Royal Oak

After visiting the Columbia Street Flower market, we had a hankering for a Sunday roast and, voila, found the Royal Oak. There were several options for Sunday roast and we had three if them - all tasty and filling. The service was fairly prompt, the food hot, the drinks enjoyable. If you’re in the area, especially on a Sunday, give it a try.

This was genuinely one of the best roast dinners I’ve ever had. The service was excellent, the atmosphere warm and welcoming, and the roast itself was absolutely divine. We’re so glad we added the pigs in blankets and cauliflower cheese as sides—they really took the meal to the next level. The portion sizes were generous too. We left feeling full, satisfied, and genuinely happy.

An almost perfect Truman pub that has been updated without destroying the interior. I sometimes wonder if Truman's owned the factory that turned out the wood panelling that used to cover the walls of their pubs. And it's good to see the Royal Oak still has that panelling. Nice beer garden so we stopped for a couple of cooling pints and a few rays. Friendly service. Reasonable prices. Pretty empty on a Tuesday afternoon but so was the rest of Columbia Road. Enjoyed it.

Kudos to the chef and front of house staff for the delicious lunch my friends, family and I enjoyed today. From minestrone soup and to mushroom and gnocchi main, double smashed cheeseburger to my favourite, the spiced roast cauliflower, hummus and sun dried tomatoes. Everyone cleaned their plates with enthusiasm. Service was great and decor smart. Will definitely come back again. Thanks also to the chef for sharing the spice mix recipe.

We went there for the Sunday roast and it was so great! The food, the environment, the service : everything was so enjoyable and nice! We liked it very much and already plan to come back next time we visit London! Thank you to the staff for this great moment. Note: we recommend taking a reservation as we do as Sunday seems a really busy day.

I'm usually not into Sunday roasts as they tend to be bland in many places, but that's not the case here. The pork was absolutely delicious, super tasty and full of flavour. Same with the veggies. The smash burger was delicious too.

Nice busy pub in Columbia rd, bit noisy but the sunday toast was good.

Visited on a really busy sunday and loved it. Really friendly, knowledgeable staff. Excellent wine list (chilled Beaujolais👌) Really warm decor, nice courtyard garden, lovely food. Can’t go wrong.

WHOA. Sunday Sunday SUNDAY! I love Sunday Roast so much, I once made it for the premiere of The Walking Dead before. (A nod to its cast.) But mine wasn't NEARLY as good as Royal Oak's. Wait 'til you see the pics -- like a spread from Saveur. We were really hungry when we arrived. Getting through the crowded Flower Market was a workout in itself! We headed upstairs to a welcoming, daylight-bright dining room. My guy and I started with the asparagus risotto which turned out to be one of the BEST risottos I've ever had. No freaking joke. The al dente bite of the arborio rice, the creaminess, cheesiness, seasoning, and still-firm asparagus... I'm telling you. This is one of the best. (Our friends had the fried calamari which they enjoyed.) They each ordered one pork and one beef roast, while we ordered the chicken roast (serves 2 - 3.) And I don't want to brag or anything, but I think we hit on the winner winner chic.... Our server was super sweet. When we found out that only the beef roast dinner comes with Yorkshire pudding (I'm pretty sure we all gasped at that) she said that she would bring some puddings on the side for us. (Which were fabulous. I forgot to get a pic of them.) Let's get down to brass tacks now. The tender moist chicken roast was crowned by gently roasted carrots, flawless savory chard, fried potatoes - with a side of thin brown gravy. There were also three meatballs (?) that were eagerly eaten up by the table. Wow, I can STILL taste it. Drinks, plus risotto, calamaris, and the roast dinners came to about £160, which I thought was a great deal. One request, Royal Oak: Could you pretty please update your contact information so people can confirm reservations?

Having been to London a number of times, I try to stay in this area as much as possible. That said, I end up in this place more often than not and there is a reason...its great. They have many different beer and drink options, there are generally places to sit and the crowd here is always interactive and good fun. A perfect place to have a pint and relax. I will be back.

Ahhh, date night. I discovered this place on a date. It was the only good thing to come out of that night, and what a gem it is. I hope he doesn't read Yelp. The Royal Oak is a gem of a pub. It's wonderfully cosy, with a great central bar in the middle. I had walked past it loads but never actually been in for a drink until this evening and now it's becoming a bit of a regular hang out. They have The Stool Pigeon to flick through, a nice selection of wines and mulled wine to warm you up in winter. I also like the fact it's always busy, and you feel like you're arriving at a friends house. Very welcoming indeed. I can't wait to go back and try their dining rooms. The food sounds delish!

