Rainbow & dove in Epping Forest

Having been here several times during the week for lunch decided to bring the family on a Saturday. Unfortunately there was a party of 18 that had booked and this had an effect on the service, which was quite frankly, appallingly slow. When the food came it was delicious, but unfortunately we skipped desserts and coffees as we didn't want another long wait. Why don't the owners employ extra staff when catering for a large party?? Would go back, but not on a weekend.

Excellent food and service - nice home made hearty dishes in a quaint setting. Very peaceful and relaxing. Very remote place but well supported by locals.

Had a lovely afternoon. The food was delicious, piping hot and so tasty. The staff were friendly and welcoming. A lovely pub in a beautiful location.

Cute traditional pub. Lovely atmosphere & amazing food! Staff is really friendly and food got to us quickly even on this busy day.

A return to an old favourite. Until a couple of months ago I hadn’t been back to the Rainbow and Dove since the 80’s. So very pleased to have rediscovered it. The food is delicious, service is beyond good. A friendly publican who has a keen eye for excellent customer service. I throughly recommend the Rainbow and Dove a mere 5 minutes from the M11.

Again I walked in and was welcomed as the regular I was .any years ago....

A really lovely pub and restaurant thoroughly enjoyed our meal there Many thanks to the staff

I took my mum for Sunday lunch. We go out most Sundays and often return to places we like. Although we had visited the Rainbow and Dove before, it had only been during the week. Sadly, the service was dreadful. We waited 45 minutes for our starter and when I asked how long it would be, I was told they were short-staffed. I appreciate that can be a problem, but maybe take less bookings if you can't provide a good service or, at least, inform customers when they book or when they arrive! My drink order was completely forgotten! What disappointed me the most, however, was when it came to paying. The bill was £62.50. Reasonable. I paid cash and put £70 (in notes) on the table with the bill. It was swiftly collected and.... Well, that was it! I full intended to pay the full £70 despite the bad service, but that the waitress assumed it was a tip and made no attempt to bring me change is appalling. That's more than 10% for service that was well below par! Perhaps, I should have said something, but who wants to cause a fuss? As we left, the waitress said goodbye. She wasn't busy - so no reason she couldn't offer me change - and clearly not grateful. I won't be returning! The food? Thai fishcake and steak and kidney pie. It was okay. Not food to rush back for and not food to avoid. The service, however, was a different story!

Friendly people and great food. Lovely dog too!

Decent Sunday lunch and nice staff

Great food. Friendly staff. Lots of gluten free options.

Lovely steak & kidney pie & chargrilled lamb. Looking forward to going again 👍🏼😉

Very nice Christmas set meal with girl friends

Love this place. Never dissapoints

Amazing. Didn't look very promising from the outside but it was warm and welcoming. Staff were attentive and nothing was any trouble. Special grilled Plaice was HUGE and so yummy with chips and peas and home made tartare. I felt obliged to further test the menu with a choice of ice creams, not the standard fayre. Mum loved her ham egg and chips and we will most definitely come again if not just to say hello to the lovely black lab who said hello to everyone. Marvellous.

Great food, nice people and a lovely cozy pub. Definitely recommend. Especially if Stilton (the Lab) is around.

Family gathering of 18 - staff were pleasant helpful and efficient. Food was very tasty, great quality from curry to fish and chips to all various roast dinner dishes. Thank you !

Excellent 3 course meal. Super staff

Superb Sunday lunch, everything was top quality. The staff were super attentive and atmosphere was warm and friendly. Had a pint beforehand, which was spot on! Can’t wait to go back

Superb Sunday lunch, the food at the Rainbow & Dove just gets better and better. The roasts looked wonderful, but we decided to go a l carte and was not disappointed. My grilled plaice was delicious. My daughter’s Thai fish cakes I’m told were excellent and her partner’s home made steak and kidney pie looked fantastic! Service was very good and attentive. Had a pint of Adnams Lighthouse on arrival, which was spot on. I firmly believe the Rainbow & Dove is the best traditional food pub in the area.

Visited with freinds, food agreed by all excellent. Lovely welcoming pub, great host, waitress, petite lady great. Many thanks. Will be returning.

Very nice food, attentive staff and a lovely dog who comes as says hello.

