Bridgewater Arms in Dacorum

When I was a child I remember visiting Walton on the Naze. In my memory it was a big bustling resort full of fun. When I returned as an adult it was a small and disappointing place. Sandra had the same experience today. On the way to the Bridgewater Arms she was regailing me with tales of previous meals eaten and enjoyable visits. Mind you, that was more than 5 years ago. Our eyes lit up when we saw the wine list. Chateauneuf du Pape for £24. Sorry we haven't got that. We went for a Malbec instead which tasted like it had been cooked even though it was in a screw top bottle. We then tried a sip of their Merlot. Two lagers please! My first course of Tomato and Pepper soup was nice,and we played a good game of hunt the prawn in Sandra's starter. We eventually found a couple. Sandra's main, delivered before she had finished her starter, was OK, but my mushroom pie had plenty of room inside it and not many mushrooms. Both of our deserts were excellent and free, and the staff were very polite and helpful, hence 2 stars. It will be more than 5 years before she comes again.

Lovely afternoon down at this cosy pub , staff are very welcoming and food was brilliant ! I will be definitely recommending to friends and family

We had a lovely experience 1st time visiting this lovely country pub. food was delicious, drinks all good too, but what stood out the most was just how cozy and relaxed our visit was, the service wasn't just there it was genuine, with only 1 person working at the time, and it was very busy, they ensured that we had everything we needed, found time to talk to us about our day and really had a great laugh with us. Thank you again, and if were ever in the area again we will absolutely be making a stop in again.

A village pub and restaurant that consistently delivers on quality and service The staff are welcoming and attentive. The pub atmosphere -is always warm and inviting and the food is excellent.

Booked a table for 12 people for my birthday meal and not only was the manager very helpful on the phone but also very friendly in person when we turned up. Very good atmosphere, very nice food and I can’t compliment the staff enough. Lovely little pub, will definitely be coming back.

It was very quiet when I went there for a quick lunch. I'm sure it gets busier in the Summer. The Bridge water Arms is located on the edge of the beautiful (even in winter) Ashridge forest. It is a cosy country pub with no pretensions. The food was good and not expensive. Service was quick and friendly. Well worth a visit.

Great friendly, efficient service! Dog friendly, food was great - lamb shank and beef Bourguignon - yum! Nothing too much trouble :)

Great friendly service, as always :))

Staff member loudly proclaimed to her colleague that she believes she has Whooping Cough - a highly contagious infection. Proceeded to cough into hands and touch bottles and glasses without washing hands first, cough over the surfaces and drinks she was making. No effort to follow any food safety and hygiene standards. Didn’t finish drinks and left because so disgusted.

Fabulous food and amazing service. Our waitress was very attentive and couldn't do enough for us. Very speedy service which when you are eating with a four year old is always a must.

Very average food. Service was good but let down badly by over cooked lamb and undercooked vegetables. Very noisy table in bar area …..Would not recommend

Overcooked fish and chips. Cheap and junky ice cream. Out of a lot of items. Terribly slow service with lots of mix ups. Not a professional place - feels like it’s run by teenagers. And note that “dog friendly” doesn’t include the dining spaces.

Fabulous pub, food and staff who are attentive to every need and detail. Very friendly staff, and our Christmas Day lunch this year was brilliant. Second time we've been there on Christmas Day (first time was in 2019 and again this year in 2024- there will be more Christmas Day lunches ahead for years to come at this lovely pub)

After a lovely walk around Ashridge with friends, we decided to pop into the Bridgewater Arms for a drink before heading home to Pinner. They had a wide variety of food & a great vegan selection for our friends to chose from. We decided to stay for food & we are so pleased that we did! The staff were wonderful, friendly & very helpful. My son wanted the katsu chicken but as it was a Sunday that wasn’t on the menu. The manager was absolutely fantastic & so kind as he offered to have the katsu chicken made especially for my son! What an absolute star! My son was over the moon! All of our food was delicious & we had a thoroughly enjoyable unplanned evening! As we were driving we couldn’t have any alcohol, but they had a fantastic gin & rum selection. The prices were really reasonable too. We will definitely be returning as soon as possible. Thank you for having us Bridgewater Arms & massive thanks again for the special order of katsu chicken!

