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Lunch at the Royal Oak, Keswick

Of the many pubs to choose from in Keswick, one of the most popular for many a year has been the Inn at Keswick, previously the Keswick Lodge. It came as something of a surprise, then, when the pub suddenly closed in May for a major refit. The builders moved in, and after only 2 or 3 weeks of round the clock work, the pub re-opened. Only this time as the Royal Oak. It turns out that this represents the pub returning to its original name (actually the Royal Oak Hotel), which it held until the late 19th century.

Externally, the pub has been given a lick of paint, whilst inside, new tables chairs and upholstery create a cleaner and more modern look than previously, even if it does stray a little too close to off-the-shelf gastro-pub interior in places. If the look is gastro-pub, you might expect the food to be a cut above, but unfortunately this particular hostelry is a Thwaites “Inn of Character” and one feels that culinary flair has, once again, taken second place to bottom line.

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We decided to eat in the Royak Oak on a Wenesday lunchtime, and surprisingly for early July, the place was practically deserted. The menu contains several dishes carried over from the previous incarnation, such as the Cumberland sausage patty burger and the 10oz pork chop with apple fritter, plus a number of new choices. We went for one of the new choices, a whole rotisserie lemon and thyme chicken (for 3 of us to share) served with coleslaw and chips, whilst the other 2 members of our party went for the day’s roast which was pork served with sweet potato mash.

After a considerable delay the chicken (with whole lemon peeping out from derriere) arrived on a large wooden tray with the chips alongside in a huge pile. I always find that the starting point to eating any roast chicken should be to rip some skin off and give it a go. I wasn’t disappointed with this particular skin, which was crispy and well-seasoned. The removal of a leg confirmed that it was juicy and really quite tasty. Unfortunately, the dryness of the breasts suggested that the chicken wasn’t possibly as freshly cooked as was suggested. The crispy, skin-on chips, on the other hand, were very good indeed. The roast pork dish proved something of a mixed bag. The pork itself was very tender and served in a tasty gravy, but the mash was overly sweet and just a little bit, well, strange. Fortunately, we had a zingy bottle of Running Duck chenin/sauvignon from South Africa to wash it all down (I turned down the opportunity to sample one of the 4 or 5 draught ales on offer).

So how does the new Royal Oak compare to the old Inn at Keswick? The interior is certainly nicer. The menu is arguably better, too. Although like so many chain pubs, you get the impression that much of the food is arriving part-cooked and vacuum packed from elsewhere. Is it so difficult to employ a chef who really knows how to design a menu and cook it using freshly bought ingredients? And there is one carry over from the old pub that certainly isn’t welcome, which is the painfully slow service. If the food had been faultless, the slow service might not have mattered. But with slow service and variable food, the question is whether we would recommend the Royal Oak to our guests. Maybe, but it just wouldn’t be our own first choice place to e