Overall very nice, but needs to turn the heating on,.

Whether you're stopping by for a quick coffee or enjoying a leisurely meal, the cosy ambience and superb service make the visit a pleasure.

A very friendly pub. An excellent choice on the menu. ,with good special board!. Sunday's roast excellent!3

Love coming here for supper with the Mrs....

Fabulous find.after discussing prior to arrival they allowed us to park motorhome in car park overnight. Thankyou Lunch and long overdue catch up with cousin, they eat there regularly and recommend the salt beef sandwich, which was perfect. We returned for evening meal. 1x lamb rump with potatoes and perfectly cooked veg . 1x lasagna husband said very tasty and hot to the last mouthful Would highly recommend Wish we lived closer

This was a special surprise Birthday celebration lunch and the 5 of us were ready to enjoy everything. We skipped starters planning to have puddings later. My Slow Cooked Belly Pork and crackling with a cider gravy, new potatoes, beans and carrots was perfect. Crackling snapped with a satisfying crunch and pork was simply melt in the mouth, gravy was great. Grilled Sea Bass was perfection. An amazingly generous Chicken Club Sandwich with wonderful trimmings went down like a dream and both portions of Fish & Chips were declared outstanding. It couldn’t have been improved it was all so good. We decided, with reluctance, that the portions had been so generous we couldn’t think of eating a pudding. I saw the home made baked Cheesecake and it looked and smelled divine. The welcome was excellent and our hosts were all fabulous. They accommodated all our requests and made sure we were all really comfortable. The IPA Pacific was refreshing and well conditioned?? The white Pinot was clean and perfect with the pork and fish and chips and we also shared a couple of bottles of sparkling water. Price was £102 inclusive of drinks. This is my second visit since my previous revue of the Rainbow and Dove. It’s service, food and price were outstanding and I’ll definitely be back.

Fabulous lunch for five. Grilled Sea Bass was perfection and my Slow Cooked Belly Pork was melt in the mouth and absolutely scrumptious, crackling crispy and a real delight, beautiful cider gravy and fresh green beans, carrots and new potatoes. All the chips were crunchy on the outside and molten in the middle. Wine fresh and crisp, the Pacific? IPA excellent. Our hosts were loveliness itself, kind and considerate specially as two of us can hardly walk! All in all a 92nd Birthday lunch we’ll remember forever. Thanks to everyone at the Rainbow and Dove.

Amazing lunchtime food and experience is amazing

Fantastic service and food and a fantastic setting

Fantastic pub with excellent service, lovely cold Aspalls and the best steak burger I've ever had. Highly recommended 10/10

I stopped briefly here to escape the M11. It's a nice quiet and civilised place to stop. I had a refreshing drink and used the loos which were clean and tidy. The menu looked good and there were lots of diners which is always a good sign.

Superb lunch. Cute pub. Fabulous staff. The salt beef sandwich and lush chips were so good. Pub dog was a bonus.

Not been for a couple of years but owners are making a lot of improvements lovely pub food and service hopefully won't go down the trendy road like other pubs in area ps dog friendly 👍

Fabulous, food was amazing , good sized portions a day delicious. Staff super friendly 👌

Beautiful building, wonderful staff and lovely food. The staff are attentive but not intrusive and very helpfulnwith my endless questions lol.

Lovely pub, staff were friendly and helpful, worth a visit.

Great little pub off the beaten track. Great food and selection of beers. Well worth a visit.

Quaint old fashioned styled pub but with a modern menu. The burger of the month was massive and especially liked the deep fried Jalapenos inside. Toilets could have been cleaner.

Lovely country pub. Tiny pub being renovated. Patio area very nice. Food excellent as qas the service. Recommend a,visit

Never ever in 20 years have we had a bad meal. The staff go way beyond our expectations and the food is the best for miles around with the added bonus of great real ales.

Food was great. Staff were excellent and had some great house beer.

My partner had a sandwich. The bread was stale. I had jacket potato with prawns which was tasteless. Frozen tiny prawns loads of them but less would be better if they are nice ones. I ended up with an upset stomach about 3 hours later. I really would not recommend this place. Menu dated and uninteresting. I will say the young waitresses were very friendly and did a good job.

