Elephant & Castle in St Albans

I have been to a lot of pubs over the past year, all struggling to do their best under difficult circumstances.The Elephant and Castle really isn't doing it as well as other pubs. Their food used to be brilliant - why change it for this disappointing menu.The staff are the main problem - we need cheer and friendliness, not corporate.I hope to see them back to their usual welcoming cheer soon, but having visited twice in the past 6months, I wonder if this is even possible now.

The tipi was a perfect setting for a meal outside - looking beautiful with all the fairy lights, and luckily for us on such a cold night, heated. The food was beautifully presented and just the right amount to eat - not too much! There was a large friendly team of helpers on hand and nothing was too much trouble. The chickens and play equipment around the back were an added bonus for our granddaughter. Thanks for a great evening!

If you like proper beer brewed locally at a generous price and locally sourced Steak and food then come to the Elephant and Castle. Even better is the superbly organised outdoor area - heated for the cold nights - close to some of the best countryside in south-east England. Hard working, polite, staff and now an added outdoor bar next to the trendy Teepee. A must for families and meeting up with mates after a local bike ride. Superb. Farr Brew App available as well as table order service.

We recently ordered The Elephant & Castle's lockdown Valentine's Meal. An indulgent 3 course meal, it was everything we'd hoped for. The Pressed Pork Belly to start was wonderfully tender and "melt in the mouth", this was followed by a pretty sizeable Beef Wellington to share and finished off with a yummy trio of desserts!As always the quality and taste of the food was great, and this meal was a wonderful way to spend a lockdown Sunday night. Thanks guys

Lovely evening with great food, we had the belly of pork which was great as was the steak. Lovely atmosphere.

Log fires and cosy plus plenty of outside covered space for socially distanced dining. Excellent burger and chicken dish. Loved it.

Huge improvement under Farr Brewery compared to Green King. The garden is lovely, the huge teepee an imaginative addition. Plenty of friendly and attentive staff ensured the lunch experience was truly Covid secure.Unsurprisingly the beer (describes as golden by the waiter) was excellent. We ate sandwiches with paprika chips and a small rocket salad dressed with good quality balsamic; no watery rubbish here! They were lightly toasted and delicious. Mine was melted mozzarella, pesto and roasted peppers. My colleague had beef and horseradish which he said was excellent and tasty but not too powerful.We will return!

Very happy experience all round, good atmosphere and brilliant staff, would definitely recommend and come again.

Friendly staff let down by very average food. OK if you like chips and x meals plus terrible sewage smell. Made me feel quite awful. Staff kindly offered glass of wine but damage was done. I wish them well as I would like them to succeed but not for me.

The E&C has been the epitome of English country pubs for decades so I was wary of the Farr Brew takeover. I’m pleased to say these concerns were misplaced. The pub still has the charm, character and warmth it always had, it’s had a bit of a refresh and an injection of youth. Farr Brew are a great outfit, brewing decent local beer and investing back into the local economy and community. The outside bar, tipi and new menu are welcome additions to the E&C. We enjoyed a well Covid managed outdoor meal here this week and we couldn’t fault the service - friendly and attentive throughout. The menu was decent enough, though needs some thought. The steak was excellent (though I note they’ve since changed their butcher), but what perplexed me was the presence of a side salad and lashings of balsamic vinegar dressing (on a steak!, what was the chef thinking?!). Lose the salad and throw on some onion rings and a mushroom. The chips needed work too. Same with the fish and chips, bonus points for the pollack (sustainable) but if you’re going to do a fish and chips, get the chips right and make the effort to do mushy peas. The real disappointment was the absence of the TRENCHER (google it) on the menu. The E&C has served this little-known historic dish for as long as I can remember. It’s infamous. I asked and was told a modern version is available at lunchtime. Nonsense - please put a chilli cheese and a bacon and mushroom trencher back on the menu. The beer was EXCELLENT!

We arrived for a family supper and car park was full - no alternative parking so a crazy time waiting for people to leave and create space. Smell of sewage was awful in the garden and the most uncomfortable benches - did very average Food - burgers overcooked. Over priced. Waiting staff were lovely but some drinks didn’t appear until we asked three times!

It’s now being operated by Farr Brew, so the beer is great.The service and lunch food though is sub standard.We ordered two fish and chips and one sausage and mash. The fish was awful - totally overdone and dry and took an age to arrive. We complained and they did fresh ones which were miles better, and to be fair they didn’t charge. The sausages were cheap and nasty. The accompanying bubble and squeak was mash with a bit of red cabbage mixed in, not fried and not hot.The coffee machine was on the blink so no cappuccino or latte or flat white.The service was dozy in its speed and for example we asked for tap water several times before it arrived.Let’s hope these are all teething troubles; there are so many places nearby that are better they are going to have to!!!

