The Cross Keys in Uttlesford

We stayed at the Cross Keys in Nov 2024, the restaurant was lovely, and the food was great. But the room was cold and very noisy. I took my husband for an overnight stay for his birthday, but we hardly slept all night due to the noise from the main road. Unfortunately, the room we stayed in was located at the front of the property and really needs double glazing installed, I would have got more sleep, sleeping in my car on the hard shoulder of the M25. The service also lacked, I had to ask for dessert, as the manager (who also kept singing all the way through service) was to busy looking on her laptop, arranging staff shifts for the following week. We were also told that the bar was closing early, around 20.15pm, I would assume to lack of punters drinking in the bar. I can't fault the food though this was very good, and we really enjoyed it, but the room well, this really lacked and needs to be used as storage only due to the road noise. Sorry but we won't be back.

I paid £22.95 for a plate of food that was worth £10! I had 2 bits of tender stem broccoli and about 5 small potatoes that left a taste in my mouth. When the meal was finished the staff kept walking past for 20 minutes and didn’t even clear our plates, we had to find a member of staff to get our bill. One good thing was the tea is nice

Just went there for food, which was not great. Went for burger in which the bun was burnt like charcoal and the beef patty had bone fragments in it which I was lucky not to break my teath on. Still, they did knock 25% off the bill. It's a shame, as we have been wanting to go for some time.

We came for a meal but waited so long to be served that we left. The couple dining next to us said that their food was cold.

Lovely pub,great atmosphere and sevice was good.polite staff. I wish I could say something positive about the food as well. My sunday roast was swimming in gravy, Yorkshire pudding was soggy and flat as pancake. Burger buns were burnt. My husband found bone pieces in the burger. They did reduce the bill though. When we got home, he was ill with stomach pains/sickness.

I have given rooms only two stars as our room was not that great. This was my fault though, as I booked through Booking.Com and had the cheapest room. Next time we stay at the Cross Keys we will book a better room through their own website and I would advise anyone staying there to do the same. The service we received during our stay was excellent and all the staff we met were really friendly and very efficient. The evening meal and breakfast were also first class. The location is as good as you can get, right in the middle of Saffron Walden. The hotel has no parking, but Swan Meadow public parking is only four or five minutes walk away and at £4.70 for the day is very reasonable. I would advise using the MiPermit parking app to pay for parking, as it can be used from your room and will save an early morning walk to pay for the coming day. We will certainly stay at the Cross Keys again, though in a more upmarket room.

Sunday afternoon. No Sunday steak left. Clearly understaffed. We were four at the table and two of us got our food in normal time. Number three about ten minutes later and number four when we other three had finished our meals. No excuses or apologies.

Poor service in the restaurant at lunch time. After well over an hour waiting we gave up the will to live and left.

Great stay, staff very welcoming and the room was cosy and to a good standard. There was live music and the Sunday roast was very tasty. Good atmosphere and very relaxing. Breakfast was served up to 11am and very filling. All in all a good stay.

Lovely food and great service. Would highly recommend

Good service, Food good, Drinks far too expensive

Excellent, friendly staff who were all super-helpful. Lovely old building with lots of character. Right in the centre of Saffron Walden which is very quaint old town. Free parking on street overnight and car parks close by. We stayed on a Monday evening. Last orders were called at 21.30 and bar/restaurant closed at 22.00. Rooms were excellent BUT no heating on in the evening until 23.00!! My colleague feels the cold and had to borrow a fan heater from the bar. Breakfast is advertised as available from 07.00 but that is when the staff arrive so we were waiting outside until 07.15 to get into the restaurant. Evening meal and breakfast were both very good. Reasonable value for money overall given the location. Again I must emphasise that the staff who were on duty during our stay were excellent.

A nice enough place, and our lunch was uneven but pretty good. Because it was Sunday, we each had a roast. My wife was very happy with the beef, and our guest enjoyed his half chicken. My pork loin, though, was overcooked and the roast vegetables were mushy. The sticky toffee pudding was the best we have had of three tastings, but the fruit crisp was made with canned vegetables and incurred a thirty minute delay for some reason. Service was friendly but very slow. The noise level (mostly little children screaming) was deafening.

Whilst the menu isn't huge the food was tasty and reasonably priced. Have to say the service was great too.

