Market Cross Restaurant in Central Bedfordshire

Visited here with friend during october half term week at lunchtime. When we arrived spoke to someone at the bar who said to sit anywhere. After settling ourselves at a table we went up to order a carvery each, which has always been available in the past at lunchtimes during school holidays when we have come. Only to be told no carvery til the evening. For an establishment that is known predominantly for being a carvery to not be serving it at lunchtime especially as it was the school half term and pretty busy made no sense. Also we weren’t informed the carvery was not available when we arrived, neither was there a sign outside to inform customers. We checked on leaving. Just having the roasted meats out for the evening service must be wastful as on a midweek day I can’t imagine the footfall is much more than the daytime was on that day. Although only having the dearer menu options at lunchtime might be better for your business it’s not for the customer. A sandwich or jacket potato & topping nearly the same price as a small plate carvery is not good value at all! I was also disappointed that my email to yourselves was never responded to regarding no carvery available ( & gave you over a week to respond) so I have written a review for all to read instead!

Lovely evening at the market cross watching the live band. We had dinner first. The fish and chips were very good. Fun atmosphere and the staff were working very hard

We had such a lively afternoon with friends and family fir a birthday. The staff bought out a cake for the birthday girl. It was a nice afternoon and very lovely food

I had the best food here today and the service was great, I can’t wait to return for the Sunday carvery, as we had the cowboy burger and that was lovely

Wow wow wow. The food was amazing. The atmosphere was lovely. We stayed for the ub40 night. It was such a lovely night. Everyone was helpful

So I recommended this place to my partner and out friend because they were hungover as hell, well they had never been so I said that we definitely need to go. 3 hours after I said that we were sitting at our table, which we were late for our reservation but they grabbed us a booth which was comfy as a cloud, especially after all of us filling up in food and needing to spread out like a cat in the sun Potatoes, banging Meat, tender Peas, sweet Gravy, thick Stuffing, delectable Overall it was a stand up meal, 10/10 would eat again.

Do yourself a favour, save your money and go to McDonald’s next door! Gave it the benefit of the doubt after an awful lunch the week before, but because it was handy with the grandkids after popping into B&M with them, made the terrible mistake of going again. Super expensive, laughably actually, nobody seems to know what they are doing, food was FREEZING yet again, probably was the 40 minute wait for 3 kids burgers and chips, 2 baguettes that when they came out were 2 slices of bread!! I cannot stress how bad it is here. Unfortunately I do not complain, so they had no chance to rectify the situation, but I would have been waiting behind the couple who were getting a refund on their meals. For the love of god, RUN in the opposite direction!!!!

Great service, good food. Can't go wrong with a good carvery!!!!

I've been to this restaurant on several occasions. I've always loved their food. The portions ate generous. Slight downside, maybe now and then they should introduce something new.

Big daddy burger was very very good. Massive portion. The place had a good vibe. Everyone was in good spirits. Welcomed when we came and friendly goodbye when we left

great food and lovely service from the staff as always. the carvery gets better everytime we come here. always hot and fresh. well presented. nice decor for halloween. kids enjoyed it

Everything was lovely. Quick service and also dog friendly which is good for us. Plenty of tables

Update. Everything was lovely. Enjoyed birthday meal here. Made a fuss of us. Everyone enjoyed everything. Me and the family came for a birthday dinner on wed night, the food was so much better than the visit last year. We don’t live local and drove a long way so it was a lovely Suprise to really enjoy this meal. There was even a quiz which was £1 to enter and it was a real good laugh. I would come again and actually look forward to coming this time.

Excellent place with great food and drinks!

Staff very helpful and so friendly. I am disabled, and they couldn't do enough for me. I'll be going more often

Update to previous reviews. Market Cross Dunstable has now improved so I’m pleased to be able to recommend the Carvery as it was excellent when visited on 6 August 2023.

