The world of gastro-pubs is ever-changing, so my wife, Katherine, and
I have just refurbished the White Oak as we felt it needed to be updated. We have been at The White Oak for eight years, and although we have always redecorated twice a year, and updated the furniture and interior yearly, it was always very similar. This time we thought we should change everything whilst retaining the warmth and cosiness of before. We do have the same award-winning team on site though, and are
really excited to see how the lovely folks of Cookham take to the ‘new’ White Oak.

   We had always been considered a venue for special occasions, which is such a compliment, so we wanted to retain that as well as develop more regular and casual use. We have a wonderful new bar with its own menu and the whole front of the White Oak is dedicated to walk-in customers. We also – very importantly for a pub – have three real ales on draught (Rebellion, of course) and three new craft ales. As for myself, I'm drinking a lot of Pinot Noir at the moment – it just seems to go with most things. We hope the White Oak will be considered a proper pub now. Interestingly, someone recently commented very nicely that it felt like a London gastro-pub that had been countrified – I was thrilled!

   The White Oak is targeted at those who enjoy quality fresh food, in a relaxing environment and served by knowledgeable and friendly staff. We are very lucky that we have very little staff turnover and hope our regulars enjoy seeing the same faces.

   We hope the White Oak is used daily, with the new Zinc Bar, cocktails, bar snacks and inviting environment. It is so much more relaxing that
we even allow dogs in the bar now – clean and well-behaved ones,
of course!

   We have a lovely new Kids' Menu, which is three courses and includes a drink. It is so much easier for the mums to order for the little ones
and then get themselves a well-earned beverage. It has hummus with crudités, followed by a choice for main and ice cream for pud with an orange or apple Juice.

   We still have our outstanding Set Lunch and Dinner Menus Monday 
to Saturday (£12 for two courses at lunch and £15 for two courses at dinner), Fizz Friday, which we have changed now so that Laurent Perrier Rose is £50 on Fridays from 5–7pm (usually £60). We have our Steak Club every Monday night, where all steaks are 33% off and its BYO for £5 too. And every Friday at 5.30pm, we put some roast potatoes on the bar as a thank you to our regulars – it's an old-school idea that is a nice touch for those dropping in for a drink after a long week at work.

   Katherine [who, if you don't know, is Sir Terry Wogan's daughter] and
I have been in pubs for 10 years together, and I cut my teeth in London initially. I worked for a corporate wine entertainment company travelling Europe and doing large CEO conferences and dinners. Then I worked for a privately owned group in various sites such as The Groucho Club in Soho and The Admiral Codrington in Kensington. I then spent a fantastic 18 months at The Chelsea Ram in Lots Road for a private individual, a fantastic old-school boozer with great food. Katherine and I opened
our first Pub, The Greene Oak, in 2006, and have been pubbing ever since! The White Oak opened in November 2008, and has a sister ‘Oak’
in Gerrards Cross called The Three Oaks which opened in July 2011. In 2012, we were all delighted to receive our first Michelin Bib Gourmand at The White Oak, but to retain it in 2013/14 & 2014/2015 and again
in 201/16, is a real pat on the back for all of our team. This award champions good food and service but at a reasonable price. We
also feature in the AA Restaurant & Guide, Good Food Guide,
Alastair Sawday’s and both the Michelin Red & Pub Guides.

 

If you fancy checking out the new White Oak, they have an offer
on for Mums About Cookham readers: A free glass of Prosecco
for you when ordering your children's meals when you quote
‘Mums about Cookham’. Offer runs until 29th February.