The Fox and Duck in North Hertfordshire

What should have been a lovely family evening celebrating my dad’s 79th birthday was actually really disappointing. I made a booking several weeks in advance for 10 people at 7.30pm for Saturday 30th March. It would be my first time visiting The Fox and Duck and I was really looking forward to it. Sadly it didn’t live up to expectations, a friend had been for a meal recently and warned me they had waited ages, I should have listened. We arrived on time to be told our table wasn’t ready and we should get drinks at the bar. The bar area is not large with only a couple of seats, with 10 people in our party we felt like we were constantly in the way of people coming and going. After waiting 15 minutes I asked about our table, the member of staff wasn’t apologetic for the delay and told us it would be ready shortly and that it was just being laid. Once we had sat down we waited a further 40 minutes for a member of staff to take our orders, it’s now 8.30pm, over an hour after we’d arrived. One of our party ordered a starter of soup, everyone else just ordered mains. The one soup starter took over 15 minutes to arrive! At 9o’clock 1.5hrs after arriving I went to the bar as other than the one starter we had not received any food, not even a bread roll. The member of staff said she would check what was happening. The manager came over and wasn’t apologetic, he told us it was because someone had ordered a starter which held everything up, he said it takes 15 minutes to heat up soup (I doubt that very much). I found the managers attitude extremely rude, like it was our fault we had been waiting so long. When my mum tried to challenge him about it he rudely walked off shaking his head rather than apologising for the delays. When the food arrived it was distinctly average, not what you’d expect for what they are charging for some of their dishes. My son and husband ordered the “Foxy burger” hoping for a delicious, juicy, meaty burger with cheese in a toasted burger bun. Unfortunately what they received can only be described as a burger patty sandwich which came in an anemic under cooked ciabatta bread roll. Who serves a burger in ciabatta bread?! This was not mentioned on the menu. I didn’t complain at the table as I didn’t want to ruin our evening anymore than it already had been, if we’d started sending food back we would have died of starvation. The bill left a final bitter taste in my mouth at £320.00 I’ve eaten better food for a lot less, we will definitely not be returning.

Really tasty Sunday lunch, generous portions and very helpful staff. The pub is a lovely place for a family outing. Definitely recommend!

We had a great family lunch..food was great as was the service...well done.

The Fox and Duck is the finest example of a truly wonderful village pub. Not only is the food and drink wonderful (huge portions and great flavours) but the staff are incredibly welcoming. There is also an amazing atmosphere as when we were there it seemed the entire village were in attendance and yet it was still relaxed and wonderfully friendly.

200ml of Zero Coke was £3.95! That makes it over £11 a pint. £4.50 if they had it in Draft (which is also ridiculously expensive too but they didn’t have it). I won’t be back - such shark practices of overcharging on soft drinks is scandalous.

Huge portions, but should concentrate on quality instead.

Would recommend great food service and atmosphere and dog friendly too 🤩👍

The pub is a very popular local particularly on Sunday lunchtime. The portions are generous but need to be served on a hot plate. We had to eat quickly before it got too cold. Will certainly go back another quieter time as there is lots on the menu to try. Very happy they let dogs in but book first for dog friendly table.

Over the years we have come to accept that on Sundays especially the place is busy, buzzing and noisy! We had another superb lunch here today, with Ivan and his team looking after us every step of the way. The food was excellent, I can recommend the Red Snapper, and the roasts are huge, which is why my wife ordered the child's roast option. This is certainly one of our favourite eating places, Saturday evenings also tend to be very popular and busy, but Sunday lunch is always a great experience. Long may it continue.

Lovely food, two amazing menus to choose from in the evening! Something for everyone on there! Lovely atmosphere, Staff very friendly and helpful! Certainly be back

Excellent Sunday roast. Portion size is very generous. Pudding options were good too!

Pub is in a pretty country village nr royston. Large pub with a good sized car park with a kids playback at the rear. We were a bit early and the place was pretty full of drinkers in the front and diners at the side and back. We were seated quickly. Nice atmosphere and decor. Husband had roast beef and I had pork. About £21 per head and. The meal came out quickly and was freshly made generous portion and quite delicious. I'm fussy about my potatoes and these were lovely and fluffy. He had a snickers roulade and I had sticky toffee pudding. About £7-8 per head. Again generous portions and quite lovely. Really impressed and definitely worthy of the 5 stars.

Traditional pub. Friendly staff. Good choice of beers. Great atmosphere.

Food was delicious 👍👍 ... And you always get a warm welcome. Looking forward to my next visit.

