User name:

Password:

Login


Sign in with Facebook


Not already a member?
Join our community and - Rate & review pubs - Upload pictures - Add events JOIN for free NOW


Chat about:
New pub visits 2024 with Brainypool on the Pub Forum

The Royal Oak, Guildford

Sydenham Road
Guildford
GU1 3RR
Phone: 01483459023

Return to pub summary

Pub Type

Fuller's
Page: 1 2

Reviews (Current Rating Average: of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Pub SignMan left this review about The Royal Oak

This is a nice little Fullers pub that is well located for the castle and backs onto the Holy Trinity Church. Entering from the castle side, you pass through a cosy little, split-level front garden area with some nice, secluded seating options. From here, you enter into a compact single room with the servery down the left-hand wall and the remains of a former partitioning wall through the centre just about visible, suggesting a previous two bar layout. The room has a mixture of carpet, bare floorboards, and some attractive patterned tiles, mainly around the bar area, whilst the walls are mainly painted in neutral shades, but also have some fancy modern wallpaper here and there plus a little exposed brickwork, mainly around the right-hand side fireplace. High tables and stools stand opposite the bar, with comfy banquettes and standard chairs to the rear and some decent sofas and armchairs around the fireplace. The bar has a traditional dark wood counter and contrasting modern white tiled bar back, whilst the walls are decorated with lots of small portraits and paintings, with a mounted stag’s head above the fire. The cosy feel is topped off by the obligatory dark beams that cross the ceiling and give the place a bit of a country pub feel. A door to the rear leads out to a passageway behind the pub, where a few more seats can be found with views across the adjacent cemetery.
On the bar, five from the wider Fullers portfolio could be found on handpull – London Pride, HSB, Oliver’s Island plus Dark Star Pacific Dawn IPA and APA. I opted for the Pacific Dawn IPA, served to me by a very chipper barman and in very good condition. Having walked here from Farnham on a very hot day, I was in no state to sit in the pub, so I took my beer out the back and perched on a bench next to the church yard, from where I could watch a surprising amount of people coming and going.
Despite not getting to spend that much time inside this fine little pub, I still saw enough to convince me that it’s one of the better boozers in the town centre. A decent selection of well-kept Fullers ales, comfy furnishings and cheery staff made this a successful visit and I’d say it’s as good a bet as anywhere in town.

Date of visit - 24th June 2023

On 11th December 2023 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3102 recommendations about 3102 pubs]


Graham Coombs left this review about The Royal Oak

As others have mentioned, this is tucked away in a quiet corner in a world removed from the nearby High St . The historic, dark, slightly over-the-top interior has beams, fake library wallpaper and various furniture including armchairs. The only slight jarring notes are the racks of snacks hanging on the front of the bar and the naff music. Beers are from the Fuller's range plus a guest (Butcombe Rare Breeds on this visit). Rather pleasant on the whole.

On 17th June 2023 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3322 recommendations about 3259 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Danny O'Revey left this review about The Royal Oak

Nice old pub, hidden behind the church, a bit locally, but decent

On 18th September 2019 - rating: 7
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Alan Winfield left this review about The Royal Oak

The Royal Oak is a decent looking pub that i thing has two entrances,i went into the entrance off Sydenham Road where you have to go down steps to get into the pub.
Once inside there was a square shaped room with the bar on the left side,the room is bare boarded,the seating is Bench seating and normal tables and chairs,plus a few tall tables and chairs.
The pub is a Fullers tied house and there were five real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Fullers Southern Star which went down well,the other Fullers beers were London Pride,ESB,Gales Seafarers and Gales HSB.
Food was being served but you could sit anywhere.
Quiet background music was playing.
I was quite happy having a drink in this pub.

Pub visited 13/5/2017

On 1st August 2017 - rating: 7
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Moby Duck left this review about The Royal Oak

Nice old pub as described by Malden Man below, white walls and dark stained oak beams inside, sadly no beer festival on my visit but still five beers available,four from Fullers as you would expect,these were Chiswick,Pride,ESB and HSB with a guest of Butcombe Rare Breed which was OK if nothing special.
Worth calling in for a pint here.

On 23rd March 2015 - rating: 7
[User has posted 1868 recommendations about 1841 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Malden man left this review about The Royal Oak

Situated up a hill behind Trinity Church off the main High Street, this is an attractive Fullers, ex-Gales, house with floral displays and a few seats overlooking the old graveyard. Inside there is a single room with a couple of alcove corners, bar to one side, carpeted and with mixed if mostly regular seating at largish rectangular tables. Hops draped around the bar back, shelves with copper and brass artefacts, a selection of 40s and 50s Bakelite radios, beer bottles along the fireplace hearth. One corner has a musical theme with guitars, drumsticks, gold discs by Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. A front corner has a dartboard. A few board games are available as well as a shove ha'penny board and a chequers/chess set. A shelf houses back issues of the GBG.
I popped in here for a quick one after a shopping trip, expecting a routine Fullers pub however totally unexpected I walked into a beer festival with around eight on stillage and five or six on handpumps. Sadly for me I was on call for work so couldn't really take full advantage but I enjoyed halves of Notebook Puffin and Wood Street Loquat.
Music played quietly, a TV had American MLS "soccer" on muted.
I enjoyed my visit here a great deal despite the restrictions on my stay, the beer festival obviously enhanced this but the pub quality shines through anyway. I'll no doubt pop back again on a more routine day to verify this.