Really nice food. Would like some salad options though. Reasonably priced. Nice little country pub

Excellent lunch today 31/07/2 3 great food excellent beer and wines and above all service with a smile many thanks highly recommended.

A stunning sun shining day should have made sitting outside this pretty country pub for lunch idyllic unfortunately this wasn’t to be. We ordered a red wine and Guinness and asked if we could order lunch. The answer was yes, which was good, but we weren’t offered any menus and after finding some and the specials board we went to return to our table right outside the door. Immediately we were jumped on by our hostess who demanded £12 for the drinks, she couldn’t have been less interested 5minutes earlier, we have always run a tab previously in this establishment and paid at the end of the meal. Not a problem for us. However it seems that they’ve totally changed their service principles in as much as there was no service. Hemmed in by giant olive trees in pots and me disabled and on crutches having to get to the bar was not pleasant. Our Wild Boar Burgers eventually were slapped down on our table by the waitress, we then had to find cutlery, napkins and condiments. The burger tasted bland, full of gristly bits and didn’t taste anything like wild boar just bog standard coarse pork sausage meat. Inside the soggy bun were two half inch thick slices of apple and some tired limp rocket leaves (about half a dozen of them) and some tasteless red onion chutney. Absolute rubbish food at a rip off £33.90. We didn’t bother going back inside to order sweets or coffee as we had been made to pay the food bill when ordering and the non service definitely didn’t warrant a thank you

Lovely pub in the country, food looks good.

Lovely period country pub , set back from the road. Food always good as well as friendly prompt service. Need to book as very popular.

Almost don't want to post a review as too many visitors will detract from this gorgeous little pub. We go back to it frequently as it's so consistent. Once the front patio area is finished it'll be an epic summer destination. Both food and drink are of great quality and terrific value for money and the staff are always welcoming and attentive.

Had a meal on the way to the airport Food and beer all good

Food was amazing and fabulous service, will definitely be back 😋

Steak, kidney and ale pie was excellent, fish and chips also good, generous servings. Friendly service, easy parking.

Lovely venue. Best salt beef sandwich 🥪.

An absolutely great gem, tucked away off the main road. The menu is quite varied, fish pies and meat dishes. The wife has never been disappointed and believe me that is high praise indeed. 👏 The staff are efficient and courteous, well worth a visit.

Well, what can I say. We go out every Sunday for lunch, and this was one of the worst. I should have sent it back at the time, but I don't like to complain. No one asked if everything was ok with the food, if they had, i would have said what was wrong. The roast potatoes were burnt to a crisp, and unedable, I couldn't eat them. The Yorkshire pudding was like a pancake, and sogy, unedable also. Veg not bad, and beef not bad. When the plates were collected, i did mention about the potatoes, but nothing was said.I would not recommend this pub for a sunday roast. Will not go here ever again, and won't recommend it to anybody.

Lovely little pub and nice food, I've lived in this area for 18yrs, first time I visited this Pub was a few weeks ago 😀 shame it only does the old Pub hours from back in the day but still a nice Pub.

Called in early evening my last visit here was 37 years ago, the staff so friendly and welcoming, the starts just excellent, then the main course, wow excellent portions and cooked fantastic, most definitely not leaving it another 30 years lol, thank you for a fantastic meal

Everything is super, the prices are nice

A great little find serving great food by very friendly staff

Amazing. The staff were incredible, there is a pub dog and her name is Stilton and most importantly the food was delicious. Highly recommended!

Great Essex pub good lunch time menu great food freanly staff nice little pub what more could you ask for

We had a wonderful lunch, food was really lovely with a warm and friendly service. We chose to have our lunch here as it always has a wonderful, friendly atmosphere.

Dropped in here for lunch after visiting garden centre just down the road and seeing M11 was stopped with traffic. Smallish pub but with outside space also with lots of character serving amazing food, got a warm welcome when stepping through the door and seated quickly. Interesting menu and also a specials board with some great options. I had steak and kidney pie which was lovely with large pieces of beef and a rich gravy. The chips were lovely and crispy on the outside but soft on the inside and the peas still had great flavour and colour so not standing in water for ages. Shame it is not really local for us but would visit again if we are in the area and looking for grub.

