The Royal Oak Inn

We had a lovely meal here this evening. The pub feels comfortable, and the staff were very friendly and attentive, with great service. For starters, we shared the mussels and the bread and dip platter, both beautiful. I especially recommend the steak pie or fish and chips for mains, and the chunky chips deserve a mention too. Desserts were fabulous, with a good selection for everyone. We'll be back soon.

We stayed for one night with our dogs, who were made very welcome. The pub was cosy, and both the food and the staff were superb. I'd recommend it to anyone looking to take time out, relax and unwind.

Gillamoor and the surrounding Moors are wonderful, and The Royal Oak makes a great place to stay. Our room and bedding were very clean, the shower was huge, and the staff couldn't do enough for us. We also had superb breakfasts and dinners. The dinner menu was somewhat limited, especially for vegetarians, and we could hear noise from the room above whenever it was occupied. Those were minor issues, and I'd thoroughly recommend staying here.

The fireplace room has a nice atmosphere, and our waitress was sweet, but we're not going back. We'd heard about the new chef and hoped this might become our local, though we don't eat out often. Maybe we caught a bad day, but the food was disappointing: the prawn cocktail was watery, and my root vegetable soup was salty and short on flavour, with sad-looking 'crusty' bread. The fish pie also tasted of salt or bouillon instead of proper seasoning. My husband couldn't finish his stiff, filler-heavy burger. Portions of vegetables were meagre too, just a small handful of green beans, two broccoli spears with the meat pie and nothing alongside the burger. We daren't try dessert. If you want repeat customers, they need to leave enthusiastic about their meal. Not for us.