Smokin' Oaks

It was slightly unfortunate that on the day we visited the newly-refurbed Royal Oak in Woodstock Road, the autumn/ winter menu had been introduced, because it was so hot and sunny outside that most of the clientele were sunning themselves on the patio in their T-shirts.

Warm pork belly is lovely in front of a roaring fire while the wind whistles down the chimney, but not outside with a shandy and sunblock.

None of this however is the fault of The Royal Oak whose metamorphosis is inspirational, both in and out of the kitchen. And by the time you read this, if the weather forecasters are right, we’ll all be snowed in, so the food will be spot on.

I used to work at The Royal Oak years ago when I was a student. I manned the smaller of the two bars and had a hefty crowd of regulars. I was a good barmaid actually but as nothing could come between me and a good party, my workshy excuses went from the sublime to the ridiculous. Even the locals couldn’t save me from being fired when I rang up and the landlord asked in a resigned voice whether I’d been flooded this time, taking the words right out of my mouth.

Yet when I walked into the newly-refurbished interior, for a second, time stood still because it smelt exactly the same, which was wonderfully nostalgic. Back then The Royal Oak was always busy, and judging by the feedback pouring in, it’s back on track. What happened in the middle I’m not sure, but if you want a really good home-cooked meal in a wonderfully ambient Oxford pub, then you’re on to a winner here. And being so close to town, it’s the perfect place to escape the crowds and chain restaurants for some good tucker.

It’s a vast pub, so it takes a while to walk around the oval interior and choose a good spot, and even longer to choose from the menu because it all sounds so delicious.

In fact, our barman cum waiter had to come back three times before we managed to wheel out a reluctant selection, opting for the potted smoked mackerel with horseradish and toast (£5.25), which came in a little ramekin with a butter seal. Perfect. And the fried halloumi, toasted couscous, bean and avocado salad with a lemon and chilli dressing (£5.25) which was a bit lightweight for me – I would have liked a more balsy dressing, but nice nonetheless.

Then on to the smoked haddock on bubble & squeak with poached egg and white wine and chive cream sauce (£10.25) which I could have eaten twice over. Beautifully cooked, the sauce and delicate fish flavours had me in raptures. The pork belly with balsamic beetroot, sweet potato and apple salad (a stunningly priced £8.50) was slightly on the dry side and the sauce was perhaps a tiny bit acidic, but otherwise a lovely seasonal dish.

The only stain on an otherwise spotless copybook was the rather bizarre chocolate and beetroot brownie with vanilla pod ice cream (£4.75).

Firstly the brownie wasn’t crisp on top, and it tasted more like the insides of a Christmas pudding without the spice, secondly, without wanting to sound like a blue movie voice-over, it had none of the sticky/hard thing going on. Plus, it tasted like root vegetables, and could have been a parsnip brownie for all I knew, which wasn’t something I wanted to eat anyway. Chocolate brownies are called chocolate for a reason!

But none of my itty-bitty criticisms could mar a lovely meal in this fabulous pub, which still scores 9/10 overall.

Because if value for money and quality cooking are your benchmarks then you can’t beat The Royal Oak. Besides, what’s a root vegetable between friends?

* The Royal Oak is at 42-44 Woodstock Road, Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6HT. Call 01865 310187. It is currently offering a fixed price menu of two courses for £8.50 and three for £11.