British Oak

01/06/2026

🍻 What’s On This Week 🍻
🎻 Tuesday – Folk Night
Join us for an evening of live folk music, great company, and your favourite pints.
🧠 Wednesday – Quiz Night
Gather your team and put your knowledge to the test. Prizes up for grabs and plenty of bragging rights!
🍺 New on the bar: Wandle from Sambrook’s Brewery
We’re now pouring Wandle, a smooth and refreshing new beer from Sambrook’s Brewery. Pop in and give it a try while it’s on.
See you at the bar! 🍻

29/05/2026

Pubs in attractive locations or with strong food and community offers could face higher business rates bills under new valuation guidance, reports suggest.

29/05/2026

You couldn't make this up!!

🤬 NICE PUB TAX?! 🤬

You actually couldn't make this up!

Just when you think the absolute clowns running the country have run out of ways to squeeze the hospitality industry dry, they invent a new one…🤡

Today’s massive headline: HMRC has issued new guidance to tax assessors for a brand new "Nice Pub Tax."

🤯 I am not joking!

🤯 That is literally what it is!

The geniuses at the Valuation Office Agency have been told that if your pub is actually nice - if you have a scenic view, a river frontage, a well-kept beer garden, a decent play area for the kids, or God forbid, you’ve put a bit of money into maintaining a historic "character property" - you’re getting slapped with even higher business rates!!! 🌄🦆🛝🏖️

Just think about the staggering “logic” of this for a second!

👉 As a publican, you work 90-hour weeks.

👉 You bleed yourself dry investing every spare penny into making your venue an attractive, welcoming place for the community.

👉 You fix the roof, you landscape the garden, you offer a premium menu so people actually want to eat your food.

And what is your reward from Rachel Reeves and her clipboard-wielding tax inspectors? 🧐

"Ooh, that’s a lovely beer garden you’ve got there, mate. Shame if someone were to absolutely tax the living daylights out of it."

🚨 They are literally penalizing success and taxing pride. 🚨

If you run a rundown, miserable concrete box with zero competition and a sticky carpet, congratulations - you’re fine. 👌

But if you try to give your customers something beautiful, you get a massive tax hike hidden under the guise of "modern revaluations" looking ahead to 2029. 📈🤬

We already lost the 40% retail and hospitality relief in April, my rates have already doubled, and now they’re actively hunting down destination country inns and gastropubs for more, because they have "too much appeal”!

What the actual f**k?!? 🤯

❌ It’s completely broken. They want us to survive on fresh air and good vibes, while they price the traditional British pub right out of existence.

🚨 THIS GOVERNMENT HAS LOST THE FU***NG PLOT!

🚨 RACHEL REEVES HAS OFFICIALLY DECLARED WAR ON HOSPITALITY!

I’m off to pour a pint and stare blankly at my beer garden before the council charges me a premium just for looking at the f**king bushes!

Tell me your thoughts below. Are you a publican facing a massive hike? Or a punter sick of watching your favourite local being bled dry? 👇

WE. NEED. TO. FIGHT. THIS. NOW!

24/05/2026

Live from the local 🍻

24/05/2026

Bank holiday Saturday done right 🍻🎶
Great to have the bar full of our amazing regulars, cold pints flowing, and live music keeping the atmosphere going all night long. Thanks to everyone who joined us!❤️

23/05/2026

Bank holiday weekend forecast:
90% chance of pints, 10% chance of making sensible decisions 🍻☀️
Pub garden in the sun, steak & peppercorn handy pies,live music tonight, and “just one more drink” on repeat all night 🎶✨

22/05/2026

You asked. We listened. The quiz is back.
Wednesday 3rd June — bring your A-team… or just your best guessers.🫣 Expect friendly competition, a bit of healthy debate, and at least one round where absolutely everyone blames the quizmaster.
⏰ Kick-off: 8:30 PM
💷 Entry: £2 per person

16/05/2026

A little St George’s Day throwback 🇬🇧🍻📸
A few weeks ago now, but these old digital camera photos were too good not to share 😂 Nothing fancy — just our brilliant regulars, our bar staff, plenty of laughs, and a proper pub atmosphere. These are the moments that make a local what it is ❤️ Thanks to everyone who celebrated with us and made it another great day at the pub.

