The Royal Oak, Dorking

Much as described below,this pub was refurbished a couple of years back to give a somewhat clinical atmosphere,given the age of the building.Arriving on foot during a long December walk, we were rather impressed with the elegant verandah in front, redolent of summer evenings. Inside, comfortable furnishings, some flags on the floor,dogs and their hearty owners.On the bar,along side various keg fonts are four handpumps, serving, on our visit,two beers from the pub's own Felday Brewery (housed in a neat shed out back, and a couple of guests, including an excellent pint of Black Troll, from the local Tillingbourne Brewery. We sat upstairs in the overspill garden room, and enjoyed our beer and burgers. Service was jolly and efficient:well worth a visit.

Still very much the same as described by Malden man some six years ago,there was only a choice of two ales from the four handles,Young's Bitter and the local Surrey Hills Shere Drop. A pleasant enough country pub should you be passing.

This was a brief refuelling stop while on a walk in the area. A pleasantly located country pub in the shadow of the imposing village church and set back from the road off the green. The main bar at the front has two fireplaces, one each end with the right sided one having an old oil lamp set in a recess. The bar is straight ahead and returns to the side on the left. Probably suggestive of a previous layout, the flooring is in three types, centre carpeted, wooden to the right and quarry tiled to the left. Seating is generally rustic with pew style benches and chairs. To the left and up some stairs which are signed to the toilets is a later extended area forming a rectangular room with doors onto the rear garden. This room was rather plain in comparison with the bar and the ambience not helped by the presence of a couple of ugly catering type tables. There are two sunny garden areas, front and back, with the usual picnic benches although the rear area has a few carved wooden mushroom shaped seats/tables. Three beers on handpump, Black Sheep Bitter, St Austell Tribute and Young's Bitter. I don't know the price of a pint but I felt £7.60 for a pint of Tribute, a pint of lime and soda, a coke and two packets of crisps was pretty good these days, especially in a location like this. People outside were finishing meals late afternoon but I didn't see any menus around.

Reasonable pub in a rather strange village, I don't really have anything against this pub although the food was a tad disappointing on visit. However its a decent place to stop off in the countryside.

This 17th Century country pub lies on a village green opposite a picturesque church in this small hamlet near Dorking. The road was once a popular route from London to Portsmouth and this led to the village and pub being popular with smugglers as well as receiving more notable visitors that included George II and William Pitt the Elder. Parts of the pub have been modernised but it has all been done fairly tastefully. The main front bar has low ceilings, a couple of old fireplaces (one of which now doubles up as a display cabinet) and is generally a pretty comfortable place to while away a couple of hours. To the rear, up a few steps, is a light and airy dining room extension and beyond is a spacious and tidy beer garden. There is also plenty of bench seating out the front making it a decent summer’s day retreat and the pub is very popular among the rambling fraternity with several good walks radiating to and from the pub. The 3 Ales available when I visited consisted of Adnams Broadside, Ringwood Best and Youngs Ordinary, not the greatest of choices especially given that a further 4 pumps were unused. Prices were also a bit steep, service was a bit on the slow side and measures were economical to put it politely. It is geared more toward diners, especially during the daytime although I didn’t really take much notice of the food available at the time of my visit. It is certainly an idyllic spot and worth popping in if passing by, perhaps combining it with a walk but you get the impression it should be so much better. At the moment doesn’t really do enough for me to warrant making a specific journey.