Excellent pub in a beautiful setting with a fab children’s play area, gorgeous teepee and little wooded area with a castle for the kids too. The food is great and staff are lovely! Social distancing is well adhered too without being super stressful. We love it! Only point would be there’s been a bit of a smell outside recently but I’m sure they’re aware and sorting it out! Definitely recommend x

Lovely pub with fantastic food, beautiful gardens and children’s play area, set in beautiful Hertfordshire countryside

Excellent food, service and choice of drinks . A great, friendly establishment run by a wonderful chap called Joe. Oh, and aside from the best chips in Hertfordshire, they also don’t mind if you bring your dog and your horse!

Visited here at the beginning of the year for the first time in a while and was highly impressed with the place. Fantastic Selection of drinks and lovely staff. The inside of the pub with the well is a real centre piece. Will return soon and will try out the food which looked really good.

The wife wanted to take me here as it was her local many moons ago. The decor was quaint and the staff were very pleasant. The wife ordered ham, egg and chips which appeared to be OK; she said it was fine. However, my chicken curry was very disappointing. The bland sauce could have come out of a jar; it contained six pieces of chicken. This was then 'plopped' onto the rice in a single bowl: presentation 0/10. Accompanying it were a small salad and... half a white baguette and butter! For the price, I really would have expected a naan bread and some pickle to have come alongside the curry, but not here. Will we be back? Afraid not!

Called in for lunch recently and because of the good weather i chose the ham salad.What a mistake, what i got was a plate with 14 pieces of cucumber round the rim plus a few pieces of leaf and tomato, the ham was processed and from a supermarket pack, it was sliced to make it look more however it highlighted that it was one slice of the cheapest ham money could buy.I was asked if it was alright and i said no, the waitress went to talk to the chef and the reply i got was 'thats what you get'Sorry but it was a second class ham salad that doesn't come close to being fit for purpose nor value for money.Given that this is a cold dish with no cooking i fail to see how anyone can cock it up so monumentally. Just for the record the sevice was poor as well so in all i was going to give no stars unfortunately that cannot be done so begrudgingly i had to score one star

I don't know how best to rate this pub, it is and old building with inglenook fire place but it is shabby. The garden furniture is dirty and unvarnished with a grey black dust. so wear old clothes if sitting outside.The staff were very friendly as was the landlord. The Sunday roast portions were large with a good helping of meat. Unfortunately the potatoes were burnt and the veg although well cooked had no flavor..I have been there previously for lunch and the steak and kidney pie was unbelievably good.This pub is like the Curates egg; Good in parts.

Met family at this pub for evening meal and i ordered the lasagne which was boiling hot, plentiful and very tasty the salad and bread accompanied was fresh and tasty.The others had the steak and kidney pie which was abundant with meat and well cooked so in all everything was good.Worth trying.

- Quick service, even on a busy day. - Friendly staff - Food well cooked and piping hot - Cosy dining area There are many great things about the Elephant & Castle. Come and dine here for the traditional English Country Pub experience. It’s great!

Visited on a sunny Saturday, pub was quiet to start with but then filled up rather quickly. Bar staff seemed poorly trained but friendly. We ordered 4 baguettes, which took over 30 minutes to arrive which is a little long for sandwiches that don't require cooking. The baguettes were good with plenty of filling. The food service appeared to be struggling with people being told there would be at least a 40 minute wait. We would probably revisit if we were not in a hurry.

Arrived at 3:15 on an unexpected sunny warm Saturday afternoon. There were about 8-10 tables occupied in the garden. When ordering our lunch (3 adults and 2 kids) we were told the wait for food was over 30 minutes - a bit perplexing given not many customers (half of them in the garden already had food) but at least they had the decency to warn us. 45 minutes later our food arrived - in dribs and drabs. (Along with filthy dirty cutlery) My children ordered chicken goujons, chips and beans. No beans were served with either, instead a huge pot of what we think was BBQ sauce. Not a baked bean in site. When we complained about the lack of beans the server looked rather confused as to what our problem was. But then things took a turn for the worse when my son picked up one of his chicken goujons and bit it in half and the inside of it was RAW. Not slightly pink, as raw as if it had just been taken out of the packaging. All 6 of them were raw. The staff seemed very underwhelmed when we complained and only offered us 2 new meals. No refund, no profuse apologies. Just random comments like ‘I’ll put your order to the front of the queue shall I?’ Damn right you will. The staff (apart from a gentleman who may or may not be the manger) had an average age of maybe 20. They were all naive, clueless and lacked any customer service skills and the chef clearly needs to take a course in cookery and maybe read up about how raw chicken can actually kill you. Such a shame as the setting is fabulous, the menu looks inviting and I picked it because the garden is big enough for my boys to play football in. I won’t ever visit here again unless the staff improve their customer interface skills and the chef changes.

