Essex Arms Pub in Watford

Very good & respectful service all staff very polite. Food very good & much improved since previous visits.

Really bad quality of food, barely edible, not recommended other than for just drinking.

Great pub with lots of seating both inside and outside. Lovely staff and great atmosphere.

Second time here! Great pub foods reasonable price. Will come again for sure!

Massive improvement. Love the little events they put on too.

Lovely food and nice friendly staff. Couldn’t do too much for us.

Fantastic evening in the Essex, brilliant atmosphere, bar staff really engaging and service throughout the evening was fast. Food was well cooked and the recommended dish was excellent, looking forward to the next visit

We were a party of 10, we had friendly helpful service and lovely food at reasonable prices. We had a lovely time.

Great family friendly pub. Decent food and brilliant service. (The chicken wings are superb fyi)

Always a pleasure. Great people, great beer!

Had what the menu stated was a ciabiatta BLT , however it was an undercooked french baguette so did not get the crispiness I was expecting . Although we were there for opening on Saturday lunchtime , they couldn't fulfill our order for three chicken and avocado salads as they'd ran out of avocado! That said, the portions were generous and, with the exception of the undercooked baguette, were tasty .

Lovely team & lovely atmosphere, we've only really eaten the chicken wings which are always tasty

The staff are friendly and there is always a great atmosphere. I love the chicken wings

Want to thank everyone at the Essex Arms for their excellent service. We had a private function after a funeral and could not have asked for more. The food was of a high standard and plenty of it. They supplied boxes for us to take home what was not eaten at the time.

Staff were friendly helpful and worked hard. We had a nice quiet bright area to share with our friends. Price and set deals were affordable. However bad day for food. Day after Easter weekend. Four Starters not available. Typical pub food generous portions. Hard to find healthy options. My chicken dry and overcooked salad very sad.

James and the team were extremely welcoming, very attentive. The service was outstanding and very reasonably priced. Highly recommend this pub

We booked The Essex Arms for my grandfather's wake, which is obviously not the best circumstances to visit. Though from start to finish the customer service was brilliant. We were greeted at the entrance and everything was explained to us in regards to our area, buffet, drinks etc. The area was clean, tidy and set out correctly to accommodate our party. The food was great and exactly what we ordered. The 2 members of staff were always on hand and nothing was a problem for them. Unfortunately I didn't get their names, but I believe the gentleman is the manager. All I can I say is thank you so much, especially for what was a difficult gathering for our family. I recommend The Essex Arms 100% and what a great job they do. I witnessed the the staff dealing with other customer's as well as our party and there was not a complaint in the house!

Nice comfy place to sit and have a drink. Good atmosphere, friendly staff. Not had chance to try the food as yet. But restaurant area is always quite busy.

A very pleasant edge of town in with agood menu and good selection of beers and wines

Avoid This Pub: My friend and I decided to visit this pub one evening for a casual catch-up and a meal. Little did we know that our innocent parking choice would lead to an unpleasant experience. The lack of clear signage regarding car registration requirements caught us off guard. Even when we ordered our food, no one bothered to mention the need to log our car registration. Weeks later, my friend received an unexpected parking fine. She reached out to the pub’s manager, Marion, who initially agreed to cancel the fine, acknowledging our genuine visit and food order. However, my own car wasn’t spared. When I contacted the pub, hoping for a similar resolution, I was met with disappointment. They insisted I deal with Euro Car Parks directly. As a paying customer, it feels unjust to be slapped with a £60 fine for parking in their own car park. The situation leaves a bitter taste, and I urge others to think twice before patronizing The Essex Arms. 🚫🍺

The food is acceptable if you’re lucky they have your choice in stock ! They always run out of food …never seems to happen in other pubs. It’s just so annoying! The service has always been fine. The atmosphere is ok.

Regularly go to this pub,they have a great selection of ales! Bar staff are always happy to help and the food is tasty. The fish and chips here is great.

What a lovely place to spend an afternoon great food and lovey staff made us very welcome and will be back again

Lovely pub. Good solid pub fare well priced, Friendly staff, great atmosphere..

