The Royal Oak, Whatcote, Shipston-On-Stour

Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Royal Oak

The village of Whatcote is well off the beaten track. I wasn't sure what to expect of this pub as it hasn't been in the Good Beer Guide since 2006 and they currently have a Michelin star. As such, I expected more of a restaurant than a pub. In fact, I wasn't sure whether or not they would actually be open on my Wednesday evening visit, with conflicting reports online.

I did find the pub open and their adjacent car park was actually full. Speaking to the landlady, they only open on a Wednesday if they have enough food bookings. It seems they are certainly closed on a Monday and a Tuesday.

As I entered with the dining area off to the left with all tables occupied from what I could see, I thought it polite to ask the landlady if I was ok just coming in for a beer. I was bowled over with how friendly she was and we soon got talking about my aim to visit as many pubs across the country as possible. Places like this can often be extremely pretentious but I found the Royal Oak and its landlord/landlady to be exactly the opposite. In fact, she had soon informed her (I assume) husband about my visit and he quickly took a break from cooking Michelin-star meals to meet me!

Whilst the left-hand side of the pub is given over to dining, there is a larger space to the right which is still a bar area. There is a pleasant area next to a large fireplace where one table has a chessboard on it and another games room area further on with a pool table and a dartboard. Beams give the pub plenty of character and it appears that this is yet another pub that has claims to be the oldest in England. Oliver Cromwell and/or his officers appear to have spent time here. Refurbishments have taken place, but the pub still possesses a fair amount of character and some original features have been exposed by the works.

There are still a handful of locals who come in for a drink each evening they are open. In a village of around 100 inhabitants with not much else around, you can see why the main business of this pub is now its food. It' was really good to see that they haven't neglected the local drinkers and have kept the village pub open.

There are 2 handpulls on the bar, with just one regularly in action. The cask ale is North Cotswold Windrush Ale, which I found in excellent condition. You could tell that the landlady took pride in her beer quality. Hogan's Dry was the cider.

This is a wonderful old village pub still serving the local community but clearly also serving top notch food. It was not at all what I was anticipating and I thoroughly enjoyed my visit here.

On 16^th June 2025 - rating: 7
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