I am a fairly local and tried the Elephant out for a spot of Sunday lunch. Most Sundays it is absolutely necessary to book! The roasts are reasonably priced and delicious! In the summer the gardens are stunning. They have a child and dog friendly garden but also a separate child and dog free garden for those wanting a quieter afternoon. Beautiful walks nearby and a great spot to stop for a cosy pint after a long country walk 10/10

Came here with a mate to watch a six nations game. Friendly staff, good beer and great food. Great atmosphere.

We booked a table for our family of Five including two children aged 10 and 13 at 12.30 on a Saturday after one child had played football (hungry). We arrived no more then 3 minutes late and ordered our drinks and just main courses by 12.45. By 1.15 we were becoming agitated .. by 1.30 we were more than agitated and spoke to a man who could have been a manager or owner. His exact words were "If you wanted fast food you should have gone elsewhere" he was so rude. My daughter who lives in London had specifically asked me to book a country pub. When the food arrived my son in law had a child's bowl of chilli as they had obviously run out. I was then informed that the drinks would be gratis but when the bill arrive nothing had been taken off. Our whole experience was horrendous. I will be returning next week for an apology and perhaps some kind of compensation! (some hope)

Situated between Harpenden and Wheathampstead is a great place for beer and pub eats. Their speciality are "Baguettes" of which Prawn and Mayonaise and BLT are highly recommended. Friendly atmosphere and good service.

This is a pleasant little pub slightly off the beaten track. They welcomed us as a party of four (including a 2.5 year old), plus a baby, buggy and dog. There had been a run on lasagne and ribs so we had to change our order. Ribs reappeared on the menu and I suspect this was the main reason our meal took over 45 minutes to arrive. There were apologies though, plus a thoughtful sausage for Isla to assuage the wait. The meals were fine. It’s above Average but not quite Very Good and I feel a little mean for not leaving a tip! I

This is a lovely pub 'in the middle of nowhere'!!! Good beer and good service. The not only looked appetising but was very good

The Elephant and Castle is an ancient and quiet pub down a narrow country lane with a well inside the pub and, I am told, adjacent to an old Roman road and villa site. You can't get much more authentic olde English than this! Depending on the weather you can sit by a cosy fire or outside. We were there this time on a very warm Spring evening but sat inside. You order drinks and food at the bar and they bring it to your table. I had a half rack of pork ribs. They came with chips and veggies. I also had the leek soup of the day. Both were excellent. With a beer a great pub meal with family in a lovely location. There is ample parking but we were lucky enough to be staying in walking distance. I'm attaching a photo or two.

Freezing inside, waited for our food ages (not busy at the time at all). Well the food, looked like I shares my grapes already with someone. Really a shame 🙁

Having just moved to the area, we were looking forward to trying somewhere new. The reviews for this place looked great online however I can safely say, this was the WORST pub I've ever been to. My partner and I both chose to have 'beer battered cod' from the 'specials' menu however when it came, it was evidently something from they had whipped out from Farmfoods frozen section- small, bad quality, a perfectly rectangular and cheap piece of fish. Certainly not anything you'd expect to receive at an English country pub and certainly not something you'd expect to be advertised the specials menu I could have easily cooked this myself at home for the fraction of the price. We were in a rush so ate what was in front of us, although in hindsight I wished I hadn't however when we paid the bill, I explained that we were dis-satisfied to the bar staff for the reasons as explained above. To make things worse, the guy said- 'oh we do actually have some of the beer battered cod, the chef must have got confused' and then proceeded to charge us full price. Absolutely disgusting! I'm would never willingly write a review this bad but the really was the most appalling experience and I would urge people to dine somewhere else.

Excellent food and a choice of five real ales including local guest ales from Tring, 3 Brewers and Farr Breweries. Open 12 Noon to 11pm every day.

