Royal Oak

Second time coming here, three years apart, and still one of the best Sunday roasts I’ve ever had. The place is packed Sundays and service can be difficult — we had to circle for a seat at the bar for 15 minutes and then waited 45 minutes after placing our orders for food — but it’s definitely worth every minute of the wait. If you’re looking for a quaint and desolate little pub though, this isn’t it.

I could not have been happier. Upscale pub food and a great atmosphere. I highly recommend this pub if you are in the area.

One of the best beer gardens in shoreditch! Def one of my fave pubs out east. Love all the plants and chill atmosphere. Sadly in recent visits, they’ve tapped out of some of their beer and cider early in the evening. Super busy on Sunday’s, and great roasts!

Definitely a popular place to settle in after the Columbia Flower Market for your Sunday Roast!
Ringing in at £19, you get a slice of roast, with yorkshire pudding, cooked greens, carrot mash (with wholegrain mustard), and deep fried potatoes slathered with some really really delicious gravy. I thought it was a bit pricey for roast (considering you can get it for much cheaper at other places around the city), but I think this is probably the better roast meal I’ve had in London in comparison to the £13 dishes I’ve had. I loved the greens, would happily ask for more to mop up the gravy (though there wasn’t much left).
I wasn’t too keen on the carrot mash, so I think I’d ask for all the sides to be swapped out for the greens. yum!
We also ordered a bowl of triple cooked chips for £3.50 — thick sizeable crispy chunks with garlic aioli. Some of the best fries I’ve had, very crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside.
Would come back again!

Hipster central. Bring ur beards and skinny jeans and settle in for a mediocre pint of trying too hard.

Beautiful pub on a beautiful road!
This is a great place to have a drink. The staff are really friendly and it has a great atmosphere which feels very inviting (unlike some other trendy pubs of the area!).
I’ve eaten here once and was a little disappointed with my burger (quite dry). Other than that though, would definitely recommend!

Columbia Road Flower Market on a sunny Sunday afternoon is terrifying. I didn’t even try to get past the very fringes it was so rammed with hot & bothered yuppies. Luckily, the Royal Oak is at one end and had refreshing jugs of Bloody Mary at the ready. We ate upstairs in the dining room which has the air of a rustic period parlour, cosy and nice for a small group. My crab starter was underwhelming but the board of meat, pâté and scotch egg I had afterwards was better. This was blown away by my friend’s roast though which was really good — the lamb was fantastic — tender, juicy and full of flavour. All accompanying bits were good as well. Desserts were quite good — I liked the flavour combination of sweet banana and meringue with lime and hazelnut brittle, but my friends chocolate ganache looked like a really weird raw sausage which was a bit off putting although she at it all so it must have been good. So my tip for here would be — focus on the roast which is well above average for a pub Sunday lunch (which it should be at nearly £20). And you may need to be proactive with your server, they are pretty relaxed.

A perfect spot at the end of the flower market to warm-​up and get some respite from the cold and rain.
Plenty of space including a central bar area, with friendly prompt service, and a pleasant convivial atmosphere.

After a long, long, long cab ride we arrived at this place and were whisked up to the eating area upstairs… Ok, this is not a negative thing, but the ‘old man drinking den’ vibe down stairs was much more appealing!
Upstairs in all fairness, was quite nice. Service was laid back to the point of possibly being poor, but was friendly enough all the same. I opted for a beer to start with and that was pretty nice, coming from a wee local craft brewer (I think). Starter was a stunning chorizo baw thang in a lovely sweet sauce. Perfect and just right with a nice IPA. At this point I’m thinking 4 star easy (despite the lax service… hey, we all have bad days!), but then my main came and i instantly deducted a star. I opted for the lamb stew and was so underwhelmed by the flavour that I reached for the salt and pepper within one bite.
To say that it was rubbish would be entirely unfair, as it was OK. But given the price and the quality of the starter, it just felt very weak in comparison.
A nice place. I’d like to have spent a little more time in the main bar, but it was not to be.

