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Detail Pages
The Royal Oak, Horsham
Rusper
Postal town: Horsham
RH12 4QA
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 9½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about The Royal Oak
permission given to demolish it and build two new homes
On 7th November 2019
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2933 recommendations about 2866 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
TW G left this review about The Royal Oak
Some pubs don't merit a detailed review on sites such as this, as there just isn't much out of the ordinary to comment on. But this one really does - especially if it helps raise awareness of it amongst people who have yet to discover its delights, because folks, you shall no longer find the Royal Oak in the trusty CamRA Good Beer Guide.
This is in no way due to reduction in quality or range of beer, but rather to the sheer petulent officiousness of a couple of local branch members, who because of personal disputes with the landlady decided to bully the pub out of the latest GBG edition despite being an award-winner and patently the best beer-house in the region. Don't be fooled by this flummery: it is still well-worth seeking out if you love traditional ale houses.
The Oak is soaked in authentic character, being a traditional, unspoiled country inn in a marvellously-under-developed part of West Sussex. Its exterior charm should be apparent from the images above, and its interior is as one would hope - cosy, welcoming, and compact, centred on the bar area and the jolly banter of locals that it naturally encourages. There is seating to the left and right, but frankly, unless you're feeling unsociable, the bar is where you will prefer to be, even if it means standing!
Sara and Clive have run the pub for 6 years now, and have gradually built it up to create a solid reputation for provision of fine cask ales, ciders and perries. Also, there is high-quality food available (albeit limited in range), using local ingredients wherever possible. No kegged beer or stout is sold, and neither is cheap microwaved grub. Tough decisions to take in an increasingly-challenging marketplace, and one which some dismiss as stupidity or arrogance. However, in many eyes their insistence on only selling cask (with a few wines and spirits and softies behind the bar) and 'proper' food is a brave and welcome break from the usual conventions. A range of 7 ales feature (mostly from sound local breweries though some hail from more further-afield - accented towards Devon as S & C have a personal connection to that region). There are usually 2 ciders and 1 perry (or vice-versa). Rarely have I ever sampled a drink here that was not well-conditioned.
Food-wise, Sara's portions are generous, and such delights as chilli-con-carne and roast pheasant may appear on the menu, as well as massive sandwiches; a meal in themselves and highly-effective at soaking up the surfeit of ale that you're bound to have taken on board!
In busy periods there is an unmistakeable warm glow, especially in Winter, of hearty chatter amongst well-heeled but down-to-earth punters, who are united in the 'cult' that has developed around the pub over the years. Granted, sometimes Sara can be brusque with those who manifestly do not appreciate what she offers, but in truth, she'd have to be ten times more abrasive for me to cease coming to the pub; there's too much to enjoy! Give it a chance and you will be drawn in and happily-initiated.
In 2012 the pub began offering accommodation; 3 double rooms are available - I stayed overnight just before Christmas to avoid the inevitable drink-drive conundrum, and found it good value for £45. The room was bijou but it had an en-suite, was clean, and a full English breakfast (characteristically generous in size) was thrown in.
I don't believe everything to be a paragon of perfection at this pub. I don't even know if there is such a thing as pub perfection. But for my palate, this comes pretty close, and on a scale of ten, it has to score full marks from me. As soon as the current covering of snow clears, I'll be back!
On 23rd January 2013
- rating: 10
[User has posted 5 recommendations about 5 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rich Gibbs left this review about The Royal Oak
Visited the Royal Oak for the first time yesterday and my only regret was that I hadn't done it sooner!
Varied choice of ales and ciders served in an old fashioned ambience deep in the Englich countryside. If it wasn't for the planes leaving nearby Gatwick you could think you'd stepped back in time.
Whilst the food menu is limited, I enjoyed the best bit of roast pork I'd had in ages which was complimented by the well-prepared local vegetables.
All in all, an experience I'm very much looking forward to repeating.
On 10th March 2012
- rating: 9
[User has posted 35 recommendations about 35 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Brew Guru left this review about The Royal Oak
This is one of those pubs we should wrap in cotton wool and preserve as it is a gem in its current format. Pretty much as Trainman describes with the addition of a Pool table to the left of the bar. 7 beers were on including Otter Bitter, Otter Bright, Dark Star, Arundel, Surrey Hills. One of the other beers was a mild and there were also 2 ciders and a perry on hand pull. Interested to see a sign for the Rugglestone Inn outside, the only pub of that name is in Widecombe on the Moor in Devon as far as I know, a bit of a trek from West Sussex.
Note - no food is served except limited bar snacks so go elsewhere for your Sunday carvery!
