Black Lion Pub in Uttlesford

Excellent menu and lovely staff who were very welcoming. Great food and lovely choice of deserts Would definitely recommend a visit. We will be going back

We have often driven past this pub & thought it would be nice to stop off for a bar snack. Big mistake. Nobody bothered to warn us it would be another 1 hour before the food arrived. We thought we were ordering a simple bar snack of ham sandwich & a bacon panini, but obviously not. No apologies given so you have to assume this is normal for them. It is a pity really since the food when it eventually arrived was nice, they have good beer & wine and the menu for a bigger meal looked interesting, However, we will not be going back - life's too short.

Wow ! What a lovely pub. Four hungry diners arrived on Tuesday evening, 2nd July to find a very comprehensive range of beers, lagers and spirits on offer including 4 real ales which were comprehensively enjoyed by two particularly thirsty members of the group. The food on offer was delicious and very reasonably priced and greatly enjoyed by me and my thirsty companions. We were made to feel very welcome by Courtney and her colleagues and left the pub several hours later vowing to return. It was our first visit to the Black Lion but it will not be our last ! Highly recommended.

Brilliant Family Pub We have come here a few times for lunches, evening meals/Sunday roast. Always met with a friendly welcome. The owner always accommodating and makes a fuss of my 5 year old. Nothing is a problem and the food is always 10/10 got a homely feel to it and the dogs are welcome addition. Nice place to come and have a quiet drink or a bite to eat. Outside seating is lovely surrounded by well kept gardens. Or by the fire in the winter. A great traditional pub.

A very quiet lunchtime, midweek. But goodness me, did the food take forever. Reasonable when it arrived but with one other couple in the pub, it does not take almost an hour to produce two meals. And a H&S warning. I also had a crumble but it was, to use Alan Partridge's words 'hotter than the sun'. So hot that I complained and said it was dangerous. Were they bothered? Of course not. So a good place if you want to have a drink but forget having food. Plenty of other places to go.

Had driven past this pub several times, each time mentally saying must check it out. Finally doing so last week we were glad we did. A beautiful sunny day, as we drove into the car park we were pleased to see a very pleasantly appointed courtyard with tables and a lovely grassy garden extension, also with tables and chairs. There is also another pleasant looking outside bower as well, leading off the car park. Inside it was - a rare thing in my experience these days - a right old fashioned, bright looking boozer! On a closer look, a fine selection of beers including real ale, a seperate TV bar for the lads and a nice looking restaurant room off the main bar as well. The menu is small but interesting and the bar snacks ditto and both are very reasonable priced to boot. The sandwhiches are generous and served with fries and salad - one each was much as we could eat and good value. Service was friendly and helpful and we loved the beautiful house-dogs - all four of 'em - friendly but not at all a nuisance. We shall return, making sure we are hungry enough to try the main menu next time. All in all, a lovely atmosphere where we felt very wellcome.

Great service and fantastic food. Staff really knowledgeable and friendly. Very attentive. Fitted us in o n Easter Sunday at short notice..11 of us. Great pool room. Relaxed atmosphere. Highly recommend. This was our 2nd enjoyable visit.

To be honest it’s an ok pub, the thing that lets it down is the disgustingly rude owner who clearly doesn’t like children in his “warm atmospheric pub” if children aren’t allowed that’s absolutely fine, just tell us that, not talk to them or about them in front of us like they are **** Wouldn’t step foot back in this place even if you paid me.

Unplanned visit whilst cycling. There’s an extensive menu to suit anyone. Service was fantastic, I didn’t even have to go inside, they came to me! The meal was served very promptly, piping hot and very tasty. Set me up for the rest of my ride. I will certainly return and try the Sunday roasts.

We've been going to the Black Lion for years, and John along with his staff are brilliant. He's the nicest man and they serve great pub grub! We love the dogs, but understand they're not everyone's cup of tea 👌😊👍

Title says it all really. Rude obnoxious and so full of his own self importance I’m surprised he hasn’t burst.

Lovely pub food sourced locally. We had great service by the waiting staff and were looked after really well. Huge choice of gins too (if that's your thing).

Few pubs left like this one, home cooked food, great portion size and basic english pub food. Good sized garden, formal dinning room, games room and a friendly landlord. Some really good country walks near by and a free car park. Enjoy.

Good service,good food,very old inn,plenty of fires for ambience,made welcome by owner and staff,will come again.

