Hearty winter fare at The Royal Oak (From Thisisdorset)

Pub review: The Royal Oak, Downton, near Lymington

9:30am Friday 10th February 2012 in Leisure

Hearty winter fare at The Royal Oak

UNTIL now, this country pub has been a well kept secret. For although it’s on the main road to Lymington, not many people in Bournemouth and Poole seem to know about it.

The Royal Oak at Downton was recommended to us by friends as the perfect place for a Sunday afternoon pub lunch and walk.

It was just over half an hour’s drive from Bournemouth, and even though it was the first Bank Holiday Monday of the year and the sun was shining, we were relieved to find the place wasn’t packed to the rafters.

We were part of a group of ten so we were delighted that we were able to sit together near the fireplace.

The menu offers a good selection of traditional pub grub but they also offer smaller portions of the main dishes at reduced prices, which is a great idea if you’re on a budget.

And it’s good value for money too. My husband had the smaller version of the pie of the day – shredded tender beef under a flaky pastry topping served in a meaty gravy – which was only marginally smaller than his friend’s full-size portion but was £2 cheaper.

I ordered the mussels which were plump and succulent and served with a white wine sauce, which was so delicious that I mopped up every last drop with a wedge of wholemeal bread.

Meanwhile my daughter was making short work of her large jacket potato with cheese and beans and my son was ploughing through his cannelloni.

The service was excellent and the portion sizes were good – perfect fodder for a winter walk.

We then strolled along the path from the car park behind the pub, through some woods, which took us past a golf course and onto the cliff tops with fantastic views of the Isle of Wight.

All in all a perfect Sunday afternoon.

This is an independent review by a reporter without the cooperation of the establishment.

The bill (for a family of four):

2 halves of lager £3.10

Pie of the Day £7.95

Mussels £13.50

Cheese and bean jacket potato £5.35

Cannelloni £8.95

Lemon juice mixer £1.80

TOTAL: £40.65