Spicy beef burger was great. Plenty of drinks choice. Some events being advertised which I will be attending

Awful food, we all got served at different times. My meal was dropped on my shoulder by the waitress and I found my onion rings behind my chair on the floor. My steak was so burnt I couldn't cut or eat it. Won't visit again

Food amazing can’t wait to return and have the kebab steak was great on second return been again and the carvery was sooooo good omg it’s amazing

I had a roast, cookie dough brownie and a coke and my friends had the same, i absolputley loved it staff was so sweet especially these woman called tracy snd kerry so sweet and would come back

Big improvements friendly staff went here for business meeting served quickly with happy faces , nice atmosphere would come again

Lovely food, great atmosphere and very friendly bar staff

Great atmosphere, friendly staff. Lack of meat on the carvery, turkey only available which was disappointing. Overall a good time had by us all.

Went here for lunch with family, was lack of communication by staff of an allergy for a 5 year old. The waitress was extremely close to giving the wrong pudding to a child with a bad allergy. the drink glasses wernt clean properly and the table hadn't been cleaned before we were seated. It was very sticky. The food was lovely and affordable and staff were very polite. Just allergy training and cleanliness needs to be improved to get a higher rating the next visit.

Terrible service, good wasn't much better

Our boys love coming here. The food is so good and affordable. Staff are friendly and always make you feel welcome

Nice carvery. Friendly staff and clean establishment.

The salad was amazing and triple cooked chips and onions rings. Thanks to the chef. Ellie suggestions were great, thanks.

We visited for my partners birthday we had a beautiful 2 course meal the mains were absolutely gorgeous and the dessert were very yummy will definitely be back.

Kerry was amazing on carvery mash was lovely Yorkshire was lovely she’s amazing

Lovely staff great service and delicious hot food

Kerrys carvery was amazing, beef was soft yorkshires were light and soft, well done kerry

Went for birthday meal. Amazing food

During a recent dining experience at your establishment, our group of 17 encountered several issues that resulted in a disappointing meal, particularly given the celebratory nature of the occasion, which was my grandparents' 80th birthday. Upon arrival, we discovered that two drinks were missing from our mobile order, and when we proceeded to the carvery, we were informed that only turkey was available, despite having made a reservation for a full carvery experience. Furthermore, when we finally reached the carving station, we found that there was no meat left, leaving us with only vegetables, some of which contained hair. As a gesture of goodwill, we were offered complimentary desserts, but unfortunately, one of the desserts arrived with paper inside. Overall, the dining experience fell well below our expectations and was particularly disappointing considering the special occasion we were celebrating.

Lovely place, lovely team and good service. Nice and accessible and family/dog .

Food was lovely and service was excellent, would defintly recommend and will be returning

Sadly when we arrived the stoves weren’t working so we were unable to have the long awaited carvery we were craving, however the food we chose was lovely, there was a minor hiccup with the wrong burger being served to my daughter but that was soon rectified by the lovely staff, overall we were happy

amazing food and customer service

they had run out if carvery by 7pm on a saturday, told kitchen closed when we tried to order dessert and asked to leave at 9.30pm though supposed to be open till 11pm

When I last went to the market cross a few years ago, the food was edible but nothing to shout about to your friends. Yesterday me & my partner decided to go there for a carvery on the feeling of trying it out again. This time was so much better. The service was great as we were greeted by the door & shown to our table. It was extremely easy to order plus the carvery was amazing. Very nice portion sizes for a fair price & for me & my partner , the bill came to under £40. Would definitely recommend market cross to anyone now without issue.

All round excellent service. Very clean. Great bar staff (Kerry) . Thank you and Tracy was amazing

Everyone is so lovely and friendly, Vicky is a sweetheart. The whole experience is lovely we go there every wednesdy

Had a very lovely meal here, new management seem to be doing very well and trying to make it even better 5/5

What a great visit! It’s been a real breath of fresh air with Tracy and Emma coming on board and returning this pub back to its former glory. They are going to be absolutely fantastic here and I can’t wait to come back and see all of the positive things they have done. Quick service, friendly atmosphere, fresh hot food, nice cold pint what more could you want? Well we came back and were so glad we did, seeing how Emma an Tracy have worked so hard over the past few months to turn this pub in to a clean, welcoming and all round nice place to be was such a pleasure to see. We’re definitely going to be coming more frequently

