The Oak

Head down Oakridge Road towards the outskirts and you'll find yourself in proper neighbourhood pub territory. The Oak isn't trying to be anything it's not — it's the kind of place where you genuinely feel like a regular within your second visit, where staff remember what you were drinking last time. There's a real sense of community here that you don't get in the chain places dotted around Festival Place. It's the sort of pub that draws people from across Basingstoke because it actually cares about doing the fundamentals well.