Review Royal Oak - Adelaide

Great atmosphere, live acoustic entertainment. Very busy but beer garden was closed for private function so space in venue was impacted. Albeit great food, steak cooked to order and a fun night.

What a great little rustic place. Last night it featured an accoustic guitarist singing eighties hits. The decor is retro/ vintage and the meal sections huge. They have an excellent plant based menu as well as wagyu steak. Parking is easy down the side streets. Highly recommended.

Love the vibe here it's so relaxed and great food. Would love to come back here again. Staff so friendly and so nice. Great drinks. Will hopefully come back one day thank you

What a disappointment waited and watched tables being served who came in an hour after we were seated after having booked for my party of 11. One member of our groups meal finally arrived after all others in our group had finished their meals. A birthday celebration completely ruined and finally trying to get a night cap drink before leaving was again a waste of time, it was obvious you needed to be a local to get the attention of the bar staff. All in all sadly a totally ruined night out, never again will I subject my family to such poor service, It's really sad to see how this once great pub has deteriated,

Great little place, perfect atmosphere for drinks when it’s cold. I was served by Natalie throughout my visit. She was absolutely terrific - friendly and attentive. What an asset to the establishment!

Two of our meals took 90 mins to arrive, the other two about 15 minutes later. One of steaks was rare, bordering on blue so had to be sent back and took another 20 mins despite being assured it was being 'prioritised' and was medium-well, not medium-rare as ordered. But the worst part of all was that when booking our table 6 days prior, we told them one of the party was on the autism spectrum so it would be helpful to be placed somewhere quieter if possible. Instead, they put us in literally the loudest location in the entire restaurant. We were told there would be live music starting at 8pm, but it started at 7pm, further affecting our autistic person. There was no reason for this, plenty of other tables we could have been allocated in quieter locations in the restaurant.

Would only recommend for a drink. Nice setting but the food is not good/fresh. The vegan burger patty tasted microwaved and soggy...and the vegan cheeze slice overpowered the whole burger (not in a good way). I hate food waste but could not stomach to finish this.

Pleasant pub with an older character, well restored. Great place to admire its surrounds. The happy hours have good prices. Great choice with food menu. Restaurant done in 70's theme. The gaming room is very well presented with sitting area to read the paper. Good selection in bottle shop at rear with easy parking. A pub which fits in North Adeliade's older heritage buildings.

Better ribs than hogs breath - tender and juicy ! Plenty of craft beer to choose from and lovely staff. Nice outdoor area for the spring and summer months.

We came to the Royal Oak for dinner with 8 friends, 4 Vegan, 4 Omni. The vegan menu was the attraction for my vegan friends, but sadly was a huge letdown. I ordered the “mushroom Parma” from said menu, which was crumbed, deep fried mushrooms with little seasoning, accompanied by a limp, barely dressed rocket & tomato salad. The other Vegan meals were also pretty terrible. My partner ordered arancini, which were nice, so at least there was something good. <br/>The non vegan meals were decent, but if you’re coming because there’s a pub with vegan food, go elsewhere.

Been there a number of times as a central spot to meet with friends. Went last Friday night & very disappointed - apparently they have a new manager & as such, meal prices have risen & the servings have reduced. I was away from the table getting a glass of wine when my chicken snitty arrived & when I saw it I asked if someone on our table had already eaten some of it - it was a child meal portion - my Wife's Salt & pepper squid was also an entree size, not mains or close to what we had received on previous occasions - we will now meet somewhere else!

Sign reads<br/>"beer = $6<br/>wine = $6<br/>Smiles = free! "<br/>The beer and the wine is correct, however, no smiles :( staff seemed resentful and unwelcoming. Plates were cleared...... Didn't even ask how our meals were and still no smiles... Food was only just edible, nothing outstanding to note.<br/>2 stars for decor.<br/>

Never seen or heard of this hotel .....what a lovely surprise!!!! Great interior love the 50/60s ambience.<br/><br/>I had a seafood platter was delicious not over cooked and plenty to eat. Drinks reasonable price. Staff friendly.<br/><br/>Considering a Xmas lunch there .....

