The Royal Oak - Hambleton

I had read the reviews and noted they were mixed including that staff were alleged to have fallen short. That was not our experience so forget that and don't be swayed by it. We booked last minute for a meal with friends yesterday 29/12 and can only say we went with an open mind and were not disappointed. Great Ayton itself is a pretty Yorkshire village and the pub faces the green so the view is great, with the green framing historic houses surrounding it. So that is worth a visit in its' own right. We had a window table in this cosy welcoming place which was perfect and the parmesan chicken was delicious. A friend had a butternut wellington which was innovative and also well received. Service for both food and drinks was timely and cannot be faulted. Staff were absolutely lovely. We were not rushed in any way. As no one in our party had previously eaten at this place, despite living fairly locally, we all agreed that we would definitely return and could make it a favourite place to eat.

I can only give one Star as they charged my partner for two extra drinks that none of us had. My partner checked the receipt unfortunately at home and noticed. And none of us had Heineken. There was two added to our bill. Food was good.

Went here for lunch,we had nice friendly welcome, the food order was taken at the table and we were served quickly. The food was nice, good quality home made food. The pub has three rooms with open fire.

Been before and had a great meal but this was quite poor. Parmesan was very strange the Royal Oak Parmesan. A very small portion of chips was very small and were like scraps. Salad was paltry and the steak which was good came with half a mushroom. Extremely underwhelming. A night out ruined.

Great Aston is a lovely village. We stayed as part of a walk along the Cleaveland way. The Royal Oak had very good value, clean and functional rooms. Good evening food and a nice atmosphere. Only slight problem with windows open were some quite noisy staff and a delivery at 6am, but overall a really lively stay