This is the perfect country pub. Warm, with log files in winter. Cool, with a big garden in summer. Food all year round is excellent value for money and served promptly. There’s always a good selection of well-kept beers and service from the bar staff is invariably friendly. This pub is deservedly popular with walkers and dog owners but loyal regulars appreciate their fortune in having the Elephant and Castle as their local.

I paid half the price here that I paid at my previous Wheathampstead restaurant and enjoyed it twice as much. Maybe it was my pint of Guinness , maybe it was the quality lasagne, maybe it was the first "spotted dick" that I have eaten in 50 years, maybe it was tbe friendly staff. Who knows, but I was replete.

This is a lovely pub to visit with your children and your dog- (they carefully cater for the dog and child free by having a separate garden so can feel totally relaxed) we spent and uninterrupted afternoon of good girlie chat whilst on the dog walk (wink wink) i had the burger and chips which was good the chips are the best!

We put the kitchen to the test as 13 of us arrived and ordered. Food all came out hot and together and while it was probably not the best ever pub food it was certainly good. Beautiful location, friendly staff and good beer! Would certainly recommend!

Sunday lunch, beer good, staff friendly, landlord a bit stressed, never good to criticise hard working staff in ear shot of customers, good portion size, but baguettes a bit "basic". V dog friendly, busy so booking advised

Fui con mi esposa, mi hija adolescente y dos amigos. Dispondrá de una mesa, que era raro puesto cerca de la puerta, así que nos cambiamos. El menú era bastante limitado, pero la comida era buena, bien preparada y patatas fritas hechas a la perfección. Teníamos dos vegetarianos Guarniciones con nosotros que quedamos satisfechos con la comida. La cerveza estaba bien. No es el lugar más accesible y podría hacer con un poco de rampa portátil para todos los pasos. Pero si eres capaz de fuselaje ancho, usted será totalmente satisfechos, buen paso a ser de un hermoso día de primavera,

a great little pub out in the country with great food and good service, Good for a lunch time meal and drink

Good pub food. Friendly staff very welcoming. Dog friendly. Lovely atmosphere. Nice sitting outside in the summer. Log fires.

Excellent food. good menu. prices are excellent. staff are very welcoming. Good location for walkers, cyclists, drivers, families, couples or groups.

La última vez que comimos aquí con amigos. Hay un nuevo dueño, Joe Maher, que tardó más de comienzos del año pasado. Su sitio web es ahora muy mejorado y ahora puede reservar una mesa, que anteriormente no podía hacer, lo que te ahorra tener que salir para saber si habrá una mesa libre. Para este como del viejo mundo pub está situado en un camino en el campo, justo a las afueras del pueblo de wheathampstead. El comedor es la habitación a la izquierda de la entrada del pub. El menú se cambia de dueños anteriores con un montón de clásicos de pub pero no principal vegetariano y las opciones opciones de postre son muy tradicionales. El servicio era excelente, muy servicial, la comida era excelente y el pub tiene un buen ambiente.

Pequeño y encantador pueblo escondido en un camino en el campo. Mi marido y yo visitamos con amigos y su hijo bebé. Sin embargo, el restaurante es muy pequeño y nos costó encajar el empuje una silla en. Tuvimos que cambiar varias veces para que la gente pudiera llegar a sus mesas. Cuando nuestros amigos llegaron y nos sentábamos a la mesa, un hombre joven nos preguntó si nos gustaría más bebidas. Nuestros amigos pidió la suya y mi marido dijo que sí que tendré otro por favor. Se fué y nos dieron nuestra orden amigos pero nunca regresar con mi esposo. Cuando volvió una tercera vez nuestro amigo dijo que "podía haber una bebida así por favor?" y el camarero nos dijo que sí y entramos de nuevo! Entonces, él volvió con un vaso de coca-cola aunque él no pide! De hecho, él no tome su copa favorita! Fue casi de risa! Fue una larga espera para nuestra comida y otra mesa que nos dieron después de su primera comida. Un camarero nos fuimos a otra mesa con mi ensalada y un plato de la suya. Él era muy confuso, ya que nadie en esa mesa pedí la ensalada, pero estaba en la mina real hecho! Así que tuve mi ensalada sentado delante de mí por unos 10 minutos, hasta que el resto de las comidas llegamos. Suerte era un plato frío! La comida era normal, nada especial, y el servicio muy lento y poco profesional. Cuando mi marido y yo estuvimos esperando a nuestros amigos, yo fui testigo de un perro corriendo alrededor del bar y a la zona de la cocina... El personal del bar dos jóvenes estaban demasiado ocupados charlando entre ellos. En general la experiencia fue buena, pero probablemente no volver

Metimos en camino a casa de la Galleria. Mucho aparcamiento y un jardín encantador. Bonito bar y un personal amable. Comida casera ordenados, que era excelente. Tuve lasaña y mi amigo tenía carne tarta de riñón. Mi lasaña fue uno de los más sabrosos que he probado. Muy impresionado y volveremos.

