The Axe and Compasses in Uttlesford

We had a fantastic visit to this pub. We had prebooked and preordered as we had a very large group of adults and kids. The staff were excellent- very friendly and accommodating around lots of little kids and all the food was delicious. The portions were generous and the menu offered a wide range of options. It was warm and welcoming. There were various staff attending to our group and everyone was helpful and attentive to our requests. We hope to visit again in future.

Family have visited this establishment for years but doubt will return any time soon. On this particular night we visited for a birthday and the experience was not celebratory at all. The chef on this particular night overcooked everything. Burgers were supposed to be quarter pounders, but had shrunk to smaller than fast food hamburger. Pie crust was rock hard that could barely be cut with a knife. Suet pudding is supposed to be light and fluffy, but was so solid you could hammer the plate. After being asked how our meal was, the server said they would pass our feedback onto the chef. They then ignored us for the rest of the evening. Even if you presume after negative feedback that the party will not want desserts or more drinks, you do not just abandon them. What is the point of asking customers how their meal was if you are going to react negatively to receiving constructive feedback? This place is already expensive, but removing the 2for1 specials that would imagine attracts most people there means this place is not worth a visit anymore.

Came here en route to the airport and picked here to avoid the rubbish options in the vicinity of Stansted. Well done traditional interior with a contemporary finish, low ceilings and exposed beams gives the place a really cozy countryside pub feel. Comfortable seating. It was a Friday so naturally ordered fish, chips & a pint of lager (decent enough options). Pretty dear at around £23 for cod,chips and peas. If you charge this much, it’s got to be a solid offering. It was. Light, crispy batter and a whale of a fish. There’s a lot of places that halve or quarter the fillet, here you get the whole fish. On balance, it justified the price. Service was quick and attentive, was easy to book on the website. 5/5 for me.

Food was good but the roast dinner was not piping hot (it was warm only). If it had been served hot it would have been amazing.

I can’t tell you how disappointing this meal was for a £200 bill. No thought had gone into any of the dishes ordered. The chef must’ve been off or poorly trained. All very basic and bland. For example the Camembert had no seasoning what so ever, the pie and mash was abysmal and only tasted of salt, burgers were bland. All 12+ dishes were just terrible. Even the ravenous children turned them away. What’s even worse was the waitress who asked if we liked out dishes (after we left most) and I replied no we really didn’t unfortunately, just said “oh okay” and walked away. Dishes were also forgotten and had to be chased. One of the worst dining experiences I’ve had in a long while. Will thankfully never return.

Really lovely pub in a picturesque village. My second visit. My first one about nine months ago, was great. This second visit was distinctly average, really disappointing. Not sure whether the chef may have changed !

We booked for a birthday lunch. Arrived at 1pm. Didn’t get our food until 2.15pm (whilst a lady walked in and got chips served to her after 5 minutes of being there!!) my food was cold and had formed a skin on the sauce where it has been sitting for some time. We sent it back. Had to wait another 15 minutes for it to come back out, whilst my family had finished their lunch. We skipped dessert as we didn’t want to wait another hour for it. Waitress didn’t seem bothered at all and didn’t do anything to resolve the issue. We won’t be returning

This is our second visit to the Axe & Compass for dinner, both times have been outstanding, great service, such a nice setting and place to visit, the menu and food is great. They use amazing ingredients, fresh, large portions, it's also dog friendly, quaint, pretty and again great staff, thanks, we'll be back

this pub is usually good except the very long wait for food. No good if you want quick service! Rather ruined by a rude and unhelpful female waitress who despite our specific complaint could only state "its not our fault". If its not the restaurants fault then who is to blame?

the pub was under staffed, Eva and Jody were working at full speed, full of admiration for them. probably on minimum wage. how can management be so stupid to under staff the pub on a busy saturday lunchtime. if they both left their employ the pub would close down. They can not get staff because they have a bad reputation for their bad attitude and potential staff avoid the pub and seek employ elsewhere. Greedy owners are ruining this lovely country pub. Time to stop the greedy owners and accountants from ruining this pub.

