Daventry
Royal Oak

Royal Oak

6 Lime Av, Eydon NN11 3PG, NN11 3PH, Daventry, United Kingdom

Pubs • Steak • Dining • British


"The Royal Oak at Eydon is a very characterful village pub. Unfortunately it was totally unprepared for a group of 8 people who had booked well in advance. The waitress did not seem to know the items on the menu either. There was a very limited mains menu, most of the party only had two choices. Although the staff did try to compensate for the lack of availability, their kindness did not outweigh the negatives. A few of us had to go with starter plus a side dish. The starter of mushrooms on toast with a side of chunky chips was delicious but the beetroot and goats cheese was very simple and the side salad disappointing. The burger options had no salad garnish and were nothing special. They didn 't have 2 of our initial drinks choices, then only had 1 rhubarb gin left, Of the 4 choices on the main menu, our waitress dismissed the Slow roasted Tomato and Basil Bake as not my cup of tea (that menu option would benefit from a more detailed description). There were only 2 portions of the chicken main available. When it came to sweet there were only 3 options and nothing tempted us, plus no Desarano for a coffee liqueur and no decaf coffee just disappointing all round. The room was draughty too and one of our party was keen to have hot food but a salad was served with her main rather than the hot vegetables she requested. There were also mistakes with our drinks choices. On the positive side, our waitress clearly wanted us to be satisfied and tried to accommodate our requests. It 's just a shame they weren 't able to do that. However, we have since found out that the kitchen is about to be closed for refurbishment so that might explain why our experience on the night wasn 't great. Fingers crossed things will be better in the future as it is potentially a great little village pub to visit."

The White Horse

The White Horse

High Street, Welton, NN11 2JP, Daventry, United Kingdom

Pubs • Full • Lunch • Drinks


"I had been reading a lot on Facebook about the pub and the quality of the food on offer. So when my partner suggested an impromptu Sunday lunch I suggested The White Horse. I called to check they would still be serving as time was getting on. I booked a table for 3.30pm. We arrived and were met by very friendly staff who got us drinks and showed us to our table. I had intended to try the new Trio of meats sharing board which had been publicised on Facebook, however it transpires that it had “blown up” and sold out in hours. Also, they were out of beef and Yorkshire puddings. Could have been disappointing but we are both realistic people and understand we had booked last minute and late in the day, the weather was also fantastic so a lot of folks were out and about. The waitress offered us steak in place of beef. When we had asked about the sharing board she asked the kitchen what they could do and they were able to offer some pork belly, which my partner had, I took the steak. We shared bread and olives to start, with some halloumi fries. My partner says they were the best she had ever had. Both dishes were delicious. The main courses were equally delicious. I particularly enjoyed the red cabbage and cauliflower, the pork was moist and sweet, the steak tender. We very much enjoyed our experience and will be back very soon, though we will plan better, book earlier and will give a review on the Trio of meats sharing board very soon. Looking forward to it already. Highly recommended."

The George

The George

Harborough Road, LE16 8NF, Daventry, United Kingdom

Pub • Seafood • British • Vegetarian


"We were cycling The Midshires Way and found our way to Great Oxenden via a precarious but pretty footpath (The Jurassic Way) with steps from the main track. Path NOT recommended if you have heavy cycles as there are two stiles en route. It ‘is’ a footpath, not a bridleway I suppose, so be warned. The George is a gastro-pub with a large car park and is finished beautifully inside. It also has a delightful patio area and gardens to enjoy in good weather. There isn’t a way around to the back so they kindly let us roll or bicycles through the dining area to the garden so we could keep a close eye on them. It’s a full service establishment so drinks are brought to you which was nice and the landlady/manager was friendly and welcoming. I chose the Friday fish and chips special which wasn’t one of the posher choices on the extensive menu, but it was delicious with freshly prepared mashed garden peas and a very nice tartare sauce. I chose the chunky chips which were tasty, cooked perfectly and very plentiful. It was good value at £16 We were treated to a thick slice of fantastic homemade bread which was delicious. My wife chose the sirloin steak, which, at £25, wasn’t cheap and unfortunately was very gristly. The flesh was very nice, but it was a struggle and not ideal. When we mentioned this however and showed the gristly, stringy remains the staff were disinterested and no offer was made to reduce the bill, which would definitely have been appropriate. We aren’t serial complainers but in the light of the lack of response regret not sending it back to the kitchen straight away. You live and learn. It’s a shame because this is a pleasant, sophisticated place with a warm welcome and at least initially, good service. If you are looking to dine in the area, In preference I would recommend a real treat, The Bull’s Head at Clipstone, which is considerably less expensive than The George. The Bull’s Head also differs in that it is a genuine country pub but with outstanding food and great service. We also tried The Stag at Maidwell, which was good and reasonably priced. They do close at 3pm on a Saturday though so be prepared to be cast out into the rain if you’re unlucky with the weather as we were ! "