My partner and I stayed here last year and loved the place, so decided to rebook it again. Unfortunately, after staying this time we were extremely disappointed that it didn't live up to the standards of our previous stay. The room we stayed in (room 8) was advertised as a Deluxe King room, but unfortunately is much smaller than the Deluxe King room we stayed in last year, so much so that it feels quite unfair to charge the same price for both. The room itself was cold, and the aircon/heater unit had been deactivated. Also, the bedding from the previous night had been left on the floor, so had to be collected by the staff member upon entry. On the plus side, the bed was soft and comfortable, and the room was clean and nicely presented. We booked a meal in the restaurant, and was disappointed to see that there was only 1 chef working and 2 inattentive staff members serving the tables. This meant that despite the restaurant being basically empty, the food took a long time to come. My partner ordered the calf's liver, which was served as a big slab, and had not been prepared correctly so was full of tubes. It was cooked well, but unfortunately was practically inedible. I ordered the Pie of the day, which to be fair was delicious, but the seasonal veg left a little to be desired. The young female staff member who served us was very pleasant, however the young male who was also serving had no interpersonal skills whatsoever. Breakfast in the morning was very nicely prepared, although once again even though the restaurant was basically empty, the service was incredibly slow. That being said, there was only 1 person serving tables. Out of all of the staff members we dealt with, he seemed to be the only competent one, being very friendly and polite. However, as the people on the other tables were leaving, the staff were happy to leave their dirty plates etc on the tables instead of clearing them away. I assume they all got cleared at the end of the breakfast service, but it's not nice to sit in the middle of a row of dirty tables. It is sad to see somewhere that we stayed and loved just a year ago be so disappointing, and so we will not rebook in the future.

Real great traditional fish chips. Pint of Genius Stout. Meal came with nice home fries, with pea chutney. Desert strawberry ice cream.

Beautiful place with lots of character, excellent food and service! will definitely return.

Had an enjoyable dinner in the restaurant with my daughter. The pork belly skewer and the fish & chips from the prix fixe menu were tasty and well-presented (I heard they have a new chef who has just started). The service was excellent.

Perfect location, great breakfast, pleasant and accommodating staff. Hotel is a quaint pub and rooms are clean, beds comfortable. Bathroom was a bit dated and no shower curtain which made taking a shower in the tub a bit of a crouching affair. Also check out is an early 10am (strange because breakfast it until 11am) which makes it a bit of a rush in the morning.

Stayed here for one night and experienced mixed levels of service. First of all it’s a lovely old historic building in a central location. Because it’s listed there is no double glazing or air con so if you get a room located facing the road you will definitely hear road traffic especially if you have to open the windows. I didn’t eat in the restaurant for dinner but received a warm welcome from the bar staff and my room was nice and clean with a good shower so no probs there. My main concern was the lack of service whilst waiting for a table at breakfast. There was a member of staff who was responsible for breakfast and checking out but was working on her laptop and basically ignored me for 5 minutes despite knowing I was waiting and even when a member of the cleaning staff advised her that I was waiting she still didn’t respond until I actually had to walk over to where she was sitting. The main reason for my average rating. But once she had got up away from her laptop she was very friendly and efficient afterwards so not sure what was going on previously. And full English was very good. The only downside was that there were no fruit juices available. So overall, a very mixed experience.

Dropped in for a drink with a view to having lunch. It was very busy, we were shown to a table and then completely forgotten. Got drinks from the bar and needless to say didn't have food

Disappointed that the bar closed at 9.00pm and was only offered a drink to take to my room as I was walking out the door

The staff were nice but we had to wait almost half hour for our drinks - which they got wrong on several occasions. I understand we weren't charged for these however. We were also disappointed that there was not a more reasonably priced sparkling wine. If the staff had not been so friendly and the food hadn't been so nice, I would have marked it down to a two or a three.

Great stay. A real character hotel with lots of quirky features. We stayed in room 1 it was very clean and had all the toiletries and tea,coffe,hot chocolate and biscuits you would want. All the staff were very friendly and helpful. The evening meal was very good and excellent portions. Breakfast was included and there was everything you could wish for on the menu both continental and cooked. We will definitely be back. L

Got charged £15 for 2 coffees and a small bit if flapjack. Queried it and eventually they grudgingly said they would refund £4 They weren't very apologetic and we just checked our credit card statement- instead of a part refund, it appears the £4 has been added on! So, roughly £20 for 2 coffees and 1 tiny finger if flapjack.🤨

Slow service, warm wine, cold food & a steak that was inedible. Should have read the reviews. Only 2 staff working and think it was probably the young guys first night. Won’t be returning.