Had a really lovely late breakfast with my mum for Mother's Day. Full English was delicious according to my mum. I had eggs florentine which I would definitely order again. Staff were efficient - particular thanks to Eva.

The food here is great but what lets this place down is the lack of staff. There are only two servers and they do their best. However, on Friday nights it is 241 on cocktails and the staff cannot keep up. How on earth are they meant to mix cocktails, take orders and provide good efficient service? Either it is a restaurant or cocktail bar. It cannot be both with only two staff alone. We had one course and were there for 3 hours! There is no discount for this lack of service and sadly we will be avoiding on Friday nights even though it is our local.

We had a very enjoyable meal in this attractive country pub. The staff were welcoming and helpful. The food was very good and was served in good time. The beer, wine and coffee were also all good. Our dog was also welcome and enjoyed the treats available to buy.

Really disappointing evening, we booked a table for 7.30 and had to wait over 1/2 an hr for a drink. Our meal arrived at 9.20 !!!! The starter of calamari was horrible and we couldn’t eat it, they didn’t charge us for it. I had cod, no taste and I didn’t eat it. They banana dessert however was amazing. There was only 2 ladies working, both were really nice and did their best but the restaurant was quite busy, they were run off their feet. 2 staff on a Friday night is just not enough, especially when cocktails were being ordered. Overall this was a disappointing evening, good job we enjoyed the company of our friends, we won’t be rushing back.

Had reservation for 1.00pm.for 4 people. Received our food at 2.20pm. The food is very good but the service is diabolical. Staff member with attitude, who really couldnt care less. Had to go to the bar 4 times to order drinks, to place food order and to get bill. What a shame because we go back a long while with this place.

The first thing to say is that the food we ordered was very good. Four different dishes - all great! The service however was poor. It took 25 minutes for us to get a drink and we weren’t offered a second drink for the rest of the meal. Our server was not at all knowledgable about the menu, we gave the benefit of the doubt and assumed she was new to the role. We had one course and one drink each and were at the restaurant for 2.5 hours. This wasn’t an issue for us but this wouldn’t be good for people with somewhere else to be.

We often visit this pub to take advantage of their 2 for 1 special offers in the week, which are excellent, but we have never been on a Saturday evening before. We believe that it was only the new chef’s second shift last night and we were really impressed with the quality of the food. 4 of us had 4 different starters and 4 different mains and they were all delicious. I particularly enjoyed my smoked haddock gratin and moules frites, but all of us were very happy with our choices. The beer was also very good, as was the Pinot Grigio! The waitress we had was charming and went out of her way to make sure that we had everything we needed. All in all, we had a really enjoyable evening and will definitely return - particularly as we were able to walk to the pub from our village, which sadly, has no pub! Hats off to the landlord and all of his staff!

This is a lovely place to be. We found it genuinely friendly serving a good choice of high quality food at a fair price. It is lovely and quirky. On one of the blackboards it said: "Sorry we have no WiFi here - talk to each other - pretend it's 1985." On another it says: "IN THESE VERY DIFFICULT TIMES, PLEASE REMEMBER TO KEEP SMILING AND NOT TO LOSE YOUR SENSE OF HUMOUR! IT IS A PART OF WHO AND WHAT WE ARE! IT MAKES US FEEL SO GOOD X." We were so pleased that we went and felt that they were genuinely pleased that we had come. It really lifted our spirits. Thank you all at the Square and Compasses for all your cheerful hard work - it is very much appreciated. With kind regards, Tina and David.

We were a big group, celebrating a special birthday. We had preordered our food so all the meals came out together. The food was delicious and the staff were attentive and helpful.