Great pub food and beer really good Marian the land lady was very friendly and helpful to tell us about the new food menu and offers on the app

Stopped here for quick bite to eat early evening on way to Watford vs Swansea The atmosphere was better than the football and much more welcoming Food was excellent and hot. Drinks selection is good and overall great value for money. Recommend to anyone looking for a nice pint and good food.

My family and I have been coming for years. Food is lovely and the staff are fantastic. You can always guarantee lovely service and very knowledgeable advice on the menu options. The Lauras are both great members of staff!

Great selection of beers, went with friends for a quick drink but ended up staying out far too long. Food looked good but we didn’t eat.

Brilliant service and drinks were served very quickly. Always looked after by Marian and the team would highly recommend to anyone in the area

Manager/bar staff v friendly. Great value food.

Person who served was great very professional and attentive. The food was not great part of it dry and over cooked and chips cold and raw. (like oven chips not in oven long enough).

Where do I start? I went in Essex arms this evening with two 10 year old boys for dinner. The place was warm, fire was raging, it was just a great atmosphere something we were all looking forward to. The starters were served and they were great. Then the main courses were served and to say it was a disaster is an understatement infact the food was poisonous. 1. I ordered a half chicken which was served WHITE, without any seasoning, boiled potatoes and nothing else. I previously explained to the server that I didn’t want any peas but to give me any other vegetables or salad and when I asked her she told me I had to pay extra. I took the plate back to the bar and told the server what was on the plate. WHITE chicken. She defended the chef by saying that the chicken had been in the oven and roasted. I’m known in Watford for cooking. I explained to her that I’ve cooked for celebrities and European Union in the past and know how to cook chicken when she went in this defence mode and asked me not to have a go at her of which I wasn’t. She asked me if the chef could cook it again and I told her no. Her behaviour entails lack of knowledge of how toxic chicken can be especially when you cook it for the second time. My advice to this server is to stay at the bar and serve customers and STAY OUT of the kitchen. 2. I get back to the table and my little man is showing me RAW kiddies chicken. The chicken was RAW. If a 10 year old can pick it up then anyone can pick it up. I was in shock. The server comes and she took one glance at this RAW chicken and took the plate away and offered us a different dish. This was a different server which I thought was quite professional. We know the food in this pub is appalling but to serve RAW chicken to children which could potentially poison them is beyond belief. It’s beyond wicked. This chef had the audacity to cover it with bbq sauce. Shame on you. 3. You went on to refund the kiddies meal and gave him a free meal of a burger but I’m sorry to say the damage is done. 4. I’m WARNING parents that take their children to this pub for meals and ordering any white meat to be aware of this atrocious chef that stands behind the stove and poisons our children while he’s getting paid. 5. My heart goes to the servers that have to face the consequences of frustrated customers after they have been robbed of their money only to be served RAW food. I couldn’t even feed that food to my dog. 6. There’s Bricklayers Arms in Flaunden, 3 horse shoes in Letchmore Heath, the cricketers in Sarrat, Prince George on St Albans road, horse and chain in Bushey, Royal Oak in Watford heath, 3 Compasses in Aldenham and if you want to move further try The Royal Standard in Beconsfield oldest pub in England they have a trail walk map and all these places are fantastic with dogs. I can guarantee you that these country pub will not disappoint you and most of all served toxic RAW chicken that might essentially kill you.

Great place. Great staff and great food! Very cozy vibe at this place. We love this place.

This place is great. Friendly staff and pet friendly. Loved it.

Such a lovely local pub. Great food, super staff, cosy in the winter with fires burning and lovely outdoor space in the summer and… dog friendly too!!! We are lucky to have a local like the Essex.

The food has gone down hill dry reheated and skimp on ingredients advertised on menu. Shame as the pub atmosphere and staff great. Won't eat there again.

Not been for a for years and has really gone down hill.The food was barely edible. The staff didn't even acknowledge us. The ladies toilets were vile toilets seats hanging off only one in use.No wonder empty on a Friday evening. Could be a really nice pub if issues addressed.