This place is yet to disappoint. Have been here a number of times and the food, atmosphere and service is always great. The decor is quirky, with old 70s style tables and chairs & theatre type booths with lots of quirky pieces around the place- old instruments turned into vases and such. But it is also so cosy, and with a soloist or band playing everytime we've been here, it gives off great dine-in vibes. Have nice wine list and good selection of craft beers and food is lovely and good value. Sadly have to add the 10%surcharge on public holiday but still managed to be a fairly inexpensive night. Like the daily specials and they have a selection of board games if ur just there for a pop in too. Will be back 👌

The Royal Oak Hotel, Sunday 10-07-16<br/><br/>Just another example of a good hotel gone bad from the craft work of ‘ALH’<br/><br/>I would eat somewhere else and go arrive for the band<br/><br/>The hotel is was easy to find in North Adelaide along O’Connell Street where there is an accumulation of eating places with some street parking along O’Connell Street. We chose on street parking just around the corner with a short walk to the hotel. <br/><br/>On entering the Hotel through the narrow wooden doors we noted that this place has great charm, with an eclectic collection of ‘stuff’ hanging off the walls and ceiling, a great bar in the middle of the room, a great vibe in the air as the band was warming up, so there was a sense of positive things for the night. <br/><br/>As we were later than expected to arrive and wishing to join our friends we grabs a table close to the bar, had a look over the menu and selected items leaning toward the quicker things to prepare and cook. <br/><br/>So I choose the easiest …..a chicken parmigiana and my life partner choose a Grazing Plate. <br/><br/>Then the food came out and the positive sence for the night just went……<br/><br/>The chicken breast that was freshly crumbed on site (positive) and was deep fried to its enth of its life….then there was a smear of puréed tomato (not “Napoli Sauce” the traditional sauce to top a chicken parmigiana, not even something like a cooked tomato sauce with onion, garlic, basil….a bit of love…. a bit of attention… a bit of I give a “…”) but just puréed tomato, probably just out of a can……may be freshly opened (I now feel special…!)<br/><br/>Topped with shredded ham, not ham that looks may be like ham, but the ham that is left over from the process of ham, reformed, then pressed with an accumulation of artificial everything and then shredded into a ‘type of ham’.<br/><br/>Then this culinary delight (please note the sarcasm) topped with a shredded cheese. This product may have had the word ‘mozzarella’ printed on the packet…? But it did not melt, it just oozed over the crusty dried chicken breast, it was a flavourless and colorless example of something like cheese. <br/><br/>The chicken (who gave it’s life for us the human to enjoy its essence, it’s ora, to appreciate it’s life) was placed into an oven to dry out even more, so the cheese could ooze, so the ham(…?) could be warmed up.<br/><br/>The salad was a standard, basic, simple (whatever is in your vocabulary) slices of cucumber (without the seeds, so the item will stay fresh..? for longer) wedges of tomato that should of stayed in the sun for longer to get something like some color and flavor, then this salad creation was topped with about ¼ of a sliced red onion. How much onion is just too much…? there is garnish, flavor, a bit of zing for the salad, and then there is ¼ of a red onion sitting on the salad. This salad was dressed with some type of dressing.<br/><br/>The chips were freshly cooked.<br/><br/>The Grazing Plate…Olives, sundried tomato strips, wedge of Australian styled Camembert cheese, Australian smoked salmon and Australian prosciutto, eggplant dip (Baba Ghanouj) and some pita bread wedges. <br/><br/>The olives were life less, flavourless standard styled olives needing some love and attention (marinating). <br/><br/>The sundried Tomato strips were from a packed come in dry, this is the cheapest form of preserved tomato (semi-dried or sun dried tomato) that you can obtain. Then the tomato was coated in dried rosemary leaves…..! This made the sun dried tomato bitter and have little crunchy bits in it, no oil, vinegar, love and attention. <br/><br/>The eggplant dip was a buy in product; these products can be good, especially with the parameters of a small kitchen where time and labor is tight.<br/><br/>The amount of slices of the smoked salmon and prosciutto was the high light of this dish, but the rest as previously stated. <br/><br/>The band “Zkye & The Guyz” was fantastic and I would attend another night to see the band, but dine somewhere else.<br/>

Food not good at all, beer way over priced. Would never go there again. Very greasy food and the ambience was really bad. Should have known as there was no one in there. Pint of Hahn super dry cost $9.20!!!