I didn’t stay overnight so unable to comment on the rooms. We had lunch which was lovely. A good choice on the menu and the food was nicely presented and delicious. Service was good and the staff were friendly. This wasn’t my first visit but the service and food has always been good. Definitely recommend

I had the baby back ribs and they were pretty good and very tasty. The portion sizes were mediocre for the price. The staff were very friendly. P.s: Don’t order the ginger beer, it is old Jamaica which is the worst one.

Mens toilets in a very bad way upstairs . The smell was horrendous, I've drank in some bad boozers, but this one takes the biscuit for worst smelling. Food was OK, but to go to the toilet afterwards was not pleasant and made me feel ill. Plunger by the toilet and a urinal masked off. We were going to come back for Sunday lunch, but no thanks. Hope the kitchen is taken more seriously. I would expect better from a hotel.

Oh dear! Peas soup was tasteless and so heavy. Prawns in brioche bun were tasteless with tooo much batter. £10 glass of wine lacked body and was sour.

Food was delicious with very creative starters. A warm hug on a cold blustery day, you can go wrong at Cross Keys for a classic British pub experience.

Lovely 17th century inn with well equipped rooms and good food

Disappointing. Ordered a drink at the bar and asked if it was table service, bar tender said it was so so went to find a table. Shortly afterwards, the chef walked up to the table next to me, whom it appeared were friends of his and said he was in the kitchen alone! I asked him when he passed by if the liver was Lambs or Calves, he said the latter. I waited for the staff to come to the table to take my order ……. I waited ……I waited…….I gave up waiting and walked to the bar to find the two bar staff chatting. I ordered the Liver and bacon, and sat back down. Got back up 15 mins later to order another drink (no staff in sight) I was sat in view of the kitchen and it appeared there was sequential order cooking going on and a lot of bells coming from the microwave. Poor chap was doing his best but my food took ages!! (38mins). I asked the bar staff who were in the kitchen now if the chef had started cooking my dish as if not I would have to leave, I was told it was 2-3 mins away. Not too long after that the dish arrived, the whole dish was smothered in what was supposed to be a red wine jus, but resembled thick packet sauce/gravy. The mashed potato and vegetables were obviously microwaved to a temperature that would threaten the Space Shuttle. The liver was served in large medallions, never seen Calves liver served this way, only Lambs liver, what ever the donor mammal (jury still out), it was pretty tough sadly. Apart from delivering the food, no member of staff visited my table to ask if I wanted drinks, if the food was ok etc, this missing the opportunity to redress this disappointment. To the owner- your management was non existent- if you are the management- a single chef cooking that menu says that the food won’t be anything special! Ps- might be an idea to train your staff not to swear in the kitchen and say ‘I’ll do my best to close the kitchen by 8pm as it’s so f’ing hot’ so close to customers waiting for their food turn in the microwave. Pps it really was f’ing hot -maybe consider some AC????

Excellent communication from initial booking to check out. Lovely friendly staff, professional, efficient and caring. Very comfortable room and immaculate ensuite bathroom. Food was excellent and freshly cooked to order. A great place to stay.

Hopefully we just happened to visit on a ‘bad day’ - but service was shocking (we saw several tables leave in frustration) . We ordered two croissants and two coffees. It came to £16. To me that seems ludicrous! The croissants weren’t even nice - cold and undercooked.

What a fabulous stay! We arrived early so was allowed to check in and leave our luggage in a secure room while we had time to have a roam round the town. When we back to the hotel the lovely Simon took our cases and showed us to our rooms, which were absolutley beautiful. We enjoyed the delicious food in the evening, being looked after by all the staff with smiles and banter which makes it feel comfortable & homely. And well as for the beds, heaven! Had a great nights sleep. Didnt want to get out of bed for breakfast but so glad we did. The wonderful Wendy is one of the best to greet you with a warm friendly smile and great personality. And must say Wendy the choice of music in the mornings be it rain or shine can only just brighten anyones day 😊 From check in to check out we were so looked after and nothing was too much trouble... We left feeling happy, relaxed and 100% sure this is a great place to stay See you soon guys for sure, keep up the good work 🥰😘🥰