It is one of the very few real pubs left. The food is real food, done well- good portion sizes and just superb. The pies are honestly to die for.Equally, it is a lovely pub to go for just a few drinks. A big open fire, wooden floor and a friendly pub owner, what a recipe for a delightful time. Dogs are always welcome too.The atmosphere is so relaxed, it's always lovely.

We went to the pub for an evening meal with our friends, unfortunately this time we were very disappointed with our meals.Pleasant atmosphere and good service , unfortunately the meal wasn’t as good as last time , the bbq ribs were barely cooked extremely tough and hard to remove from the bone which made them difficult to eat and the chips were soft not at all crispy (my wife calls them soggy) Not at all like last time , I have now discovered there are two chefs and one is much better than the other, we will avoid eating if the older one is doing the cooking. It’s a shame because we like this pub.

I popped in for a spot of lunch with a friend and had a Sunday roast. This pub is a real hub for the local community and it has a warm friendly environment created through a log fire and a lovely dog! We enjoyed our meals and had plenty to drink. This was my second visit in two months and I can recommend the rhubarb crumble dessert. Great atmosphere of a traditional local pub. Thank you.

Popped in for quick bite before a meeting. A little early before Chef arrived but Landlord excellent and rustled up a very nice meal to keep us going. Well worth a visit good ambiance

Stopped here with our dogs. Great little beer gardens. Loads of shady bits. Food was awesome. Fresh chips, non greasy chilli, great sandwiches. Really nice place. Will definitely be coming back.

A quick stop off at this quaint little pub. Nice owner and waitress. Great little space for a quick bite and a cold drink.

There are some negative reviews on here about the time food takes to come. I’d say waiting 35 minutes while you chat to your loved ones waiting for a delicious roast dinner is actually all part of the experience and not really a wait at all. We’ve been here 3 times in the past 2 months and the food is absolutely lovely. I’m not someone that goes too crazy about food in general but my wife and I both think the chips here are probably the nicest we’ve had anywhere ever! High praise indeed.

Having booked a table for 10 two weeks in advance for a Thursday evening I would expect to turn up and order food without problem. We ordered food at 8.10pm and an hour and a half later I complained about the wait and was told that they were "waiting for the chips" and I should expect a wait if I wanted food cooked to order. There was no apology for the delay and outright disbelief when I asked for a discount to be applied to our bill in order to make up for the delay. During the wait, nobody came to our table ask if we required any drinks. When food was served, it wasn't particularly hot, we had to ask twice for a steak knife and side dishes were fairly "thrown" onto the table with a very false smile. The last of us was served at 9.50pm, by which time the first of us to have been served had finished. This was a special occasion, completely spoiled by the lack of service and extremely poor attitude of staff.

we waited for 50 mins after ordering the sea bass was over cooked then kept on the pass or in the oven it was crunchy :-( Overcooked poor service for a lovely setting it was a great disappointment

ate here a couple of times in the last two years and thought nothing special and overpriced but its local. decided to book a family get together 1 week in advance to make sure we got the table we wanted in the restaurant/bar area. When we arrived we were placed in the "sports bar" which was cold and not being used that day (apart from our table). The other tables were taken by drinkers and diners so we just went with it. We ordered 6 meals (two of 1 item, 3 of another and a bowl of chips - not difficult). After 45 minutes we enquired as to how long our food would be, we were told by the owner that the (17 year old) "chef" had run out of potatoes and was waiting on a new batch to come out of the oven and that he couldn't speed it up and did we want to leave ! We decided that we'd sit it out as it was mother's day and everywhere else would've been booked (dauphinoise potatoes take max 25 minutes in oven so we shouldn't be waiting for much longer). WRONG - we waited in total for 1½ hours for our meals to arrive. All the meals were wrong, overcooked and inedible. At this point we decided to leave. We tried to discuss this with the owner of the pub who argued that there wasn't anything wrong with the waiting time, the service we received, the wrong orders or the state of the food. We offered to pay for our drinks and half the food bill at which point we were told to pay for the drinks and not to come back as we were not welcome in his pub anymore ! Had we of known that the pub/restaurant had a food hygiene rating of 1 out of 5 from the local authority (which was given in January 2018) we would never have booked there. Authorities do not taste food when they inspect properties so there is obviously something seriously lacking in this kitchen. Majority of reviews on here for this place are from "locals" hence the reviews from "local guides". Avoid until new (happier/customer orientated) management or kitchen is sorted.