Booked a table for 12 for lunch today to celebrate a friends special birthday. None of us had been before and so didn’t know what to expect. We had to preorder and pay a deposit (fair enough) and were very pleased with our choice of pub. Every meal was very tasty and good portions - the skate was particularly good and my mussels were tasty and plentiful. Staff were excellent - good communication via email from Pauline and Daniel. All in all a great place and would recommend

This is a lovely pub with great food. Whilst I was there for a birthday lunch, I think it would make a great place for an evening meal out in a friendly atmosphere. The steak & ale pie was exceptional.

Fabulous fresh well presented delicious food. The apple and berry crumble was the best I’ve ever tasted. Friends loved the experience too. The waiting staff were really friendly and considerate. Can’t wait to go back. 🥂🥰

It was nice although we shouldn't have ordered a starter as we were full too quickly. The calamari had way too much batter on and came out like bricks (in size). My mum ordered fish and chips and was told there was only haddock left although when the table behind ordered the same, they were offered rockeel (my mum's favourite) and my mum didn't particularly enjoy the haddock :( we do enjoy their offers and we enjoy their other pubs.

Visited late for a lunch during the Christmas period. Service and food was excellent despite us being on the back end of the lunch service. The food in particular was super. This is now become a regular place for us to visit due to the...

Came here for a breakfast to start the festive holiday. The pub was beautifully decorated for Christmas - someone had taken a lot of time & effort. Breakfast was lovely, the staff member was efficient & friendly & even at 10. 00, there was a...

Very expensive for what it is, had the turkey roast which consisted of half a bite of stuffing and a plate full of gravy! Defiantly would have passed for a child’s portion! When telling the staff about this they promised me a call from the...

Random visit to the Axe & Compass. The food was beyond expectation and the service from Pauline was 10/10! Highly recommend.

Midweek family of 5 evening meal. Good choice on the menu and a GF member of the group was kept happy. Prices very good as it was 'two for one' at this time. Meals cooked perfectly and well presented. Staff all very friendly and attentive....

We visited midweek twice in Oct and had a very pleasant experience. Very nice reasonably priced food with friendly attentive service.

We waited an hour & 10 minutes for our food to arrive & then it was over cooked & barely warm. The staff didn’t appear to care. Such a shame as this used to be a decent place for dinner

We had a fab Sunday lunch here today - great service, friendly staff and a huge roast dinner! A very welcoming pub.

This pub is in a lovely location. Menu was great and the service was friendly and efficient. The meals were superb, I can recommend the Sunday roast Megamix! A lovely afternoon meal.

What a shame, went for my daughter s birthday there were six of us plus a 10 month old. We were moved from our requested table and put next to the bar. No one else there at the time. Bar then filled up noise level...

Nice pub, nice staff but awful food and service. Heard them say they were short of staff which was the same last time we went. Pub half empty, lots of free tables but sat us on a tiny table for 4 with uncomfortable seating. Asked...

Our first visit to this small country pub. I came here because they had Liver and Bacon on the menu. Ordered sparkling water, with no ice. When my water arrived, the glass was full to the brim with ice!😤 I asked for Liver and Bacon,...

This pub was once a lovely friendly place to go with good food. The food is now served cold and tasteless with some of the items missing with no explanation or care. The drinks are now so expensive too. The staff are slow and without...

Never misses if you want just a good meal, pleasant, efficient service in a comfortable setting. Perfect for mid week dinner out with two for one fish

Lovely friendly staff, excellent food, great atmosphere. Our second visit and just as good as the first. The halloumi and hummus were both delicious. Friends who had roasts were very impressed and the falafel dish was really tasty. An extra special effort was made for...

