Craft and Cleaver in St Albans

Amazing food and excellent service 👌

I’ve been here so many times and its always so perfect. Great value and the garden is lovely especially in the summer. Staff are very sweet too.

Food was amazing! Highly recommended, staff is nice and polite

Amazing food and the best bottomless brunch in St Albans

Kate and the team were fabulous . First time but not the last ! Thanks guys

One of my favourite restaurants in St. Albans

Fantastic lunch, food was delicious.

Been here a few times now and every time it never disappoints. Staff are always friendly and personable, food is always insane! Portion size is great if you’re a foodie like me! Highly recommend!

We had lovely time Alessia was a great waitress food and drinks were unreal

We had had a long day of travelling with some stressful problems when we arrived at Craft & Cleaver. We arrived quite late but the host made sure our party of 8 was able to sit down and have a stress free meal. The selection of drinks on tap was great and the brisket was amazing. I'll definitely be back when I'm in the vicinity. Thanks!

TL;DR: Decent food, but service was initially unwelcoming and even tried to refuse an existing booking. Visited around 2 PM with my child. The waitress (Charlotte?) claimed they were fully booked. I checked online and found plenty of tables available at the garden for that time, so I made a reservation and returned. She sighed and said they couldn't accommodate us because "the staff is too busy" and "there is too much work" I asked if the bartender was the manager, she nodded, and I spoke to him. He checked the booking, talked with Charlotte(?) and seated us in the half-empty garden area. Another waitress took our order, and after about 30 minutes, the beef ribs arrived. They were alright, especially with the whiskey sauce — without it, a bit underwhelming. Next time, I'll try the pork ribs. Kid's smashburger lacked any greens on the side. No explanation was given as to why: 1. The garden table wasn't offered initially. 2. The waitress refused the confirmed booking. Even if the kitchen was busy, she should've informed us of any wait times and let us decide.

Lovely service and excellent food. Their slow cooked meat is to die for

Best hot sauce, great food and service!

Sat afternoon late lunch. Approach the venue nice pub conversion. Inside was missing personality, basic, empty and nothing about it. Music very low makes people seem louder. Staff looked acted as if it was a hardship, not polite or approachable. Would expect them to ask if they could explain the menu etc. there was no interaction. Food was okay, we had the beef platter , 7/10 for presentation and portion. Flavour 6/10. Food was lukewarm warm not very exciting and the same cost as a London smoke house. Portion although enough compared to say a red dog saloon this was dire. Disappointment overall. Red dog saloon (chain) slaps 1000 times more than CC.

I'm so annoyed that I waited so long to try this place out. This type of place is right up my street but it's not that appealing to my wife and daughter. My daughter is getting into this type of food and she absolutely loved the place. She is asking for a return visit. Even my wife said she'd happily go back (maybe not at the same cadence as my daughter). The food was brilliant, the service exemplary. Dogs are allowed and I'm pretty sure it's my dogs favourite place ever. If you like crazy beer and this kind of cuisine then cancel your plans and go here. If you're not as crazy about it as me I would still recommend giving it a try. We will return and will make sure there's a Jacobs Ladder available

Mediocre bbq food. More hype than awesome food.

Smokey beef ribs amazing..... tender, juicy same as the burnt end brisket, service amazing, and the house lager tasty

Amazing. Portion sizes huge but amazing food 🥗

Really nice meal for 30th birthday. Great food and the staff were great and friendly. Will come back soon

Proper smokehouse food, will go back if staying in St Alban's again.

Visited again after many years. Really good quality food! The ribs were delicious and the sauces used were awesome. Service was a tad awkward as we had a few different servers and a drinks order missed but overall a really great place to visit. A bit pricey overall, with the total meal coming to £100 for 2 of us, which felt a lot considering we only had a couple of soft drinks between us; cocktails were £12 each which is a lot considering the going rate in London is £10. They are however, dog friendly, which is a bonus for us!

Food was amazing, lovely nice staff, would definitely come again!

Enjoyed a sunny evening in the garden with some delicious BBQ. Try the corn ribs!

Absolutely love C&C. Great atmosphere, amazing food and friendly and attentive service.