There is no shortage of traditional pub fare in North Adelaide. No shortage of quality either. Royal Oak is certainly up there and I recommend it above others. Could one say there might be a few too many? Who cares, after the labour day long weekend I needed an injection of good food and a mute button for anything over a whisper - yep, one of those days...<br/><br/>Monday post long weekend, if the clientele aren't hungover, then the bar staff will be. Whatever the circumstance it hadn't affected our meals. S&P baby squid, prepared and balanced, cooked and served how it should be. Truffle mushroom risotto, a tad over-seasoned therefore a little hard to swallow towards the dish end. The side of butter came with a few veggies, again someone was heavy handed in the kitchen prompting me to consume more beer - publican: 1, patron: 0, hangover: 2,632. <br/><br/>If anything the warm and inviting, culturally equipped and well serviced venue offers a slight spin on the pub standards. A dish should be eaten and enjoyed consistently throughout consumption, whereas here it simply got to a point of 'too much of a good thing'. Palates can be exhausted, much like livers and my patience for the paralytic, inconsiderate, Gen Y board gamers bothering the quiet conversations held in the quaint, impressively stocked garden of beer. Great place, good food. Thumbs up, bed time.

Tiny serve - big price. I ordered the vegetable stack - $18-90 and got served a vegetable pikelet!! 2 thin slices of eggplant, a slither of zucchini, some sliced mushrooms with a tiny bit of cous cous. Went home very hungry. I did query the serve size to the waitress who commented that yes, it was small. I even wrote to management and never got a reply.<br/>Poor service and a chef who doesn't care!

What a lovely hotel, quiet a surprise in the city edge.. Went there tonight with good friends as the original place we were going to try was closed. Very quirky and comfortable. Great boutique beer collection and the menu was great. Being a Melbournite, I expect high quality from a place like this and it didn't disappoint. Salt and pepper calamari was excellent, salmon was perfect as well. Well worth the visit and very easy to get comfortable and settle in for the evening. Top notch.

J-OAK! I'll never be goin.... J-OAK!<br/><br/>I'll never be going to the Royal Oak again.<br/><br/>I went there with family for a meal several years ago and the menu was interesting and the food good.<br/><br/>Something has changed!<br/><br/>The menu now resembles what you'd expect from a place trying to be trendy (pulled pork and purple slaw feature, along with 'primal'??? cuts of beef).<br/><br/>The amateurish menu put me off ordering anything other than standard pub fare, so I ordered a scotch fillet, medium rare, with mushroom sauce.<br/><br/>The steak was tough and excessively charred on the outside (although it was medium rare inside). Even with a steak knife I had to really lean on this steak to cut it. How can anyone find a way to make scotch fillet tough? It was also pretty flavourless, apart from the charcoal coating, as was the mushroom sauce.<br/><br/>Half the plate was 'salad', which at the Royal Oak seems to mean a mountain of dry rocket, with some soggy slices of pear, soggy shavings of Parmesan and a few drops of balsamic glaze. Olive oil, or any sort of oil, was nowhere to be seen. If you're going to put pear in a salad it needs to be fresh and crisp. Salad dressings NEED oil! I like rocket, but if a salad is going to be 98% rocket then I don't want half a plateful of the stuff. Clearly it was just piled on to fill up the plate.<br/><br/>The service at the Royal Oak is (as many other reviewers have mentioned) absolutely terrible. We were sitting at the bar, but still had to wave staff over to ask to order food, despite having menus on the bar in front of us and empty pints. The only staff member who was any good at all was a bloke who told us it was his first night working in the Oak and that he was just filling in from another venue.<br/><br/>The Royal Oak's location means it could be one of North Adelaide's great pubs. But the reality is that it's one of the worst.<br/><br/>Don't bother trying it. Go to the Wellington Hotel instead. Much better food (I've never had a bad steak at the Welly!) and way better service.

