{"id":15420,"date":"2020-10-27T09:12:50","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T13:12:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visitoakville.com\/?p=15420"},"modified":"2020-10-27T09:12:50","modified_gmt":"2020-10-27T13:12:50","slug":"ambassador-snapshot-history-meets-food-at-the-kings-arms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.zarrtech.net\/visitoakville\/2020\/10\/ambassador-snapshot-history-meets-food-at-the-kings-arms\/","title":{"rendered":"Ambassador Snapshot: History meets food at The King\u2019s Arms"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Mrinalini Sundar<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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The King’s Arms<\/a>, located in Downtown Oakville<\/a>, is not just a great restaurant for some juicy burgers (it won Visit Oakville\u2019s Best Burgers Talk of the Town Award<\/a>), it also comes with an incredibly interesting past. As someone who is both a history and food enthusiast, I decided to explore The King’s Arms this weekend and transport myself to Oakville of the past. Walking into this restaurant I felt like being transported to the Victorian era. This big burnished bar has dark domestic wood interiors, raw wood walls, old-style lamps, walls decked up with paintings of celebrities and inviting staff that makes you feel at home.<\/p>\n

The King’s Arms was one of the first pubs established in Oakville, coming to existence in the 1970s under the name The Duke of Bedford.<\/p>\n

According to the plan of the Town of Oakville<\/a>, the building that holds The King’s Arms was said to be owned by Captain William Wilson, whose family were among the first settlers in Oakville. The Duke of Bedford existed in the 70s, after which the pub was called the Manchester Arms. In fact, it is believed that the pub has changed close to five to six hands in total.<\/p>\n

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It was a hotspot for those who just wanted to walk in, chug a couple of drinks, and have a good time. Current co-owner Rob o\u2019Donovan says that The King’s Arms still possess the exact same layout that it had in the 70s, the floor plan, some bits of the foundations, basement and the exterior of the building. The interiors were very different to what it is today, however. We are talking red velvet benches, fancy yet ancient carpets and some dim lighting. The highlight at the restaurant is a secret manual dumbwaiter in the kitchen that existed when the pub was still called The Duke Of Bedford. Rob and his team still have it and it forms an important part of the history of the place.<\/p>\n

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The building went through a series of renovations and changes when Rob and his partner Angelo Triant took ownership of the pub. Since then, they have worked hard to maintain the essence, character and feel of a British pub. Rob says, \u201cWe wanted to retain the pub scene but take a more gastro direction and so we got the d\u00e9cor changed. We wanted to attract the newer clientele and so we hired designers and graffiti artists who gave the interiors a good twist.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Rob says that some folks can still walk into the pub and identify certain corners and reminisce the good times they had there in their youth. One such corner is in The Lion\u2019s Den. The windows at this corner have been preserved from the restaurant\u2019s time as The Manchester Arms.<\/p>\n\n\t\t