Honestly we were extremely surprised by how good the meat was. My boyfriend is a meat lover and always complaines about meat everywhere we go and here he was shocked and amazed. The food came fast and the staff was friendly. New gem unlocked ❤️

Great meal, first time here and will come back again soon!

Fantastic bbq food . Beef short rib is a particular favourite. Good service, beer on tap and also a great set of puddings. Thank you Craft and Cleaver!

Not the first time we have been and the quality and taste of the food coupled with the excellent service is why we come back. When asked if we wanted anything else and we requested a dance, the person clearing our table duly obliged 😂 Fantastic place to eat and drink Highly recommend!

Great food ribs and pulled pork on point - the beans were heaven 😃

Wish there were more BBQ places like this one around, food was excellent! Very tasty! Highly recommend! Nice relaxed atmosphere (great playlist) and friendly staff - dogs welcome to! Do you fancy opening a restaurant in Salisbury? :)

Amazing food great service! Definitely coming back!

First time I’ve been here and very impressed! My husband and I got a platter to share and we had plenty of food with some leftovers. While I wasn’t a massive fan of the sides, the meat was delicious. Will definitely be back!

The best bar in St Albans and the best food. I didn’t think they could get better but the latest menu upgrade is out of this world!

Love the outdoor space on such a wonderful evening.

Great options even for veggies. Friendly and efficient staff and a relaxed overall style.

A fabulous meal once again. The ribs were fantastic. Four very happy and very full people. Will definitely be back again very soon!

Food was good ! Paper that came on trays was annoying as ended up in the food when you were eating ! X

Love this place. Food is always on point and service is excellent! Highly recommend the Texas Platter!

Best BBQ food - Get one of “trays” to share (photo of Texas tray)

Amazing meal once again. how do you do it every time !!!

Unbelievable food and great atmosphere. You can't fault a single dish on the menu these guys know their stuff. I dare you not to like it

Brilliant with our kids, babe in highchair enjoyed the food too. Yum! Overheard another diner complaining unnecessarily and they handled it so professionally, was very impressed as my patience wouldn't have 😂

As always, a brilliant experience was amazing food and super service. Would highly recommend!

As always, great food and service!

The sharing platters were amazing, got to try the beef and pork and the food was exceptional. Great cocktails, great desserts, staff were really friendly. Must visit here

Due to a mix up on our side where we hadn’t booked, we were still found a table and received great service. The food and drink were all amazing quality and the best smoked food we’d ever had. Would highly recommend

Perfect food. Perfect environment. I love the pull pork sandwich. Make sure to try it

Superb dinner ! Lovely staff and great ambience. Will definitely be returning soon.

Really great meal and great service!

We had a great lunch here! The food was delicious and the service from Tatiana was awesome.

Great flavours, proper meat and hearty portion sizes. The brisket cigar appetiser was delightful.

Absolutely amazing food!! Me and friend were looking for a decent burger for dinner, found Craft and Cleaver online, and after looking at the photos went to try it out. We we surprised to see it was busy on a Wednesday night during the Easter break but after sitting down and seeing the menu, we realised it was a proper American style BBQ joint! No wonder it was busy. The server was really friendly and recommended the Texas Tray and we were not disappointed at all. The food was absolutely magnificent and I’m glad I had this rather than a burger. It was some of the best meat I’d ever eaten! It was so tender having been in the smoker for 8+ hours, and the beef just fell off the bone. It was so good and we couldn’t finish it all. I would 100 percent recommend this place especially if you’ve never tried American BBQ before. Fantastic food, friendly staff, and a great atmosphere.

Great food, great atmosphere. The sharing platter was well worth it. Myself and my partner can eat a lot but we were stuffed and took some home (which was equally good cold a few hours later). Food came quickly and was not only plentiful but absolutely delicious!! Love the craft beer and good BBQ food vibe. Not cheap but not overly pricey, worth the money. Will be back again for sure!

Atmosphere was Great, The Staff was Very professional, courtesy and attentive. Food was was flavourful & Good Portions.We had a Great Time and enjoyed a wonderful atmosphere and music.ENJOY....