The Essex arms is in a prime location on the cassiobury Estate. There are some really nice staff hardworking and welcoming. However i found one member of staff very rude, she looked very dishevelled and grubby. She was sitting in the pub/food area doing paperwork with a very bad attitude. We would have provided a lot of business for the pub, but she was determined to just be rude and unfriendly. She made the atmosphere bad. She had chef trousers on so maybe she was one of the cooks or chefs....she should probably stay behind the scenes. We won't be back in a hurry! We all went back to someones house and had a takeaway instead of eating there.

I would give a zero if I could yesterday. We tried to order, they were missing things on the menu so ran back to find out what people wanted to change their food too only to have to rejoin the queue. No coffee could be served as the machine was broken. Waited just under an hour for food when the pub didn't look busy just really under staffed. Food came with no dips as explained on the menu and the starters were overcooked. We had to ask for the dip as the waiter just dropped the food on the table and ran off. The waiter was wearing a wet shirt too? Had to ask if the food was coming for the mains and then the staff were so rude. He didn't even speak properly just mumbled at us about the food. The food came and was nothing short of rubbish. Mash had creases on it? Don't even know how that can happen. It was a really awful experience, probably one of the worst that I have ever had.

The food tasted amazing, huge portions!! Friendly service will definitely return.

No horseradish sauce or English mustard. Cauliflower cheese luke warm. Sunday lunch pleasant and well worth the money.

We had a super vegetarian sunday roast and opted for the 2 course special offer, friendly staff too, we really enjoyed our visit and will return.

Bar staff are excellent and now that you allow dogs we come in more often. The food had been better recently as well.

Laura dc is always so helpful and welcoming! The service is always fab can’t wait for her to be back

Lovely staff. Great drinks. Food is very hit and miss. Sorry, guys, it's a game of roulette on what quality comes out of the kitchen.

Generous portion sizes, tasty food and nice service.

Enjoyable evening, nice atmosphere, helpful staff, special shout out to James and Marion, hope to return soon.

Great Experience, fresh food and service thank you to the team!

Look, it's a pub, not a fine dining restaurant. The food is well cooked and the atmosphere is how a pub should be. Friendly staff will go out of their way to help, if you ask. The beers are varied and well kept. It is a pub that doesn'try to be what it's not and probably not for instagramaers.

Lovely warm atmosphere, helpful staff. I always enjoy meeting friends here for food and a catch up.

Just moved into the area and have been looking for a decent local.Little bit further than I would like but will definitely use it from time to time.A very relaxed atmosphere and the beer was good and the food looked very tasty.👍👍👍