Can't say enough about the friendly welcome given by the staff of this pub. Beer very nice, food excellent but the staff are exceptional. If you haven't already sampled the Black Lion, High Roding, then I suggest you do at the earliest opportunity as I highly recommend it. 10/10.

We arrived at 12.30 on a Sunday. We had booked shortly beforehand, and were told that they were only doing Sunday roasts. When we got there there was a blackboard offering other Food??!!. However, we ordered our roast dinners and being the first customers of the day expected it to arrive shortly. Our food arrived 1 hour after our order!!! When it eventually arrived it was lukewarm. It was no better than factory food. We complained, waitress ignored the complaint. We left half the dinner as it was stone cold by then. Decided to leave, charged full price for appalling meal and service, complained again and ignored again. Never,never, eat here again!!!!! Not worth one star

We were looking for somewhere for a family Sunday Lunch and cam across the Black Lion Pub in High Roding. They were accommodating for a table of 10 and we had a lovely roast dinner and delightful desserts, which was enjoyed by both the old and the young in the party. It was pretty full and the only criticism was that we had to find out when our meal would be served. When it arrived it was hot and delicious and all the vegetables were steaming hot. Would recommend a Sunday Lunch here.

Me & my wife moved to the area a year ago . I needed a local & we both needed a place for some wine and dining time to time ... John the landlord and his team deliver all we could ever want from a local . Supporting passers by , locals from nearby farming & surrounding trade . offering local sourced produce . Great atmosphere in a dog friendly pub , that always supports the village life and events ( Christmas donkey photo enclosed ! ) . You can be lucky to beat a local pub with an open fire place and pub dog ( picture attached ) and local draught beers . And you can always relish in hand cooked food . Top that of with polite and pleasant staff and you have a local like ours , the Black Lion . If you are cycling , driving or anyway passing High Roding the perfect stop is here . Keep up the good work Black Lion .... the take away fish a chips was perfect by the way !

Recently moved into the area and this is now our local pub we have had 3 or 4 meals now lunchtime and evening all very good We found the landlord and staff friendly and welcoming and look forward to our next visit

My family and I came here for Sunday lunch to celebrate a special occasion and although the pub itself is very picturesque, we left feeling pretty disappointed in the overall experience.

Went for a family birthday meal, eight of us in total. Staff were polite and friendly and landlord was very accommodating especially as we needed two extra places a very short notice, nothing was to much trouble. Food was excellent and large portion sizes, went...

Sólo un salto en una copa, así que no puedo comentar sobre la comida. Una buena selección de cervezas y bien cuidado. La primera vez he pagado £4 fuera de Londres. El propietario y el personal amable. Otro caso de 3. Promedio de 5 estrellas,...

He conocido el Black Lion durante un largo tiempo (sin declaración de interés requeridas, aunque) y fuimos el otro día con un grupo de familiares de ocho para la cena. Reservamos una mesa pero no parecía demasiado ocupado para un viernes. La tarifa es estándar, pero todos estábamos muy contentos con nuestra comidas que eran generosas porciones y no caro. Tuve sobresaliente que era realmente bueno. Las camareras nos cuidaron y aunque la comida no toma un poco de tiempo, el retraso no fue mala. Los postres eran 5 libras por porciones muy grandes y son una excelente relación calidad-precio. No tengo ninguna queja! Simplemente un buen pub con buena comida a un precio muy razonable. Nunca bastante claro por qué se puso música en - no hay necesidad, por favor, parar esto - pero no era demasiado ruidoso. También me gustaría que simplemente mantener bajo control el perro pub - no es un mal perro manso pero el sobresaliente era la mía, no la suya.

Sólo 1 estrellas porque no se puede dar menos. Estuve con un grupo de amigos en una noche de viernes. Tenía reservado incluye dejarnos saber que el propietario principal campo de todo el mundo quería. Llegamos a las 18:30 para 19:00 comida. A las 20:00 todo el mundo sirve platos principales excepto mi esposa. El propietario aparece con la lista de pedidos y dice que alguien debe haber tomado comida de mi esposa como habían servido a alguien. Pregunté si había sido servido a la persona equivocada ¿qué plato principal había quedado, sin respuesta futura. Encargado se ofreció a preparar un nuevo plato en 5 minutos, ¿Cómo es esto posible? No hay disculpas ofrecidas. Así que me levanté y salí y me fui para llevar local.