Lovely place great atmosphere & food will be back to try out more on the menu. Another great visit

We arrived at 1630 for an early dinner. We found a table and went to the bar to order. A member of staff said they would be right there and then vanished. Another member of staff came over 5 or so minutes later to take our order. We ordered started a main and a drink which came to around £50. The starter - we ordered Mac and cheese and perimeter chicken wings. The menus stated the Mac and cheese came with crispy onions, chives and BBQ sauce. Mine however did not. The chicken wings were over cooked but we ate them as we don’t like to make a fuss. We then waited nearly an hour for our main. The ultimate chicken burger and ultimate spicy beef burger. The chicken one was sent back, there were no hash browns, no cheese (which I would have still just eaten) and freezing cold chips. My husband has now had his dinner and I have just received mine. Chips are luke warm again so I will not be eating them and I am not prepared to wait around for another 25 minutes for a 3rd meal. I also ordered a drink on your self service table app and had to ask a member of staff where it was as it had been so long.

The food aas amazing, the staff so friendly and helpful ws had the steak and roast and it was lovely we were recommended by friends and we were not disappointed can't wait to rerurn

Had an excellent meal here last night food was hot & plentiful, great value for money, Emma gave us excellent service & made our night special, thank you Emma! Will definitely be returning & can highly recommend! Will now be booking my Xmas part here!

Food was cold, under staffed, food came out at different times. Quality of food poor and pricey for the area.

What a difference a year makes. I stopped off here mid journey and was treated by friendly staff and the carvery was so tasty. Will definitely be returning

Very helpful staff nothing too much trouble for them nice food cooked well and hot.

Went with my family for my daughter's 2nd birthday and the food took some time to come out also wasn't told we had to wait for the carvery to be ready.... which was ready about 12 so waited for 30 minutes. Also saw the chef drop a massive piece of carvery beef on the floor and still attempt to serve it to people, I spoke to the manager about it but not sure if anything was actually done about it.

Friendly staff and reasonable prices. Will return next year

I think this is the best pub in town!

got charged £8.50 for a large glass of house of white wine ? and had no food at the carvery at 7pm, this place has made us wonder why go out at all

It was a good day just very hot in there

Another great visit. Just needs a bit of refresh of the chairs

Carvery depleted, stale or empty. New chefs apparently but food quality was horrific

First time visiting in a while. It was nice. Everyone got what they expected. No complaints. I had the spicy beef burger which was good. Big portion so worth the money.

Had a "Too good to go" carvery meal from here. I have had two other meals before and they were good. Had a meal yesterday evening and the food was really awful. Stingy portion of dried out meat which was more like biltong than carvery meat selection. Roast potatoes were more like boiled spuds, bland and didn't taste cooked. Far too much veg compared to meat and potato ratio. The stuffing balls were so hard you could have used them as shot for a cannon. Whoever dished the meal up should have been able to see that the food was over held, dried out and not fit to be sold. Service was good but little atmosphere in the bar as there was only 2 customers.

Husband and I love coming here weekly. New team are fantastic. Foods nice and generally a lovely place. Always friendly towards us and remember our drinks. Nice garden

Everytime we go for Dinner, Carvery closed, run out of food ??? We have now given up trying, staff try their best, But we really like to have the carvery

Enjoyed a lovely roast dinner here on Sunday. Good selection of veg and the roast potato’s were good as they were fresh out. Recommend coming early as it gets busy

Gave four stars in the past, but it has gone rapidly down hill and the update was necessary to warn others. I don't tend to leave negative reviews, however there were multiple customers complaining about the quality whilst I was there on a Sunday at dinner time for Sunday lunch... The staff are friendly and in all honesty I felt sorry for them, I was going to just get on with it and eat it, however... The very first cut, a sausage was pink in the middle, this with the boulder sized under cooked potatoes and cauliflower soup, and meat that resembled an Egyptian mummy, I felt I just had to leave, not only will this taste awful I will likely be ill from under cooked pork. The staff in total agreement that it was unbelievable poor and I was given a refund and left before eating a single mouthful. The lady next to me commented that this is the worst carvery she had ever been too. The staff are lovely but the food is genuinely truly awful - such a shame from what it once was. For context the photo is of their king sized meal with all trimmings and the best they could offer for Sunday dinner, on a Sunday at dinner time. Just awful.