It was very cosy and welcoming, I had the fish and chips and it was delicious. The staff are very kind, the food came very quickly and took us to our seat straight away

Okay so we booked in to this hotel for a friends gathering we all checked in booking 6 rooms between us all. Hotel nice food okay. So we went up to our room left our bags and went to join our friends in a wine bar are room was room 9 We got back at 11pm and went to bed got up with noise coming from somewhere from 6 am. Sounded like a pump so while up thought shower breakfast and leave Turned the shower on went to get in freezing cold water left on half hour still cold. Rang down they said will send up someone. To look.at it. A knock on door saying it will take 20 minutes to heat up I waited and waited still nothing looking around the room dust everywhere cobwebs. Still no hot water so had to wash in freezing cold water. Got dressed and went down for breakfast. Spoke to someone all he said was sorry about that i will contact someone. I was not happy he should have said half price for the room or something or even free. The room had no windows and was quiet Claustrophobic you at too walk up a spiral staircase out side which was green and i got that on my clothes my friends rooms wanted all cleaning they told me. But there water was okay. We paid £150 for the room and it wasn't worth it. I sent the hotel a email but heard nothing don't recommended it.

Only went for lunch but the food and service were good. Would recommend 👌

Great restaurant! Great service and great location and room.

Held a suprise 60th birthday dinner for my mother in law here. The food was amazing, the service was great! Special mention to Sophie who was a great help with surprising the MIL and bringing out a cake that we had bought. Would definitely come again!

Lovely and historic hotel! I'm familiar with Saffron Walden and always wanted to stay at the Cross Keys due to its history and location in the centre of town which is just perfect. I stayed in room 7 which is actually behind the main building in what looks like a converted barn, and was a beautiful and comfortable room with lots of space and high ceilings! The location of the hotel is incredibly convenient, you are a short walking distance from pretty much anything to do in Saffron Walden. The staff were efficient, polite and professional. My full English breakfast in the morning was delicious and included in my room rate. I drove, and while there is no parking on the premises, there is ample parking available at the Swan Meadow public car park which is a very short walk to/from the hotel, for around GBP3.50 for an entire day.

Lovely restaurant in pretty town. First time back for a few years. Sadly, Sunday lunch wasn’t great. Not served hot, and quality of meat not great at all. Pork wasn’t a roast cut (looked like belly slices) and beef very fatty. Would love to see this place be a good option in future.

What a shame that the manager stood behind the bar the whole time . The bar staff and kitchen staff were under supported as there were several issues with the temperature of the food and we stood in the restaurant for 5 minutes before being welcomed as there was no one in sight . Needs a new manager who actually cares about the restaurant and doesn’t stand behind the bar chatting .

Everything we had eaten was really good but the place is understaffed and so wait times are long.

The hotel, staff, location and food are all brilliant! It’s a very friendly and comfortable place to visit, right in the middle of Saffron Walden. Even though there’s no parking at the hotel, the town car park is only a 3 min walk away so was perfect. The only problems we had were in the room. There were lots of lightbulbs out and a light switch not working so it was quite dark in there. The coffee machine wasn’t working properly either and kept over flowing. Otherwise, the room was very comfortable and had everything else that we needed.

Lovely spot in the centre of the old town. Great room with en suite with a shower, comfortable bed, and tea/coffee-making facilities. The restaurant provides various quality meals from Breakfast to Lunch to Dinner. The staff are most helpful. We will book again! It is reasonably priced.

Really wish I had read the reviews before visiting again. Me and my husband ate here on our first date 10 years ago so decided to come here again. It was absolutely awful, service was terrible drinks coming out at different times etc. Waited quite a while for order to be taken despite it not actually being that busy. Starters were okay, not huge amount of flavour ( potato skins) My husband had the ribs which he did eat because he was so hungry but said they were pretty dry. I had the beef burger! It tasted like pure salt. I only managed two mouthfuls and left the rest. When the waitress asked if everything was okay I said it wasn't the dinner was too salty and I wasn't able to eat it. She said she would speak to the chef ( no offer to have it taken off the bill) then the added service charge. Upon us leaving waitress said the chef had apologised about the meal. ( not really good enough) Very expensive for what you get and the service provided. So dissapointed as we had been really looking forward to it. Won't be returning.

