The Royal Oak, Highams Park, Woodford Green

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Aqualung . left this review about The Royal Oak

Visit 24th November 2014

The beer line up here has improved. Today it was Pride, Doom Bore, Hobgoblin and Wild Card King of Hearts which was in first class condition at £3.40 a pint.
According to their twitter feed they are getting in two extra hand pumps for Locale beers which could make it a real contender for the best beer house in the Woodford Green area. Score upped a point to 7 and hoping it will increase next time I look in.

Visit Augaust 2014

After a 13 week major refurbishment this pub opened today (6th August).
Contrary to a story in the local rag it has not been renamed other than adding a footnote to make it the Royal Oak Pub & Kitchen. I've no idea what it was like before but it is now a single bar area with the kitchen on the right, a dining room on the left and there is a garden area that I failed to find the entrance to. It has been updated to a very high standard with air-conditioning, double glazing, wooden floors and exposed brickwork. This is all somewhat ruined by the presence of two large TV screens, admittedly with the sound off but it was some Sky Channel or other where they were banging on about footbore. I was tempted to ask if they would turn it over to Flog It! but thought better of it.
There are four handpumps on the bar but only three were in use on my visit with the wholly disappointing selection of Bombardier, London Pride or Doom Bore. I went for the Doom Bore (£3.40) which was about as good as it's ever going to be.
I looked at the food menu and to me it all looked like fairly standard pub grub with everything apart from the steaks weighing in at under a tenner.
This pub is part of a chain that includes pubs called Tommy Flynn's. This chain may or may not be a sub-division of the Spirit Pub Company but I'm fairly sure the local rag was expecting it to become a Tommy Flynn's. It promotes itself as a family friendly pub, which again makes the TV screens seem a bit incongruous.
All in all I found this a pleasant enough place but they are going to have to up their game with the ale selection to make me want to come back. I would avoid drinking any of those beers in a Spoons let alone somewhere charging nearly three and a half quid a pint.

On 24^th November 2014 - rating: 7
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