The Royal Oak is Dan Doherty’s new venture which he opened up in the summer of 2018 after making a name for himself as Head Chef of the Duck and Waffle.
I’ve visited Duck and Waffle for both breakfast and for dinner too which I’ve enjoyed but I was really excited to hear that Dan’s newest venture is a pub. A restaurant is lovely but I think you can’t beat a really good pub and sadly, there aren’t many great pubs around.
The Royal Oak, based in Marylebone has slowly expanded its menu over its first few months – according to an Instagram post on Dan’s page, he opened up with no ovens which meant he could only serve drinks and cold food items for the first few days. If that’s not bravery I don’t know what is! After seeing images of Dan’s new menu on his instagram page as he slowly expanded his menu, I knew I had to get myself down there to try it for myself.
The Royal Oak – What We Ordered:
We tried The Royal Oak on a Sunday which meant that we were able to try the Sunday menu which was filled with delicious roast options (the pork belly and crackling looks amazing).
If you’ve read my Tramshed or Duck and Waffle reviews then you’ll know how much I love a whole roasted chicken if it’s ever on the menu.
Naturally, we ordered the Castlemead Chicken (£36) which is a WHOLE roasted chicken served with stuffing and bread sauce which arrives on a platter, surrounded with crispy roasted potatoes, huge yorkshire puddings and a bowl of roasted vegetables. The chicken skin was super crispy, the meat was soft and juicy and the lemon and herbs that were stuffed into the chicken gave it a delicious flavour.
One tiny little gravy boat arrived with the giant platter of food but a second gravy boat arrived shortly afterwards (without us asking) which was perfect as it meant there was one each.
The pub itself had a chilled out, relaxed atmosphere with families, friends and drinkers all enjoying their Sunday afternoon. The wooden tables let the food shine and (quite rightly) take all the glory and the bar looked modern and well stocked with a good selection of gins on offer.
I had my eye on the Warm Chocolate Pudding with Salted Caramel Ice-cream (£8) for dessert but by the time I’d finished my chicken I was absolutely stuffed so I’ll have to try that next time.
The Royal Oak – 4/5
This is the perfect Sunday roast pub, I’ve already recommended it to lots of my friends!
Food – 4/5
Service – 4/5
Decor / Ambience – 4/5
The roast chicken, a glass of wine and a soft drink cost £48.67 for two people, including service.
Have you visited The Royal Oak before? Feeling Inspired? Check out my London restaurant hit list!
The Royal Oak
74-76 York Street
Marylebone
London
W1H 1QN
Never heard of this place, great blog post Freya!
Ah memories – from 1983 to 1986 it used to be my local and I was there most evenings!! Don’t remember it serving food though!