Royal Oak Inn, Blandford Forum

A busy village pub on the main road. It has a reasonable car park and tends to get a lot of tourists, both those passing and grockles from the nearby caravan park. There are three bars, two carpeted and used principally by diners. The furniture is well-used and pretty standard. There is a large, impressive bay window at the front, a contrast to the industrial-looking food servery opposite the front door. There is also a selection of books available for loan, mostly paperback novels. The third bar is a public bar, formerly a 'jug and bottle'. This room has a dartboard, tv screen and bare floor, and it leads to a skittle alley. The staff were very friendly and, in a couple of cases, very easy on the eye. The food is normal pub grub, supplemented with theme nights – steak night, curry night, Caribbean night and so on. They also run a takeaway pizza service at a reasonable price. There were 2 ciders on gravity behind the bar and two ales on draft. I had a pint of Thatchers Cheddar Cider, served at room temperature and most refreshing. The pub is in need of redecorating but I would be happy to pop in for an inexpensive lunch or a few beers anytime.