Excellent food and drink. Friendly staff. Great atmosphere. Very popular place so book early!read more

Just terrific. Located in an almost 300 year old building, rooms have been lovingly restored with…read moregreat care. Staff was very friendly and helpful. The restaurant was wonderful--clearly the chef takes pride in his work!

Wow, what a place! Quirky, fun, crazy are just a few words to describe it…read more My friend took me here on our little adventure to Winchester. After getting over the initial shock (this place would never fly in the US, nope!) I began to explore the many rooms filled to the brim with antiques, knick-knacks, and oddities. Lots of oddities!! It is much bigger inside than it looks outside, and there seems to be a resident bar dog (who doesn't love a bar dog!!?). There are countless photo ops throughout this fantastic pub. The bathrooms are somewhat hidden within the fake bookcase. The ladies room was clean enough. However, I made the mistake of reading the writing on the wall and looked up. Don't look up. It is an image that will live forever in my mind! All part of the charm ;) Drinks were reasonably priced and they had a decent selection of holiday beers. I haven't stopped talking about this place and highly recommend for visitors. I hope to return to Winchester soon and introduce others to this gem. I would also like to visit the sister pubs (The Black Rat and The Black Bottle, though I think the Black Rat has closed).

We had a great little lunch on the dog-filled patio. The sandwiches were enjoyed by all, as was the…read morefriendly ambiance. Service was very good aside from one woman who was rather curt. Bathrooms were clean-ish. It's worth the pleasant little hike from the town center to have a meal here.

Best pub in the world. But you can't got there. It's mine. All mine…read more I went there with my friends for their regular knitting night. They knitted, I drank beer. And, oh my, what beer. Sourced from the local Pots Brewery, I had a brand new Pots IPA and it's one of the nicest British beers that I've ever had. Plus the thing that I particularly liked was that it was a new barrel just set up behind the bar. The landlady then tapped it, took out a small sample, tasted it, considered it, and, seemingly based on that, decided on the price per pint. £3.50 if you're interested. I would have paid twice that. And at around 8% you don't need too many. Plus, Thursday is, of course, sausages night, so there were sausages to accompany the liquid gold available from the bar for a mere 70p a pop. Plus, there's a dog. Every pub needs a dog. This one was not only a gorqeous spaniel, but friendly and lovely. He was also even more excited by the prospect of sausage night than I was. He spent much of the evening resting his chin on the bar doing puppy dog eyes. This was much more effective from him than when I tried it. Plus, the third Thursday is also their poetry and story telling night, so I popped down to the cellar to take a look. Their cellar is, quite literally, a cellar, but crammed in there were a few budding poets and writers sharing their efforts. I felt kind of bad that I had nothing prepared. So, yes, stay away from this pub. I've bagsied it. I might move to Winchester just so it can be my local. In fact, I might just move into the pub.

The floors are wonky, the air is slightly smokey from the fire and the beer is warm, as is the…read moreatmosphere.. the perfect local!

We saw The Royal Oak advertised being the oldest pub in England and gave it a go. Nice atmosphere,…read moregood pub food and a decent bottle of wine. We had a pleasant meal.

I have frequented The Royal Oak a lot since being in Winchester and it's a popular choice for the…read morebeginning of a night out. The Royal Oak itself is an interesting building; the decor is rustic with floors upwards and downwards, little nooks and crannies all over the place - really nice for a cosy meal. The only downside is that I find it very pricey, then again it is the Oldest Pub in England after all!

Beautiful place and delicious lunch. Holly looked after us very well and was so sweet…read more It is a lovely country pub not far from Bishop's Walfham so if you plan a day out definately visit both. Food was very tasty and beautifully presented. Weather was a bit off but plenty of seating outside if the sun is shining.

This place is amazing! We were visiting the UK and this place was near our hotel. We did not have…read morereservations but they were able to accommodate us. The food and service were excellent! Our waitress was adorable and met our every need. The food was absolutely delicious!!! If we are ever there again, we will definitely be back!

Great food, wine, and ambience! Service was outstanding. I had crab cakes which were good, but they…read morewere not my favorite type of crab cake as I prefer the non-breaded, meatier ones. I also had the crispy squid which was excellent! My dad had the pulled pork sandwich, and it was delicious.

From the owner: Contemporary Restaurant and Bar set in a beautiful period building in the heart of Winchester. No.5…read morealso has 6 Boutique Hotel Rooms and a Private Dining Room that can also be used as a Meeting Room.

Great English pub, directly across from Westminster Cathedral of annoying song fame, with friendly…read morestaff and fellow pub goers. Variety of tasty local beers on tap. But, best of all, brilliant food, lovingly prepared and served. We had spectacular salmon and mussels and scrumptious bread pudding. For a quick bite the next day, spicy tomato, bell pepper and lentil soup and a perfect sausage roll. We also stayed at the adjoining hotel which was homey and perfect for our needs. Staff could not have been more attentive. Included breakfast was sumptuous. Bravo.

Worth visiting for the ambience alone. But you will also love a pot of tea , lovely breads, and…read morebreakfast items. Definitely use the restroom while here, surprisingly lovely as well.

This is a lovely pub. It's looks charming and as it wasn't too busy on a Saturday afternoon it felt…read morequite cosy and so we took our sweet time with our beverages. I'm not always that keen on Wadworth beers and Horizon was alright...better than I usually find their brews.

Went last night for the weekly quiz and loved it. Friendly staff, great food, decent range of beer,…read morewhat else could you want? Already planning a trip back to try out the Sunday lunch. And we came second in the quiz, which helped.

Standard pub fair. The last person to be beheaded in England's ghost haunts this inn.... So we are…read moretold. I didn't get a visit from her when I had my fish & chips.

If I could leave a 0 it would be 0. Should have realised immediately as we walked in from the…read moremiserable bar maid that this wouldn't be a great experience. Queit bar, expensive pint (£5.35), dirty carpet and tables and decor that is neglected. The BIGGEST insult was being rudely interrogated on 2 occasions by 2 members of staff about my gender when innocently using the ladies toilets. This place is like going back in time, but not in a good way..if you're straight, male, white, British you'll love it...anyone else give it a wide berth. Shame on you.

Visiting from the US and came here on the recommendation of a local due to its location along the…read moreriver by Wolvesey Castle. The outdoor seating near the river gave a great ambiance. The espresso martini was excellent and the Half Roast Norfolk Chicken was good. As a member of the service industry myself, what really stood out to me was the service. Considering our status as tourists, James was very patient and helpful in taking my mom's order as she was a bit indecisive. Minashe (not sure if I'm spelling that correctly) was extremely helpful and accommodating despite it only being his second day on the job here, though you wouldn't be able to tell due to his exceptional service. All in all, I would definitely visit again if I ever find myself in Winchester again.

I went to this place with my friends for some drinks. We were not very hungry. They had good…read moreselection of appetizers. We ordered their hummus and pita plate. the hummus tasted very fresh and good. I ordered a Pinot. The server helped me to select from a variety of wines. My friends had Negroni cocktail and they liked it. The only thing that disappointed me was that they had very less option for vegetarian appetizer. Towards the end we ordered their sticky toffee pudding and it came out to be amazing. The place overall was very cozy and old fashioned but still luxurious. They had a cute patio but we went on a winter evening so decided to sit inside as they do not have heating outside. Would recommend this place.