The Royal Oak, North Chingford, E4

Randomness Guide to London - Royal Oak entry

Haven't been to the Royal Oak for many a moon, but when I found myself travelling through Chingford last Saturday and in need of a pint and pub grub, thought I'd look the old place up. And was pleasantly surprised that it seems to have survived modernisation by the IKEA interior designers that have removed the traditional pub feel from so many other McMullen pubs, and still retains its more traditional oak beamed interior. It is still a two bar pub with a separate smaller public bar and then a much larger saloon, laid out in three sections, and a decent outside drinking patio to the side. The full range of McMullen cask ales were on, including the current seasonal beer Sweet Spot, and the two I tried were well kept. The food is traditional pub grub, that wouldn't have them salivating on Master Chef , but with BOGOF offers which meant our two meals were under £8.00 they hit the spot for what we wanted.

fantastic lively pub on fridays and saturdays. Bit quiet in the week but does really good food. Quite often has live music or morris dancing as entertainment. Well worth a visit if your in chingford