Sólo tenía el almuerzo de domingo con la familia y mientras la comida era deliciosa y todas caseras me temo que el servicio era malo con nosotros tomando el segundo lugar de la gente. Un poco más de atención y hubiera sido un 5 estrellas!

We are not local but needed a good old pub meal prior to flying from nearby Stanstead the following am. This hit the spot, a lovely pub in the old style very neat tidy and newly decorated, a lovely touch was vases of daffodils on each and every table was a delight and showed the owner/manager cared. We had standard pub fare ham,egg & chips & pie & chips. Both were good and nicely presented by nice friendly staff as was the drinks.

This is how pubs used to be; basic , slightly scruffy, amateurish.That said the food seems to be homemade, reasonably well cooked in the way our mums used to do it , and well priced.On the stormy night when we dropped in , entering from the car park through a slightly off putting passageway, the welcome was very warm and the young barmaid looked after us very well. The publican was attentive , if a little unsure on the food and wine side. However his friendly wife ,the cook , came out to see us and offered a few variations on the menu, it being a quiet night with a total of 5 diners .Our food came promptly and I had a delicious homemade beef pie .My only reservation is how well they would have coped on a busy night, but we will return.

We went with friends to this pub last night as it was Valentine's day and we wanted to try somewhere new. We weren't disappointed. The food was excellent, freshly cooked to order (so you know you will need to wait) and local. I had rack of lamb which was cooked to perfection, nice and pink and so tender, it just melted. The vegetables were also freshly cooked, so they were nice and crisp and not at all soggy, which can spoil a meal. The puddings were delicious and the service was great, too - very welcoming. We will definitely go again to this lovely tradition old timber framed pub.

Have not been here for a number of years. I called on a Thursday lunch time 2 weeks ago, and had the best Ham and eggs and chips, I had a choice of salad or peas with it, I choose peas. My pint of bitter was fine too. The meal was brought to me about 10 mins later, and it was excellent, plenty of everything, including 2 eggs, and the ham was superb.Very pleasant staff too. So much so I went back last week and had the same.

We visited this pub on the off-chance it was open and was pleasantly surprised when we arrived at a proper english pub bar complete with welcoming log-fire crackling away.We ordered from the specials, soups, ham (proper home cooked ham not that dreadful slappy wet stuff!) egg, chips and my wife had fish and chips. We both enjoyed our lunch and I appreciated the well kept pint if IPA I had with mine.They have an interesting 'wine menu' on the wall with the actual bottles available on display.

After trying several other venues we booked a table and are so pleased we did.We hadn't visited this pub for a couple of years and apart from a few changes it was still comfortable with a superb open fire. The welcome was excellent and the staff were very friendly. The roast dinner was good and reasonably priced. Possibly a touch of Brake Brothers Yorkshire pudding and Syrup sponge but not surprising as it is still a country pub . When the coach and horses stopped outside for a drink that was great!

We had a friend visiting so we were looking for a nice country pub for dinner. It was a Sunday so many were booked up, we were driving through the Rodings in Essex and spotted the black lion pub. We Popped in and were surprised to see the pub was very quiet. I ordered the gammon Sunday lunch, my wife ordered the veggie Sunday lunch and our friend ordered deep fried Brie. About 30 minutes later the food arrived and both the Sunday lunches were black and dry through over cooking, the roast potatoes were almost impossible to cut and the rest of the meal was so overcooked it was virtually inedible. Our friend cut in to his Brie and there was nothing inside so it had obviously been cooked too long. The vegetables were ok though and the hosts were welcoming and friendly. We did arrive towards the end of the food availability however this food should not have been served to customers. We did not complain at the time as the hosts were very attentive and friendly but they should be ashamed at serving food in that condition.

