Royal Oak Hotel

We love this pub and accommodation. They only have 4 rooms to rent for overnight stays but it is worth it! Great Ayton is out of the beaten path and, as such, it is a classic small English village. We walked public footpaths, investigated the 12th century churchyard, roamed around the village, and don’t forget a visit to Suggits Candy shop!! The Royal Oak and her sister pub, The Buck Inn, have excellent food and tasty drinks. The Oak has quite a menu in the evening for dinner! The mince and onion pie with mash or chips and garden or mushy peas was so good, we had it two nights in a row!! The accommodation was comfortable, clean, and well supplied. The breakfast that came with the room was yummy!

I have stayed at the Royal Oak four times over the last few weeks. The rooms are very comfortable, the breakfast is superb. The evening meals have been excellent and one of the beers on tap is Tim Taylors Landlord, one of my favourites and served to perfection. A superb Inn in a nice country village high street.

We had a lovely four days at the Royal Oak in Great Ayton. All the staff were kind and helpful. The bedroom was clean, bright and comfortable. We had delicious dinners on three of the nights and another excellent meal at their sister pub The Buck on the last night. Nice breakfast with quality ingredients and really good coffee. When staying at Great Ayton, be sure to taste the best ice cream at Suggitt’s and fine pies at Petch the butcher!

Let me start by saying the staff were wonderful working under a great deal of pressure. Now with that out of the way .......... This used to be my favourite eatery, and for that reason I will give it another chance but, they need some improvements to get back their status 'as was' before Lock Down! Starters are now over priced for what you get. A slice of Black pudding was tasteless as was the peppercorn sauce that was poured over it. Main meal vegetables. Carrots - yes a few. Parsnip 'it' was hiding under a carrot! Processed peas! I understand lock down was hard on business's but come on a fair price for what you serve would be a good start to winning back your clientele.

A great pub inside with a nice garden/yard. We’ve had drinks here on a couple of occasions. My partner and I ordered a roast each today but as I dug in my partner noticed that both of our yorkshire puddings were full of mold. Hopefully this is just a one off kitchen issue as reviews suggest it’s generally ok. We stopped eating and raised it with the staff who addressed it immediately, no questions asked and gave us a full refund. I would return, for drinks at least, food may take a little convincing.

We went for afternoon tea as a mid week date and we weren't disappointed. Tasty, fresh sandwiches and cakes, we were spoilt for choice. Warm, welcoming and friendly staff made our afternoon the more enjoyable. We will return to try the main menu at some point.