I belong to a folk dancing group, and it has become a tradition that twice a year we have a group lunch, followed by a gentle walk for 1½-2 hours. One of these get-togethers is on New Year’s Day. I’ve been arranging these for the past dozen or so years. Our group meets weekly, but the last session is in mid December, so I need to make the arrangements well in advance. I need to find a pub that is open for New Year’s Day lunches and is also a good starting point for a walk through attractive scenery that won’t get too muddy in winter. It’s not unusual for pubs to ask for orders in advance, in which case I make sure a menu is available at our sessions, and get people to enter their choices on a sheet. With such pubs, I typically phone or email in the list of orders, which only takes a few minutes. This year I had a choice of two pubs. One had asked for a booking deposit of £5 per person, which would have been awkward to demand in advance. Conversely, when I checked out the walk I had in mind from The Essex Arms, went into the pub to explain I was trying to arrange a New Year’s Day lunch for perhaps 10 people, enquire about their requirements, collect a menu and enjoy a pint, I was told all that was necessary was to give them an approximate idea of numbers a few days in advance, and we could order on the day. For me, pubs that take that approach are ideal venues; convenient for me, and no-one would be discouraged by needing to commit themselves in advance. So after checking with our committee, I phoned to confirm to The Essex Arms that I was booking there. At our final three sessions I displayed the menu and circulated a sheet asking for names, numbers each were bringing, and a phone number in case of problems (although not everyone gave a phone number). After our last session I had 14 people listed as wanting to come (one of our highest numbers). Starting on the following Monday, I phoned The Essex Arms each day trying to pass on that number, but was told I needed to speak to Laura, and didn’t find her until the Thursday. But when told her I was expecting 14, she told me no booking had been made (and rectified that), and contrary to what I’d been told before, for a group of 8 people or more, everyone must order in advance, by 27 December. I was then sent an email with a link for booking on-line. That meant I had to find email addresses for everyone, to pass on the link, and I really struggled to make contact with a few who hadn’t given their phone numbers. The on-line booking web page was unhelpful for them, as it didn’t give prices. Also, some people were unable to get the on-line booking system to work for them, so I had to enter their choices, along with their names and email addresses. After that, I found some choices, such as those in the ‘Daytime Set Menu’ (3 Courses £12.29, 2 Courses £10.29, 1 Course £8.29) and ‘On The Side’ extras, didn’t appear on the on-line booking system. After further attempts to phone, Laura told me I could email those orders. The next shock was, out of the blue, getting an email demanding a £70 booking fee (the main thing that had put me off the alternative pub), which I paid myself! What with warning people that contrary to what I had told them previously, they needed to submit orders in advance, and then people who couldn’t place their orders themselves phoning or emailing their orders to me individually, and me not wanting to risk losing track of them so putting them in as soon as I received them, I spent quite a lot of the Christmas period, and my birthday on 26th, getting details and entering orders for those who found they couldn’t work the on-line system. It was slow and fiddly needing to enter people’s names and email addresses individually, so that it was clear who had ordered what, and who was yet to order. On 27 December I returned to the on-line booking page to add the final orders of the type that appeared there, only to find that it had closed a day earlier than I had been told to expect! I then emailed all the outstanding orders, and a correction I was unable to make as the site had closed earlier, also explaining that our party now consisted of 13. On 31 December I got an email from The Essex Arms confirming that there would be 13 of us, but only listing the 9 on-line orders, including one that I’d wanted to change to a 3 Course Daytime Set Menu! When I arrived on the day I raised the disparity between what I’d emailed, and what was emailed back, it was sorted, and we all got what we’d tried to order. The food was pretty good, and the service was friendly, although it was rather slow considering we wanted to finish in time to enjoy our walk while daylight lasted. It would have been so much simpler if I’d been given correct information initially, and asked for orders to be written on my sheet. I warn anyone wishing to book in advance to find a less misleading and awkward venue! But if a few of you are just turning up on the day, enjoy it.

Visiting our friends “across the pond” for our European vacation to kick off the New Year and had to stop in to for a couple pints and of course some fabulous fish and chips. The Essex Arms did not disappoint as I didn’t even know there were so many options of fish and chips, like haddock, sea bass and scampi & chips to name a few. As I said, when you’re in the UK you have to get fish and chips, but our party also had burgers, salads and portions were great! And you better leave room for their Sticky Toffee Pudding and the Belgian Chocolate Brownie. Definitely would recommend this establishment for their great food, nice sized portions and super friendly service! A nice experience we’ll remember long after getting back in Chicago.

We booked this a while ago for a family Christmas dinner. We pre-booked our order weeks before. We arrived and the atmosphere and decorations were lovely and our waiter Isaac was really attentive and lovely. Then the food arrived!! Firstly, the prawn cocktail didn’t mention salmon in the menu, it was part prawn, part salmon with a piece of frozen I unspreadable butter. Ok, that’s not all bad we could live with that. However, the Christmas dinner was horrendous, the potatoes had been pre-cooked so the outsides were soft and wrinkly and the inside grey and dry. some of the veg was raw and other overcooked. My dad chose beef but couldn’t eat it because it was so tough and they’d called it beef bourguignon but it was nothing like it. We were gutted! We paid £60 per head so didn’t expect Michelin star but did expect it to be edible. The extreme shame is that Isaac and the front of house staff were great. The head chef should be ashamed to allow that rubbish to be served…… especially on Christmas Day.

We came as a group of 23 for a family Christmas party. We chose to have the buffet menu which works well for a large group. Everything ran smoothly, staff were friendly and flexible to our requests for changes to the menu.

