The Cross Keys in St Albans

We went here today, having prebooked a walking group of 19 people. Selected our food preferences at about 10.15 and requested lunch for 12.45. We went for a circular walk returning at about 12.20 ,ordered and received our drinks. The food was delivered at 12.40 (5 minutes earlier then ordered) it was really well cooked, well presented and excellent quality. e.g. The chips looked as though they had been cooked in new oil they were so clean. Definitely recommend the pub and service.

Lovely pub, good food, great service, nice surroundings and a warm atmosphere. The prices are very reasonable for their delicious home cooked meals.

It takes a lot for me to write a bad review. Let alone give something 1 star. I took my Grandmother out for dinner to The Cross Keys, as we’ve been many times and the food has always been excellent. The burger night. The food was absolutely awful. Practically inedible. I had the beef burger and gran had the chicken burger, with a portion of chips each. The Beef Burger - As soon as I picked the burger up, both my hands were literally dripping in grease. It seems the grease had gathered in the bottom of the cardboard tray it came in and the bottom bun was soaked. I had to get a tissue and wipe my hands before my gran asked for some napkins. - Whilst the burger actually tasted ok, there wasn’t much of it. A few bites at best. The Chicken Burger - My grandmother ordered this. Although I managed to finish one of the breasts, through effort, it tasted foul and was burned black inside, underneath the [coating?]. It was basically inedible. My grandmother picked the burned bits off her chicken breast and ate the meat (she wasn’t that hungry). The Chips. - These had far, far too much salt. All you could taste was salt. The opinion. I have never in my life, and this is not an exaggeration, had food from a British restaurant as bad as this. As a person with a strong stomach, I can usually put up with bad food and just call it quits. I’m not one for confrontation, I’d just rather write a place off. The new kid behind the bar was really friendly and did a good job. This is such a shame as I lived locally for 34 years before moving away and coming back after a year to see family. It was that bad I’m inclined to say it was done on purpose because we turned up about half and hour before the kitchen closed. The pub always served excellent food but I’m afraid this time was a total and utter fail…!

OLd World Country pub welcoming staff warm and roomy accomodation good value with breakfast included in overall room rate ideal spot if visiting family in the area

We were out for a social evening, catch up and a few libations... no food today. I must say, it is so cosy with the fire going and no loud music blaring out.. call me old fashioned...but it's nice when you want to practice the art of conversing.. Only one thing that put a spoiler on the evening, and that was the wife( I think) of a grumpy person on a table in front of the fire. She kept on eavesdropping and being patronising to others...belittling people. We tried to ignore her, in the end she went...good riddance...:) But overall, a pleasant evening... Oh and they had the lights on too..very pretty..

Very good value food in a traditional pub in a lovely part of the world with good walks nearby and climbing frame in the beer garden. I had home made lasagne and hubby had gammon. Kids very happy with their food too. So many pubs in the area have upped their prices and The Cross Keys remains good value at around a tenner for a main. They don't do a roast on Sundays in the summer which wasn't a problem for us. Staff are very friendly.

Very warm welcome and friendly place. Good selection of food and well kept beers. Very pleasant lunch with interesting displays.

I appreciate it is the first day after lockdown but I would've thought some savvy would have been put in force. I never wanted to actually sit inside and so proceeded to sit outside in which we were then told it was too dangerous for the staff because it was raining. Come on guys, i would be more concerned about people inside to be honest. Bad start!

stopped on the way to hitchin....pleasant day, sat on the benches outside... peaceful country sort of feeling...good ales (had 2) as i wasnt driving... `

We had an invite by a friend local to this pub/diner. Lovely staff, great landlady, Gemma, I think. Landlord was a bit grumpy, bit got nicer as the evening went on. Menu had daily specials, and the seal and ale pie was yummy. Reasonably priced. Quiet, in the countryside, village pub. Outdoor area, grassy garden, and children's play area. Fenced off. Nice. Be back.

Refused (I asked politely twice) to tell me whether or not my children’s food would be cooked in nut oil. I was told the kitchen staff ‘don’t know, don’t want to take the risk & don’t want to be liable.’ I wasn’t asking anyone to take responsibility, just to provide me with the relevant allergen information so I could make an informed decision for myself. Was I seriously expected to believe that a chef doesn’t know (& has no way of finding out) what type of oil is used in their kitchen?! Website says ‘You are always given a warm welcome at the Cross Keys from members of staff.’ Well, not if you want to feed children with a nut allergy you’re not! Lady behind the bar was very curt & made me feel uncomfortable & unwelcome. I’ve been to this pub once before for evening drinks & on that occasion the same lady was very friendly & welcoming. No surprise that we won’t be returning, which was obviously what the staff were hoping for!

