New Years Eve. It wasn’t a busy night as there were several empty tables in our section. We were greeted almost immediately but waited over 20 minutes for our drinks to come out.
We were promised free champagne and party favours for midnight. Champagne appeared long afterward (after the novelty wore off) and the favours never came. Don’t get me wrong, the staff was very friendly and really excitable, but my friends and I definitely felt like an afterthought.
I will say that I had much better experiences at the Centrepointe and Laurier locations.

I’ve been here a few times for drinks and dinner and most recently for lunch between meetings.
Lunch was decent, I had a chicken and goat cheese salad.
I was previously here for a farewell dinner and drinks. We had a great time, staff were wonderful.
The only thing I don’t love about this place is the bathrooms — down a slippery set of stairs into the basement.
I will likely go back!

*3.5 stars*
Came here as we could hardly find anywhere else on Bank on Labour Day that was either relatively affordable, open, or appealing looking.
The Royal Oak is a cosy British-​style pub, with plenty of space, comfortable seating and an expansive food menu.
I had the buffalo chicken wrap which was yummy! The chicken was crispy without having that awful deep-​fried greasy feel to it, and there was just the right amount of sauce. Unfortunately the mashed potatoes that came with the dish were doused in gravy. The server didn’t tell me about the gravy when I asked if I could have mash instead of fries, and there was no mention on the menu of any potatoes coming with gravy, either. I really hate gravy on mash, and I thought it was a bit lazy of the server/​the menu to not mention that they came like this.
Other than that, the service was good and the prices were ok. The food was really really filling and we didn’t end up eating dinner until about eight hours later.
The gravy debacle aside, this place can’t really be faulted and is a solid four stars for pub grub. I’d be happy to return if I went back to Ottawa.

This Royal Oak is pretty average — I’ve had good service here and bad service (like, bringing out the appetizer after the entrée bad), nothing outstanding. I’ve had average wait times before, and I’ve had insanely long wait times in a mostly-​empty restaurant before. The food is really average (I keep using that word!), with the exception of the Guinness beef and mushroom pot pie and the beef brisket poutine — those are pretty good!
I haven’t been since the recent renovations, but it looks really nice through the windows. Of all the Royal Oak locations this is one of the good ones, and the food will get the job done, but it’s pretty forgettable. Particularly the fries — I judge a place by how good the fries are, and the ones here are really bland, thick, and not crispy (so they’re mostly just good in a poutine). But for context, my favourite fries are pretty thin (like the Works or Atomic Rooster) and crispy, so if that isn’t your cup of tea, you might like the fries here.
This location has a nice atmosphere for dates, I’ll give it that! And the fish part of the fish and chips is very good.
I would come here to hang out with friends and not have dinner — the appetizers are completely inoffensive, so if you’re here to get beer and nachos I’m sure you’ll have a good time, I just wouldn’t recommend it for dinner. It’s brighter than some pubs (like the old Royal Oak down the street) and hosts some interesting events.

Thank you to Dorina for the excellent service she was very entousiastic and cheerfull and didn’t forget about our table
The pulled beef sandwich and Poutine were excellent thanks to the cook

Aside from the ice cream sundae, everything I’ve had here was pretty bad. The hot wings don’t use buffalo sauce, the fries and chicken fingers were overcooked, and the club sandwich uses miracle whip instead of mayonnaise. The reason I come here is because they have a board games night on Mondays at 6. Free refills on pop.

Went to a show at the Bronson Centre, and decided to walk around looking for a bar before the show. There aren’t many very close, and we ended up at Royal Oak on Bank. We walked in (6:30 on a sunny Saturday), and were surprised that there were many empty tables, and most seats at the bar were open. We sat at the bar, and really liked the décor/​ambiance. It feels open and airy, but also cozy.
The bartender knows his stuff, and listed all the specials for us. He was interesting to watch — moving around behind the bar, pouring all kinds of drinks and never stopping moving or spilling a drop. I decided on just a draught, but he listed all of them (20? not sure, but lots) all easily by memory. My bf ordered a Guinness and a shot, and then later another. shot The restrooms are downstairs and were clean and appreciated. The bill was a bit steep, but we did order Jameson and beers that were not on special. We will have to come back sometime for food with our drinks.
After navigating the crowds at Byward pubs in the afternoon, I don’t know why more people don’t go to Royal Oak. The space is pleasant, the staff is friendly and attentive, and it was a great place to sit and drink a cold pint.

Went there had the dip then burger. No taste. Way to expensive for the quality of food. Move on!!!