We kept passing this pub and finally stopped for lunch. The 2 for 1 made us curious. We knew this could go one way or the other. Why 2 for 1? Well let me tell you. The welcome was lovely from Emily. We had a great inside seat looking out of the window over the fields. It was a hot day so the position was perfect for a cool summer breeze. As I looked around the pub I felt relaxed and comfortable as the inside is traditional and very pretty. Emily looked after us. She explained all the daily offers through the week and made us feel special. She even came over to say goodbye when her shift finished. My wife had the prawn and crayfish salad. Beautifully presented and delicious. I had the skate and this was the best I have ever had. With new potatoes and capers. Amazing. Curtis looked after us at the bar as we chatted to him. Emily and Curtis are so friendly. Overall loved the lunch we had and will be back very soon! Wednesday 2 for 1 on all fish? Yes please!! Two of the skates for me 😆

We visited here as a family of 3 with our toddler. The staff were so friendly and attentive and went out of their way to accommodate our little one. The menu was really varied with lots of different options to suit everyone, the food itself was delicious one of the best meals we’ve had in a while. Very impressed and excellent service would highly recommend.

Great food, good selection, Friendly relaxed atmosphere Reasonably priced. Would recommend to anyone

We love nearby and come here a lot. Always good food with a variety of specials. Today we had both a local gin from a Chelmsford distillery and also a pale ale from a Chelmsford brewery, which were both excellent. The staffs are friendly and attentive. When the weather is nice it's lovely to sit in the garden, the view is all fields, and when the weather is bad they have a marquee with heaters.

Visited at lunchtime today, 17 of us, pre-booked and menu choices submitted. Our booking was for 12.30. The starter arrived after a short delay, in between the waitresses checked we were ok for drinks, several times. After about an hour the mains were brought out,...

Awful service Food served on a cold plate Warm scamp placed in a bowl of cold lettuce Very high pricing for the service provided.

Really good food. Had the whitebait and sausage nibble for starter. Then had prawn and crayfish salad and also scampi. Both delicious. Pauline who looked after us was so attentive. Building is so beautiful and old.

Stopped at this lovely pub by chance & we were not disappointed. The atmosphere was cosy & welcoming & the food was delicious & the service was excellent - thank you, Pauline 😊 Cannot recommend this place highly enough. We will definitely be back!

This is my second visit such a lovely traditional pub. The food is excellent. My friend is gluten intolerant and I am lactose intolerant the choice is excellent. All the staff are really helpful and very nice, nothing is too much trouble

Our table was booked for 4pm. It was very busy and took a while to be acknowledged. Once seated we was asked for our drinks choices we asked for the drinks menu to look at the wine list. It took ages for them to come...

Very dissatisfied with the service, the meal, in fact everything . Waited 40 minutes to get drinks, had to chase these up. No one came to take our order, so I ordered at the bar. When the food finally arrived after an hour and a...

We visited The Axe and Compasses for the first time for an evening meal. We all had the two for one steaks. Sirloin and Ribeye. All cooked superbly. The staff very friendly. We will define returning again very soon.

Ordered the pil pil only to be served some fried prawns served on a piece of brown toast. This isn't pil pil. Pil pil is prawns cooked in olive oil flavoured with sliced garlic & paprika, cooked & served in a terracotta bowl. I've lived...

Disappointed, I am Local to this pub , have not been for a while, but decided to Give it another try as heard from Family & friends it’s better ! So I’m sorry to have to Say I was really disappointed!! I ordered king prawns...

We were here to celebrate a birthday. And had great atmosphere, the landlord “Spen” was very attentive and had great customer service. In a party of 6 on a Sunday, we all took advantage of the roast dinners. Unfortunately, the roast potatoes were over cooked,...

We met our friends at this lovely pub and from the moment we got there till the time we went home it was absolutely brilliant we all had Sunday roasts and then deserts then sat out in the garden having a few drinks on a...

Birthday treat for me with my husband, daughter and son in law. Ordered Caesar Salad with chicken - when it came up it arrived with a bowl of mozzarella cheese - the waitress glibly said they had no parmesan, so served mozzarella instead (!). My...

Well went yesterday had ciabatta was just ok , the sweet potato chips were a big disappointment very soggy , should have been crispy , staff seemed non plussed , just ok I’d say , shame

Beautiful old pub. Great food & service A must if you are in the area. Lovely setting, eat in or out Well worth a visit if you are the area.

