PubsandBeer
Royal Oak (Harvey's Brewery)
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| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Harvey's - Armada Ale |  | 2 |
| Harvey's - Porter | | 2 |
| Harvey's - Old Ale (or Sussex XXXX Old Ale) | | 1 |
| Harvey's - IPA | | 1 |
| Harvey's - Bonfire Boy |  | 2 |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | | 5 |
| Harvey's - XX Dark Mild (or Sussex XX Mild) | | 6 |
| Harvey's - In Harmony Pale Ale (in collaboration with Burning Sky) | Not Tried | 0 |
| Harvey's - Star of Eastbourne | Not Tried | 0 |
| Harvey's - Southdown Harvest | Not Tried | 0 |
| Harvey's - Christmas Ale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Harvey's - Olympia | Not Tried | 0 |
| Gun - Scaramanga Extra Pale Ale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Harvey's - Royal Oak IPA | Not Tried | 0 |
| Harvey's - Tom Paine | Not Tried | 0 |
Stephen Harris
Visits Details
04 Mar 2023 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit. Nicely relaxed in back room.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | | In fine form, quite zesty |
| Harvey's - Armada Ale | 4.50 | | First rate - lovely subtle hoppiness |
| Harvey's - XX Dark Mild (or Sussex XX Mild) | 3.00 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - Old Ale (or Sussex XXXX Old Ale) | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - Olympia | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - IPA | 3.50 | Not Tried |
25 Jan 2023 (Philip Pirrip)
Mid evening visit.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey's - Porter | 4.80 | | Good but a slight feeling of being a little fresh |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - XX Dark Mild (or Sussex XX Mild) | 3.00 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - Old Ale (or Sussex XXXX Old Ale) | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - IPA | 3.50 | Not Tried |
09 Jan 2023 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening meeting in upstairs room until close.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey's - XX Dark Mild (or Sussex XX Mild) | 3.00 | | New cask just on, a tad fresh |
| Harvey's - Bonfire Boy | 5.80 | | Bordering on 4* |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - Old Ale (or Sussex XXXX Old Ale) | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - IPA | 3.50 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - Christmas Ale | 7.50 | Not Tried |
05 Dec 2022 (Magnus Greel)
Lunchtime and fairly quiet so we purloined the vacant rear bar for our annual Friday Evening Group Xmas get together albeit much earlier these days with most of us retired. The Lebanese meze lunches folk were tucking into in the front bar smelt and looked delicious..
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | | |
| Harvey's - IPA | 3.50 | | |
| Harvey's - XX Dark Mild (or Sussex XX Mild) | 3.00 | | |
| Harvey's - Bonfire Boy | 5.80 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - Star of Eastbourne | 5.50 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - Southdown Harvest | 5.00 | Not Tried |
30 Nov 2022 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit. Noisy quiz in operation, lots of London CAMRA bigwigs in a meeting upstairs.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey's - Bonfire Boy | 5.80 | | Broke the £5pp barrier |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - XX Dark Mild (or Sussex XX Mild) | 3.00 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - Star of Eastbourne | 5.50 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - Southdown Harvest | 5.00 | Not Tried |
28 Sep 2022 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey's - Old Ale (or Sussex XXXX Old Ale) | 4.30 | | The best Harvey's Old I have had in many a year |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - XX Dark Mild (or Sussex XX Mild) | 3.00 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - Armada Ale | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Gun - Scaramanga Extra Pale Ale | 3.90 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - Royal Oak IPA | 3.50 | Not Tried |
07 Sep 2022 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until close. Front room was quiz busy, we used the upstairs meeting room.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | | Probably as good as you'll usually get |
| Harvey's - Porter | 4.80 | | New cask on - best beer of evening |
| Harvey's - XX Dark Mild (or Sussex XX Mild) | 3.00 | | Good on taste but did lose head quite quickly |
| Harvey's - Royal Oak IPA | 3.50 | Not Tried | Confusingly the IPA pumpclip clip was in use in the other bar - same beer of course |
| Harvey's - In Harmony Pale Ale (in collaboration with Burning Sky) | 4.20 | Not Tried | Pumpclip implied a citrus beer so, to me, a waste of time |
27 Jul 2022 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit. A noise shop tonight, unpleasantly so, so pleased to drink up and skedaddle.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey's - XX Dark Mild (or Sussex XX Mild) | 3.00 |  | |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - Armada Ale | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - Tom Paine | 5.50 | Not Tried | |
| Gun - Scaramanga Extra Pale Ale | 3.90 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - Royal Oak IPA | 3.50 | Not Tried |
06 Jun 2022 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit for presentation of local CAMRA branch runner-up Pub of the Year 2022 award.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | | |
| Harvey's - XX Dark Mild (or Sussex XX Mild) | 3.00 | | Long wait whilst cask changed. Found new one fresh and rather thin |
| Harvey's - Armada Ale | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - Olympia | 4.30 | Not Tried | Ran out |
| Gun - Scaramanga Extra Pale Ale | 3.90 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - Royal Oak IPA | 3.50 | Not Tried |
27 May 2022 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until close. Good chat with the barman about Harvey's beer of late and included a teeny sip sample of the Jubilee ale now in the cellar probably on tomorrow.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey's - Armada Ale | 4.50 | | Best of tonight's bunch |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | | |
| Harvey's - XX Dark Mild (or Sussex XX Mild) | 3.00 | | Very refreshing first pint, did dissipate on condition a tad as the glass emptied |
| Harvey's - Olympia | 4.30 | Not Tried | Saw none sold whilst there |
| Gun - Scaramanga Extra Pale Ale | 3.90 | Not Tried | |
| Harvey's - Royal Oak IPA | 3.50 | Not Tried |
About the Royal Oak
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
 | 11 |
| 140 |
| 113 |
| 34 |
 | 4 |
The pub is found in Borough, Central London, SE1 4JU.
Harvey's first tied pub in the capital. Corner pub in Tabard Street, near Borough Underground station. Feels like an oasis from the bustle of London Bridge / Borough High Street. Two bare-boarded rooms in a pub with a central bar and an off-sales hatch. Superb John Harvey Room upstairs may be used for meetings and functions and is freely available. Lots of dark wood and cream walls. 4 handpumps on each bar counter so 8 in all. Comfortable atmosphere. Also has comprehensive selection of Harvey's beer in bottles. Became a managed house after the departure, to retirement, of long term tenant licensees in January 2019. Local CAMRA branch Overall Pub of the Year 2023 and 2025, having been runner-up in 2022.
We have visited this pub 171 times, seen 55 different beers and tried 31 of them.
Postcode: SE1 4JU