Bars & Pubs

A pub for luvvies and lovers of Lewes brewery Harveys, the Royal Oak seems wonderfully trapped in time. Its ales from the Sussex stable - Mild, Pale, Old, Best and Armada - are all under £3, keg cider includes Thatcher's Heritage and Weston's Stowford Press, while a felt-tipped menu boasts classics such as game pie, rabbit casserole, Lancashire hotpot and braised lamb shank. Music hall stars Harry Ray and Flanagan & Allen, here celebrated in framed, hand-bill form, would have tucked into the same decades ago. These days there's wine too. Nevertheless, an unused hatch for off sales remains, as do the shell-effect washbasins in the lavatory.

Time Out Bars, Pubs & Clubs Guide 2008/9