Amazing food and lovely staff, everyone is so helpful. Lovely atmosphere here! Definitely coming back!

Lovely waitress who couldn't be more helpful and great choice of food. We love it here! Highly recommended!

Excellent food , atmosphere and service. Made to feel welcome from the moment we arrived. Kid friendly. And very good prices. EXCELLENT

So nice to have a local again, the food and service has improved since the manager spen has been here. He is one of the main reasons we are back. Such a lovely atmosphere, so warm and welcoming everytime. Highly recommend a visit!

Whenever I am in the area this is “our place” to visit because we are guaranteed good food and a smiling face. The two for one burgers on a Tuesday are our particular favorite. One of us is a vegan and there is more than...

This pub used to do amazing triple cooked chips that were made from fresh potatoes. They now use frozen chips that are hard and unpleasant. Go back to the properly cooked ones they make a meal so much better. They also need to do something...

After a period of striking the Axe off our visit list, we reluctantly returned after being unable to get a meal elsewhere. The Axe is now back on our avoid list. Starter was OK, but we were expecting to be able to share the “large”...

We had a delightful time and meal at The Axe and Compasses. Excellent service and very tasty and plentiful mains. Thoroughly recommend it (why people often feel the need to moan is beyond me) Loved it, coming back

We have been here several times and never disappointed. The staff are lovely and friendly and nothing is too much trouble. Lovely food with generous portions

Top notch service . The staff were very friendly and attentive to detail. We popped in having been diverted off the M11 which was closed and what a lucky find. Glorious weather so we sat in the beer garden and enjoyed the birds singing. We...

We are local to this pub and visit regularly. It adapted particularly well to outdoor dining during the Covid epidemic. We visited for lunch a couple of weeks ago. Whilst the food was delicious, we were disappointed with the service. Our order was taken promptly,...

We have been here a few times since moving up to Dunmow. Such a lovely pub, great atmosphere! Service is fantastic and the food is so good…portions are very generous also! Lovely to pop in for a quick drink or a nice evening out with...

We often visit The Axe and Compasses, it’s our favourite pub. The food is amazing And the landlord is incredibly friendly. There is a great kids menu and our dog often gets a treat or a sausage! I would suggest booking as it gets very...

Lovely food and pub, we visited with my two 16 month old girls and wasn't met with a very warm welcome, the bar man found us a table (reluctantly) all the while making comments about how children make mess and even saying at one point...

Popped in for lunch to this very attractive pub. Wife ordered avocado Ciabata and I a beanie burger. Food came out quickly but her Ciabata turned into a supermarket white bread sandwich. Sent back and she decided on veggie steak and chips which arrived just...

Although the atmosphere wasn’t as good as expected, due to covid and lack of other diners. We could not fault the service and food. Such lovely staff, the manager even gave my friend a lift home! What a lovely guy, long may you continue to...

It had excellent food with friendly, welcoming staff. Yhe roast was excellent and would 100% recommend

A friend and I decided to try this pub for lunch. We were pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the pub is! It is so cosy and welcoming with a gorgeous fireplace and is currently very festive with lots of lovely Christmas decs. The food came...

We had a truly delicious dinner here on November 27th. The starters (pigeon breast, and duck paté) were amazing. The mains were just as good. We had the pork belly, and the big boy burger. The pork was exceptionally well-cooked and the burger was clearly...

Been in for dinner a few times with my partner and cannot fault this pub one bit. Service was amazing, food is always up to great standard would highly recommend the pork belly. Overall great pub, great staff, great atmosphere look forward to coming back...

My family and I had a lovely time at the Axe and Compasses today. We hadn’t all been together for a long time and had since had 2 new additions to the family so this was a special occasion for us. As a table of...

We finally visited here having promised to for the past 2 years. Why did we wait so long? 5 of us visited arriving at the pub a little early but seated within 10 minutes. In the meantime our drinks orders were taken (sample tasters of...