A lovely lunch in the Cross Keys, thank you

Really wish I had read the reviews before visiting again. Me and my husband ate here on our first date 10 years ago so decided to come here again. It was absolutely awful, service was terrible drinks coming out at different times etc. Waited quite a while for order to be taken despite it not actually being that busy. Starters were okay, not huge amount of flavour ( potato skins) My husband had the ribs which he did eat because he was so hungry but said they were pretty dry. I had the beef burger! It tasted like pure salt. I only managed two mouthfuls and left the rest. When the waitress asked if everything was okay I said it wasn't the dinner was too salty and I wasn't able to eat it. She said she would speak to the chef ( no offer to have it taken off the bill) then the added service charge. Upon us leaving waitress said the chef had apologised about the meal. ( not really good enough) Very expensive for what you get and the service provided. So dissapointed as we had been really looking forward to it. Won't be returning.

Very helpful staff .Comfortable bed and right in the centre of town Room was small but comfortable with tea making facilities Swan meadow car park was a short walk away

Cozy room, friendly staff, good access, nice breakfast. Made my staying in Saffron Walden more memorable

Lovely place, unfortunately let down by terrible service. Nice cocktails, let down by being served in dirty glasses (not the dirty martini I had in mind). We waited ages for a waiter to take our order until we eventually had to get up and find someone. When we did we were treated like a nuisance, and told to find someone else, though there seemed to be no waiter assigned to the table and nobody seemed bothered to rectify the problem or serve us. Then when we finally did get the bill, it was incorrect and we had to dispute two extra drinks we didn't order. Decided it would be best to have lunch elsewhere.

Our room (the Barn) was very clean and has lots of character. It's reached by a steep spiral staircase and entry is via a 4 digit code. There are some elements of the room facilities that require maintenance. The food and service are mainly good. We were caught out by the Hotel bar closing at 10.00pm. (It does state that on the website. However it would of been helpful for staff to have reminded us on the day!).

Hotel accommodation is dreadful. The general manager was bothered when we raised our concerns the following morning.

party of 12 people. on arrival we were shown to a nice room for us. we waited quite a while for pre meal drinks. Then waited a while for the starters to come out. then once they were cleared we waited a long time for mail meals to come out and some were not cooked properly and some people did not get what they had ordered and 1 person did not get her meal until along time after the rest of the party because they said it hadnt been ordered when it had.bearing in mind that lunches pre ordered at least a week beforehand i thought that the service was shocking and i left feeling upset because this was my daughters birthday lunch. we did have a nice waitor and he tried his best for us.

Absolutely disappointed in this place, we were there for a birthday meal and this was a pre order The food came out separately and half the order was wrong and one meal didn’t even come out at all until we asked for it, then realised the chicken wasn’t cooked through on 2 meals The bill was totally wrong and had to go back twice to fix it The service wasn’t great we were left way too long so I’m guessing under staffed The place itself was lovely which is a total shame as we will never go back there again Food hygiene is important, I know the hospitality industry extremely well and this place should know too…check your food and make sure it’s cooked through

The best food, the best drinks and the best service, thank you! We were celebraring my 60 birthday, and everything was perfect.