The Royal Oak is a typically quirky east London pub with a slightly vintage slant frequented by cool kids in the know. The pub downstairs in cosy and warm and the restaurant upstairs is unpretentious and has character. The quality of the food is fantastic and portions are generous. Prices range from around £10 - £15 for main courses. I've not been there when the Columbia Road flower market is open bit I've been told it is fantastic. The Royal Oak website shows that there is a cafe which would serve as the perfect respite. If you're in the area it is certainly worth visiting.

Nice little spot on Columbia road that's good for a pint in the garden or a more formal dinner upstairs. I haven't been in when it's overcrowded and I've been able to get service at the bar without much effort. Upstairs there is a delightful dinning room that opens at 7 pm. The food was very tasty and the server did not steer us wrong with her recommendations from the kitchen. I'd sort of like to keep the Pimms and house lemonade a secret, but if you head to the Royal Oak you'll figure it out how delicious it is anyway.

This bar really is too cool for school, no-one even batted an eyelid when two ridiculous drunks starting singing 'The Fields of Athenry' at top volume. And then again when one decided to sing the Irish national anthem. Well the girl in the denim hot pants and hideous tights and the numerous fellas in check shirts were probably cringing internally at our utterly un-coolness. Have to say I did not drink in the famed awesomeness of this place, it's just a pub really innit? Yeah the clientele are East London poseurs but if you try to ignore them, it's alright.

My afternoon at Royal Oak was royally delicious. After a romp through the flower market, The Royal Oak's bloody mary, Sunday roast and ice cold pint of cider all enjoyed in the sunny back garden truly set me straight for the upcoming week. The roast was delectable - two juicy slices of roast beef, plenty of steamed kale, sweet roasted carrot, crispy potatoes and a not-too-hard, not-too-soft yorkshire pud. I wasn't able to indulge in dessert, but I also nibbled on a Neal's Yard cheese board, and drooled over charcuterie plates being passed around the next table. I will say that RO was an unapologetic twat-epicentre, however I certainly wasn't complaining about the short-short cut offs that my darling bartender was pairing with his neon Miami tee. I was the visitor, not them... and I can appreciate that. This will forever be added to my ever growing list of lazy London Sunday musts.

We started with lunch upstairs, which was delicious. It was a Sunday so we all opted for the roast beef which came with a good amount of veg. I always find that the Brits go short on veg on Sundays so I was pleasantly surprised when I had a plate full of greens. The beef was cooked really nicely and the Yorkshire pudding was large enough to please everyone. I can also recommend the sticky toffee pudding. The crowd upstairs was a bit mixed--old, young and even really young. But overall, a very mellow and cordial group. It's also worth noting that there are prints handing in the restaurant that are for sale. I was tempted to buy one, but budgets prevented this random purchase. After a really long and enjoyable lunch, we decided that it was best to continue drinking downstairs as it was pouring down with rain outside. We definitely made the right decision. 4 or 5 bottles of wine later we were still having a super time. The pub is hull of hipsters, so if you like that sort of thing you'll fit right in. Or if you're not a big hipster, at least there's some good people watching. It was packed when we arrived, but after just a few short minutes we were able to get a table and stay for the rest of the day. The seats are haphazardly placed around the edge of the pub, suggesting that no thought or effort was put into the design. However I think it's quite the contrary... I think everything has been strategically haphazardly placed! I would definitely go back.

After a long, long, long cab ride we arrived at this place and were whisked up to the eating area upstairs... Ok, this is not a negative thing, but the 'old man drinking den' vibe down stairs was much more appealing! Upstairs in all fairness, was quite nice. Service was laid back to the point of possibly being poor, but was friendly enough all the same. I opted for a beer to start with and that was pretty nice, coming from a wee local craft brewer (I think). Starter was a stunning chorizo baw thang in a lovely sweet sauce. Perfect and just right with a nice IPA. At this point I'm thinking 4 star easy (despite the lax service... hey, we all have bad days!), but then my main came and i instantly deducted a star. I opted for the lamb stew and was so underwhelmed by the flavour that I reached for the salt and pepper within one bite. To say that it was rubbish would be entirely unfair, as it was OK. But given the price and the quality of the starter, it just felt very weak in comparison. A nice place. I'd like to have spent a little more time in the main bar, but it was not to be.

