The Royal Oak is the only pub in the idyllic village of Wootton Rivers, right next to the Kennet and Avon Canal, ideal for some excellent walking, cycling or just relaxation in delightful countryside. The pub occupies some ancient premises, partly consisting of what used to be the old bakery and farriers, and is therefore exactly what you would expect from this kind of quintessentially English higgledy piggledy buildings, full of oak beams, uneven floors and overall quite charming.
The restaurant is a little chaotic however and suffers from a personality disorder, not knowing whether it is an English pub, an Asian fusion or even a Mediterranean restaurant. The choice is just too overwhelming with an a-la-carte menu (which must account for at least 50 dishes) and a special one, with almost as many as the a la carte, and all manner of other offers scattered around the walls. There are Italian dishes, English, Thai, Moroccan, Classic... you name it... My heart sinks when I come across such long menus; it's unnecessary, wasteful (which would explain why they are so pricey) and puts enormous strain on staff and even on the customer who have to take ages to decide what to have.
When the food turned up it was of good quality, hearty cuisine, just as you would expect from a pub, at least my steak and Guinnes pie was such.
So, if they could just decide what they were (and judging by the pies they should stick to English food), sorted out the chaotic service and, by being efficient, reduced prices, they could easily get another star, but right now they don't deserve more than 3 sadly. read more