PUB-goers were welcomed back into a historic watering hole in the heart of Evesham.

The Royal Oak officially re-opened its doors after it was closed for three weeks while it underwent a transformation of its bar area.

Its kitchen has also been closed for three months while the pub's latest head chef, Carl Fox, created a new menu.

Customers had travelled miles to welcome the pub's return, including some visitors who had come from Stratford to be at the opening.

Unfortunately, mayor cllr Alan Booth could not be in attendance for the reopening, so cllr Mark Goodge stepped in to cut the red ribbon.

Mr Fox has joined forces with the owner of the pub, Bhuban Bhala, in a bid to "change the reputation of the pub".

"It went really well and was really supported by local residents and business people. 

"It was nice to see some customers in here.

"It has taken a while to get us to reopen, so it was nice to cook food and to see some happy faces.

"We had a lot of people happy to see us reopen, we had regulars come back and a lot of new faces happy to see what we did with the place."

The opening showed customers the venue's new tapas menu and English food with a twist.

As well as a complete revamp of the menu and food they buy, the pub has also installed new pumps in the bar area.

The pub also has a small function room which they hope to utilise more and, going forward, will do a Christmas part to the menu.

Mr Fox said since the opening, the pub has been extremely busy, and people will need to book to avoid disappointment.

The Royal Oak is a 16th-century pub that also caters for birthday parties, corporate events or meetings and anniversary celebrations and is a hotel.

It has been rated 4.5 out of 5 on Google and is ranked 9 out of 63 restaurants in Evesham, according to TripAdvisor.