Near meNot too expensiveNice garden for the summer to sit in, and for children to run aroundSome of the best chips, pub wiseQuick service and nice staffHighly recommended ♡funtimesgirl♡

Attended for a last minute midweek evening meal with my wife. Pub appears to have some new owners and a new entrance with a bit of decoration which is nice. We were greeted well despite the bar area being reasonably busy and quickly served and offered a seat in the dining room area. Our drinks were brought over to our table quickly which was great. Not a huge selection of food on offer but enough to choose from I guess. Prices for main meals between £10 and £18. I ordered beef enchiladas which were nice and not bad value. My wife ordered the rack of lamb which came very well presented but the lamb was very very undercooked in the centre. She asked for it to be cooked a bit more which they did. Disappointing that it was replated but I might be being fussy here! It was however still uncooked in the centre are a second attempt. My wife likes the lamb pink in the middle so not being fussy at this point. They were however very apologetic and did not charge us for that meal. On that basis I think I will return to try the food again as is a nice place for a pub meal but not necessarily top end pub restaurant similar in the area. Definitely a nice place to go for a drink.

The pub changed hands about six months ago and sadly it has not been an improvement.Yes it is nice and clean, but you now enter at the back of the pub (there is no handrail to help you up the steps) down a narrow passage past the toilets. Not the most inspiring entrance. The barman was pleasant and helpful. The real letdown was the food, which used to be great. A very limited menu......jacket potatoes, sandwiches, scampi, fish & chips or ham, egg & chips. Not really inspiring. One of us had the ham, egg & chips and the eggs could have bounced off the plate they were so overcooked!I asked for a plain salad with some coleslaw ( I am vegetarian and my only other option was a jacket potato). After a long wait I got my salad but no coleslaw as they couldn't find any - this despite the fact that the menu stated that it was homemade. The others had scampi which was ok. All in all we were very disappointed.

Starter arrived and we had no cutlery to eat it so had to ask at the bar for some. Starter antipasto was very nice but came with no meat. We queried this and we were told "we don't think we have any meat, looks like they gave you extra cheese, is that alright?" and walked off. The wife's main course tagliatelle came with no garlic bread, it was supposed to. The tagliatelle was not thoroughly cooked so she could not eat a quarter of it.My steak and ale pie was supposed to come with peas but came with swede and broccoli, no mention from the staff why the meal came with no peas. My meal started quite tasty but I came across several hard pieces of meat.Daughters chicken kebab meal was supposed to come with pitta bread, but didn't come with it. We had to ask why and after several minutes were told they had ran out but did apologise. But there was no offer an alternative or recompense for this.My other daughters haddock was fine. We didn't want to risk any desert so paid the bill and left.Probably one of the worst experiences we've had in a restaurant/pub and I really don't how people can run an establishment and think it is fine to serve people the wrong food, missing/different food compared to the menu and uneatable food without explanation. Very unprofessionally run in my opinion.If we are in the area again, we would certainly not go to this pub again.

As a visitor to the areaI have found it difficult to find a non yuppy pub. This one fits the bill. More interested in beer than cocktails. Very busy on a Friday night. That's good ,means it will stay open.

We were staying at a local B&B and went to this pub as it was close by and my wife and I were celebrating our wedding anniversary. We booked a table and arrived for good time and I believe the landlord showed us to our table. He was polite and friendly. We wanted to sit in restaurant side of the pub to eat as apposed to the bar side. A table of 6 were already seated and were in full flow of conversation. The atmosphere was good and the bar was steady with locals/regulars. Now the restaurant is a large dining room but the owners have done their best with the room space. After being shown the menu we ordered our food. We had a starter, main and dessert. Our starters took quite some time and when they came out they looked fair. My baked brie was fine though the batter did taste a little fishy. I think it's deep fried in the same fryer. After finishing our starters we waited a good 20 mins before the waitress removed our plates. However, our mains were out in 5 minutes from our plates being cleared. I had the beef curry and it was lovely. No drama's. My wife noticed that her chips had been cooked in old oil or well used oil as there were signs of this over the chips. Again we waited some time for the waitress to clear our table. Once cleared, we asked for desserts. We waited for some more drinks we ordered from the chap who showed us to the table. They took a long while to come to our table. We could see the chap talking to his other punters at the bar from our seats. Eventually they turned up. But shortly our desserts turned up. Very delicious. Sticky toffee pub with vanilla ice cream. No complaints. I settled our bill and ordered a taxi back to our B&B. We had a thank you and goodbye parting comment when we left.On reflection, although management were friendly and polite we felt a bit like an after thought compared to the regulars. Longish waits on food and some areas need a small amount of detail to really pick up the rate it deserves. This was by no means a bad experience. We just felt a bit more attention to restaurant diners and dinners would make this pub spot on.Thank you for the experience and I wish you continued success. Bye guysAlTop tips * Book a table* If it's warm eat in the beer garden area* If popping in try the fresh cake in the stand at the bar