Near (but not quite as it's undefined) perfection.
On 15th August 2011
- rating: 9
[User has posted 116 recommendations about 101 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Royal Oak
A lovely isolated, low beamed, narrow free house with seven handpumps for real ale (Arundel, Dark Star, Ranmore x2, Otter, Andwell) plus three more for cider and two for perry. Infamous for not selling lager. Hanging leather straps from the ceiling, Underground-style, for wobbling customers. Very pretty from the outside, lots of flowers. Friendly locals and landlady made us feel welcome. Lots of dogs in attendance too. I was a bit squiffy at this point so I’ll point to Trainman’s florid description of the interior. Pub sells snuff, pickles jams etc. Voted Runner up in CAMRA national pub of the year in 2009. Very enjoyable visit from what I recall…
On 4th September 2010
- rating: 9
[User has posted 5552 recommendations about 5533 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Victoria Burrell left this review about The Royal Oak
Great beers. Beautiful oldy worldy pub in remote setting. Closed alot, but worth the trip!
On 11th February 2009
- rating: 10
[User has posted 5 recommendations about 5 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Nick Davies left this review about The Royal Oak
An excellent pub in every respect and a truly deserving Pub of the Year. All the Surrey Hills range - the Albury Ruby winter brew was as nectar - plus various others in perfect condition and a warm friendly welcome on a dreadful sleety day.
It's too good for a quick trip out: coupled with some other outstanding pubs hereabouts this would make an perfect target for a weekend expedition.
On 23rd November 2008
- rating: 10
[User has posted 578 recommendations about 570 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
train man left this review about The Royal Oak
ps. a new one on me - the beams at the bar carried some leather hanging straps enabling one to balance while drinking, in the way you would if swaying on a tube/train; I bet we've all been there!
Extra notes say trad wood tables/chairs in 'dining' room, & babbling brook in tiered garden, which I don't recall, but sounds lovely.
11 November 2008
I noticed this to be the sussex/surrey poty and, if you like a nice little local country pub, this is the real thing. Surrey Hills Ranmore Ale & Hammer Mild, Adur brewery's Merry Andrew (6.2%), 1648 Armistace, 1648 Festival40 had gone, Darkstar Best, Arundel Stronghold – a great line up justifying the rather tricky journey to get here. In addition, a separate bank of pumps for ciders/perries offered Cheddar Valley, Yarde, Prime Farmhouse, Hecks Perry, one unclipped, and the landlady was away in Somerset collecting more beers and ciders – an independent set-up as it should be. Kegs offered just guinness & stella, the latter carrying fake cobwebs thru disuse, haha!
Enter to a very low, narrowly beamed, ceiling around the facing bar, a dining room to the rt (with awkwardly placed dartboard), snug to the left with chesterfield sofa, wingback leather chairs, wood burning stove, ticking clock, beyond to the ‘country shop' which amounts to a storeroom for pickles and jams, chutney, horseradish, other bits, a couple of pine tables & a piano back here, so maybe it's an overspill room too. The bar itself seems the heart of the pub & was the gathering point for chatting locals, it sports some used pumpclips & was manned by a jovial barman. Lots of pumpkins displayed on picnic sets out front indicated a recent halloween competition &, by extension, show the pub to be a real family & community hub. Outside, a grassed area has an open-sided marquee/tent for smokers. A notice in one room suggests it was a stage stop for York in 1706 & one opp the loo bemoans the smoking ban & offers snuff samples at the bar! Various sarnies from £4, ham/egg/chips or ploughmans £8.50, evening meals seasonal & meats sourced within 10m radius, so the choice may be limited to a couple of dishes, a fresh approach I rather like. English fruit wines from Lugurshall winery £12btl.
I had intended taking the bus from Horsham to Kingsfold & approaching the pub cross-country from there, ended up walking the dangerous A24 from Warnham stn to Kingsfold, not something I would recommend. Once off-road I'm not sure that I kept to the path (unmarked, but presumed walkable from google satellite?) but left my muddy boots at door as the sign requested. A 2m walk back to Warnham stn, but rather safer along Fri St.
Nb. Royal Oak closes 3pm, so forget the pubs in Kingsfold & get here earlier than I did.
On 11th November 2008
- rating: 9
[User has posted 412 recommendations about 411 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
sara blunden left this review about The Royal Oak
Free house serving a choice of cask ales from local micro brewerys.8 hand pumps including a cider and a mild.Home cooked food using local ingredients.A real traditional pub.
On 28th August 2007
- rating: 10
[User has posted 1 recommendations about 1 pubs]