This place is really nice. Great decor, enjoyable atmosphere. The staff are friendly, the menu is large and has good variety. We got the combo, which is a choice of two meats, two sides, and on Tuesdays you can get a cocktail for a pound more which is great. Excellent value, food is delicious, would recommend the sausage and the pork ribs. Cocktails were all excellent as well. Definitely worth a visit

Lovely place, nice staff, wicked food!

Best proper barbecue ‘low and slow’ in St Albans, maybe in Hertfordshire. The Jacob’s Ladder beef rib was filthy good! Also a good range of beer and friendly service. Can’t recommend enough.

Incredible food, ribs were excellent. Very friendly and pompous atmosphere too. Would definitely recommend. Definitely indulge in the house lager and cheesecake, some of the best I’ve ever sampled.

Very nice environment and cozy atmosphere with warm lighting and friendlt staff that cannot do enough for you. Food and drink came very quickly and was delicious. Would definitely recommend and will be returning soon in future!

Delicious! Have been once before a year ago and it was incredible - this visit was just as good. Going to try and make it a much more regular visit.

Amazing food and atmosphere share platter is to die for! Ribs are so tasty! Staff is friendly and polite will come again!

Meeeeeeeaaaaat! So good. All of it’s amazing and the ribs even more so. Great staff and lovely atmosphere.

Absolutely fantastic food service everything 👌

Absolutely fantastic definitely worth the money the staff always there to make sure we are happy and enjoying the meal and to explain how the food is prepared Even the wait is worth it cos it's perfectly prepared and presented the fries tho are acceptional Been twice now and again same service and same decent food well cooked It's very hard to find a decent place to eat and one that is not only worth the price but shows the love of preparation and amazing quality in food

Amazing real American BBQ in St Albans. Great music and great craft beer

The staff and service here are great. Amazing head of house made us feel welcomed. Food was top quality never anything below. Would recommend to everyone. A must visit when in St Albans

Brisket is amazing! Lovely staff, very quick service.

The restaurant boasts a unique atmosphere that blends Texan charm with a refined twist. The service team is incredibly friendly, attentive, and accommodating. The food is outstanding—full of flavor, beautifully presented, and served in satisfying portions. Hats off to the chef and the entire staff! 🤠🔥

This place is just spectacular and it has been like this for 10 years now. Food, drinks, service. Keep it up!

Been coming for years including two 30th birthdays! Perfect for quick service, amazing food and a great night out - would 100% recommend

We walked in on a Thursday evening for our sons birthday. Staff were so, so nice and really made our evening. Amazing food, really good kids menu and Cocktails Amazing! Will definitely be visiting again!

As a Texan I approve of this place! 10/10

All good as always. Love this place. So many different types of draft beers on the taps and House cocktails . New menu came out today, seems brilliant. I’am sorry, but this much food for 2 of sharing??? Thanks C&C

We visited this venue for the first time, and loved the food. The platter was great and the meats were well cooked. Good beer selection and the cocktail were were great too! Totally appreciate that you get what you pay for, but the prices are a little on the steep side, but still doesn't take away from the great experience we had!

I’ve been coming to the Craft & Cleaver for years, mainly for beers and an evening meal, and have never been disappointed. I recently took my wife and family for a Mother’s Day brunch and again we had a brilliant time. The menu is wide-ranging and caters for younger eaters; the food is delicious, service impeccable and all competitively priced too. Kudos to the whole C&C team!

Amazing!! Best food and great service

Brilliant food, great menu. Love the ambience and really great service.

Was very excited to try this restaurant today after hearing great things, but unfortunately left feeling a bit deflated. Travelled 30miles Firstly I'd like to say the guy greeting us at the front with top knot and beard was warm and welcoming so thankyou. 5* for you. Lady serving us..... Smile , we thought you were annoyed at us the whole time 🤷🏼‍♀️ Mothers day menu ( which we weren't aware they were doing as we had already chose off the original menu amongst ourselves before coming, it didn't mention on the website either) very overpriced with underwhelming choices. Some of us had the sampler which had an added £5 for the apparent extra food.... Not entirely sure where the extra was as I had 3 ribs with little to no meat a handful of chips 3 pieces of burnt ends and a sausage. The food was cold and tasteless. Some had the brisket which was a slab of cold dry meat with little to no flavour. The white wine was warm and enough for about 4 sips In a glass. I'd like to mention what I noticed... Unless you are a regular or a family member of the pub you will receive small portions. as we waited we noticed people recieving very appropriate size portions (which made us even more excited about our food arriving) , these people were clear regulars or family members/friends of workers. Go for a KFC instead, full bellies and won't feel robbed of £250