Ouhhhh c’est beau ! Ouhhhhh c’est bon ! Ouuuuuuh c’est loin ! Je mettrais 4,5 étoiles.
Après 25 minutes de Taxi à traverser tout Londres pour arriver en plein East London dans un coin un peu paumé de Shoreditch, nous voilà arrivés à 6 pour un diner à l’étage au dessus du (très beau) pub. Très skinny jeans et bonnets en laine, c’est une ambiance entre intelligentsia londonienne et creative class qui n’est pas désagréable mais qui pose un peu quand même.
A l’étage, la salle a moitié remplie ressemble à un décor d’auberge de campagne, la sophistication en plus: tables en bois massif, petits pots de fleurs, bougies et petite musique jazzy.
Le service très gentil nous apporte les menus: saisonniers, les plats sont tous très alléchants. Et mes gnocchis étaient largement à la hauteur de mes attentes. Enormes, faits maison, extrêmement frais et fondants, bien crousitllants à l’extérieur, avec quelques petits pois, des oignons caramélisés et un peu de parmesan. Une tuerie. Ma salade crabe en entrée m’a nettement moins convaincue: je n’aime pas la mayo et malheureusement il y en avait.
Autre point négatif (et c’est pour ça que j’enlêve une étoile), l’attente interminable entre l’entrée et le plat (et entre la commande et l’entrée). A la fin de notre assiette tant attendue nous né pensions qu’à une chose: rentrer. Surtout quand vous êtes à l’autre bout de la ville.
Mais dans l’ensemble c’était vraiment un excellent repas, dans une ambiance de gastropub très cosy. Comptez au moins 30 pounds par personne.

I came here on Mother’s day. Not with my mum, she’s in Wales, no… with D for a roast. Everybody else was here with Mum’s in tow, but not me. I just felt like roast beef and I managed to get a last minute reservation due to a cancellation Note. book on Sundays
We both ordered roast beef. While we waited we first had a small basket of delicious bread. Then came the roast: it was very good, all of it. It was just… a bit small. I could happily eat it twice over, two slices of beef is not really very much now is it? Especially since we’re paying on the wrong side of £15 each — I could almost get a decent steak for that much nearby with plenty of cow in it.
The chicken option is normally what I order when I’m hungry, but here it said ‘roast chicken breast’ on the menu… what no leg? No HALF roast chicken like everywhere else? Breast as in singular? And you’re charging the same??? Methinks not.
So why 4 stars? Well, that gravy was delicious and the bar downstairs is lovely for a drink when it’s not too rammed. Also as I was leaving, I spotted someone about to munch away on a bowl of the most amazing looking chips (they were massive AND has skins on — my kinda chips). I’m coming back just for those chips and if I’m coming back, it has to be 4 stars right?

This place came highly recommended for Saturday afternoon drinks and quality affordable food — it did not dissapoint on either front!
I had slow cooked pork ribs with field mushrooms, baby carrots and cheesy polenta — christ it was GOOD!!! Drink selection was good — staff were reasonably friendly and attentive — I’ll be back!

As part of my trip to London, the friends I met up with were All About The Pubs. They had received a list from their hosts of the necessary places to visit, those obscure, off-​the-​beaten-​path pubs and restaurants that the locals know and frequent. The Royal Oak is, from my experience, one of these places, and as it was the first pub I tried in the London area, a great one to start out at.
Tiny and cozy, The Royal Oak gives the best experience: a wrap-​around bar, a large selection of drinks, including many ciders ‘on tap’, rickety chairs, benches and stools, old wood tables, interesting English decorations, and windows through which to enjoy the various London weather happening outside while you’re tucked warm inside.
Unfortunately, my time at The Royal Oak was cut short by a date with the Eye, but given it’s out-​of-​the-​way location, I’d have no qualms about wandering back for a few more pints, a snack or bag of crisps, and a good evening of calm frivolity. Definitely a top spot on my recommendations list.

Faut reserver le brunch dimanche sinon on vous envoie chier bien comme il faut:
J’avais lu que c’etait un des meilleurs gastropubs de londres, et effectivement, meilleur fish & chips que j’ai mangé a londres (so far) et un succulent sunday roast avec crispy pork belly
Voila.
Dommage pour le personnel pas très sympa.
Je reviendrai quand meme pour la bouffe et c’est un endroit sympa sur Columbia Road.
Plat £12−15

Guter Pub
Faire Preise
Nette bedienung
Immer wieder sonntags
Flower market

One of my favourite locals… always full of an interesting mix of people — you have to hover around seats to try and get a seat but always worth waiting a bit.
Nice bartenders … quality house wines, yummy cider in the winter and really good food!
Good for both hiding in a corner or sitting up on a bar stool people watching… x

I feel really weirdly about liking the place as much as I did.
East Londoners clearly rule the scene… and while I normally get a little irritated by a whole room of people trying so hard to look like they’re not trying at all, I really liked this place. Hipsters, for all their faults, are usually easy on the eyes, and it was late enough in the evening that the pints made everything seem all good.
I haven’t had a chance to eat here, and by all appearances, this place seems like it would be like so many other pubs… but there’s something about Royal Oak that feels a little different… a little cooler and more fun… like a place where something exciting could happen…
Or maybe it’s just the leftover bits of all those pints talking!

