Review on Helen Browning at The Royal Oak
Pioneering organic farmer Helen Browning and her partner Tim Finney adopted the Royal Oak as their village local, and liked the pub so much they decided to buy it. The whole place has been sympathetically renovated, the two bars have been knocked into one and the mood is decidedly rustic, with sturdy farmhouse tables, settles, parquet floors, exposed beams and fires blazing in the hearth.
Produce from the owners' Eastbrook Farm dominates the menu: superb 35-day aged steaks, burgers, humanely reared veal, all sorts of stuff from the pigs and much more find their way into the kitchen, along with hedgerow pickings and the results of dedicated domestic enterprise (breads, home-cured bacon, smoked potatoes, home-baked beans, and so on).
The full menu promises seasonal delights aplenty, kicking off with devilled kidneys or Bath chaps served with Old English green sauce and nasturtium salad before ribeye steak with chips and tarragon mayonnaise, breast of pheasant and casseroled leg with apple brandy jus or a veal burger. Lunch also heralds things like bacon 'sarnies' and fish 'n chips; for afters, try lemon posset with saffron-candied peel or baked chocolate tart with unpasteurised lavender ice cream. To drink, there are locally brewed real ales from Arkells, an enticing list of organic wines and - if you are lucky - a few shots of home-produced sloe gin.
Helen Browning at The Royal Oak is also featured in: Good Food Guide
Rate this RestaurantCuisine
Gastro pub
Chef
Rikki McCowen
Restaurant Opening Times
Lunch: 12.00 - 3.00 Tue-Sat (12.00 - 6.00pm Sun)
Dinner: 6.00 - 9.30pm Tue-Sat
Accepted credit cards
Visa, Master Card, American Express