12/05/2026

Fresh on the pumps 🍺🔥
Introducing Sambrook’s Brewery Tomahawk — a smooth 4.2% American Red Ale packed with flavour and the perfect pint for the weekend.
Come down and give it a try while it lasts! 🍻

12/05/2026

They’re back again! Join us at The British Oak on Saturday 23rd for THE LIFE OF BRIAN BAND 🎸
Featuring premier guitarist Brian Bath (formerly with Kate Bush), expect great live music, good vibes, and brilliant Saturday night vibes🍻
🍻 Great live music
🎵 Good vibes
🕺 Saturday night done right
See you there! ✨

27/04/2026

27/04/2026

The Electronix! 🎸
Huge thanks to everyone who came out on Saturday🙌
The energy in that room was unreal from start to finish.
Big love to the bar staff, the sound crew, and everyone who sang along (even the ones who only knew the chorus 😄). Nights like this are why we do it.
If you grabbed a video or photo, tag us—we’d love to see it.

22/04/2026

🇬🇧 St George’s Day is almost here! 🇬🇧
We’re getting into the spirit with the flags up and something special on the bar… 🍺
From tomorrow, we’ll be pouring All English – a proper brew made with English malt and hops, just in time for the occasion.
So why not pop in, raise a pint, and celebrate St George’s Day with us?
Good beer, good company, and a bit of English pride – what more do you need? 🍻

13/04/2026

They’re back… and you know it’s going to be a good one 🎶
After a brilliant night with us before, The Electronix return to bring the best of the 80s back to the pub ⚡
📅 Saturday 25th April
📍 British Oak, Blackheath
⏰ On stage from 8:30PM
Round up your mates and join us for a proper throwback night🕺✨

13/04/2026

Back by popular demand. 🍻You asked, we listened our fan-favourite hazy IPA from Greene King is back on tap! If you missed it last time, now’s your chance… and if you didn’t, you already know what to do 👀
Pop in now and grab a pint!

13/03/2026

A St. Patrick’s Day gathering for music lovers — bring your voice, your instrument, or simply your love of folk traditions.
Live acoustic sets all evening.
Open‑mic style contributions welcome

13/03/2026

The final weekend of the Six Nations is here, which means one last chance for glory, bragging rights, and plenty of shouting at the referee from the comfort of your bar stool. The screens will be on, the pints will be flowing, and the rugby will be unmissable. Gather your team and join us for the biggest weekend of the tournament.🍺🏉

03/03/2026

🥧 NATIONAL PIE WEEK IS HERE 🥧
We do one thing and we do it properly… PIES.
Dine in with us and get 25% OFF in-house all week 👀🔥
Mash, gravy, mushy peas – the full works.

26/02/2026

Join us at the British Oak for British Pie Week and enjoy25% off our Pie Meal Deals between the 2nd - 8th March. 🥧🍺😝

26/02/2026

Part 2 folks... 🧐😵‍💫

📣 PUBS ARE SO EXPENSIVE: PART 2! 📣

Following on from yesterday’s post!

A number of people still queried “why pubs are so expensive”…

And a follower, Kyle Michael, has kindly allowed me to share his post below to explain things a little more!

So here goes…

🤔 What is so hard for some to understand?

🤷‍♂️ Pubs are NOT expensive, the perception of cost is being distorted by the lack of disposable income, not the price!

🏛️ Blame that on government, not the publican who has cut and cut and cut his profit to keep going!

⚖️ Let’s compare beer prices to wages!

Prices used below are the average in April each year, together with the minimum wage at the same time.