The family uses the Cross Keys on a regular basis. Wheather it is to attend a party, meet friends for a pint or go for some amazing food. The last time i visited was with the Gradmother and youngest cousin. The food was absolutely amazing as always and the service was fabtastic. We sat in the garden and enjoyed the weather.

we stopped here for lunch, sat in the bar area. staff were helpful and we thoroughly loved the food... i think the landlady cooks the food....either way, it was pleasant..... thanks. apparently the pub has guset rooms too....

Stayed here last weekend beautiful location , very friendly staff , great full english breakfast rooms were fab would highly recommend.

The Cross Keys is a pub restaurant set in the countryside in Gustard Wood. Although the pub is extremely small and difficult for large groups, in the summer one can sit outside in the large beer garden. The food has always been excellent here, and they’ve thrown a good party or two for birthdays etc. Highly recommend this place.

Popped in for a snack having visited before and had a really good pint of Side Picket from Tring Brewery. Took the boss (the wife) with me who loves coffee and remembered a good cup of latte here last year. I had seen sausage and mash on the board and saw it come out looked really good, ordered one - sold out wife had goats cheese tart with chips and salad. I, disappointed, ordered a starter of prawns in filo pastry pint of butter no latte coffee. - machine broken - milky coffee made in the kitchen ok but I got it in the ear hole my fault! Very enjoyable friendly if somewhat noisy staff but fun! Good experience will return.

We have been here several times so we know it's good, we ordered scampi and chips twice and Goats cheese tart with chips and a salad, good puff pastry with the tart. puddings we had Banoffe pie with cream, Waffle with ice cream, and treacle sponge with custard, Adnams Broadside beer was on tap so one pint of that. We had a good helping with all the meals.

We regularly have lunch here as this ancient Inn is so welcoming, a great atmosphere and excellent food at reasonable prices.

After discovering this charming pub was dog friendly we have visited several times. The food is very good - chips excellent. Wraps and baguettes well filled. Staff friendly and efficient.

The Cross Keys is in a great location to have a drink in the garden after a long walk in the surrounding area. There is a lot of children's toys and plenty of tables and space outside. Inside was very cute, old and small. The food was very good, a good range of beers too. The service was a little unwelcoming.

Arrived one evening after a 2 mile walk at 9:45pm well before the listed closing time of 11pm. Asked for a pint which was poured in dead silence with no kind of greeting. Asked what time they were closing and got a very grumpy "Well I was gonna close at 10...." before he disappeared out the door. The pub looks nice but with a reception like that I won't be returning.

A standard pub whose location makes it appealing to visit. Large grounds including a children’s playground (very suspect sturdiness - possibly needs condemning). Standard pub food, slightly better quality than most standard pubs with a slightly higher price to match. Rough and ready on the inside. Decent ales on tap.

I ignored previous reviews love this place always traditional home cooked food it's so tasty and they always put so much thought into the food it's very old fashioned inside but cosy when fire is on

We popped in for lunch following a local walk because we wanted to try the place out having read so many strong reviews on TripAdvisor. However, when we visited, the food was fairly ordinary. My wife had the vegetable lasagne which she described as "nothing special'. It had been microwaved (we could see into the kitchen from our table) and was still bubbling for several minutes. I had the soup of the day which was pea and ham. It came in a small bowl not a lot bigger than a mug, and had a few bits of ham sprinkled on top - disappointing. The food wasn't bad, just nothing special. Not recommended, I am afraid.

I had lunch here recently and ordered a prawn sandwich on brown bread. I was expecting some kind of doorstep sandwich or chunky bread and was disappointed to find the bread is the cheapest supermarket kind of thin sliced bread. The prawns were small and the sauce was watery. One friend had something with chips which was much more appealing. I guess I ordered the wrong thing.

Visited again with our walking group - 11 this time. We pre-ordered our food before our walk and it arrived extremely promptly when we returned for lunch. The order had been taken very efficiently by a member of staff who was waiting for us. Beers were well kept and our experience was genuinely faultless - thank you!

Visited here with a group of 12 walkers and had superb service from the staff who could not have been more helpful. Our pre-ordered lunches arrived very promptly and were of a high standard - and good value. The beers were well kept which was a great bonus.

Éramos un grupo grande para un evento familiar.

Hemos visitado nuestro 'local' situado en el encantador paisaje, varias veces recientemente para el almuerzo y la comida se sirve caliente y recién hecha. Como 'cocinar'. El servicio es eficiente y una buena selección de un menú de media pensión. . Elección de un pequeño comedor con vigas o encantadora zona de bar/salón.

Es un siglo 17 inn que vende cerveza decente, tiene una chimenea para el invierno y espacio exterior para días más cálidos. Hay comida disponible (tarifa estándar pub) y también hay algunos ser y ser. Los senderistas y perros bienvenido!