Warm Dick Salad. I can only hope this is a typo! However, I've had the warm DUCK salad twice before with no issue. It was adequate and reasonably priced. However, something seems to have happened on my last visit, after an extraordinarily long wait to get served, my DUCK salad was served so rare it was almost quacking. Staff not particularly apologetic - I almost felt I shouldn't have complained, despite the fact it resembled liver. It was returned after my companion had finished their meal and the duck had just been seared in a / on a pan/griddle for a moment. I wonder why this couldn't have happened before it was presented the first time. Very disappointed. It will be a while before we return, which is a shame as we have had good experiences previously. We'll try the Oxford next!

Cheap and cheerful. Monday night and the 400gram rump is $14.95 complete with a choice of four sauces. Tasty, substantial and served promptly, it hit the spot.<br/>The duck salad is a low cal option and is a respectable size.<br/>Desert selections are limited but the vanilla bean brûlée was terrific- delicate flavours and a crunchy golden top. The stagato at $5 is a bargain if you like stout and ice cream. Not sure if I would order it a second time. I suspect the novelty would wear off rather quickly.<br/>Service was attentive and knowledgeable.<br/>Will be returning sometime soon in the near future.

I had not been here for ages but went on Tuesday night- really pleasant waitstaff nice vibe and best steak and red wine jus I have had in a long time. Nice wines by the glass too

Very unassuming from the outside, a bit rough and ready inside, off set by all the old style kitchen furniture. The menu has something for everyone, our group had two who need to eat gluten free, the waitress was very helpful, explaining all the gluten free items on the menu. I had the warm duck salad, it was outstanding, the duck was so juicy and tender a great size serve too. Some of the others had the fish and chips. They were very happy with their choices and the two who eat gluten free had the pork cutlet. Bone chewingly good apparently. Thus us a great spot for some tasty food at great prices, we discovered when ordering that all lunchtime dishes are 30% off during week days. That's a bargain! We will be back!

Consistently good.. Highly recommend this place as a lunchtime venue, the calamari and steak where spot on, best steak I've eaten in a long time, staff very friendly too, plus 30% of the lunchtime menu so great value for money

Manager and staff obnoxious. This use to be a great venue until taken over and have a new manager .... threats about being banned .. not wanting "older" people there ..... preference of who they serve..disgusting ...

This used to be a breakfast favourite of mine years ago and I was glad to see they haven't let things slide. <br/>They have to be the Kings of the perfect poached egg, which is the feature in nearly every dish. <br/>If however they want to attract families, they need some additions to the menu; fruit salad, muesli, yoghurt, milkshakes.

Have eaten here over the past few years and can only say that the food has vastly improved. I ate the burger here the other night and loved it, my friend their risotto too. The staff were polite and attentive where needed. The drink selection is awesome, and they have some of my favourite locals on tap too :) The music seems to be a bit different but I don't think is has been a bad thing cause I remember seeing some Elvis guy here a few times and we went elsewhere because of it but stayed for this duo. Only downside I must say is being served at the bar, I feel sorry for these guys. While we trying to be served, what I can only assume are "territorial locals" refused to give me an inch to get to the bar. If this how their locals treat other customers I dread to think how they treat the staff here. <br/>Great food, friendly service, improved music, scary locals...

What a terrible experience. Where do I start??? until recently, I have been a long serving regular at this once amazing venue. This hotel is nothing like it used to be. The food is okay (without being fantastic), but that's okay, I can handle that. What I can't handle is the staff! Not all of the staff, just a handful (including the hotel manager). They are so completely rude and belittle other staff and customers with absolute arrogance. As-well as myself, other regular patrons will not be spending anymore time dealing with people like this.