Ahhh, date night. I discovered this place on a date. It was the only good thing to come out of that night, and what a gem it is. I hope he doesn’t read Unilocal.
The Royal Oak is a gem of a pub. It’s wonderfully cosy, with a great central bar in the middle. I had walked past it loads but never actually been in for a drink until this evening and now it’s becoming a bit of a regular hang out. They have The Stool Pigeon to flick through, a nice selection of wines and mulled wine to warm you up in winter. I also like the fact it’s always busy, and you feel like you’re arriving at a friends house. Very welcoming indeed.
I can’t wait to go back and try their dining rooms. The food sounds delish!

My afternoon at Royal Oak was royally delicious.
After a romp through the flower market, The Royal Oak’s bloody mary, Sunday roast and ice cold pint of cider all enjoyed in the sunny back garden truly set me straight for the upcoming week.
The roast was delectable — two juicy slices of roast beef, plenty of steamed kale, sweet roasted carrot, crispy potatoes and a not-​too-​hard, not-​too-​soft yorkshire pud. I wasn’t able to indulge in dessert, but I also nibbled on a Neal’s Yard cheese board, and drooled over charcuterie plates being passed around the next table.
I will say that RO was an unapologetic twat-​epicentre, however I certainly wasn’t complaining about the short-​short cut offs that my darling bartender was pairing with his neon Miami tee. I was the visitor, not them… and I can appreciate that.
This will forever be added to my ever growing list of lazy London Sunday musts.

We started with lunch upstairs, which was delicious. It was a Sunday so we all opted for the roast beef which came with a good amount of veg. I always find that the Brits go short on veg on Sundays so I was pleasantly surprised when I had a plate full of greens. The beef was cooked really nicely and the Yorkshire pudding was large enough to please everyone. I can also recommend the sticky toffee pudding. The crowd upstairs was a bit mixed – old, young and even really young. But overall, a very mellow and cordial group. It’s also worth noting that there are prints handing in the restaurant that are for sale. I was tempted to buy one, but budgets prevented this random purchase.
After a really long and enjoyable lunch, we decided that it was best to continue drinking downstairs as it was pouring down with rain outside. We definitely made the right decision. 4 or 5 bottles of wine later we were still having a super time. The pub is hull of hipsters, so if you like that sort of thing you’ll fit right in. Or if you’re not a big hipster, at least there’s some good people watching. It was packed when we arrived, but after just a few short minutes we were able to get a table and stay for the rest of the day. The seats are haphazardly placed around the edge of the pub, suggesting that no thought or effort was put into the design. However I think it’s quite the contrary… I think everything has been strategically haphazardly placed!
I would definitely go back.

This is a review for the dining room upstairs, not the pub downstairs.
Food: Fantastic. Delicious warm eggplant salad (it’s still July 4^th weekend, none of that silly ‘aubergine’ stuff, dammit) with pomegranate seeds and flatbread. Beautifully presented and delicious. I also had a tuna steak with capers that was very very good, although not done thick-​sliced with a rare center (not centre… see what I’m doing there? HA) but surprisingly thin.
Décor: Love it. Amazing large-​scale screenprints from this gallery I love across the street of old English poems I remember from childhood and cuts of beef. I would like to purchase both of these or, ideally, receive them as presents. HINT HINT.
Service: Lovely.
General Atmosphere: Lovely
Pitcher of Pimm’s: Best I’ve ever had. Homemade lemonade, crisp and cold cucumber, lots of fruits, and a personal apology from the bartender that they were out of fresh mint.
The upstairs doesn’t have the attitude which I’ve noticed a bit from the bartenders downstairs, and overall the place is just wonderful.

Nice little spot on Columbia road that’s good for a pint in the garden or a more formal dinner upstairs. I haven’t been in when it’s overcrowded and I’ve been able to get service at the bar without much effort.
Upstairs there is a delightful dinning room that opens at 7 pm. The food was very tasty and the server did not steer us wrong with her recommendations from the kitchen.
I’d sort of like to keep the Pimms and house lemonade a secret, but if you head to the Royal Oak you’ll figure it out how delicious it is anyway.

This bar really is too cool for school, no-​one even batted an eyelid when two ridiculous drunks starting singing ‘The Fields of Athenry’ at top volume. And then again when one decided to sing the Irish national anthem. Well the girl in the denim hot pants and hideous tights and the numerous fellas in check shirts were probably cringing internally at our utterly un-​coolness.
Have to say I did not drink in the famed awesomeness of this place, it’s just a pub really innit? Yeah the clientele are East London poseurs but if you try to ignore them, it’s alright.