The Royal Oak

Pretty horrible place. The beer is all keg. The people are horrible.

The Royal Oak used to have a reputation for being one of the more hot-​headed Mancunian pubs. You know, frowning types with military issue haircuts swearing profusely and using phrases like, ‘Yer wha’?’ and ‘I’ll spark ya’ and ‘You startin’?’ Years ago I was terrified to enter here as I was told by friends that women aren’t even advised to drink in this pub at all, let alone… alone. And for me the mark of a good pub is somewhere cosy enough for a lady like me to enjoy a pre-​social glass of wine over a good book before meeting some friends.
Well, it’s all changed. What was once a smelly and dingy albeit centrally located pub in Chorlton is now meshing with its suburban, well-​to-​do, boho, people-​who-​take-​babies-​to-​Mini-​Pilates-​classes surroundings. Time was that flew across the room, glasses broke and shoving occurred over something as stupid as occupation of the pool table with time-​hardened barmaids not batting an eyelid. It was one of those places ‘steeped in character’ the ones you force yourself to visit for that reason. The big Irish connections have always meant rowdy live Irish music with crowds singing along, and it’s always been a sports-​focussed Manchester United pub with its big screens left, right and centre.
The dodgy history stops here though. Well, some things will never change, wear a City shirt in here, and you’d be bottled — but that even goes for something as studenty and harmless as the Pint Pot. With decent pub food in the kitchen (nothing adventurous but good value for money) and a large open plan bar, it’s a comfortable enough place for a spot of lunch considering you can eat your food anywhere in the pub. It’s still a very sociable place and can now boast being trouble-​free environment, but you won’t find real ales here as draughts are limited to Carling, Carlsberg, Fosters, Stella, Trophy, Guinness, Strongbow and IPA. None of which are my kind of thing, but I’ve been spoiled with years at the Crescent, New Oxford and King’s Arms. And no, I’m not going to stop waffling on about those pubs. They are my triangle of adulation.
As for the Royal Oak, it’s certainly not a standout in Chorlton but it’s definitely a great meeting place before heading elsewhere.

There are a number of these kind of pubs in Manchester. Every suburb has one. In Withington it’s The Turnpike, in Didsbury it’s the Royal Oak, and I have to admit they can seem a little unwelcoming.
In my opinion its not at all as bad as is being made out below. Sure there are a few grumpy old men, its that kind of place. It’s a place for locals, full of locals. But I’ve been in once or twice and I’ve always been welcomed. However, the pool table is often a bit of a taboo in such pubs, so I personally wouldn’t impose myself upon it until I’d carefully assessed the situation, as I can imagine it causing offence. I don’t know the d-​low here but at The Victoria in Withington for example, whatever the time of day, you have to add your name to a blackboard with a chalk if you want to play pool, and you play against whoever is winning, not amongst your friends. There’s no way of knowing this, but you’d seem rude if you didn’t abide by these rules. So it’s a pretty complicated system that I personally stay away from. Another reason for staying away, is that pool is rubbish.
The Royal Oak serves some nice ales, for a low price. Basically it’s a good place to sit quietly with a few mates and talk football. Its not the place for a night out and its not the place to make a loud entrance, but for what its worth, I like it.

Strictly speaking, I think this pub should be my ‘local’, although I’ve never been quite bored enough to measure the respective distances to my local watering holes.
Sadly, The Royal Oak is a pub that I will never again set foot in. Despite the dodgy characters that congregate to smoke and drink on the street outside and the very very dodgy karaōke nights which are audible from half way down the street, I decided it would be a good idea to see what my ‘local’ had to offer. Believe me, I’m no snob and I enjoy traditional pubs with character, but ‘rough’ is really the only word that I can think of to describe this place.
My housemate had a very bad experience here. He enjoys playing pool, and this is one of the few pubs in Chorlton with pool tables. He put his money on the table, followed general pool table etiquette and patiently waited for his turn. When he started to play one of the regulars became very unhappy (to put it mildly). He decided to swear at him, threaten him, push him and steal his money. Fortunately my rather timid housemate made a lucky escape. I very much doubt that this was a one off occurrence, as apparently none of the punters so much as batted an eyelid.

Things are going to change in this boozer. With a new couple, Daz and Diane running it, and with fresh ideas this will once again be the central place in Chorlton to be. With a refurb coming up not long after chiristmas I am sure that things can get back to the way they were

Pretty rough and ready pub near the Four Banks crossroads in central Chorlton.
They do have TVs to watch the footy on and some of the best bar prices in town, but it does tend to attract a shadier element, so it’s not the greatest place to go for a quiet pint. The toilets aren’t particularly pleasant either.
Like the Sedge Lynn nearby, it’s somewhere you could go for a pint or two but not to spend the night, there’s much nicer places than this in Chorlton.

No frills boozer, 2 pool tables. Sky sports on flat screens dotted around the bar. Decent Guinness and Lager.