This is a review for the dining room upstairs, not the pub downstairs. Food: Fantastic. Delicious warm eggplant salad (it's still July 4th weekend, none of that silly 'aubergine' stuff, dammit) with pomegranate seeds and flatbread. Beautifully presented and delicious. I also had a tuna steak with capers that was very very good, although not done thick-sliced with a rare center (not centre...see what I'm doing there? HA) but surprisingly thin. Decor: Love it. Amazing large-scale screenprints from this gallery I love across the street of old English poems I remember from childhood and cuts of beef. I would like to purchase both of these or, ideally, receive them as presents. HINT HINT. Service: Lovely. General Atmosphere: Lovely Pitcher of Pimm's: Best I've ever had. Homemade lemonade, crisp and cold cucumber, lots of fruits, and a personal apology from the bartender that they were out of fresh mint. The upstairs doesn't have the attitude which I've noticed a bit from the bartenders downstairs, and overall the place is just wonderful.

Definitely a popular place to settle in after the Columbia Flower Market for your Sunday Roast! Ringing in at £19, you get a slice of roast, with yorkshire pudding, cooked greens, carrot mash (with wholegrain mustard), and deep fried potatoes slathered with some really really delicious gravy. I thought it was a bit pricey for roast (considering you can get it for much cheaper at other places around the city), but I think this is probably the better roast meal I've had in London in comparison to the £13 dishes I've had. I loved the greens, would happily ask for more to mop up the gravy (though there wasn't much left). I wasn't too keen on the carrot mash, so I think I'd ask for all the sides to be swapped out for the greens. yum! We also ordered a bowl of triple cooked chips for £3.50 - thick sizeable crispy chunks with garlic aioli. Some of the best fries I've had, very crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. Would come back again!

I feel really weirdly about liking the place as much as I did. East Londoners clearly rule the scene...and while I normally get a little irritated by a whole room of people trying so hard to look like they're not trying at all, I really liked this place. Hipsters, for all their faults, are usually easy on the eyes, and it was late enough in the evening that the pints made everything seem all good. I haven't had a chance to eat here, and by all appearances, this place seems like it would be like so many other pubs...but there's something about Royal Oak that feels a little different...a little cooler and more fun...like a place where something exciting could happen... Or maybe it's just the leftover bits of all those pints talking!

The famed Royal Oak on Columbia Road is just about as good a London pub as you're likely to find. In fact I'd wager a guess that if Richard Curtis and his filmic milieux ever widened their gaze to the East End this pub would feature and be ruined forever more. As things are, the Royal Oak is a great pub, and, in my experience, it's only unbearably busy on a Sunday after the flower market. An interesting hybrid of traditional British pub located in coveted conservation area Jesus Green and replete with gorgeous garden and staff so good looking beer goggles are superfluous, the Royal Oak is a treasure.

This place came highly recommended for Saturday afternoon drinks and quality affordable food - it did not dissapoint on either front! I had slow cooked pork ribs with field mushrooms, baby carrots and cheesy polenta - christ it was GOOD!!! Drink selection was good - staff were reasonably friendly and attentive - I'll be back!

Great place to come for a cheeky drink after spending a Sunday afternoon picking up some fabulous flowers on Columbia Road! There is always a great atmosphere in here and it's a nice place to catch up with friend They do great food and they have a nice selection of wines!

This is my favorite pub for the traditional Sunday roasted. On Sundays the Columbia road also turns into a flower market (open till 2pm) so what a lovely way to spend your day! This pub is so cozy with wooden floors and tables, a bit dark and usually pretty packed. They also have a good selection of board games so the staff really don't mind if you really spend the entire afternoon there, and also ask all your friends around. The food is way above average pub food - it is freshly made traditional but modern, good British food. I often go with the fish or vegetarian options, and it has always been a real treat. The food is not cheap but well money worth. During the summers there is separate cafe in the back garden where you can get the best coffee in that neighborhood, and really really cute baristas..

Ah, the Royal Oak, the quintessential English pub. More of a Gastro pub, the traditional British food isn't the cheapest option around, but it's worth the extra pennies. Great for Sunday lunch, head upstairs to the dining room. Bursting with people on a Sunday during the Flower Market, don't go in expecting to be able to sit down. The atmosphere makes up for the lack of seating and is, I think, far more preferable than a cold empty pub. If you can, grab a chair, a few friends, a board game, a bottle of wine and let the afternoon melt away. Lovely way to hide from the rain.