Came here around 6 months ago and had one of the best pub burgers ever. However went there last night and the service was average and the meal was poor. After 45 minutes of waiting(dead empty) our 2 burgers came out, which the lady had forgetten our garlic bread entree. One of the burgers was below average and very small compared to last time, the other chicken burger was burnt to a crisp and lacked in taste. The chips tasted like they were out of a frozen bag and soggy. Very disappointing

Wow. Bar service here sucks. What a pity because the hotel is fantastic and it has so much potential but the complete lack of customer service makes the experience completely lacklustre.

Unimpressed. The menu offered much promise but the Royal Oak failed to deliver. "North Adelaide's Best Burger" could have been beaten by Grill'd in Melbourne or Burger Fuel in NZ. The grilled chicken salad was a mess & the honey mustard dressing was non-existent. We suspect that the Royal Oak was unprepared after the NY break however piling loads of salad onto a plate to make up for short-comings in ingredients is unacceptable. Quality over quantity people. Verdict: don't bother.

Poor Service. We used to go here quite often because i like the vibe and the live music. However, after what was probably our 10th disappointing visit in a row we've stopped going.<br/><br/>The food is average but we never expected much as it's a pub. It's the service that is the horrendous part. Every single time we've been (no exaggeration) they have stuffed our meal orders up. Last time they brought us our entree after we had finished our mains and it was only after i had complained. The staff like to blame the kitchen and each other on most occasions. Majority of the staff also have no wine knowledge and one one occasion actually brought me a glass of Sav Blanc when i'd asked for a Cab Merlot.<br/><br/>Sad to say we won't be going back again.

Terrible. I highly recommend not going to the pub! Absolutely horrible!

Yum! Great food great service! Service issues have gone for sure, a definite must for great pub food!

Slooooooow Meal Service. Great Hotel, love the feel of the place. One Chef on in your kitchen on a Saturday night? Über slow service......

I came to the oak on split the bill. I heard many bad reviews about how unequally treated you are (compared to diners who are using no voucher) while using split the bill. <br/>Anyway I decided to give it a try as it was the only place that was convenient for my brother ( it was his b'day!) <br/>I called up and was quite upset when I heard I need to pay $4.20 (per person) to eat my own cake! However I did manage to get away with not paying it. <br/>Tip 1. Eat your cake at home!!!<br/>In the end I thoroughly enjoyed my time, the service was good and my steak was cooked to perfection (for a pub)! Don't get me wrong I have eaten some if the best steaks in S.A, so I know what I am talking about ;) <br/>I recommend you try it out yourself, everybody has their own opinion.

The great soup rip-off. Whatever you do stay away from the over-priced soup ($12/bowl) that barely covers the bottom of the bowl and is lukewarm!

Amazing one day, average the next?. We ate on a Saturday for lunch, and my partner had an Oak burger, which by all reports was amazing, very juicy, so much so we had to come back the next day. There must have been a different chef on, as it was a completely different burger - had an egg, two thin burnt patties instead of one juicy one etc. I had the chicken burger the first day, schnitzel the second, and would agree, it's a bit hit and miss. Convenient location and easy going atmosphere. Chances are the Sunday cook isn't the regular one, so we would go back on a weekday. Also, the glasses were filthy, staff need to pay a bit more attention to polishing them.

