Out with my husband and two children, we had decided to treat ourselves to a pub lunch at The Royal Oak on Gloucester Road, Bristol.  We haven’t been out much since my daughter’s recent operation.  She has been having long naps in the morning and as a result we haven’t gone to our usual playgroups.  Today was my first real day out and about doing the everyday things that I had always done before.  We had been to Little Fishes Toddler Group in the morning and it was lovely to see my friends again.  Going out for a pub lunch was continuing a good morning!

Sometimes when we have visited The Royal Oak before, the pub garden has got a bit crowded and the children’s play area slightly manic.  But today our only company in the garden was a group of mums with small children.  My son played happily in the garden and apart from the usual scuffles over the playhouse, the kids all played well.  My son liked the playhouse, the rope swing and of course, trying to escape by continually running up the steps to get into the pub.

The Royal Oak offer a special lunch time deal of two main meals for £10.  I ordered the Fish Pie and my husband ordered the Gem Battered Haddock.  We ordered a ‘toddler portion’ of fish fingers, mash and peas for my son which was his choice and was £3.50.  My daughter is an incredibly fussy eater so we decided to give her some of our meal, as well as some bits and pieces we’d brought with us.  Our meals were served promptly and were tasty.  My son swiftly ate his fish fingers, leaving the peas and mash and bolted back to the play area to continue playing.