Food was reasonable and the price was OK.It was midweek, not many customers.Nothing else to add that has not already been said.

we had a last minute visit from family and decided to go out for a Sunday roast. There were 4 adults and 2 children in the group. We managed very last minute with 30 minutes notice to get a table at the Black Lion in High Roding. We had been to the pub a number of years ago and found it to be nice so took a chance and were not disappointed.The staff were friendly and attentive. We were seated all most immediately on out arrival. Our drinks order was taken very promptly. There was a good choice of real ales.There was a good choice on the Sunday menu and a good choice for the kiddies too. The food was good when it arrived and the portions were good. Over all we all had a great Sunday roast as a last minute thought. The location was handy and the staff friendly and welcoming. There looks to be a nice enclosed beer garden to the rear and we will definitely return in the future.

We happened upon this unassuming pub in the way home from a day out. We weren't convinced until we walked into a warm welcome from the staff and a roaring fire. Three choices of roast for c£10 and kids roast for under a fiver (?£4.50?). There were also 3 veggie options which weren't on the menu but the lovely chef came out and explained them (all sounded delicious). The nut roast was tasty as I am told was the beef and smoked gammon. Generous portions followed by indulgent desserts and an Easter egg hunt! Staff were friendly, relaxed atmosphere, service quick and food great. A nice end to a good day. Some alterations being undertaken by new owner apparently. We will come especially next time rather than just when passing.

Went for quick pub meal. Good small selection of food. Specials board was excellent. All freshly cooked and chef was very accommodating. Save room for deserts as even though limited choice they were excellent.

With a choice of roasts on the menu, I decided on the beef, it arrived on warmed plates with roast potatoes and a Yorkshire pudding, the veg came separately, it was all hot and veg cooked to perfection. A really lovely Sunday roast! 3 clean plates returned to the kitchen. My husband then decided on the sticky toffee pudding and my daughter had the homemade lemon cheesecake, two more empty plates!We didn't book a table and took a risk by turning up, we were lucky to get a table as several were occupied or reserved, there is seating in other areas of the pub but if you particularly want to sit in the restaurant area then booking in advance is advised.We will most definitely be returning again very soon!

I had chilli con carne, It was very good, and more than adequate in quantity.Wife hadscampi which she enjoyed. Derert Belgian waffles and spotted dick. Both o.k.

A Lovely Old Pub, with Home Cooked Food. An Excellent range of Dishes, with Vegatables, which were Different, to those you may get on other Pub Menus. Maria will try her best to Vary and change Dishes, for those with Allergies. All the staff are all Very Friendly. Bob is Particularly Very Helpful, as my Cousin Bill, is Disabled. We always Enjoy our Visits, there.

This 14C pub is in the middle of the high street, though parking was easy. Four of us met for lunch on a Sunday, not overly packed but obviously very popular. Lovely big open fire (welcome on a cold day), in a traditional style old English pub.No menu's just a huge blackboard above the fireplace with a good selection of choices. Friendly waitress service, and not too overbearing. None of us had starters - main courses were spot on with size (not a la carte) but just good honest pub food, well cooked, well presented and all tasty, as well as being reasonably priced. Good choice of desserts - traditional puddings etc.Will come again.

ordered roast beef and it was exactly as requested. veg very good.Wife had scampiand to my surprise ate it all. Apple crumble as sweet.Excellent.

Went for Sundaordered fish and chips. I pointed out to the waitress, that Wife has lunch yesterday. I ordered beef rare.it was excellent,veg etc well up to standard, Wife has alaheimers and I told the waitress that she die not eat very much. She ordered fish and chips.The waitress said that the fish was large, but she would ask the chef to make some gougons.Tjey were very good, and the Wife ate them all.The most she has eaten in some time.Ice cream with sauce for Wife, and very good apple crumble and custard for me.Very good all round. and two decent Frencjh wines on list.Have been there previously, and always happyConte de Dieses

We have been here several times and each time the food has been great and the staff are friendly and efficient. The menu has a great variety of dishes and they serve traditional pub grub which appears to be homemade which is quite rare these days. We will be back soon!