Our experience of The Cross Keys Hotel, Saffron Walden started very positively. The restaurant was very busy at 14:00 and we thought we would try our luck and see if they had a table for two. The greeting by the manager was extremely friendly and they quickly accommodated us. We had a drink at the bar until our table was ready. We took our seats at the table and this is where the issues begun. We sat at the table for a while and no one came to give us any menus or ask whether we wanted more drinks etc. I went and took a menu from the till. Eventually I caught the attention of a passing waitress as asked whether someone would be able to take our order. The food advertised on the sandwich board outside was not available unfortunately but the menu looked promising. We ordered our food and then waited about an hour for the starter to come out. The restaurant was about 1/3 full at this time. Staff were not interested in tending to their customers. Two blond haired waitresses were chatting in the bar area and the manager was stood in the bar area eating cheese cake. The table adjacent to us had waited around 40 minutes for their deserts to arrive. Once again we had to grab the attention of passing staff to refill our drinks. The starter that arrived approximately an hour into our experience was dry on one side and had clearly been sat under a heat lamp. Once we had finished the started we promptly waved a waitress over and asked for the main course to be sent out as time was ticking on. Again we waited and decided that we have had enough. We went to the bar and asked that we pay our bill and explained about the poor service. To the barmaid credit she apologised for the poor service and said that she would remove the food from the bill and we just had to pay for our drinks. Just as we were doing this the main course arrived. I said to the barmaid the food has arrived can I pay for the additional. The barmaid said don’t worry as she had already taken the food off the bill and we could still have the food. I asked whether she was sure and she said that she was. We ate the food which was mediocre at best, the food was cold, potatoes and parsnips under cooked and the ‘gravy’ was very watery. As we stood up to leave the manager came over and said as we have eaten the food we now have to pay for it. I said that I didn’t mind paying for it, but that was not what the barmaid said. She said that she didn’t care what the barmaid said, she was the manager. I replied fine but I want you to get the barmaid and for her to tell her about the conversation that we had. The manager brought the barmaid out who in front of a restaurant of customers was made to apologise for making a mistake. It was humiliating for the member of staff. The manager was rude and gave the impression we were trying to get free food by complaining. The only defence the manager gave for poor service “the staff become complacent when it gets quiet”. No apology, no reasoning. I had already paid the bill so there was no need for it. It is such a shame for such a lovely venue. A lazy manager, unprofessional and massively lacking customer service and management skills. She did not support her member of staff and chose to humiliate her for £30. Please replace the manager and lazy staff working the restaurant floor. If the staff were on the ball and the food had come out in a timely manner I am sure I would be writing a positive review. I won’t be returning and if you have plans for the day I would recommend that you also give it a miss.

As many have already stated avoid the Cross Keys like the plague, terrible service (we waited literally hours for starters, then mains and gave up on desserts when they announced that they had run out of Apple Crumble which several of our party had pre-ordered - which pre-order they had lost), the food was, at best, indifferent and overpriced. We arrived for our pre-booked table at 1pm and didn't get to the desserts until 4.15pm - utterly shambolic. In their defence they did give us a discount and waived the desserts and "service" charge. But it was a complete waste of £32 per head and a ruination of our family post Christmas lunch, we'd have done better in 'spoons!

Three of us stayed over Christmas while visiting family in the area. We all loved it. Cosy rooms, great pub and restaurant and kind and helpful staff. We’d be very happy to stay again, anytime. Very highly recommended.

Booked for Boxing day. Preordered but this was lost despite a confirmation being received. Waited 45 mins for a starter and another 45 for the main, and restaurant was not full. 3 x Scallops the size of a 5p for a starter was very disappointing and poor value, especially after the long wait. Staff were friendly but it felt really disorganised and lacked leadership. Definitely overpriced for what was received, which is a shame for a nice venue.

Dinner for four people. Batter on fish and chips was very over cooked, baked fish excellent, mushroom burger was not a burger as such and merely a large mushroom in a toasted bun. Only one vegetarian option. ( We were told there had been a number of complaints about that) Sticky toffee puddings were fine, crumble had a topping of white breadcrumbs not cooked. We waited an hour and 20 minutes for our main course even though the restaurant, though busy, was not full. Waitress service was fine and she offered apologies for delay.

We booked the Christmas party menu some time back. Didn't receive any instructions about pre-ordering so chased this up. Restaurant advised to email the pre-order which was done the same day. Pre-order was ignored and kitchen had no knowledge of it. Menu online stated a nut roast was available but waitress denied this. Had to order again. No crackers on table as you would expect for a Christmas meal. Food ok but service not great.

Christmas meal with family turned out to be an over priced for quality eating experience , the Christmas burger and Christmas dinner was of poor quality , lacking flavour and quantity, beetroot main was also flavourless and nothing special ,the Christmas pudding was tiny and from a microwave for sure, it was rubbery, I have had better from Aldi. The snowball did have some flavour but was tiny for the price. Took an hour to receive the food even though we preordered in the morning. I can’t say it was all bad, the staff were polite and the ox cheek main was very nice and the pecan tart was nice. Overall I think we would have been better going to the Wetherspoons around the corner and paid a third of the price for almost the same taste The cross keys either needs to up the quality and quantity of the food or drop the price to reflect what you are getting.