I think this is a foodie pub. All the tables seem to be set aside for diners. I'd also book well in advance, as it quickly filled up after opening at noon. Quite where someone just wanting a pint would sit was clear. Lovely black lab greeted us in car park, I was worried she'd be run over though. We had sausage & onion sandwiches, the onion is caramelised & very gooey. Chips were truly wonderful, like triple cooked chips. They also serve Sunday dinner, which I imagine is stupidly popular. We'll go again, & again...

Great lunch here and dog friendly as a bonus.Cant fault either food,price or service.Would recomend.

Visited for lunch, great atmosphere, food, service and pint of Porter (Pilot Gig), well priced, friendly and great traditional menu.

Originally, this review was going to be much lower due to an error which was not our fault. The short version is that we booked a table online for Sunday lunch for Mother's Day and had received confirmation etc however, when we arrived on the day we were told that we had no booking and that they didn't accept online bookings. We showed them the confirmation and the owner was very confused and extremely apologetic but couldn't seat us as they were fully booked. We had to find somewhere else which was very disappointing as it smelled amazing when we walked in! Later that day, my sister, who made the original booking, called me to say that the owner had called her as he felt so bad about what had happened and wanted to put it right and offered us a meal on the house, so we booked in for the following Sunday (just gone). We arrived, got seated and they couldn't have been more welcoming. We all had a Sunday roast which was fantastic! Very generous portions, everything was cooked perfectly and tasted great! We also had a dessert which was also very good indeed (lemon cheesecake - highly recommended). All washed down with a glass of red. I have never been to this pub before and after the initial encounter, I probably wouldn't have bothered but the way they dealt with the error is how you retain custom and reputation. We will definitely go back. It's a lovely little place which a warm and welcoming atmosphere. It was full too which just shows that these guys are doing a great job. We can't thank you enough. We will be back!

Originally, this review was going to be much lower due to an error which was not our fault. The short version is that we booked a table online for Sunday lunch for Mother's Day and had received confirmation etc however, when we arrived on the day we were told that we had no booking and that they didn't accept online bookings. We showed them the confirmation and the owner was very confused and extremely apologetic but couldn't seat us as they were fully booked. We had to find somewhere else which was very disappointing as it smelled amazing when we walked in! Later that day, my sister, who made the original booking, called me to say that the owner had called her as he felt so bad about what had happened and wanted to put it right and offered us a meal on the house, so we booked in for the following Sunday (just gone). We arrived, got seated and they couldn't have been more welcoming. We all had a Sunday roast which was fantastic! Very generous portions, everything was cooked perfectly and tasted great! We also had a dessert which was also very good indeed (lemon cheesecake - highly recommended). All washed down with a glass of red. I have never been to this pub before and after the initial encounter, I probably wouldn't have bothered but the way they dealt with the error is how you retain custom and reputation. We will definitely go back. It's a lovely little place which a warm and welcoming atmosphere. It was full too which just shows that these guys are doing a great job. We can't thank you enough. We will be back!

Delicious food. Good service. Reasonable prices. Old country pub but warm inside. Will return.

Really good sausage & mash had loads of flavour the venue is a little small.

Nice old pub with a real wood fireplace, making it very atmospheric in winter. It also has outdoor seatings during summer. Food is decent and reasonably priced, service friendly. We have been using it regularly. Collection of photos from multiple visits

Always like this place. I was off colour due to serious surgery and I took some people who helped me to handle stuff while in hospital for 2 months as I live on my Tod this was important. We had a very nice time. Thanks we all had a nice night. I had the lamb fantastic.

Lovely venue, excellent food, first rate.

Delicious food, great service, lovely place. All the ingredients you need for a great lunch.

Lovely place, super friendly staff and brilliant food!

Lovely staff and service food excellent really enjoyed our evening

Historic country pub. Top food. Great team. Check out the new banqueting hall! Landlord Andy & his crew never fail to please!

Had lunch today, service was amazing, food stunning and prices brilliant. I was driving so opted for zero alcohol gin, delicious! Hubby chose the burger of the month, me the steak and kidney pie. Considering going back tomorrow to have the burger so I don't miss out !