The Food was really good the service was spot on

We came in around 2pm on Saturday - the place was quite empty then. We got seated and placed our orders. My order came out wrong but since we were seated in a corner it was difficult to get the attention of a server without getting up, but I wasn’t too bothered and the food was good. However, my complaint is that after we ate, we asked for the bill, and were forgotten. After waiting almost 20 minutes, we had to ask again. Overall it was not a very pleasant experience, and I wouldn’t come here again.

Another great meal and really convenient before shows at the Alban Arena. See you again soon.

Great spot, brilliant staff and foods fantastic. Good for kids, well priced. Easy to find. Recommend shrimp or any of their large family plates, 5 out of 5

Folks, this stuff right here is the real deal. If you’re coming from the American south, this bbq feels right at home. The seasonings and smoke flavor capture the Texas-style very nicely. I recommend you hold off on the sauce for a bite or two and explore the complexity and craft of good bbq. Then, enjoy some of their unique flavors if you wish, but you shouldn’t need any 😍 Nicely done, everyone. I will return for a 3rd helping next time I’m in town 🤙

Always exceptional and their Ribs are something to be celebrated!

Staff are lovely, attentive and know they’re menu well so we’re amazing with their recommendations

Grest seevice, fantastic food, all good

We have loved coming to c&c over the years for great bbq but had a rather unpleasant visit a few months ago whereby the food wasn’t as good as usual and there was an abundance of flies in the restaurant which was off putting as they were the kind you get for leaving food out. Following this, we chalked it up to just a one-off bad day and we left it a while before deciding to try again this weekend but this time, to go for brunch to ease back into it. Well, it’s safe to say that I doubt we’ll be coming back based off the brunch. The service was appalling (us and two other similarly small tables in the whole restaurant). It was slow and they didn’t have items on the menu (tater tots) which we weren’t told about until a few of us tried to order. In addition to this, we were told we couldn’t have the smoothies we had ordered because they couldn’t find the lid to the blender. Further to this, when our food did eventually come - which again was slow and at considerably different intervals despite ordering as one party - it was tepid and all of us agreed we were leaving not feeling full which is a shame when a brunch for 5 of us (no alcohol - 2 x full English and 3 x pancakes with either tea or juice) came to over £100 - not at all terrible for St A prices but didn’t match up with the subsequent services and product received. Overall a meh experience which was a shame as aforementioned, many a meal has been had by our family there over the years but I doubt many more are to be had in the future.

Love this place. Such a good restaurant with really nice staff! Fully recommend to anyone! Also the Peanut butter shot is incredible!

This is truly the best of the best! The service is always great and the food is delicious!

Can’t imagine a better bbq place 10/10

Food was great! Highly recommended

Another visit to one of my family faves, Tiny Rebel on draught a bonus

Great service and tasty food - the short rib croquettes and the brisket burnt ends are a particular highlight!

Wonderful experience as always. Food and staff are always great!

We stopped by here for a drink and had the house lager- it was light and easy to drink. The place has a nice atmosphere with some outdoor seating. Had a look at the cocktail menu and it looks great…very interesting and unique options 🍹 👀

This is life changingly good. The service is phenomenal and alessia was top tier making you feel like one of the team the whole time. You’re truly missing out if you don’t go here!!

Regularly visit craft for brunches, beers and meals. Craft has a proper community feel and the food never fails. I’ll be a regular for as long as I live in the area.

Great food, quality service and good ambiance. The pulled pork and pit beans were phenomenal. If you’re a fan of smoke house food, ribs, burnt ends, this is the place for you. Would definitely recommend!

Real smoker BBQ. Good quality ingredients barbecued to perfection, burnt ends aren't burnt, just delicious Nice selection of beer, wine and cocktails. Love the pickleback. What more could you ask for?

Beautiful food, great atmosphere friendly staff. Definitely returning