Welcoming staff, great menu and 4 children cleared their plates! Very helpful and attentive staff. A traditional English pub in a beautiful village. Nothing was too much bother for our waitress who was great with the children. Food was beautiful, well presented and great portion sizes. All in all a fabulous lunch and I'll be taking the family back soon.

A really friendly pub restaurant in the middle of this charming Essex village.The food we had was good, well presented and served in good time.The chef was available after the meal, which is always a good sign.There were two guest real ale beers and a choice of lagers and wine.Will definitely go again.Dancing Ray

We found this pub on the way through looking at another option, could not have been happier the food was amazing all home made. Staff were friendly and accommodating.

Traditional village pub. excellent beer, excellent food, friendly staff, what more needs to be said, this is one of a vanishing species of Real Pubs.

Enjoyed a family meal at this establishment and yet again it was excellent. This pub serves home cooked meals at a very fair price. I loved the vegetarian dish and it is something that I need to try out again.

First time visiting and discovered quite by chance.Charming interior, log burning fire place, wide variety of meal choices (and excellent proper pub grub options), attentive and chatty staff. Literally everything a country pub should be without trying too hard and my god - my oxtail main course was stunning!

We dined here last weekend with family who were treating us to our meal. Great choice on the menu. My steak arrived, cooked as requested and was one of the best steaks I've had, Lovely plentiful plate full of food. I followed this with a cheese board, WOW, that was something else, soooo much cheese and for once, a lovely lot of savoury crackers were served with it.Lovely friendly pub, super staff who go the extra mile and look after you. Will certainly be visiting again!

We ate here as part of a party of 26 people. The service was excellent, there was a wide variety of choice, the food was well cooked and hot. The staff were friendly and helpful. will be back and would recommend.

The reason for the title is that it would be unfair to consider the Black Lion as average (three stars)but equally I did not think it was very good (four stars). Ate there on the evening of 17-1, my brother inlaw had booked, and originally asked for 6.30 to be informed that the restaurant did not open till 7pm, the reason for the early booking was that we had young children in the party. On arriving at 7.05pm and shown to our table one could not miss the fact that a table of approx twenty people where just finishing their main meal!!! That's pretty quick service for a 7 o'clock opening!!!!All that aside the welcome was cheerful and relaxed, the pub is what it is, a traditional country establishment, a welcome change from the city pubs. The menu is not extensive but then one hopes the quality is good. A little strange that there are no hard copies of the menu to look at at the table!!, the entire menu is on black boards in the main bar, quaint but a tad odd.It's fair to say that the food was ok, I don't think I'm being harsh, my gammon steak was more like a thick piece of bacon, nevertheless still enjoyable, the rest of the party considered that although the portion sizes where plentiful the quality was lacking.Pudding for me was the best bit, syrup sponge and custard was fantastic.Overall the service was very pleasant, and a good evening out. This review is based on my considered opinion and should not be taken that the Black Lion is not worth a visit because it is, a few tweeks and it could be very good.

This is a lovely country pub, with a big open fire. The food is good pub food and excellent value for money, Maria and her team are always very welcoming and the service is great, always willing to adapt the menu if you want to interchange. The atmosphere here is warm and welcoming.

Fairly quiet on Tuesday night. Friendly service and good home made food as last time. Would go again.

Great value... we have using the black lion for a number of years for shoot dinners, no matter how many of us there is Maria and Darren are amazing hosts and food is great even if more than book turn up.would highly recommend.

Had a lovely meal here. John is old school and he's not happy unless his customers are happy.That's why he's always smiling!

We visited here on the Saturday 2nd November with friends who we were stopping with in nearby Barnston, who are regulars to the black lion, we were impressed would be an understatement, lovely country pub with a lovely atmosphere and friendly staff. Would recommend the ribeye steak with all the trimmings it was outstanding as was the cheese board we had with port to finish, we shall return for sure next time we visit our friends , OUTSTANDING

Using TA as a guide we discovered this fine traditional pub near Stansted whilst staying over for an event at North Weald. It certainly presented North Essex is a great light as an agricultural area with a real pub with hay wagons passing every few minutes. All the dishes are on a board, customer base very local many just ghaving a drink. A real pub with real ale and friendly, everyone seemed to know each other but easy to join in. Pub food prices, good ales, great evening.

We went there to show family members who are visiting the country the typical English fish and chipsAnd i can say how happy i was whent a have the best fish and chips ever

Went with whole family (21 of us) for sunday lunch as its midway between us all.Meals are excellent quality and large portions. Staff are friendly and landlady Maria is lovely and works exceptionally hard. Have been several times and she has never let us down. Very good value for money.