Year Pint Min wage %

1998 1.87 3.00 62.3
2000 1.99 3.60 55.2
2005 2.41 4.85 49.6
2010 2.94 5.93 49.6
2015 3.44 6.40 53.7
2020 3.72 8.72 42.6 **
2023 4.56 10.41 43.8
2024 4.77 11.44 41.6
2025 5.17 12.21 41.6

** pubs shut in April 2020 so used July figure, but VAT had been reduced so pint price was artificially lower.

📣 If pubs had stayed with the same % as in 1998, an average pint would now be £7.73!

🚨 YEP: SEVEN POUND SEVENTY THREE! 🚨

👌 Time to adjust your minds and expectations and keep things real, or you simply won't have any pubs left.

Sources:
ONS for Beer Prices https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/czms/mm23

Business Info for Min wage
https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/national-minimum-wage-previous-rates

So what do you think? Are pubs being greedy? Or is it the government? Let me know below! 👇👇👇

25/02/2026

Well said...😂😂

Right.
Apparently, pubs are “too expensive.” 😬🥵💰

I hear it every day. 🤯

Usually from someone clutching a £6 artisan coffee, scrolling TikTok on a £1,200 phone, while explaining how £6 for a pint is daylight robbery. 💎

But sure. The pub is the problem. 👌

Let me explain this slowly…

You’re not paying £6 for “beer”! 🍺

You’re paying for an experience, for a community, for…

💸 The heating being on before you arrive.
💸 The lights staying on after you leave.
💸 The loos being scrubbed (you’re welcome).
💸 The glasses being washed.
💸 The staff being paid.
💸 The licences. The insurance. The rates. The tax.
💸 The little bite the card machine takes every single time you tap.
💸 And the fact that when the cellar floods at 11pm on a Tuesday… it’s me in wellies.

You’re not just buying a drink. 🍷

You’re renting a space to exist in public without being moved on. To socialise. To make friends. To feel welcome. To belong. ❤️

Go and sit in the middle of ASDA for three hours debating VAR and see how long that lasts. Try getting banter from a self-checkout. 😅

Pubs aren’t competing with supermarket booze. 🛒

We’re competing with the idea that community should be free. 🏘️❤️

And here’s the bit I find fascinating…

The same people who mourn “the death of the British pub” are the ones who treat us like overpriced off-licences. 🍾

We don’t sell beer. 🍺

We sell:
👉 First dates that turned into marriages.
👉 Wakes where the real stories came out.
👉 “Ok, just one” that became the best night of the year.
👉 Somewhere to decompress when the world’s had enough of you and you’ve had enough of the world.

We sell a place to not be alone. 🫂

If you want cheap: stay on your sofa with a four-pack of lukewarm cans 🛋️🥵🍻

But PLEASE don’t confuse low cost with value! 🤷‍♂️

Anyway, I’ll be over here - overcharging for heating, chairs, and human interaction. 🔥🪑🤗

Tag a mate who needs to stop being a tight-arse and buy a round! You know the one. 😂👇

05/02/2026

🏉 SIX NATIONS 2026 🏉

The greatest rugby championship is back!

Catch every match LIVE here at the pub with a perfect pint of Guinness - the official sponsor of the Six Nations.

Six teams. Five weekends. One legendary tournament 🍻

28/01/2026

🍺 NOW POURING 🍺

Caffrey's Black Stout

Rich, smooth, and unmistakably Irish. This classic stout delivers deep roasted malt flavors with a creamy finish that'll have you coming back for another.

The perfect pint for those who appreciate a proper dark beer.

Available now at the bar!

18/01/2026

2TONE + SKA! £FREE ENTRY!

🗓️ SATURDAY 31ST JANUARY 2026
🏠 BRITISH OAK, BLACKHEATH SE3 8SU
⏰ ONSTAGE 8:30PM

Featuring music from bands such as Madness, The Specials, Bad Manners, The Beat and more!

Come and enjoy a night of that loafer shuffling, Sax blowing, sharp suited, rimshot crashing, Perry wearing, chord strumming, boot lacing, note plucking, nutty dancing, lyric spitting, key banging, braces twanging sound of The Skalites!

We hope to see you there Rudies!