Had a great meet up with old friends and enjoyed a Cumberland sausage roll,after a five mile walk.set in beautiful rolling Hertfordshire countryside,had a great day.

Basic home cooking but pricey for what you get, tends to have football on the tv😈improved by friendly landlord and landlady.

El pub tiene un enorme jardín en la parte delantera y otro en la parte trasera. En un día soleado el entorno es magnífico, rural y tranquilo. Ha habido dos cambios de propietario que creo que recientemente y el pub no estaba tan concurrido como solía ser, que hay muchísima gente. Bonito cubierto a uno de los bares.

Este es mi local. Bueno, honesto, comida de pub y muy bien cuidadas selección de tonel. El bistec y el riñón tarta es un clásico Guinness enriquecido Han sido a través de un par de cambios de gestión que no ha adecuado todo el mundo pero en una trayectoria ascendente.

Went for Sunday dinner last week the roast was lovely, perfectly cooked tender beef and great potatoes. Would highly recommend it with great food, good value and friendly staff.

Es un lugar encantador con un jardín agradable y buena cerveza, pero tener que esperar 30 minutos para una baguette y un plowmans es bastante pobre. Atún baguette era lo suficientemente agradable, pero el cheddar era mediocre y cerosa. La primera vez que habíamos sido durante años, pero no creo que hubiéramos prisa por regresar.

Nos encanta este antiguo pub... el grub es sabroso y tiene un buen rango... el entorno es relajante y agradable. Normalmente terminan charlando con otros de allí... El área exterior es genial para los niños y adultos y perros...!!!!! Qué más puedo decir realmente excepto verano y rollo en pasar un montón de tiempo en nuestro local!!!!

No recomiendo han sido un par de veces en el pasado, pero ha sido bajo nueva dirección. Mal servicio, con personal miserable. Tuve que esperar una hora y media para bogotá - comida estándar de pub. Cuando llegó la hora de pagar me había empezado había sido una ficha y mi tarjeta extraviada, no habían sido almacenados en un lugar muy seguro sólo en una estantería donde cualquiera podría tomar cuando el barman convertido allí. La pareja de al lado había llegado en el mismo tiempo y esperamos por una hora sólo para encontrar que la orden se ha perdido.

Nice little pub ,we have enjoyed a few good meals here , the steaks are great good honest pub food reasonably priced and of course the wine is good too !.well worth a visit .

No me atrevo a llegar antes de abrir ya que estará confrontado, interrogados y scowled los terratenientes para esperar en el coche. No hace falta decir que después de un altercado presiones demográficas que era pésima y molesta para decir lo menos, ni siquiera entró en el 'restaurante'. Buscar otros comentarios en línea, ya que nos dimos cuenta de que no somos los únicos que sufren esta confrontación debido a su peculiar actitud a clientes que utilicen su aparcamiento. Para un pub con aparentemente pocos clientes que pasan, Diríais que bienvenidos aquellos que visitan de otros países lejanos.

Esto es lo que los visitantes de este país me encanta, buena comida, en un pub tradicional del país. ¿Qué más se puede pedir? Personal muy atento, amable y servicial. Disfruté la carne asada; pedí raro y fue perfecto. Una buena variedad de cervezas, todo bien. Perros, así que las populares con los lugareños que puede combinar un paseo con refrescos.m

Cruzamos el Elephant and Castle en Wheathampstead como el pub está en una ubicación rural maravilloso.

Visitamos este pub para el almuerzo de domingo y un paseo con mi perro. El edificio en sí es postal - e igualmente llena de carácter dentro. No queríamos un asado completo así que fuimos para una baguette y una cerveza. La selección de relleno era bueno y la comida llegamos muy rápidamente.

Una cálida bienvenida en el Elephant and Castle, seguido de un delicioso almuerzo. Este es un pub tradicional del país, un buen lugar de parada para caminantes y ciclistas. La comida era muy buena y recién preparado. Hay un menú variado y ofertas especiales, así que hay mucho donde escoger.