Columbia Road Flower Market on a sunny Sunday afternoon is terrifying. I didn't even try to get past the very fringes it was so rammed with hot & bothered yuppies. Luckily, the Royal Oak is at one end and had refreshing jugs of Bloody Mary at the ready. We ate upstairs in the dining room which has the air of a rustic period parlour, cosy and nice for a small group. My crab starter was underwhelming but the board of meat, pate and scotch egg I had afterwards was better. This was blown away by my friend's roast though which was really good - the lamb was fantastic - tender, juicy and full of flavour. All accompanying bits were good as well. Desserts were quite good - I liked the flavour combination of sweet banana and meringue with lime and hazelnut brittle, but my friends chocolate ganache looked like a really weird raw sausage which was a bit off putting although she at it all so it must have been good. So my tip for here would be - focus on the roast which is well above average for a pub Sunday lunch (which it should be at nearly £20). And you may need to be proactive with your server, they are pretty relaxed.

A perfect spot at the end of the flower market to warm-up and get some respite from the cold and rain. Plenty of space including a central bar area, with friendly prompt service, and a pleasant convivial atmosphere.

Bogged down with a couple of phallic looking cacti and a sprawling mass of birds of paradise bunches, I tend to throw down my bags on the porch of this wonderful, Victorian inspired pub 45 minutes after braving the 52 gardening pitches lining the road outside. There's an ornate 1923 Truman livery sign, shouting 'in between the wars' architecture that compliments its Victorian neighbours. There's your usual exposed floorboards, antique furniture (popular with yummy mummies and local 'yoof') with a bizarre, packed to the rafters outside space where smokers huddle. It would be criminal if you didn't come here and order the roast, in four years I have ordered nothing else (experimenting with side orders at a push!) Although comprising of a pub, upstairs dining room or cafe menu, with a new selection of New World wines you're really rather spoiled for choice. Sunday lunch is served (if you can pinch a table) between noon and four. I always opt for roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, cabbage sauteed with bacon, carrots and gravy for £14 which is worth that price tag for the American diner style portions, alongside hand cut chips if you're feeling good and a house salad if you're feeling not quite so bad! There's also decently kept beer Adnam's and Timothy Taylor on tap, with a drunken game of chess always available to chill out your Sunday and leave you feeling suitably stuffed. Also quite the place to impress a future amour and reel off a local history lesson!

One of the best beer gardens in shoreditch! Def one of my fave pubs out east. Love all the plants and chill atmosphere. Sadly in recent visits, they've tapped out of some of their beer and cider early in the evening. Super busy on Sunday's, and great roasts!

The Royal Oak took great care of my traveling staff members' dinner. They had a group of about 20, and everyone was fed and happy :) Special 'Thank You' to Glyn @ Royal Oak for keeping in contact with me here in the US to make the reservations and ensure everything was good to go - and to chat about the weather :) he was pretty tickled at California getting rain...hahaha!

One of my favourite locals... always full of an interesting mix of people - you have to hover around seats to try and get a seat but always worth waiting a bit. Nice bartenders .... quality house wines, yummy cider in the winter and really good food! Good for both hiding in a corner or sitting up on a bar stool people watching...... x

Second time coming here, three years apart, and still one of the best Sunday roasts I've ever had. The place is packed Sundays and service can be difficult - we had to circle for a seat at the bar for 15 minutes and then waited 45 minutes after placing our orders for food - but it's definitely worth every minute of the wait. If you're looking for a quaint and desolate little pub though, this isn't it.

We were a group of girls there for a birthday drink last night. The staff were so rude and seemed more interested in talking amongst themselves or moping about in their own self loathing rather than serve anyone. At half ten they turned on the lights and one of previously ineffectual staff managed to push an arm in and round up 4 half full glasses of red wine by sloshing his finger into each glass. Upon our protest that we were still drinking he put them back down expecting us to down our now fouled drinks. Its always a disappointment when a lovely pub like this is let down by the people out front.

Hipster central. Bring ur beards and skinny jeans and settle in for a mediocre pint of trying too hard.

I could not have been happier. Upscale pub food and a great atmosphere. I highly recommend this pub if you are in the area.

they make by far the best bloody marys ive tasted in london. sunday brunch post flower market is great, but keep in mind it gets pretty packed (you can reserve seating upstairs, but not for large parties.) the food is nicer than your usual pub grub and is always beautifully presented. in the summer time, consider a jug of vodka lemonade in the early afternoon, on the back terrace. good hangs.