Haven’t been for a while.so was pleased to see a new food menu with reasonable prices. Also a bigger choice of zero drinks. Because of this ,stayed longer than normal. Glad to see Madie and her team still running things.

Nice looking hotel from outside. Greeting was warm and friendly. The dining room needed decorating but was warm and cosy. We were visiting for a light show at Ashridge House and had timed tickets. We arrived at 6pm and ordered our food at about 6.15pm. We had to chase the food after 35-40 minutes because we wouldn't have been able to get to the show in time. It came 10 minutes later, so we waited about 40 minutes in all. The food was fairly good. My lamb shank was great, my partner's macaroni cheese was on the small side and my elderly friend's scampi was good, she said. We did like the place but the length of wait for the food makes us hesitate to re-book.

We went for dinner, whilst the food was good, the time it took to serve it (35-40 minutes) meant we had to rush it before going to a prebooked event down the road.

Chelsea was fantastic with the kids, engaging and having conversations with them. Extra surprise for them as staff came out with birthday brownies with candles and sang for them - all three kids have their birthdays very close and it was one of their birthdays on the day of our visit.

We had the light bite lunch, which varied in quality. The mac and cheese was delicious, but the crumble was stodgy. It was very reasonably priced and perfect for us as we only wanted a small lunch. The pub is pleasant inside with a nice atmosphere.

Great place to meet friends and relax

We arrived 30 mins early and was asked to enter registration in the machine for a 5 hour time span, thought it was odd. It wasn't particularly busy given the time of day, the service was very slow and the waitress had no clue what you got with any meal. She advised salad with a pie?? The time scale from seating to getting g our mains was 2 hours not good enough considering, the potatoes were half cooked, meat was horrid, veg was cold, on my meal. Husband meal was luke warm. Didn't stop for pudding as we had been there far to long and didn't want to wait another 2 hours for pudding, rubbish service from past experience. The toilets dirty and the floor was sopping wet too, don't think we will be returning.

Food was lovely. Great pub atmosphere. Locals were very nice.

Absolutely amazing as always, thank you

Wow wow wow what a lovely meal, beautiful pub, lovely welcoming feel. The team all working hard on a busy busy day indeed, Just a true gem of a pit stop for food and drinks, with nice views and walks surrounding this beautiful village restaurant 😍

Lovely meal, thanks very much, food, service, ales and staff are always brilliant. We may come here a little too much, but we just can't help ourselves.

Another delicious meal, perfect atmosphere and brilliant customer service from the team. We love this pub Thank you again 😊

Great selection of ales on tap, food was good. New light bites menu very good value for money Service was warm and friendly

Amazing food, great service and perfectly served ale. Our server Madie was incredible 😲 Never disappointed when we visit, will be back again

Lovely pub, wonderful staff, delicious food.

We enjoyed a great value meal waited on by Chelsea who was attentive, friendly and polite. Would definitely visit again if in the area.

We had a Tasty 3 Course Meal at this lovely Pub last night 7/11/24. Friendly Host, Wonderful Waitress, Lovely surroundings and good value food and drink made sure we had a great evening. I had a steak and it was cooked to perfection my wife and son also enjoyed their choices and I would thoroughly recommend this establishment and its friendly crew. Drive slowly as we saw lots of Deer on the way !

We had a Fun night with friends at the bridge water arms. Johnny was very accommodating, great service and very tasty curry on the specials

I recently dined at Bridgewater and had a truly delightful experience. The food was very good, and my drink was equally impressive. The atmosphere was inviting and added to the overall enjoyment of the meal. However, what truly stood out was the exceptional service provided by Johnny. His attentiveness and professionalism truly enhanced my dining experience. I highly recommend Bridgewater for a memorable and satisfying meal.