We had a perfectly cooked and presented Sunday roast, the staff were brilliant and the place itself looked amazing. Overall a great experience and I highly recommend to anyone around the area that hasn’t been here yet.

Amazing reception, staff and the food was brilliant, will and without a doubt recommend to friends and family. My local pub and restaurant. Please visit and you won't be disappointed. General Manager Spen, Izzy and James were fantastic hosts! So happy to have spent a...

My wife booked this restaurant for 1st November, it was for my birthday, the whole meal was one of the worst we have ever experienced. Three of us ordered the roast, we did not know at the time but they had a two for one...

Lovely atmosphere, food was fab and the young lad behind the bar was very friendly. All round great lunch out! 👍

Fancied a night out for a meal mid week and wanted to go somewhere we had visited previously and enjoyed the food. Whilst it was really busy, they managed to fit us in - thank you! There is a good selection on the menu but...

Gorgeous pub, fabulous friendly staff, enjoyed a terrific sunday lunch with all the trimmings. Recommend.

Just had what was supposed to be a nice ‘treat’ dinner during half term. Ordered 2 different burgers and pie/mash. Burgers were full of grissle, the quality of the meat being used is awful. Waited ages for food to arrive, waited ages for the half...

We had booked a table for nine of us, we arrived on time but it was obvious that they had massively overbooked, the waitress pointed and said "you are up there when they go" pointing at a table, after some time it became obvious that...

Our first visit here in many years after a couple of bad experiences in the past. The food, service and staff were all excellent. Will definitely be coming back again.

We just had the very best Lunch with our family at The Axe and Compasses. Firstly great ambiance, friendly staff, despite being extremely busy. The food and presentation were "HIgh End". We decided as a family it was the best eating experience for a very...

Chose the axe due to vegetarian Sunday dinner option Arrived and seated all ok asked for a Diet Coke no ice but any fruit drink came with ice not a good start Tomato soup as a starter arrived stone cold had to go back arrived...

Came upon the Axe and Compass by chance, having taken the wrong road. On this occasion, it was a good mistake! Unusual building, full of character with a friendly and helpful staff. Our generous portions of food was served quickly and was most enjoyable. The...

Not sure what has happened here but the food was truly awful. Tasteless starters, mussels inedible (stringy and undercooked, served with a piece of cheap sliced white toasted bread) My partners meal was overcooked skate with three rock hard potatoes. Did complain and received slight...

We love the Axe and Compass but on this occasion the food was really poor. The burgers very dry and the herbs used no one liked, the ribs dry and tough, the seafood linguini tasteless and the chilli beef salad we left. We hope this...

Had a fantastic meal and afternoon Fantastic really recommend this place will come again and again out in the country food amazing Went to Southend Saturday very disappointed with the food and service great to have fantastic meal

Family midweek meal for my birthday - 2 Adults 1 child, only wanted a light lunch so chose a child meal and 2 chiabatta’s one with a cold filling and the other sausage & onion, waited over an hour for the food to arrive for...

Found this little gem on our way back to our hotel. Beautiful building, friendly staff and great food. Generous portion sizes and food is absolutely delicious. Would highly recommend if you’re in the area.

Elvis Tribute was an added bonus of a great night out. The food was so very good, amazing fresh fish and great wines at a reasonable price.

We were in the large marquee for an early evening meal .For fish lovers there was a good range of options but more limited or other diners. I had the liver and bacon which was well cooked and presented .

Family lunch with our three boys aged all under 19. Food delicious and service impeccable. We opted for two course with desert addition which we also had. Total cost £200 incl tip and drinks when boys drank soft drinks was far too high, for good...

Stopped in for Sunday lunch. Seated quickly as it was quiet. Food was fantastic - probably too generous in fact. Probably could've shared a roast dinner with a side of cauliflower cheese. Kids meals were also really good (burger and fish goujons). Service was good,...