What a lovely pub! The food was delicious and portion size was very generous. Our family chose a variety of food from the menu and enjoyed it, from burgers to sausage and mash all was loving prepared and tasty. Wonder service too and child friendly 10/10 :)

Really nice haven't been in there for years ...will definitely be back

Good beer, good food - lovely old fashioned pub

Just home from a Sunday lunch with friends. Very disappointed. We were a party of 6 booked at 2.30pm and had paid £60 deposit so they knew there were 6 of us. On arrival we were told our table wasn't ready and the people on our table were still there and only on their mains. We were then shown to a table which was tiny and only set for 5 with only 5 seats and no menus. We asked for another chair which never arrived so one of us had to stand. When one of us went to the bar to ask about the chair she witnessed the manager being extremely rude to his staff, all of which were young girls. This really upset us. To talk to your staff in such a way in front of customers is completely unacceptable. We felt sorry for the staff. We were then seated at a much bigger table for 6...but waited overall an hour for our food. We asked for another round of drinks and again waited far too long. The food was decent although the serving of swede was literally a dessert spoon full and there were no Parsnips and the brocolli was hard. The cheeseboard was nice. We always leave a tip, but on this occasion didn't because although the food was ok the service was awful and the Managers attitude to the staff was so rude and unnecessary. The girls actually looked stressed and almost scared, one of my friends was really upset that they'd been treated so poorly. If you can't cope with the numbers, book less covers.

Haven't been to this place since I was a teen. It is an excellent venue, small and cosy with a proper log fire, which I remember from way back. The food was so good with a varied menu. They even had haggis with neeps and tatties, which I chose. Very much enjoyed the meal, the desserts were all homemade. Although the service was a bit slow, it didn't matter we had plenty of time. Also lovely to see locals coming in. Will definitely re visit soon. Great relaxed atmosphere. Thank you.

Great little spot!! Found this place by searching dog friendly, which was great as we had our little puppy Poodle with. We picked the build your own burger, and just wow...the patties were cooked to perfection, plenty of choice, and even added chilli jam from the starters menu (thanks). The waitress was pleasant and attentative, and it only cost us £35 for two double burgers and two drinks. Added to our favourites for the summer, see you soon 😁

Love this place, such a good location for out of town friends. Eazy and plentiful parking and the specials board always has something really good. Have been coming here for a number of years and it has always been a good experience.

Nice place to stop to meet family half way. Good menu , reasonable prices and very friendly service.

Lovely looking gastro pub. Resonable choice of food and about the right price, which was hot and served quite quickly, although not very busy when visiting.

Very nice country pub. Nice atmosphere good food friendly and helpful staff, clean toilets plenty of parking. 20 or so minutes from Stanstead. Worth a detour.

As usual, a lovely lunch at the Rainbow. Good, friendly service accompanying a great, tasty meal. Always fabulously tempting starters & mains on the specials board and firm favourites on the main menu. The 'burger of the month' and a pint of Rainbow are always...

Lovely meal had here, service brilliant, very friendly staff. Food good and prices average.

Great little pub. We were 2 and a half hours late for our lunch booking (thanks to Stop Oil protest). We called 3 times and received friendly encouragement each time. A warm cheery welcome. Excellent service. Food very good. Lamb tender and well cooked. Super fish and chips. Traditional bread and butter pud with custard. Toilets clean. Parking easy. Good access to M11. Nice Stop before Stanstead. First class Worth a special trip if you are hungry!

Thought we would pop in as we was in the area. What a lovely place. Really good pub with great food at reasonable prices, would definitely recommend it

Disgusting effort for a vegetarian Sunday lunch. Supposed to be meatloaf all it was, was spicy curried rice with sprinkling of almonds and raisins yuk!! and veg plus overdone roast potatoes that had been kept hot for too long

We have been here a handful of times, beautiful. Away from the hustle and bustle, a beautiful little pub that serves food a step up from most pub food. The hosts are very welcoming, the food is lovely and plenty of choice. You need to book as is very popular. Would highly recommend.

Very nice pub for food. Booking recommended for popular times as not the largest pub.

Fantastic quality food in a proper old school local country pub, so glad we discovered it

Fabulous pub & food in a great setting

Lovely pub lunch. Ideal for a Saturday lunch. Only downer was they served hot food on cold plates (again)

Great little pub, great outside beer garden to sit in the sun, Have a large selection of beers and a nice food menu,