Arrived on a busy Saturday evening, and although the bar was very busy, we were acknowledged and served by a friendly face. After being seated in the dining area, our orders were taken quickly, again with smiling staff, and the meal went without a hitch. Everyone was more than happy with their food, we couldn't believe the service was so good with only three front of house staff running it! We will definitely be back.

We booked a table for 9 people for a special anniversary, and we weren’t disappointed. Jonny and Shelby took great care of us, despite how busy it was, and made sure we had a great time. They are clearly dedicated and did it all with a smile. Nothing was toomuch trouble. The food was delicious and really good value. Lovely spacious pub. We’ll definitely be back!!!

We had a lovely Sunday lunch after riding bikes around the ashridge estate. Lovely place with ample parking. Service was flawless.. lovely time had by all.. Great vegitarian options

Good for a light lunch and very reasonably priced.

Great vibes , great pint, would recommend

Lovely meal, fabulous service - very impressed

Wonderful lunch today (also sampling the new menu) great service as usual from Johnny and Chelsea and rest of the staff. This is why we visit a few times a week 😀 Julie and Graham

Walked around Ivinghoe Becon on a warm summers day and we were looking for a pub that served food. Off putting car park that insisted we entered out car registration at the bar (when has that become a thing?). Reassured that the sign outside said ‘food served all day’ The first thing we were told at the bar was that they weren’t serving food until 4pm. It was only 3.20 so we decided to have a drink and a bag of crisps. We sat in the garden that looked like a work in progress, without the workers. At 4 we decided to order food. Scampi, pork belly and a burger. No scampi. Second choice - fried chicken. No chicken! What kitchen runs out of chicken?! And by the way, the Chinese pork belly, we don’t have any Chinese veg. At this point my son called it a day and said he’d like to cancel the order and get the money refunded. Apparently that’s not easy to do and it took a phone call, and a week, for it to come through. This pub needs a change of management or it’s being run down so it can be closed and sold as homes. What a shame. The crisps were ok.

Good food and very good service. A good choice of vegetarian options. The beyond meat burger was delicious. Mini puddings are a very good idea. We received very good service from Chelsea, who was friendly and couldn't do enough to help us.

Lunch was very poor. Was told AFTER ordering that there was an hour wait. Food menu was obviously being run down ahead of introducing the new season menu next week so lots unavailable. Food quality was really poor, lasagne pretty much inedible. Such a shame as this should be (and once was) an amazing pub for a lunch

Always good for me. Madie and her team do a great job of keeping things going.

Delicious food (more than generous portion sizes and very reasonably priced), friendly and helpful staff (Lorna and a colleague who I didn’t catch the name of) and generally relaxing vibes.

Food was great friendly staff quick service had no wait time on food

Incredibly friendly staff, great food, and lovely location - accommodated our group of 8 very well :) Would highly recommend a visit for a quick meal

I was really looking forward to Sunday lunch here as I have been before in the week & the sandwiches have been amazing ! However did not receive the same service or food We came early 12:15 booking , was not acknowledged by the manager looking at his phone behind the bar doing something with the till , young lad walked past us then a young lady and then the young lad again finally acknowledged us ! It was my sons birthday the young lad said happy birthday which was nice , we have eaten in many places before , and service on birthdays is so different , I had a chicken Caesar salad , I know they are very basic but when I’ve eaten them before at different pubs we at least get something worth our money like garlic ciabatta , anchovies etc ,nope just a load of lettuce squishy pieces of bread , and 3 pieces of chicken for £10.40 (or there abouts ) I needed to remember it is a green king pub , but had forgotten due to the lovely sandwiches I had a few months back there Such a shame the staff are less by a miserable manager

Lack of choice and once served the Turkey roast which was our 3rd choice had vegtables which were meant to be roasted were limp and luke warm, the roast potatoes were cold and not crunchy.We didnt get all the veg we were meant to and the yorkshire pud tasted very oily. The manager didnt charge us for the dinners to be fair to them but they really need to get their primary Sunday meals nailed down.