Pre booked food weeks in advance for 11 to have a company Xmas lunch. The (cold) room wasn’t ready for us and after 10 minutes out our own tables together. We ordered drinks 10 mins later and it took another 15 to arrive. The two people who had starters received their food after an hour and the rest didn’t receive their mains until 1hr 50mins. The GF starter didn’t arrive with GF bread as requested. What is the use in pre-ordering if none of the food is ready. No apology from the staff for the wait. After 2hr 20mins they hadn’t taken our mains and we chased (again) for our desserts. We cancelled our desserts. Appalling level of service and the quality of the mains was poor, would not recommend.

With regard to the food our duck bonbons were nicely presented and tasted good. We sat outside for social distance reasons. However, the covered outside area is grim. Dirty with unemptied ashtrays and cigarette butts and food on the ground. No care or attention had been paid and overall left a very poor impression.

Absolutely shocking. Waited ages to be shown to our table and after a further 15 minutes we went and asked for menus. We then had to flag down a member of staff to take the order, no apologies for the slow service. Food looked lovely when it eventually came. However, the Yorkshire looked great but was the driest I’ve ever eaten. My sister had two slices of beef on her roast which were nice but very meagre. The issues came when my other sister and I got half way through our chicken and it was not only red but still had blood coming out of it. After calling over a waiter he told us this was normal. We assured him it was not. Manager came over - firstly to the wrong table! She was very nice and said she would take the meals off the bill. However, I was more concerned about the effects this could have on not only us but other diners. We were going to have a coffee but the service was non-existent and the room was so cold that we left our table to pay our bill at the bar. I could not believe it when they tried to charge service charge on the complete original price of the order. My sister was fortunate but I had quite an uncomfortable stomach and other effects that evening. Do yourselves a favour and save your money for a restaurant that can actually cook and serve properly. The pub was lovely the last time I went but I will NEVER set foot in there again. Serious health and safety concerns.

Arrived with my daughter for lunch. 45 minute wait for our food. In the end we went to the bar to order desert. Reluctantly paid the service charge. Very poor service. It looked as though there only two people running the show. I can only assume they had prepared lunch in a slow cooker. Avoid!! Batter on the haddock was so hard, it almost bent the fork!

Second time at this restaurant. Terrible service, dinner came out same time as starter before finished starter, staff talking about their lives instead of serving, two couples had to ask for service, just get forgotten. Never again, be warned.

WE arrived early, at 12. Waited well over an hour for the food to arrive (pther disgusted customers were already leaving, fuming). We asked non-complicated stuff: fish and chips. The fish had a funny smell, we couldn't eat it. This restaurant is to be avoided at all cost.

We stayed in one of rooms in the courtyard, very spacious and comfy bed. Odd configuration of open shower over bath in the room and WC in a glass cased cupboard. We were not impressed by the Manager who vocalised her annoyance with people being in the restaurant beyond 10pm bar closing. Hearing her complain that her feet were hurting and singing really wasn’t needed and made us feel most unwelcome despite the occasion being a treat, she rather took the shine off.

Very poor service. We arrived for a prebooked 1.30 table and had to ask, a little before 3pm when our lunch would be coming out. No proactive apology. When we did ask we were told "there is only one chef on". No apology. Really poor. This is the 2nd time recently when it's been the same. Last time was a breakfast. I like to support "local" but this is now a place that I wont return to. Get your act together CROSS KEYS or you'll lose more business. The table next to us were also complaining. We didn't stay for desert or coffee because of the service.

Visited for Sunday lunch whilst visiting Saffron Walden for the day. Managed to book a table via their website whilst having coffee in the shop opposite. We both ordered the roast chicken, the portions were more than generous and the food was tasty - my...

Disappointing meal. Was looking forward to vegetable stir fry with my crispy chilli chicken and noodles, but not a vegetable in sight. Fish, chips and mushy peas had a smear of mushy peas that may have been an attempt to copy TV cooking competitions -...

We waited for 45minutes for our food, my son ordered medium steak, it was tough and overcooked. Because we’re really hungry as we didn’t have lunch,he ate his steak. My crab and shrimp linguine was served in a soup base creamy sauce, by the way...

This is such a lovely place - the food is amazing But each time we go we have to wait such a long time for drinks The service is very poor - this Sunday when we were in one member of the team stood out...

Really disappointed with our visit and expected more from this pub/restaurant. On the plus side the food was very good, when it eventually arrived. Pudding never did turn up. Staff were friendly. But the place was rather chaotic. Staff running around and tripping over each...