An average pub with decent beer. Guinness was poured to specks, temperature was good, and was crisp. Didn’t eat cause I was horrified by other Unilocal reviews and the food didn’t look great. Besides, what Irish pub has amazing food anyway. Bartender was very friendly and engaged us in conversation

I don’t know.
When I first moved to Ottawa Royal Oak was the only place open. I was hungry and stopped by for a pint and some food.
The staff are super friendly and are willing to change the channel if you want to but that’s about all I can say that’s good about them.
The food is over priced, they have absolute crap for beer on tap and they are super slow.
I’ve been told this is the Clean Oak, and it is fairly clean and not as gnarly as some bars along Bank, but it’s not my favourite. Sorry Oak.

I don’t normally go to the Royal Oak as I find them all kinda the same and all pretty average. I ended up going to this one as we had just gotten out of a long movie and were very hungry, I wish we had gone somewhere else. We got menu’s right away, but we never had our drink orders taken and it took a good 10 – 15 minutes before the waiter came back, not a good start. Eventually we got our orders taken and we got our food decently promptly, but the food was decidedly underwhelming. I had a chicken quesadilla which was decidedly short on chicken and other fillings, especially for 12 dollars, and it was slightly burnt. My friend had chicken wings which weren’t great either.
Overall everything seemed about 2 or 3 buck more than it should have been and the service was below par. I wouldn’t bother unless you don’t have many other options.

The Royal Oak is a chain with the standard pub fare – nothing fancy and yet nothing too offensive either. If you come here expecting gourmet ‘foodie’ cuisine you’ll be sorely disappointed. But in all honesty sometimes I just crave some fatty fried food! This particular outpost of the Royal Oak is located right in the heart of downtown on Bank at Gloucester. Its close to many large federal government buildings and thus it can be crushingly busy at lunch hour on a weekday. Luckily, I was here on a pretty quiet Sunday afternoon. We sat ourselves (as is standard in a place like this) and the bartender took our drink and food orders.
I had the chicken fingers – a childhood favourite of mine – which was served with French fries. The price was acceptable ($ 12.99) but anymore and its borderline highway robbery. It seems a little expensive but there were about 5 meaty (and delicious) chicken fingers with a huge helping of fries so I guess I really can’t complain. My boyfriend and his mother each had Sunday brunch – two eggs, home fries, toast, and a choice of meat (bacon/​ham/​sausage) for $ 6.99, again not ‘expensive’ but a little pricey for standard breakfast fare. Although they seemed to enjoy it.
The décor is very pedestrian and, frankly, tired. It has a kitchy faux-​British charm to it I guess but it definitely has a ‘worn’ look to it. Service was more than acceptable – our server was friendly and efficient (no excessive waiting for food or the bill!). This place seems like an ‘after-​work’ hangout. I bet the bar gets poppin’ after all those wild civil servants head home (and I say this with only a hint of sarcasm). There is a small patio on Gloucester where you could kick back on a hot summer’s day with a ice cold beer. Yum!

I’ve been to a few Royal Oaks around the city. I find the prices are just a tad higher for fairly simple pub fare, but maybe that’s just me. The food is generally fairly consistent at all of them, but the service at this one is horrendous. It’s right in the heart of all the daily hussle and bussle of the downtown area and business people, so good luck having a pleasant lunch during a weekday. My boyfriend and I came here on his lunch break. We were seated promptly but didn’t even get a menu for about 10 minutes. We ordered chicken fingers with fries and a steak sandwich with pub chips, which, together, somehow took 20 minutes to get to the table. The chicken fingers were crunchy and well-​cooked, while the bread in the steak sandwich was somehow burnt and soggy at the same time, and the steak itself was very tough, even though I ordered it medium rare. It took about 10 minutes just to get the bill, and it so long for our waitress to pick it up that we had to call another waitress over so we could pay for our meal. The service took so long throughout the entire time that we were there, and we were only able to eat for 15 minutes before my boyfriend had to run back to work. If you’re planning on going during the lunch rush, around noon on a weekday, I would suggest considering going somewhere else so that you can be back at work on time.

This Royal Oak is lacking the character of it’s sister location a few blocks south. This is the after work place and the food isn’t all that special. I had a large salad and the lettuce was turning.
The waiter also flubbed our drink orders.
If you’re looking for a fun and cozy pub just walk south to what’s known by locals as «The Dirty Oak» but if you just want a place to meet a friend for a drink and you want to skip the live entertainment then this place will do.