Not busy on a Tuesday evening. Good home-made food and friendly service. Have already recommended it.

Using TA as a guide we discovered this fine traditional pub near Stansted whilst staying over for an event at North Weald. It certainly presented North Essex is a great light as an agricultural area with a real pub with hay wagons passing every few minutes. All the dishes are on a board, customer base very local many just ghaving a drink. A real pub with real ale and friendly, everyone seemed to know each other but easy to join in. Pub food prices, good ales, great evening.

A very welcoming Pub. Maria the Landlady runs a very good establishment. The food is excellent, the portions are very generous and excellent value. The nice thing about this pub is, you feel you can "just call in for a beer" and not be expected to "have a meal too"...believe you me, there are not many Pubs in the area where you feel you can do that nowadays. Its a proper Village Pub. Would recommend it !!!!!

Went to the Black Lion last Tuesday evening to meet my Partner's 84 year young Aunt and two Cousins, one of who was over from Oz for the first time in 15 years with his partner. With the number of " Village Pub's" going to the wall daily in the UK I was a little sceptical as to how this one was surviving and hoped the reason would be the Food and the atmosphere. I had read reviews on tripadvisor and was surprised to read in one of them something akin to " it was full of village people" Well naturaly I was enthralled by this, I mean the Actual Village people of Y.M.C.A. fame! could this be true? Well there were a few guy's who looked like they could have been construction workers or farmers but definately no Native American Indians. Anyway the Food and the Atmosphere. Food was Good for me the Haddock was top class and unusually for the South of the UK the batter was light and crispy. My partner was not that impressed with her Chilli con Carne paticularly the presentation and the bowl of "grated cheddar cheese" !!!! and for me the Bread & Butter pudding was a little "bouncy" but overall it was a nice evening in nice surroundings and the service was good.

I telephoned to book a Sunday lunch after reading a report on this site as I was visiting a 91 year old uncle who is in a home in Dunmow - my son had driven me down from Nottingham.I was a bit put off by the entrance to the pub but the dining room looked okay so we stayed. The staff were fantastic - they could not have been more helpful and caring. The roast beef dinner was excellent with fresh veg and no problem about having more if requested. The Eton Mess pudding was superb and uncle loved the syrup pudding.Well done to all the staff for making this visit so successful - thank you.

The Black lion is an old 14th century coaching inn with exposed beams, giving it a unique look. We rushed to get there for 2pm as not to miss lunch but were happy to hear that it serves all day on Saturday, so we were able to relax and sample a few pints first. Being tourists this was the epitomy of an old English pub. The service was friendly, fast and it is nice when staff engage in conversation, something you rarely see back at home. There was a great selection of food at a reasonable price (cheap for Aussies). We had chilli con carne and the pie and both were huge servings and very satisfying. The one disappointment was that we didn't leave room for desert.

I booked a table and was treated to brilliant home cooked food in front of their lovely real fire. Although partner didn't show, I was made to feel welcome in what is clearly a deservedly popular pub with locals and others. Keep doing what you are doing - it's a winning combination. I shall definitely return.

We turned up around 3 p.m., looking for a late lunch after a long journey back to Essex. The sign outside said 'Food until 2 p.m.' but we went in and asked anyway.The barman checked with kitchen and they agreed to cook for us, anything we wanted from the menu or specials board. Can you believe that!?The food was truly excellent: a plate of scampi with more chips than we could cope with; two plates of liver and bacon, huge portions of perfectly cooked food, as good as anything you'll prepare at home. And the onion gravy was superb.We weren't rushed or made to feel uncomfortable, quite the opposite. A roaring real log fire was so good on a cold day and the atmosphere of this traditional pub reminded us of how good pubs can be if they work hard at it.This place is on a main road out of Dunmow with plenty of parking. What a welcome surprise for us - we'd recommend it!

Silly woman from Dunmow! You have to phone ahead and book if you want to make sure you can eat in the restaurant this is because it is a popular place to dine. You can order snack's anytime (try the Cheesy chips and the Malaysian chicken is exceptional) the locals are friendly made up of all ages. if that is not for you then do not go.

Went there once when starving hungry and there was a lack of places to eat. It's a typical old village pub which is patronised by the old villagers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!