The Royal Oak, Borough, SE1

I know its a favourite but not my style of pub.Bit too traditional.6 beers on my visit so I tied their 2 milds.Dull and duller and not to my taste.

Superb pub with everything going for it. Different ales than the usual fare and all the better for it. Small selection of books on offer for sale too.

Small London boozer, run by Harveys, with two rooms either side of the bar. Traditional, wood floors, benches, with large windows to the street making it light and airy. The beer was kept ok, but not to my personal taste.

This pub’s reputation as one of the capital’s finest seems to me to be well deserved. It’s a traditional, back street pub with two rooms and a small, reception style area that suggests it may once have been the section used for off-sales. The servery is an open area, allowing you to see through to the other room and also retains a hatch to the lobby, although whether anyone gets served through it now is unclear. Walls are half panelled and the floorboards are exposed, covered in places by well worn rugs. The larger of the two rooms benefits from large windows which make it quite light and airy in the day and, despite being partially screened with net curtains, also look out over the modern flats that surround the pub. Harvey’s brewery photos line the walls and what appear to be Christmas decorations still hang in front of the windows in mid March. Seating is fairly standard with simple table and chair arrangements in both rooms. A number of second-hand books were for sale on a shelf in the little lobby area. Beer is from Harvey’s and on my recent visit I had a choice of Sussex Best, Mild, Old Ale, Armada Ale and Pale, each priced according to their strength and listed on a board behind the bar. My pint of Mild was in top condition, as was to be expected. In keeping with traditions of old, a jar of pickled eggs was standing proud on the bar counter, although I didn’t dare try one myself. All in all, a very charming and enjoyable pub and one that I’m sure I will continue to return to in the future. Harvey’s should be very proud of their sole London representative.

Pub refurbishments are usually disastrous. Perfectly good pubs are mercilessly lobotomised into some North London design consultancy's idea of what a pub should be, removing all character and atmosphere in the process. The Royal Oak is the exception that proves the rule. Harvey's took what was a so-so back street Courage pub, the sort which would be flats by now, and turned it into one of the leading real ale houses in the metropolis. The marvel of it is that everyone thinks they're in an unspoilt Victorian local, not a recent renovation. It's a two bar layout, a lighter, more open pubic bar separated from the cosier saloon by a lobby reminiscent of the traditional "jug and bottle" servery common before off-licences came along. There's always at least five Harvey's ales on: mild, pale, best, armada, old, and maybe one of their seasonal brews. The Fuller's beer is something of a cuckoo in the nest. It's there for the benefit of the regulars in the Lewes Arms, a long story, but my guess is that far more Harvey's gets drunk in the Lewes Arms than Fuller's in the Oak. It is of course a GBG regular, and winner of many awards. One of the best pubs in the capital, it's worth mounting a major expedition to visit it.

I can only echo previous reviews. I had a superb pint of Harveys' Mild in here yesterday lunchtime, and the other members of my party enjoyed their pints of Old, Porter and real cider. It is a fairly simple, traditional boozer in terms of layout with the two seperate bars and the wooden furniture. If I lived in London I could see this becoming a regular haunt.

A superb Victorian street corner local with the different rooms still separated by wood and glass screens. A very well looked after pub. Has a good range of very well kept Harveys ales and normally one Fullers ale on.

I was in here last week for the first time since we had a BITE meet up here over a year ago. Its still a very good Pub and the selection of Harveys Ales on Tap was excellent. Its a nice Old style Pub thats well looked after by the Staff & customers alike. I found Staff very friendly & welcoming and all four Ales I tried were in excellent condition. I would definitely recommend a visit too this Pub if your in the area.