Sunday early lunch on a sunny afternoon. Strangely told we couldn’t sit in the garden because of the previous days rain. We had originally found seats outside and it was fine and not boggy at all but it was a straight “no” when we asked. Pleasant bar manager and young girls serving the tables however the food was quite disappointing. Fish & chips - fish was very nice however only a few chips (no more than 10) and a table spoon of peas. Skimping on the basics seemed unusual. Burger and chips - burger nice but again minimal chips. Prawn & avocado - prawns nice but only ‘one’ small piece of avocado. Extra portion of chips - really small pot of chips. Drinks - all good. Overall felt there was a need to cut back and save costs which was a shame as it’s a great location and great pub.

Always a wonderful welcome from the landlord at the Bridgewater Arms. Today we got to meet lovely Chelsea who was so attentive to make sure we had everything we needed. Good food and wonderful people. Definitely recommend.

Just love the place . Great staff (especially Maybelle) and fun atmosphere. Food was ace -so well cooked by Johnny.

Awesome food and service, Lilly was most helpful

Gutted. Looks the part on the outside. Food poor. Raw steak. Under cooked chips. Messed up the order twice. Nice enough staff but up against it. Great location of course and stop in for a pint but move on quick/take sandwiches etc. Share holders first vibe about it, if you know what I mean...

Went for dinner and had an amazing time. Jonny the manager was excellent with great service and excellent food with great prices. Will defo be coming again!!

Amazing family lunch out at our favourite place to eat, fantastic team, great selection of food and drinks and the everyone is welcome atmosphere makes everyone in the pub feel at home

Came for lunch, food was amazing, service was very warm and welcoming. We come here every couple of months and enjoy the visits every time. Thank you for always looking after us

Was out for dinner on the weekend and the manager is so rude!! He made totally inappropriate comments in front of family who also have young kids. I do not care if you are trying to be funny or nice. There is a time and a place. In front of young people was neither. Food was below par but not the worst we have had. Girl behind the bar called Shelby was nice. Overall poor experience with a manager who is way out of line.

Enjoyable family dinner at the busy Bridgewater Arms. For mains we ordered scampi and chips, a roasted butternut squash with a pea and mint risotto, and an indulgent beef burger accompanied with lettuce, tomato, red onion, mayonnaise and fries. To finish we had chocolate brownie sundaes...delicious! All the meals and deserts were well presented, very tasty and plentiful. Overall, an enjoyable experience, greatly helped by the attentive and knowledgeable staff team, namely Johnny, Shelby and Maybelle. We shall of course return.

Enjoyable family dinner at the busy Bridgewater Arms. For mains we ordered scampi and chips, a roasted butternut squash with a pea and mint risotto, and an indulgent beef burger accompanied with lettuce, tomato, red onion, mayonnaise and rosemary enhanced fries. To finish we had chocolate brownie sundaes...delicious! All the meals and deserts were well presented, very tasty and plentiful. One slight surprise was finding that a popular local cask beer was no longer available. Notwithstanding our initial disappointment, this did not detract from an enjoyable experience, greatly helped by the attentive and knowledgeable staff team, namely Johnny, Shelby and Maybelle. We shall of course return.

Not been to this pub for a while but it used to be good so booked up for a family meal. Unfortunately don't know if it's changed hands or we caught it on a bad day but seems standards have slipped right down. Seemed to be scarcity of staff as had to wait ages for drink orders to be taken, then ages for drinks to be served, then ages for food orders to be taken then ages for food to be served. Food was average at best all in all a disappointing experience.

Just eaten here in the garden asked the waitress if we could have a cloth to wipe the tables down she said yes then didn’t come out with any cloth all garden tables are filthy now I remember why we haven’t been for so long !! Food for price poor hardly any chips salad was one small tomato and not even a whole slice of cucumber , not value for money and frankly quite dirty

Popped in for a spot of lunch today. The food was top notch, and the service was excellent from Madie. She was very chatty and spoke me through the great selection of real ale. Will definitely be returning. Thanks again!