Very poor quality carvery . Mash was solid and lumpy . Yorkshire limp and flat . Roast potatoes barely had any colour . We’ve been on numerous occasions and the last 2 visits it’s declined . Family of 4 left most of our meals. Can’t exactly ask for fresh food so just left . Even the table behind us said how bad their food was . Used to be a lovely pub before

Our dinner was very nice. We all had carvery and it tasted fresh. The tables could do with being refreshed as they seem very old. Also some chairs could be recovered. The staff were sweet. They made sure we were happy during our dinner

quiz night was great! lot of fun and nice food

Enjoyed the quiz here again. The food does take a bit of time to arrive so maybe more chefs would be useful. But we were in no rush. Loved it

We stopped by for dinner so decided to join in. The new manager is lovely. Our food was nice. Mixed grill well worth the money

We have been coming to the Market Cross since it opened and the mixed grills were always the best for miles around. Sadly, this is no longer the case. After waiting 45 mins for our starter plates to be collected and our main course brought out to us it was immediately apparent something had gone wrong and our food had been left under the hot lamps for quite some time. My son ordered the chicken korma and the rice had a dry crispy layer on the exterior, you could tell it was fine when it had been cooked as the rice in the middle of the pile was nice and moist and fluffy. He didn't seem to mind and ate it anyway. I ordered the mixed grill and was given a plate of luke-warm mediocrity. The chicken breast was dryer than the Sahara desert and had a tough leather-like outer skin even though it was served skinless?! My fried eggs were so overcooked they were hard-boiled. The gammon and sausages were both burnt. The steak might have been ok but had lost so much temperature by the time it got to me it had gone tough and chewy. Would have complained but didn't fancy waiting another 45 mins for replacement food. Very disappointing, could not finish my meal.

Pleasantly surprised as I have not heard the best about The Market Cross but I can only give a positive feedback. Vicky on the front door was amazing, very friendly and helpful. Food was amazing and service was quick.

The carvery was very nice. Meat was tasty and big fresh yorkies

Awful, orders not put through, orders forgotton, Meals came out different time.Duty manager rude and unhelpful. 2 different curries order arrived as the same curry but half hour apart. Not a nice experience.

Excellent steak and chips. Very good value. Nice outdoor area too.

It's a nice spot for family and friends. Customer service Is okay but once you order staff don't engage much until they come to collect your plates which personally suits me well and wasn't an issue. Reasonable wait time for your food. Staff are visible and easy to request help from if needed. Cleanliness would be a three out of five. Under the tables could do with a good vacuuming. I recommend going from 1-3pm which seems to be a more quiet time with less people.

Had a lovely evening out with my sister. The food was amazing and the staff were so polite and bubbly, we will 100% be returning in the near future x

What a great pub. The drinks selection is spot on and had everything we wanted. Nice pun when it’s hot out but also cosy inside

Lovely beer garden here. We really enjoyed the burger and steak we had. Nice family friendly place

New manger is really nice. Our recent visit we noticed how nice the place is now. Great chefs now the food was lovely

Absolutely shocking, the carvery was left unmanned with people walking past to go to the toilet, one couple got so fed up with waiting the helped themselves, which is a food hygiene issue in itself. You had to wait an age for the server to come out of the backroom to be served. The meat had run out and when we asked if there was anymore as advertised we were told no. The vegetables had dried out because they had been under the heat lamp for so long, but the roast potatoes were hard in the middle and the gravy was like water. The fizzy drinks were flat. The tables were unwashed and the plates from other diners were just left to fester. I had been to the market cross a number of years ago and would always recommend it but now I would say avoid at all cost!!!!