Upon arrival I was greeted with a sullen looking barman who asked if we had booked without even a hello. I said we hadn’t booked. I was then told that it would be too much,(we were a group of 9, 4 adults 5 kids),if we wanted to order food, so we were allowed drinks only. There were plenty of tables available and we had lots of time left before the end of serving food. By his logic, if we sat at 2 different tables then we could eat! I decided that I didn’t want a confrontation with this particular barman so we went and sat down. We only wanted a couple of sharer plates and 2 kids meals for the younger children but I was annoyed at this confrontational attitude and being made to feel unwelcome as soon as we walked in. When we ordered the food with a different staff member, no restrictions were mentioned and they were happy to serve us food. We got our sharer plates after 15 minutes but had to remind them of our 2 kid’s meal after waiting for an hour! This is not the first time that I have seen this behaviour from some staff members towards patrons and I have also been told by friends that it has happened to them. It’s a shame as the pub has such potential and is a great venue and location, but it has a reputation for being unwelcoming due to the behaviour of some staff who make you feel like you are putting them out by going in there.

Boxing day family meal for 9. Great service and great food.

Has potential to be a great pub but service and management is shocking. If 3.8 Google review stars isn’t enough it will probably never change.

There wasn’t much on the main menu no curry, lasagna and as it was 2 days before Christmas there was no festive menu. The the mushroom had very little sauce the hunters chicken was dry, peas hard, no veg with bangers n mash, Eton mess was a slop and staff weren’t very friendly

Wonderful day, excellent staff & brilliant pub!

Gone downhill since the last visit most food on the menu was nt available. Slow service due to staff just chatting.

Visited recently and the food and beer was top notch. Will definitely be visiting again

Such a lovely evening, the team couldn’t do enough for us. An absolute gem and would highly recommend

Had festive party here what a great Place. Friendly, great food , everyone loved their meal With fresh vegetables. Hot and nicely presented. Will book again for next year

Pleasant athmosphere. Convenient located near the concert venue for a post concert gathering. Didn't order food, hence to rating from me. Next time...

Awful decision we had to wait 1 hour and 30 minutes also we caught the coming back from Morrison to get the food

2 hour wait for an English breakfast for 4. Staff emptily apologetic, pub was at 50% capacity. Food was cold. You are only allowed a fried egg not scrambled egg. Coffee machine was broken. There are many much better pubs to go to in the area.

Awful service. Kept us waiting with no explanation. My children were starving! Waitress was very rude when we asked for scrambled eggs. Also we saw the staff run across fge Road to get food from morrisons. When they food did turn up ut was cold . Awful visit will never return despite it being our local

Come to this pub regularly, staff are always friendly and accommodating. Stead and the Lauras are very knowledgable. I can’t recommend this pub enough!

Went for breakfast with Santa on the 16th December, my little one loved it !! All the staff were dressed up and really got involved with the kids.There was soo many things to do from making Christmas cards, making baubles and getting hands on with making reindeer food. We even got a full English for each adult and the little one. We was served by Laura she was helpful and hands on when we needed something. Santa was very involved with getting to know the kids and we even got a little present. Will definitely be going back next year very happy !!

We visited the essex arms last week, we were served very quickly and the food was gorgeous. The assistant manager laura helped us navigate the different options that out dietary restrictions left us, the staff were extremely pleasant, we left full and happy, will definitely...

We visited the essex arms last week, we were served very quickly and the food was gorgeous. The assistant manager laura helped us navigate the different options that out dietary restrictions left us, the staff were extremely pleasant, we left full and happy, will definitely come again. Thank you everyone at the essex arms

the manager laura dealt with the whole booking process of my festive meal and couldn’t have been more helpful. The festive food was amazing will definitely be back next year!

Such a nice vibe to this pub. The foods amazing and staff are always lovely. Going to be my new go to in this area.

This pub is hit and miss when it's good it's really nice, but on our last visit was appalling, we booked a table for dinner on a Saturday night for 2 at 7pm and went to order food and there was literally nothing available on...

Came to the breakfast with santa session, it was so lovely, they catered for my son's needs (Autistic) really well, my son loved saying hi to santa but took a little time to go near to him, and the staff were so understanding, my son loved doing all the creative things, colouring in and making reindeer food. Thank you all, we will definitely be back for Easter celebrations.