Sin duda puedes llamar a este lugar un local a sólo 2 km a pie desde mi casa. La casera Jemmer si un único amable que siempre te dan una cálida bienvenida con su sonrisa infecciosa. Gran comida de pub y excelente sándwiches sencillos o pan tostado

My brother and i visited this pub many years ago,situated almost out in the middle of nowhere.We popped in today after visiting family,i took my wife for a drive and we found the Cross Keys.The garden was fairly busy with a few things to do for children,swings etc.We sat in the garden and had a pint of ale and a coke.....internally an extremely cozy and welcoming bar,very traditional however we highly recommend the beer garden......and the location is outstanding too.Visited 29th August 2016.

Este es un agradable pub del país y la comida es muy buena. El menú es muy bueno y lo recomiendo pedir un queso plowmans!

Normalmente nuestros paseos empezar o terminar aquí. Qué mejor manera de terminar un paseo con una cerveza y algo de comida tradicional inglesa. Los taburetes con acogedores típicos pub inglés y asientos corridos no se lo puede perder. La calidad de la comida es siempre muy buena y hay un jardín exterior con juguetes para niños / columpios para disfrutar.

Recientemente fui a una fiesta aquí, tenía dos toldo de un bar bien surtido y un exterior precioso hog asado, perfecto para una función en el amplio jardín de la cerveza.

Excelente selección de cervezas bien cuidado. Comida agradable y siempre una cálida bienvenida de Gemma y su equipo. Un verdadero pub virgen país al que volveremos.

We got here purely by chance,Shaw's corner n/t was closed so we just kept driving (as grandads do!!) Its approx a few miles north of wheathampstead. (Or a lot of narrow twisty lanes from Shaw's corner)Very popular on a warm day with pic-nic benches out front,and bear garden we had lunch in bar area,service was OK,good to middling, I had sausage (2) egg and chips £7.25,wife had jacket potato beens &cheese £6.25 both up to standard & in reasonable time ,there was a very,very full specials board,if u had spare half hour to read!! All in all a good find on a very nice sunny Saturday, on way back to SUNNY enfield had the hood down on the old bertone 1st time this year Fantastic!!

Had a 'club lunch' here and found it very warm and welcoming. For us there was too much ale in the steak and ale pie

I have previously posted in BeerInTheEvening about this pub but wanted to review the food properly. We decided to have a pub lunch on one of the rare warm days this summer and came over to Gustard Wood. When we entered the locals stared and appeared unfriendly but went back to their own thoughts when the barman appeared. He was friendly and the service good. However the food was disappointing. Whilst the chips were truly excellent the rest seemed brought in (the car pats company). I had the chilli and my partner the fish platter - neither was particularly appetizing. We will not be going back soon but may visit in a year or two to see if they have upped their game.

Recently had my nans birthday party here in a marquee in the lovely large beer garden, added bonus of an outside bar, the food was fantastic and all the staff were very friendly and helpful, it's the perfect place to hold a function either outside in a marquee or inside in their restaurant.

A really good honest country pub serving a variety of beers that are well looked after and wines to suit most tastes. The lunch menu is typical pub grub with some specials (lamb shanks) that are very good. A good garden for families in summer with play area.

Stopped here for a pub lunch mid way through a country walk. Had a ploughmans with chips - it was very nice, no complaints. Good atmosphere, very cosy

Went for sunday lunch recently, nice open fire, dog friendly and basic good pub roast in pretty area of the beaton track

Tried for a Sunday lunch with friends. Between us, we sampled the Sunday roast beef "dinner", a toasted bacon sandwich and a ploughman's lunch, followed by a raspberry tart. The food was good, being tasty and attractively presented. The ambience in the smallish bar area was pleasant and comfortable, The staff were friendly, willing and helpful.All in all then, a Very Good rating

I heard that the Cross Keys had started serving food Wesnesday - Saturday evenings. The food is fantastic and is just what you expect at a establishment like this. Will be going a lot more after a hard days work to have my dinner

Excellent traditional English pub offering B&B, very comfortable accommodation together with a fine selection of beers, wine etc. and great food. Staff very friendly and helpful

This unspoilt traditional pub offers good, reasonably priced food in a peaceful rural setting. We had chicken and mushroom curry with rice and nan bread, jacket potato with cheese and salad and a bottle of mineral water-bill £13. Staff are friendly and efficient. Location is convenient for visiting George Bernard Shaw's house (NT) 2 miles away.

Fantastic pub in the heart of the country. Great atmosphere, great beer and lovely food. All bar staff are very friendly and happy to help. They also have 4 guest beers on at a time which are always very popular.

This is a lovely little pub/restaurant near the small village of Gustard Wood, I've been here a couple of times now. It feels like a true English village pub too, with plenty of locals in the bar and friendly, laid-back service. It's location is very rural with fields on one side and a wood on the other and it's definitely off the beaten track. The food is very good and the service is fine too.