I was very disappointed with my visit today. The service was very poor and extremely slow. The carvery hot plate area was dirty and consisted of dried up meat and veg. My family had to wait over 30 minutes for their food which was; - Hot dogs and chips, the chips were over fried and not fresh. Hotdog tasted as if it was sitting in the water for too long. Hot dog didn’t contain what was sated on the menu didn’t come with any onions or chives - Nachos with pulled pork, which was very soggy. Cheese burger, which was unevenly cooked in some areas and the chips were covered in bits of burnt food as a result of being cooked in dirty oil. Overall disappointed. After a complaint we were given a full refund. Won’t be returning.

There was no roast potatoes and most of the veg was nearly empty there was a poor lad trying to cook and serve and was clearly out of his depth a lady came and offered us chips which is not good if you ordered a roast dinner.the lady offered us a pudding each as compensation but then took over 15 minutes in which case I just got up and walked out she said she had staff shortages. Knowing its a carvery restaurant and short staffed the menu should have been altered.was not happy at all and my order should not have been taken.if it could not have been fulfilled

To many children allowed to run around free and screaming with no supervision spoiling your meal .....

The staff are lovely everyone made it good experience I enjoy the food here chef is good

Chicken wings were really good. Great size portion. Staff were busy but everything was taken care of

Friendly service and nice pub food.

Overall great place only thing needs improving is third time happening now that I order drinks from the table through the app and they have no idea until I go inside later to ask..

The food is great and the staff are all very nice

The food is so good and the stuff are lovely

Great pub. Plenty of space, and service was outstanding. Also has a play area for kids.

We popped into The Market across last night with plans to eat there, we left after one drink. What has happened the last time we were there the place although well worn and was clean. Yesterday the place looked as if a chimps tea party had taken place with food all over the floor and staff walking around it with no attempt to clean it up, the tables need a good scrub as they were sticky and grimy. Some of the chairs really could do with replacing. What has happened it used to be a joy going here. My husband and I had our first date here so holds memories but the lack of hygiene really let it down.

.Planned on a carvery but, after having paid for it and seen it we went back to the till for a refund and we were not the only ones. It was devastated, hardly anything there and what was there looked a mess. So we opted for a menu option. We went and sat at a table only to find that it and all the others were sticky wobbly and disgusting. There was what I'm sure was mould growing around the edge of the one next to us. The chairs were all looked like they haven't been cleaned in years. The floor was covered in chips and peas etc all around more than one table. The most gross restaurant experience I've ever had.

Good great will return the carver was so polite and friendly we had such a lovely meal and the food was so tasty! Yorkshire puds we’re huge and we look forward to returning

Great service and the food was fantastic. Freshly cooked and we all enjoyed our meals

Such a shame have to give low stars. As food was lovely. Had food from menu. Great atmosphere at pub, was pub quiz going on. Went with family. Was seated at a table that was for 4 people not 5 so not alot if space. Starters took about 40 minutes. Garlic bread and nachos. Mains took over a hour. Ordered via the qr code. Alot of people were served alot quicker than us. Even though order food 30 minutes before they arrived. Staff were apologetic. It did ruin family meal as children become restless waiting for food.

The food was amazing the steak was cooked perfect we really enjoyed our visit! Look forward to coming back very soon

Food quality has improved significantly compared to a month ago, but let down by a stale cake that we ordered for dessert

.The staff were friendly and the food was hot and tasty. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, and I was able to reserve my favourite table which was great.

I love the feel of this place, Alwats greeted with a friendly member of staff. Good quality food, always hot and tastey. A good selection of drinks.

If I could give 0 stars I would. A place I would not rush back to any time soon. My order of Fish and chips the fish wasn't cooked the batter soft and squishy and made my stomach turn to the point I couldn't eat it. The calvary wasn't much better roast potatoes burnt on the outside raw in the middle Yorkshire pudding dry. Not to the standard we have had before at this establishment not worth the price