Increase purchase of Christmas menu ingredients. Very disappointed nothing on festive menu available. Tap water we had to collect ourselves. Vegetarian menu was pitiful. One particular member of staff was very rude and unprofessional. Duty manager said he was having a bad day !!!!

Greeted warmly and the duty manager came to our table to check our orders. I had made a mistake with one of the starters but she was able to quickly rectify this. Good quality food but portion size quite large for some of the mains. I couldn’t finish mine. Nice atmosphere and table dressed nicely for the festive season

Large party for a Christmas dinner on Sunday evening. Food choices given in advance and all served correctly and promptly. Food really good and service excellent. Definitely a good venue for a festive meal out!! Clare - Watford

I'd forgotten this pub existed until recently. Came in randomly and food was good, nice atmosphere and service was excellent from Laura. She couldn't have done more to help us.

First time I have been here for a long time, the manager I think her name was Laura was extremely helpful will definitely be back again soon

Had a very enjoyable visit, great food and atmosphere, proper pub. Great service from Laura, very quick and friendly the whole evening. Would definitely come again!

Out for lunch with my son. We've been there many times over the years, but after today, never again. Gammon was not cooked and can only have been shown the heat. So back to the bar with it to ask for a cooked replacement. Second...

Has been a favourite of mine for years, but won't be going back after today. Gammon not cooked, so return only for the replacement meal to have on egg so undercooked that the snotty layer on top of the uncooked yolk wobbled as you moved the plate. The egg was raw on top of the yolk. Had to ask for a refund. Not worth the one star.

Lovely food and brilliant staff, thank you.

Dropped into Essex for food and drinks which was nice and relaxing.Service good Laura and James couldn’t not do enough for us.

Very friendly staff and nice meal to have with friends. I had the double cheese and bacon burger, good quality burgers.

Really lovely service from the bar staff particularly Laura

Lovely setting, warm and inviting. However I wanted a cappuccino and was told they only had Americano although there was a machine. I ordered a steak which was inedible as it was dried out and tough. Couldn't have another as it was the last one! Changed to gammon, egg and chips. Gammon was salty and flavourless.

Lovely place to come and enjoy an evening meal. I used the online app to order and my food arrived quickly. Food tasted good too.

We have used Essex arms most Fridays for years. On 20/10 we went for dinner with our family. Today I got a parking fine of £100. I rang Essex arms to be told its clearly signed, on our visit it obviously wasn't and not one...

Rubbish pub, such a shame, it could be a great place if it was run properly.

This is our local pub and we normally come here for a drink. We took our friends for a Sunday roast . The staff did not make us welcome, we were advised the food would take 30 minutes but had to wait over an hour....

729 pubs went out of business in the UK in the last 12 months. I predict that is this pub does not change it's ways this will be another one. The pub is located in a fairly affluent area of Watford, and yet they seem...

The staff are so wonderful and friendly, beautiful pub amazing atmosphere the landlady is a sweetheart too, My favourite family friendly pub and great venue near Cassibury park. Highly recommend to anyone visiting Watford best pub, best service Janna

Looks a bit nondescript from the outside but is cozy and nice inside. Very friendly staff and good food. Laura is a particularly good member of staff and always delivers friendly service.

My recent dining experience at this establishment was rather disappointing. Despite the restaurant not being at full occupancy, the service was notably slow, with our food arriving after an hour and a half of waiting. The quality of the food also left much to be desired; the fries appeared to have been fried in old oil, resulting in an unsavory taste. Additionally, my order of breaded prawns was overcooked to the point where it resembled stones rather than prawns. Furthermore, I also ordered the sea bass, which, unfortunately, was served bland and tasteless. It lacked seasoning and failed to meet even the most basic expectations for a well-prepared dish. My husband's experience was equally underwhelming, as he described his hamburger as the worst he has ever had. We had anticipated a more enjoyable dining experience given the circumstances, but unfortunately, it fell far short of our expectations.

Great cask ales and always a guest to choose from.

Very low quality food. If You looking for good quality food this is not the place.

Had particularly good service from Laura! She even let me have an ice cream.