Dinner for 6 people, half empty restaurant. Terrible service, 20 min wait after being seated just for drinks. Haven’t been here for a while due to previous poor experience, thought it might have improved…it hasn’t, The food is ok, but service terrible. Very friendly and...

Initially a bit confusing on where to sit and where to order as we entered via the coffee/cake area which was not very inviting but having spoken to bar staff we were able to sit at any vacant table in the restaurant, which was much...

We arrived in a cafe to see if there was space for us to have lunch and were ushered through into a bigger seating area, which as we sat down realised was the pub next door. We figured might as well give it a go...

We had booked a table for 5 for lunch. We had a long wait for our order to be taken and actually had to go up to the bar to ask if they could take our order. The food didn't take too long to arrive...

The pints of Amstel tasted off and we couldn’t drink them. Were very cloudy and had bits floating in it. We ordered fish and chips & a burger, which came out in just under 3 minutes. The fish was soggy and the burger was burnt,...

Staying on business at the Cross Keys and dining alone. Sat down when the restaurant was really quiet expecting to get my meal quickly before the place filled up. They failed! It was 45 mins before my order was taken and another 20 before my...

Gross! Worst meal ever in Saffron Walden. I had skewer prawns which tasted boiled - not cooked in chilli, garlic and lemon as stated, with cold mushy peas that were meant to be ‘pea shoots’ on the menu, and untoasted focaccia. Bland and utterly tasteless....

Booked table for four people at 13:15 on Saturday, which is market day. The restaurant kindly seated us earlier as my parents (in their 90s) were tired. We ordered drinks, which took 55 minutes to arrive. When they did I had to send back my...

Took my mum here for Sunday lunch. They put us in a side room and basically forgot about us. It took a very long time for them to even take our main order which then took even longer to come. It was a bit like...

We booked a Sunday lunch at the Cross Keys. As it was my birthday, my husband asked for a quiet table for two, near a window. We arrived on time, at 1215, and were shown wordlessly to an interior table right by the kitchen by...

A very pleasant venue with good food and staff. The two serving staff were however under significant pressure for the number of customers and there was a long wait for food. I was advised that many of the servers are sixth formers and they were...

A nice pub with lots of seperate areas to sit in depending on group size. Very much a place to eat not just a bar. We visited after going to near by Audley end house and had not booked but got a nice table straight...

Very Busy Sat Lunchtime, had to wait over an hour for our food to arrive. The staff said it was because of a new menu , looks like they couldn’t cope with how busy it was. When food arrived it was very tasty but for...

Very poor service, arrived at booked time 10.00 for breakfast, our food not served until 11.30, no explanation given and staff seemed uninterested. One of our parties food arrived 30 minutes before the balance.

Such a good environment to sit and grab a cuppa with a delicious cake. Staff very welcome you (we were served by a young blond guy, pity did get his name), who was friendly and a big smile. Another plus is that you can take...

It was more like Crufts than a family restaurant, never seen so many dogs it was awful, plus the service was really bad never asked if we wanted condiments and when we said please take the service charge off they did not like it.

On our way to a carol concert at the church, my friends and I needed a warm interesting place to eat and relax which was disabled-friendly too. Such a nice place, excellent lite lunch and a brilliant welcome from all the staff - would go...

We were a family of 14 and they gave us a separate room to be loud and noisy. The staff was friendly and efficient and we got great service.

Visit for lunch as carer of elderly client. Stood in doorway waiting to be seated for nearly 10 minutes. Staff came and went but completely ignored us. Eventually shown to table and then ignored for a further 10 minutes. Order (tea, coffee and fish and...

I cannot thank the manager and staff for making my daughter’s wedding absolutely perfect. Our rooms were comfortable and welcoming. The arrangements were as agreed and the individual food orders cooked, presented and delivered to each guest were all delicious. The breakfasts too were chosen...

I popped into this lovely restaurant which is part of a hotel and a cafe on a stranger's reccomendation at the train station. I was met very warmly by a lovely young man (dark hair) and the lovely Saskia (braces and cropped hair) who was...

We visited on a very busy Saturday lunchtime in October and the staff went out of their way to fit the four of us and also our dog in. Food was excellent, and although one meal got forgotten the staff handled the situation quickly and...