The Oak, Warwick

A nice and friendly enough little boozer. There isn't much room inside but there is a beer garden to the rear or you can sit on the front pavement. Only the one real ale on on my visit which was fine. I liked it.

A quirky, terraced boozer just out of the town centre. The welcome here was very friendly and the clientele mixed ranging from students to us old lags. Nonetheless, the bar area is small enough to encourage general chat helped along by those working here and the atmosphere was almost that of a good micropub. Beers on were Hardy & Hanson's bitter, Oakham Bird Brain and Abbeydale Moonshine with the latter two being in excellent shape. I'd be happy with this as a local if I lived close by.

Recently refurbished,this is a very small mid terrace boozer,which opens into a front snug area with a bench seat under the window and a couple of tables.Further back is the bar on the right side with a drinking ledge and stools opposite while the rear area is stripped out and just has a few traditional tables and chairs.However the chatty and slightly cheeky barmaid made us weary boozers feel right at home and there was good banter with regulars and off duty staff gathered around the bar.It's a comfortable place for oddballs .There is a darts board and sports flatscreens on low volume,follow the fire exit to get to the lavs while outside there is a narrow courtyard. It's in the 2019 GBG and I can see why given the condition of my Oakham Bird Brain and Abbeydale Moonshine.There may be up to 4 real ales on the go here ,just 3 on my visit. I liked it ,not far from the station and should be included on any Warwick real ale crawl.

As noted below this is a pub consisting of a long marrow room with a quieter area at the front, the bar counter in the middle and a rear area with a dart board obstructed by some tables and chairs. On my early Saturday afternoon visit there was a group of older folk in the quieter front area while the back area had two TVs showing different football matches. The pool table is no longer here which is probably for the better as it must have taken up the whole of this small back area. As before only four hand pumps were in use but this time the choice was a bit mainstream with a cider, Abbot, London Pride and Abbeydale Dr Morton's Desert Sand. I went for the Abbeydale one (£3.30) which was in good nick. It's an unusual little place that has the advantage of being away from the hordes of tourists but I found the TV screens a bit overbearing. It's GBG 2017 listed but not 2018.

The narrow terraced frontage leads to a three-part bar with the counter in the central section. Quite gloomy inside, despite the white walls, and the dark semi-modern furniture hardly helps. Patio area to the rear. Four of five handpumps in operation, offering London Pride, Black Sheep, Abbeydale Moonshine (£3.30) and Wyld Wood cider.

Incredibly basic locals boozer, a long narrow knocked-through interior. Front area décor note were the four pics of Warwick Auction cows, weirdly modern each painted over four planks of wood. Rest of the place was bashed and battered round the edges and I was wondering whether to get out early, but at the bar were five pumps with an eclectic range of ales; Abbeydale, Dark Star Original, GK IPA, York Guzzler and a house beer of unknown provenance. My Dark Star was in impressive nick and served up by a friendly landlord. Very local male clientèle (the pool table was raucous) but friendly enough. Also utterly basic rolls at the bar and my ham roll was literally, ham in a roll. Clearly making an effort and worth a stop if you’re willing to accept the testosterone-fuelled atmosphere and simplified approach.