The Royal Oak

Comments from «loughtonkid» made me laugh! We visited this pub for the first time in many years on saturday — what a great night. Yes, it IS loud, yes, there ARE a lot of chavs with plenty of silicone enhancements, yes there ARE a lot of smoking range-​rover owners, but… the guy that owns the pub we have known for in excess of 25 years and he has turned the place around! We are by no means in our teens, but it was good to go to a pub where there was music that we knew, polite and ample bar staff and a good range of drinks to choose from. Will definitely make a return visit!

This pub is really deceiving from the outside you would think its an old man’s pub, however inside is a different story.
The place gets rammed, to the point where you cannot move. However its a good night. The age bracket tends to be over 30s but we’ve been going there since we we’re 18 and always have fun.
On a Friday there is a DJ who plays 80s soul music then on Saturday the famous Craig Neils sings.

A real case of could do better this pub should have the potential to be Loughton’s number 1 pub. A great looking building with character, decent amount of space inside and good outside space (a bit of grass and a paved patio area) and for the big football matches they’ve had a good atmosphere with the big screen going. But, I have been in before on a Thursday night when the Victoria Tavern next door was packed, and there were less than 5 customers in the Royal Oak, and some of the weekend 70’s and 80’s party/​disco nights just somehow don’t have the fun factor that should be part of that music. I will keep popping back here now and then because it should be a great Loughton pub, and I hope that it will become a place that deserves more than one star

From The outside this pub seems like a nice traditional venue. Alas this is not the case. Situated in the back streets and surrounded by lovely cottages and forest this place is the bastian of all things I hate about Loughton.
When some friends and I fancied sitting in a beer garden for a change we decided on The Royal Oak. As we arrived and walked through immediately obscenities were shouted at me and one of the other girls. Charming.
Then upon entering the pub we were greeted by loud garage music and men and woman 40+ who seemed disgusted that some people in their mid twenties and older had entered. Fair enough a lot of the venues in Loughton are geared towards the younger generation (minx & nubar) but this isn’t adverstised as a 35+ night so we should have felt free to go and enjoy a nice quiet drink in the garden.
The interior is soulless and bland. Not what you would expect from one of the oldest pubs in loughton.
The bar staff were very polite and I cannot fault the location and standard of the beer garden. It does seem that the clientele is the problem here. I won’t be going back here again. I think we shall be popping next door to the victoria tavern instead. :)