Went to the pub for lunch with my fiancé and kids and had a lush experience. Not only was the food delicious but the manager was so helpful and really good with the kids. Will definitely be coming back.

Very nice experience lunch and drinks after a walk around Ashridge 20 odd people.

Great place, the team are always accommodating, helpful and knowledgeable.

Madie did an excellent job - friendly and efficient.

Popped in after a long day for some food, it was delicious! The gnocchi was cooked to perfection and I received the best service from Lillie and Shelby! Would definitely recommend, 10/10 for food and service!

Great steak, great atmosphere, Lillie and Shelby were very attentive

Had a great time at the bridge water arms. Lillie and Shelby were fantastic.

lillie was a very good waiter and made sure everything was okay for us food was also lovely

Waitress Lillie was nothing short of extraordinary, well done to her,

Had a lovely meal here for our family of 5, the food is very nice and value for money. Our waitress Lillie was very friendly and helpful

The staff are always Very welcoming and very accommodating! The food is always amazing and have never had a bad experience. Can’t wait to come back

The meal was lovely and the staff were very friendly. Unfortunately not everything we wanted was available when we were here.

The Bridgewater Arms is a very cool little place. The beef dishes are all excellent. The staff is nice.

It was a nice warm sunny day. I know we haven’t had many of those coming out of winter. We bought some drinks and sat in the beer garden, which is a reasonable size. However the garden furniture was in poor condition and there was stuff lying on a bench as you enter the garden. The grass was too long. I know we had a tremendous amount of rain and it was muddy under the tables and that cannot be helped due to the weather.

We have been up many times and it has always been a mediocre pub in a beautiful location. On our last visit though my husband and I popped in late evening and couldn't find any staff. When we did find them they were vaping at the back of the pub!!! I do not know how they find this behavior acceptable especially as David has breathing problems

Disappointed by this pub for allowing a guy to drink 3 bottles of wine one night to the point where a local had to drive him home as he wasn't coherent. Then next night they allowed him to do the same. Luckily the same local went to find him and just as well they did as he was face down in the grass in a field on a freezing cold night. Could have ended very badly. Next day we spoke to the manager who laughed about it and asked what the local who helped him was doing in the bushes at the time of night. I have pictures and proof of it all. Could have ended very poorly. Not that the management cared at all. Profit over people.

Disappointed by this pub for allowing a guy to drink 3 bottles of wine one night to the point where a local had to drive him home as he wasn't coherent. Then next night they allowed him to do the same. Luckily the same local went to find him and just as well they did as he was face down in the grass in a field on a freezing cold night. Could have ended very badly. Next day we spoke to the manager who laughed about it and asked what the local who helped him was doing in the bushes at the time of night. I have pictures and proof of it all. Could have ended very poorly. Not that the management cared at all. Profit over people.

Great location only bettered by the fantastic staff who served a delicious meal.

Great place great food fabulous service

Attend on a regular basis.never been disappointed. Allows dogs and gives a great atmosphere . Food good value and great staff.assistant manager Madie keeps a check on the running.

Have visited several times.once to entertain.always a good atmosphere as dogs are allowed. Food and drinks has always been good at fair prices. Staff are friendly. Especially Madie,assistant manager. Always cheerful.

The service was excellent. The food was excellent. The price was excellent. The ambiance was excellent. Enough said. Will return.

Excellent lunch and superb service. Manager Johnny and his staff were so very friendly and attentive. Would recommend the turkey roast, very tender, and desserts very good indeed. John and Maddy 28 April 2024

Great pub. Another year another visit. Friendly staff. Great service and food. Dog friendly too

Friendly staff, Dog friendly and the food was nice!

