Royal Oak

Love this pub, one of my favourites. If you fancy a nice drive in the countryside, this is the place to go. Although it’s slightly expensive, the food is lovely. You can sit inside on a cold, winters day or evening & sit by the fireplace, with a nice drink, indulging in the food, or on a hot day, you can sit outside & take in the fresh air. It’s tucked away in the other side of the Devils dyke, but i would definitely recommend it!

The Royal Oak is a country pub in the South Downs village of Poynings. It has a seasonal menu (changes every few months) but has some stalwarts on there that never change (Harvey’s Beer Battered Fish and Chips is my favourite!).
I recently had the chilli con carne and it was amazing. Slow braised beef in a rich chilli; I would’ve preferred slightly hotter but that is almost always true when I eat hot foods. I washed it down with a pint of Sussex Best Harveys!
The pub has a a lovely village atmosphere; lots of locals standing at the bar and chatting so if you like peace and quiet then you should request a table towards the back of the pub. We prefer the noise and so eat in the main bar area next to the log fire.

Love this pub… Serving quality food all year round, it’s the right place for any intrepid walkers who are making their way across the South Downs in summer to find a refreshing pint of Perry… Or, if in winter, it’s a haven to drive to to warm your bones at. Situated right in the heart of Poynnings, with a large car park out back, you’re always likely to find a table here.
Choose from the specials menu up on the board, or order off the main menu… And you won’t be disappointed. Food here it top quality and has a good hearty selection of traditional English faire to choose from. Even the vegetarian options (of which there are quite a few) are filling and tasty.
Drinks wise, they offer a good selection of English ales, some lagers too (Carling and Fosters being two), as well as my all time summer favourite — Perry (a pear cider).
The drinks are standard prices, while the food is mid-​pricey… Though, it’s worth it, and is as tasty as it gets.
Beer garden outside too…

Really cute little country pub situated at the foot of the Downs. Had a roast dinner here and was very impressed, really good quality meat sourced from within the village, nice selection of veggies and a yorkshire pud. There was a great choice — beef, lamb, chicken, pork or nut roast, plus the standard menu which featured such treats as venison burger — I shall have to go back!
The apple and treacle pud with crème anglaise was to die for. I shared one with my friend but really should have had one for myself, it turned in to a battle of the spoons!
The pub itself is beautifully styled, there is plenty of seating in lots of crevices and corners, its modern and bright but with lovely open fires. The wait staff were friendly and helpful and the manager came over at the end of the meal to check that everything was ok with the food.
A really pleasant dining experience just outside of Brighton. Would definitely like to revisit in the summer, combined with a nice walk over the Downs and a refreshing pint or two in the garden!

Went on Sunday and the staff were appalling. They have a gigantic outside seating area and no way to handle that capacity. Food was supposed to take an hour, but friends waited nearly 2 hours bc the kitchen «shut down» at one point. My «root vegetable pie» was actually a cottage pie w/​zero crust. And it tasted like a child’s pot. I’ve had excellent food there in the past, and I went up to the bar and in a nice way explained to the old barmaid, that it wasn’t a pie as it was sans crust, and I couldn’t wait another hour for food, so just take it off the bill. A very tall man followed me out to my table, shoved it in front of me, and tried to start an argument, claiming it was a cottage pie. He was SHOCKINGLY aggressive and rude and my three guests were truly disgusted by his behaviour.
The old barmaid later make a nasty comment about me right in front of me. These people are disgusting.

Last weekend I while out for a cycle ride I my girlfriend and I stopped in at the Royal Oak. Despite having the appearance of something of a private members club for the wealthy of Sussex, it is in fact a very reasonably priced and pleasant pub. It has nearly everything you could ask for in a country pub save two things that I feel I should address before I get carried away with how marvellous the place was. The two things that it lacked were; a safe place to lock one’s bicycle, though this is probably the pettiest gripe imaginable considering the fuller picture, and soul. The latter of the two is the only place where the Royal Oak falls down. The staff is focused and the service is great, but it all feels distinctly business driven rather than focusing on the atmosphere.
Other than that I found the whole place to be a delight. There’s ample parking, a children’s play area in the most tasteful style, a garden that clearly sees plenty of exciting outdoor events like BBQs in summer and the décor and ambiance of the pub and restaurant are top notch.
For a pub with the location that The Royal Oak has with the immediate visual impact that it poses the prices are shockingly affordable and in many cases lower than you would find in many central Brighton establishments. In terms of its’ capacity as a bar the drinks selection is impressive with a good range of spirits and to my surprise they had Sharps Doom Bar on tap, which for me was a real taste of home. The restaurant element of this place is seamlessly integrated with the pub with a separate room off to the left of the bar where you can dine in more of a restaurant fashion, while at the same time there seems to be no reason why you couldn’t have your food taken out to which ever table you chose to convene around. The food looked absolutely stunning, far and beyond that of your average Sunday carvery affair, and according to a few folks I have spoken to since it’s every bit as impressive as it looks.
If you’re looking for a place to take someone out on a Sunday and you want to impress them and in fact be impressed then this is the place to come, but for all its’ more agreeable facets it is not to be confused with a cosy country pub.

Feeling a bit posh today? This is a classy pub serving restaraunt quality dishes with most plates coming in between £10−15 a head. However, for the extra few quid you do get an unquestionably tasty meal; I had Sea Bass with a risotto which was fantanstic. There is a really good selection on the specials board too, and even a (£5!!!) children’s menu. Poynings is a lovely little village, so the surroundings are relaxed and definitely worth the drive out. Décor is a bit woody, but there is a huge outdoor eating area with what looks like a bbq and bar station for the summer as well as a decent climbing frame etc for hyperactive midgets. Worth the visit