One of my favourite places (aside from my parents' house) to have a Sunday roast after a potter round the flower market and maybe Brick Lane if I've been feeling particularly energetic. The decor is unobtrusive but lovely and cosy, lots of wood and the lightings nice and soft for those Sunday hangovers, they've kept all the nice bits of a traditional country pub and jettisoned all the rubbish. The food is seriously tasty - if you get there early enough to get a table. It gets so busy at the weekend. There's also a dining room upstairs but this packs out with reservations and closes in the evening. The courtyard out the back is also nice in summer.

The Royal Oak is a bit of a gem in the area. Though it can get VERY VERY busy and take some time to get served. The staff can be a little unhelpful and cold (maybe more concerned with looking cool than providing a friendly service!) but overall it's a nice pub with a fun atmosphere! A must visit if you are in the area

this was recommended to me ages ago from my brit pal. i finally headed there for a sunday roast (my first) as fellow yanks were in town. the place was buistling sunday afternoon. we had strolled down the flower market to the cozy spot. we managed to occupy a big table by slowly squeezing in at a corner of a table and taking it over as our table mates departed. pints of guiness with roast beef. nom nom! they have a nice portion of veg to tatters too. BONUS: we spied emma watson having pints at the bar with a gentleman friend.

Sunday Roast: The pub was emptier than I expected at noon on a Sunday given that it is in the heart of the Columbia Road Flower Market, but it filled up after a few hours. We had reserved a table upstairs for a roast and were sat by the window upstairs. The food was decent, although the roast beef was severely undercooked in parts, which is surprising since it's a roast and probably was cooking for hours... The sides were all good though. The bloody mary had a nice flavor, but not as amazing as the other reviewers say- most notably because there was barely any ice in it. No olives or celery either- two items I consider staples in a good bloody mary. (Yes, I am a bloody mary connoisseur!) I'd return on a Sunday, after or before a stop at the flower market, but wouldn't make a trip there any other day, most likely.

This is a nice pub for a pint on Sundays after perusing the flower market. The roasts being served always look really good. The main problem is trying to fight your way through the crowd to find a seat or order your pint. It's definitely better to go here on a quiet week night. I hear Friday and Saturday nights are quite busy. Getting a roast after the crowds on Sundays can be hard, as it's usually sold out. That can be disappointing.

Beautiful pub on a beautiful road! This is a great place to have a drink. The staff are really friendly and it has a great atmosphere which feels very inviting (unlike some other trendy pubs of the area!). I've eaten here once and was a little disappointed with my burger (quite dry). Other than that though, would definitely recommend!

This place changed management somewhere around July 2008 and the standards have sadly dropped - staff aloof and food mediocre, From the refurb from nasty old boozer in January 2005 to July 2008 this place was the best gastropub food and good service we have been back 3 times since July and all crap experiences, probably somewhat due to the fact that the new staff all look disabled versions of Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty and need a good wash and a clean crack pipe.

Jug of vodka lemonade in the summer= drunk daze at 1pm. This place is such a cute pub, and the back terrace is even cuter. Quriky seating + cute flowers and bright bricks remind me of my grandma's terrace in Mexico. I also dig the old photographs and moose head. I wish I had spent more time here, but I'm sure my liver would have started failing me if that had been the case.

Have not tried the food yet but it was brilliant place to grab a quick pint after braving the perils of the flower market. Relaxed conversations and laid back tempo. While the Sunday blooms outside we're wilting away in the heatstroke-inducing sun, we we're perched at the bar sipping chilly Hoegaarden with lemon. Lovely.

only had drinks here, as the place was packed. it was a sunday afternoon just as the flower market was (supposed to be) winding down so it's of little wonder. liked the look and feel of the place, though, and wouldn't mind checking it out on a less chaotic occasion.

This place has improved over the last year. As has been mentioned a couple of times, the staff were surly, inattentive and joyless. They gave the impression they did not want to be there and they did not want you there either. However there seems to have been a change of attitude and a tinkering of the staff personnel. While you could not say they were fresh breezes of happiness, the current bunch are polite and reasonably efficient. You'd never go there for bar-staff bonhomie but at least its not a reason to avoid any more. All the other good things remain; the food, the interior (wood and big windows), and nice horse-shoe bar and of course. The upstairs restaurant is well worth checking out. The food is great (similar but somehow seems better than the stuff served downstairs) and has always had very good staff. But the punters seem to have changed to rent-a-middle class types and while chatty are not really ready to mix. They keep to themselves in their own groups. Is it because they have travelled to the 'dangerous east end' from Notting Hill Gate and are too scared to look at anyone? Who knows and frankly, who cares. The remaining gripes are the price of wines (good selection mind), it can get very very busy at weekends and the standard of the lager beers.