I have visited this pub for years. This Manager is rude to customers. The waitress was lovely. Manager made us move from the table we were sitting on. Moving my 80 year old father wasn't respectful. The table was not reserved. Very aggressive attitude from the manager. When I asked why was he being so rude he asked me to leave and refused to serve us our order

Great service, one of the best we’ve had in a while. Reasonably priced, food was good too, try the calamari. Thank you Chelsea 😊

We come here regularly and are fed up with how downhill this pub has gone ever since current management took over. Drinks always come in dirty glasses. Food is always lukewarm on dirty plates with dirty cutlery. Never seems to supply ale whenever we frequent. On our last visit they only supply side pocket and IPA. However they have no side pocket. Same as time before, and before. It's frustrating as we drive to Ashridge to walk and like to use the pub over the years and have seen so much change, but currently it's the worst it's ever been. The management doesn't care anymore. The bar team have always been polite, however the manager is a rude man and always has been. Numerous times on walking in have we heard people leaving upset after being spoken to rudely. Sometimes we even have to ask them to stop sitting down out the back of the pub and come and serve people waiting. Save yourself the time and money and go elsewhere.

Called in for lunch with our friends and dogs after a walk in the area. (Had popped into the Trooper first and made to feel like Lepers - won't be going back there. Never encountered such stuck-up staff in a pub that have a notice stating they are dog friendly !!) Experience at The Bridgewater Arms was lovely - staff really friendly and chatty, Manager brilliant. I can recommend the Mac'n'Cheese - delicious. Will definitely be going back.

Was told when we went in that there was going to be a long wait for food. We did not mind. In the end wait wasnt that bad. Food was very good and all the staff were every nice. Had a new young lady who was excellent. Am going again.

Great little pub.. food was very nice and staff were friendly and helpful.. mabell gets an extra mention

Lillie was absolutely fantastic, service and manor was impeccable. Definitely will return! Thank you

Shockingly poor service. We were a family party of 7 and had to hunt for anyone to serve drinks at the bar or take orders for our meals. Then waited an hour for the food to finally arrive. Large plates with hardly anything on them. Fish and chips should be renamed a fish finger and several chips. Scampi portions were minuscule. The salmon dish was tiny and served with three of the dirtiest, tiniest potatoes I’ve ever seen. Honestly thought they’d just been dug up! Had to order a bowl of chips to bulk out the few measly chips served on the dishes and they duly arrived very late in a tiny basket. Two teaspoons of peas, literally. Had to hunt for drink refills each and every time. Really didn’t want to create a scene since we were there for a family get together after having scattered our departed parents ashes, so I just paid the bill and left. I cannot believe how this place has the nerve to charge the prices they do for such appalling attention to their customers and certainly wouldn’t recommend a meal here.

I went for lunch with two friends, one of whom has severe mobility problems and was using a walker. I found the restaurant soleless. The food was good. I had to go and ask for the bill as no one came to the table then I had to go and find someone so we could pay. About a week later I received a £100 fine for not registering at the bar when I parked my car in the car park. I was so intent on getting my disabled friend in safely that I did not notice the signs. It would have been thoughtful of the staff to have reminded me I needed to do this as it was obvious we had come by car in view of my disabled friend. All in all to a great experience. I hasten to add I did get the fine rescinded on appeal.

My family and I had such a lovely time here, the staff and service were fantastic. In particular Shelby was a great host! Would definitely recommend!!

Had Gammon and egg. Beautifully cooked. Would recommend.

Such a shame , I had a disappointing Sunday roast , roast potatoes -one large one cut in to 4 pieces that’s all we got , half a carrot and frozen peas , parsnips were nice tho , half an apple ! Just to fill the plate , apparently that was Apple sauce , I did complain , had to I felt , I took my meal up and asked if the manager thought this was acceptable , he said it wasn’t , lashings of gravy , nope a ramekin dish if gravy . ! Roast potatoes were very dry , meat was tough and little of it . Such a lovely restaurant , but food was unacceptable They did put it right and came out with more veg , gravy , potatoes , but again the potatoes were dry and very small , £15.99 waste of money