A SYMPHONY IN BROWN – THE ROYAL OAK, ROYAL TUNBRIDGE WELLS

January 2024. Royal Tunbridge Wells.

Plenty of opportunities to revisit the Wells while helping my Father-in-Law recuperate, but the last of the Tunbridge GBG entries had eluded me till now, despite being the most “Proper” of all the Guide entries.

The Royal Oak looks a suburban grown-ups pub,

and indeed it is. perhaps more of a Free Press than a Champion of the Thames, in Cambridge terms.

Harvey’s and Tonbridge, and two ciders, if you’re allowed to call Lilley’s cider. I neither know nor care, just as I’m not really bothered if there’s a non-alcoholic version of Harvey’s Best.

The real Sussex Best is a chewy 3.5+, one of the best Harvey’s in a while, and rather overrides my shock at paying £5.80 for a 4.0% pint.

That’s Manchester prices ! But I’d rather pay a premium for a top pint, and the symphony in brown that is the public bar is worth a quid of your money.

That table of six was generating some proper banter.

“Jane was standing there with her rolling pin“

“She should get off her ass and get down that catwalk“.

Sorry, no context for Jane’s theatrics.

In the back bar, billiards ruled.

Great pub, particularly for Harvey’s fans.

And in the morning, this was the view from our £25 Travelodge.

Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

7 thoughts on “A SYMPHONY IN BROWN – THE ROYAL OAK, ROYAL TUNBRIDGE WELLS”

  2. I can’t comment on Manchester, but I was in that London last week where the average price of a beer was £5.42 per pint. Highest price was £6.50, but that was for beers that varied between 3.8% and 5.5%. (The first one was vinegar soup at the George in Fitzrovia, the last one was ESB at the Parcel Yard.)

    The lowest (leaving aside the Sam Smiths keg XXXX Best 3.4% mild at £3.80) was the truly excellent Holt’s Bitter in the Jackalope in Fiztrovia at just £4.60.

    I really must go to Kent some time so that I can comment on Tunbridge Wells.

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  4. I went in here in 2017 when I met up with Paul Bailey and other members of the local CAMRA branch. The landlord at the time was the father of drinks journalist James Beeson, not sure whether he still is.

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