On 25th August 2014 - rating: 7
[User has posted 1707 recommendations about 1681 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Quinno _ left this review about The Royal Oak

A Fullers outlet, with a sunken entrance from the main road but on a level with the graveyard at the rear. Certainly the most characterful pub on my Guildford crawl; a heavy music slant with gold discs etc on the walls and a worn (if fairly comfy) ambience, such as the clinging-to-life carpet. Some faux-rusticness inside with a number of timber beams on the ceiling. Usual Fullers beer range available and my HSB was good. A bit of atmosphere as the place was pretty busy with a fair number watching the football and playing darts; I didn’t notice a bar billiards table as mentioned elsewhere but I wasn’t actively looking, to be fair. There is a very small patio area overlooking the graveyard of the Holy Trinity church and a nicer outside area at the entrance off the main road. Some CAMRA mags spotted by the entrance, unseen elsewhere on our crawl. In a town chock-full of middling pubs this is worth the walk up the hill to sample.

On 8th October 2013 - rating: 7
[User has posted 5050 recommendations about 5033 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


dave stray left this review about The Royal Oak

Very good beers on. Does have the unfortnate downsides of the locals clogging up at the bar area, so can feel uncomfortable ordering a drink. It is very much a locals pub, but not unfriendly.

On 6th June 2012 - rating: 6
[User has posted 265 recommendations about 183 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


John Bonser left this review about The Royal Oak

Situated just off the High Street and overlooking the historic Trinity Churchyard is The Royal Oak, a pub that retains dark beams, but has evidently been much altered inside with seemingly little, if anything, original remaining.

From the Sydenham Road entrance, half a dozen or so steps lead down to the pub where, on the bar counter, a small advertising flyer exhorts us to “Visit one of the oldest pubs in Guildford” and tells us that it is “Under New Management”. I’ve often wondered why pubs appear to use a change of management in itself as a prime selling point – after all the “new” management might be either better or worse than the previous incumbents. Why not just say “Under Improved Management”, which is effectively the impression they are trying to convey. In any event, a successful Beer and Cider Festival had recently been held over the late August Bank Holiday and – a nice touch this – a notice prominently displayed thanked everyone for their support. Posters advertised the pub’s forthcoming Halloween Party – “The Royal Oak Fright Night”.

It’s a pleasant, if rather standard, carpeted interior with the usual mixture of sofas, armchairs, chairs stools and different seating areas. In one corner are some framed Double Gold Discs limited collectors issue items of Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix records. During my visit, a long haired rather scruffy looking chap appeared behind the bar wearing a Led Zeppelin T shirt and I imagine that he is the new landlord.

Rather perilously close together in another corner of the room is a dartboard and bar billiards table. Some shelves contain a small collection of old retro radios.

Some seats outside at the back are virtually right on the edge of the churchyard and it did feel rather weird sitting there with concrete gravestone slabs little more than a couple of feet away.

It’s a Fullers ( ex – Gales ) pub which was serving Bengal Lancer, HSB, London Pride and, notably, Hobgoblin.

At the end of the day, I thought this was a fairly average, run of the mill place

On 28th October 2011 - rating: 6
[User has posted 560 recommendations about 560 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Roger Button left this review about The Royal Oak

The Royal Oak is one of Guildford’s oldest pubs and is pleasantly situated overlooking the Holy Trinity churchyard. Part of the pub used to be the rectory and dates back to the 15th Century.

The traditional style interior consists of a single carpeted room with a fairly generic feel, beamed ceilins, a few modern pictures and whilst cosy enough, there isn’t really a great deal that really grabs the attention. It’s also not really a place for a peaceful pint with loud music (as well as regular live bands) and a fairly raucous but seemingly friendly enough customer base on my visit.

The pub is part of the Fullers group but the ale choice wasn’t very extensive with just HSB and London Pride available for my visit and a third pump unused.

The pub was closed for a few weeks earlier in the year but has now reopened although I am not aware of any material changes since my visit. Whilst it isn’t an essential pub to visit, I wouldn’t have any problems stopping by for a pint when next in town.

On 18th April 2011 - rating: 5
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]

Page: 1 2