73 Columbia Road
Shoreditch
Bethnal Green
London
E2 7RG
020 3437 01315
The Royal Oak is situated in the heart of the famous Columbia Road Flower Market which takes places every Sunday (photo 4).
It’s a Truman’s pub built in 1923 By Truman’s Brewery architect A E Sewell and has the familiar tiled exterior of inter-war Truman’s pubs (photo 1). The pub was listed Grade II in 2015 following a study by Historic England of inter war pubs. Inside it is relatively unspoilt and still has its wonderful 1920s white Vitrolite ceiling (photo 3). It’s now open plan but the bar counter and wood panelling around the walls are original. At the top of the panels in gilded lettering are the names of the Ben Truman beers available when the pub was built (photo 5). Outside one of the doors has etched window glass showing that it was once the entry to the Bottle & Jug (photo 2).
The Royal Oak has featured in two films about East End gangsters the Kray twins, The Krays starring Gary and Martin Kemp from 1990 and Legend directed by Brian Helgeland in 2015. The pub was also Samoan Joes in Guy Ritchie’s 1998 film Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. And it was used in several episodes of the 1990s TV time-travelling comic drama Goodnight Sweetheart starring Nicholas Lyndhurst.
Food is available all day and on Sunday Columbia Flower Market shoppers can take advantage of a Sunday Roast. The regular cask beer is Youngs Original with one or two guest beers.
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