Reviews in Bromsgrove

Great food, great music and our waitress, Aimee, was lovely. Nothing was too much trouble.

Unfortunately I didn’t have the best experience. I travelled from London to experience this place. I ordered the fish portion where one out of the two pieces was just bone and this couldn’t be changed so had to take money off the bill. When we arrived no one explained how it worked and so it was confusing understanding the ordering and ticketing system. A lot of the food was lukewarm as the hot plates didn’t really keep the food hot and sadly the people serving didn’t have gloves on. The mac & cheese wasn’t to my liking I’d have liked more flavour. The waiters tried their best but seemed to not know the rules of the carvery including if fish can be mixed with meat (it cannot) and if you can have two Yorkshire puddings (you can). We were also promptly rushed out of seats at exactly 2hrs even though the pub had empty seats all around us, this did feel a little extreme- but understand policy. Overall, price point wasn’t bad, but would have been much better if the food was hot, the fish portion was better, the food portions were more and the servers were able to give a little more information to enhance the experience.

Great value food was fab and friendly service. We will be back.

Came on Saturday night, atmosphere was great, music not too loud but loud enough to enjoy and have a sing along. Service was 100% from bar staff, to table staff to the chefs. Food was amazing. Will definitely be coming back to try the weekday menu and again for the carvery.

Great pub,Great Food,Atmosphere amazing,staff friendly and very helpful,would recommend this place.

Wonderful meal, have every intention of returning Food fabulous, purposely ordered bigger meal to take some home You get better value for money during the week

Fantastic food..service very good and atmosphere and background music perfect. Will be making this our monthly treat.. Well done all!!

Absolutely fantastic atmosphere, food and service. Would highly recommend

Booked a table prior to our visit. Despite this we had to wait 40 mins before being seated and that was after me asking 3 times due to no communication from anyone. Got seated and waited 10 minutes before one of the waiting staff came over. Told we needed menus to then be told that there is only a carvery option on a Sunday so not sure why we needed menus other than large, small or vegetarian. Given menus so we chose the only option…carvery. Lol. Ordered, got given a ticket and then told we had to wait until it was our tables turn to be called up. 15 minutes later we were told to join the queue once the end reached the arch! We dutiful queued and then as the we went under the arch, we were informed that the curry mutton would be 20 minutes as they had run out. Christopher’s only does three meats on its carvery and Ione of them is curry mutton. I am ,guessing, but I presume as a Caribbean carvery, curry mutton is the main reason for a visit! So we eventually got a carvery for it to be a mix of juicy chicken, tough beef, tougher mutton and lukewarm vegetables and mash. To be fair, mutton sauce was nice and so was the rice and beans. I do not normally do reviews but at least£16.99 a head and £1.99 for rubbery mac and cheese, it was not a cheap meal. Poor service and disappointing food. Will not be going back or recommending it in any way. The poor reviews are sadly all true and warnings.

I’ve always seen Christopher’s Caribbean Carvery at The Royal Oak all over social media and heard such great things about how amazing the food is, so I was really looking forward to finally trying it for myself. I visited the Bromsgrove location with a friend. When we first arrived, it wasn’t very clear where to enter, and I initially went toward the bar before finding the restaurant area. I do feel clearer signage would really help new customers. Once seated, the service was good. A staff member came over quickly, took our drink and food order, and our meals arrived within about 10–15 minutes. The food itself was okay, but unfortunately didn’t quite meet my expectations—especially coming from a Caribbean background. The food was warm rather than hot, and a few items were slightly cold in places. The steam veg portion was very small (more like a sprinkle than a serving), which was disappointing. The chicken was tasty but a bit dry without gravy. The roast beef was nice, but I did notice a slight mint taste, which made me wonder if there had been a mix-up. Also, we were only given one gravy between two meals, which didn’t feel right considering we ordered extra large plates. While eating, I also noticed a couple of ants near the window, which wasn’t pleasant. I’m not saying the place isn’t clean, but it’s something that should definitely be checked. The restaurant was busy, and I’d recommend booking in advance as many people were coming in after us. I do feel that given the popularity and reputation, the food could be at a higher standard—especially in a more multicultural setting where expectations for Caribbean food are higher. On a positive note, the service itself was lovely. However, I did overhear a conversation between staff and management that didn’t sound very professional, which slightly affected the atmosphere. Overall, I would rate my experience a 3/5. I really wanted to love it, and I hope improvements are made because I would consider returning in the future—but for now, I won’t be rushing back. Thank you for the service.

Food was lovely and you got a decent amount for the price. The restaurant is beautifully decorated with a map of the canal that has a little bit of information about the different locations. The service was also fantastic.

Yeh man!!! The Royal Oak didn't fail on delivering. From arriving early and being seated straight away to being invited to a reggae bingo evening on departure. Everything in between was superb. The cocktails had us merry, the dinner plates were jammin' and the apple crumble ....wow....the crumble!!! Loved it. Coming back with family and friends

Wasn't as expected like advertised on social media. Food was okish, definitely needed more flavour. We had to pay an extra £1.99 for mac and cheese in which I think should have been included with the carvery as standard. We order x6 mac and cheese in which no one ate because it was tough all over. Dont think ill be going back

This restaurant is understaffed, leading to poor service. It took an hour to receive our drinks, management did apologise for this when they had to return to clarify the order as it had got lost. When we booked we had no idea that XL meals would not be served after 7pm, but no matter as they offered the table extra food when service was complete. Food was barely warm. Plaintain was not ripe, hard and cold. The fish is cooked when ordered, the feedback was good but meant they received their order after the table were already eating. Roast beef flavoured with mint. Mutton tasty but barely warm, chicken lacked caribbean seasoning. They offered us free sweets for delays and poor service. The manager in fairness offered her apologies and attempted to make amends. The atmosphere is lacking. I expected music and vibes, but no! Pleasant venue with good parking. There is nothing that cannot be rectified with attention to detail and a good caribbean chef.

Nice clean place , food was tasty, rice could of been warmer, but overall good value for money . Good customer service .

Was quite excited about going here with a friend but left very disappointed. On arrival although there were lots of tables empty the waitress took us to a high table with bar seats, we are both barely 5ft and nearer to 70 than 60 so would struggle to get up and down on those chairs! She then struggled to find us a table even though the place only had a few customers. Very strange - we would have quite happily sat at a table for 4 or 6 but that seemed to be a real problem. Getting onto the food - I ordered Caribbean fish and chips with Escoveitche pickles, my friend had Jerk chicken with fries. when our meals arrived 1 was on a very small plate with no salad or veg. Mine arrived on a huge oval plate, overcooked batter with soggy thin fish and fries. I asked where the pickles were, it was the waitresses first night and she didn’t have a clue - off she went and came back with a bowl of very hot cider vinegar with a sliver of 1/2 ring of onion in it and the smallest end of what looked like a pepper. Another table of people left their food , said it wasn’t very nice. We never saw the waitress again , she did say they had a new chef. No-body came and asked us if we wanted more drinks, puddings , coffee. When eventually someone appeared at the bar we went up to pay. When asked about our meal , I had to say it was rubbish! Don’t think I’ll recommend you or come there again , which is a shame.