Great ribs. New ribs where great will come and have again been one of my fav pubs for a while will be back for sure<br/><br/><br/>-----17 Mar, 2013-----<br/><br/>Great food had the ribs large servings fast service also and great little pub will go again

Dinner review 04/03/13. Ordered a fillet steak from restaurant menu, and flathead from bar menu.<br/>The food that came was not at all as described in the menu, for example onion truffle sauce turns out to be a strong olive tapenade from a tub.The 33 dollar steak came resting on an over toasted bit of actual garlic bread as though from a frozen packet. Aioli is sent as sweet chilli sauce.<br/> Meat was tiny and overcooked, and fish was oily ends of Flathead done in salt and pepper squid type flavours. Side veg for 10 dollars was miniature and soaked in straight soy sauce with soft chunks of asparagus.<br/> Overall for us meal was inedible.<br/>Ended up having to pay 50.00 for the fish and wine, and had to go elsewhere for a late dinner.<br/>Also beware, the web menu is completely different to the more expensive less options when you get there.<br/> Was our favourite pub for years, New chef, menu and bottle shop are so much more than disappointing its a shocking waste of time and money.<br/>Cant ever go back, and that's a shame.

Laurie. The bar service here is so slow and dismissive that it borders on rude. Management needs to get rid of staff who don't know what hospitality is. I live in North Adelaide and I have avoided the Royal Oak for these reasons for about the last five years since excellent bar manager Emily left. Thought I would have a look after the opening of the beer garden. Been there about four times each to the same indifferent service. Straw that broke the camels back was when a clearly unbusy attendant looked at me waiting for a beer, ignored me and continued a conversation with another staff member. I walked out and won't be back. North Adelaide has so many good places that you don't have to put up with bad service. Don't waste your time here.

This place has become our weekend breakfast regular. They've always made perfect eggs. It seems like a small thing but it goes a long way.

Went to the Royal Oak for the first time in years and was pleasantly surprised how good the food was, with care in presentation it was delivered in good time. The only criticism would be it needed salt added but other than that the chicken main was so good I would return for that

Great atmosphere with open fire and 1950s decor. Kangaroo fillet on menu as medium rare served well done staff handled this well and promptly brought out a med rare fillet once we brought this to their attention. Unfortunately this was the last we saw of the staff and so no dessert for us and we needed to go to the bar to ask for the bill. A disappointing end.

Not bad at all.. I wasn't really in the mood for Modern Australian for dinner... but I was in the mood for having a really good, long chat with friends. Royal Oak really let us do that. The dining room is humble and homely. The serves are generous. It's a great place to while away a couple of hours while enjoying a range of meals (the scallops were to die for).

Ben the chef had a great manner, his breakfast was great, younger staff seemed a little confused at times, in who was where at tables.One of the girls took my plate to early without asking if I was done. Matt mgr was helpful and friendly and the atmosphere was awesome. Art deco 50's style decor thoroughly recommend this pub worth the short trip to nth Adelaide .

2009 - Weird. Always wanted to try the food at the "Oak" but the vibe is so weird that I just have to get out of there. Feels like it's crawling with creepy swingers.<br/>Update - Dec 2016<br/>Went for a weekday lunch. The loud tunes coming from the kitchen were better than in the bar, but 2 competing tunes isn't nice for anyone.<br/>Food was all OK. Nothing to write home about. <br/>Somehow I got hit by a flying bottle top, even though I was sitting in the dining room.<br/>The fake junk on the walls would be better if it wasn't fake. Contrived.<br/>The blurb on the wine room about being temperature controlled, then seeing that the staff have propped the door open...?<br/>Beer selection is good but very predictable.<br/>Staff were nice.<br/>So in summary - still weird. Not in a good way.

Great food and good range of booze in a funky off beat pub. The service could be sharper but all in all worthwhile

This is another sixties retro decor place. I’m currently sitting on the removed front seat of a Kingswood, and eating from a laminated table with a metal strap around its edges. I remember this stuff! When I was a kid, this was the old crap no one wanted.

The Royal Oak is a pub located on busy O’Connell Street in North Adelaide. While the exterior has a quaint facade, the interior is like a 1950′s unrenovated urban warehouse.

The Royal Oak Hotel is located along the restaurant strip on O'Connell <br/>Street in North Adelaide. While it may not be one of the flashiest places <br/>from the outside, walking in gives a different impression. We were greeted <br/>by the smell of burning wood and gentle heat of the fireplace in the meals <br/>area.