While looking for a new place for dinner, not too far from home we chose the Fox and Duck based on reviews and location. How glad we did! It is an old village pub but from the moment we entered we felt at home. The staff couldn’t have been more helpful and the food was excellent with a good mix of specials available. I went for the pork tomahawk while my wife had the monkfish, both lovely. I finished off with a crumble which was perfect for me as it wasn’t too sweet as some can be. Overall I can’t recommend this pub highly enough. I know some reviews have said it was noisy but for heavens sake it is a pub and no it wasn’t particularly noisy on a Saturday night. We will definitely be going back.

Lovely place for breakfast or lunch and great value

Excellent food, staff and prices. Roast is of a high standard and great quality produce. Everything is homemade and the portions are extremely generous. This is definitely not a roast to be missed!

Wasn't that impressed with the food. I had the goats cheese tart which was very similar to one I buy from Lidl, certainly not home made. Potato salad didn't appear to be home made either. Two of our group had fish and chips, although large wasn't cheap. I also thought the cost of £93 for four meals and four drinks excessive.

Met a group of friends for lunch. Very nice Will go again.

Slow service considering all previous ordered food was ok

Excellent country pub, with good ales and great menu of snacks and meals. Warm welcome too. There is a big area at the front for warmer weather. Right next to the Icknield Way. Useful porch for muddy shoes.

Long walk from Royston nice cupper and couple of pints with good grub,👍

Delicious Sunday roasts! Always lovely service.

Must be the most successful country pub ever! What lovely service! Everyone was so nice and accommodating even though clearly very busy. The food was sublime too and couldn't fault any of it. Would 100% recommend.

Good food. Good service. Nice venue. We had a lovely visit there. Very enjoyable all round.

The 4 of us had an excellent meal and the Rice dessert was lovely Will be returning again for sure

The food was really not very good in fact my cousin was very sick after trying to eat her food which was extremely burnt! It was lasagne and the top layer was rock hard and black! My husband had scampi which was also burnt, so much so he couldn't get his fork in it and the chips were so salty he couldn't eat them. We didn't complain at the time because it was booked by a member of the family and we didn't want to upset her. Definitely won't be going back!

Great atmosphere, excellent staff, good food apart from stale chips; very limited vegan choice and no soya/oat milk for a cuppa!

This is a lovely country pub. We went for Sunday lunch, and it did not disappoint. It was extremely busy but the service was good and the staff were very friendly. The fish and chips were enormous and piping hot. None of the items on the menu were expensive, but on the downside, the drinks were a bit pricey.

Super meal and great service. Menu for a Sunday lunch with children who required something other than a roast lunch was perfect. Only criticism would be the price of a glass of wine - could have bought a bottle in a supermarket!

We visit this pub about three or four times a year. Always good service and excellent meals .Highly recommend

Quality of food , service / staff and environment excellent.

Not cheap by any means, but excellent food and plenty of it.

Good food, very friendly smiley staff in a traditional pub environment. Food was well cooked, served hot and tasted lovely.

Very busy. Good food, very loud.

First time here and definitely won't be the last. I cant fault a single thing. The food was absolutely fantastic as was the service. We will definitely be coming back again and again. Well done to the whole team and thank you.

great food and service. Roast 💯 recommended

Superb fish and chips and nice Guiness in a beautiful spot.

Had a beautiful Sunday dinner, food was sublime and super fast service, but seemed to be ignored by staff as they were concentrating more on the bigger tables it seemed. Shame. We will try again when less busy.

My friend's vegetarian Sunday Roast tasted lovely. I had some salmon and pollock with new potatoes and samphires. My fish was OK and my scallops were a bit chewy. I found the potatoes very tasteless. I wouldn't choose it again. My friend's Goats Cheese Tart was amazing, she really enjoyed it. Although her San Sebastian baked cheese cake was a bit burnt (it was black on top) but the filling was nice. I need to mention the customer service. All the girls were fabulous. They were smiley, polite and professional. All in all, it was a great place, I would give another chance hoping my meal was a mishap:)

Excellent food and service (lunchtime)

Sadly, very disappointed, having read previous reviews. OH had the Sunday Roast, which was all fresh cooked produce and lovely. I had the Scampi and whilst the Scampi itself was good, the fries were just oven fries and they were drenched in salt. Seriously, I have never been presented a meal with that much salt on it. It made the fries inedible and I actually felt sick. Why put so much salt on when there is salt on the tables? Surely diners season to their own taste? You can’t remove what’s been added in the kitchen but you could add more, if you choose to. As someone else has said, the drinks are pricey-almost £7 for a pint. Service was great-couldn’t fault it. If you’re looking for romantic, or serene, this isn’t for you-really noisy. Sorry to say that I won’t be rushing back.

Superb food , huge portions but thoughtfully prepared and presented which is lacking in most pub meals. Very friendly young team too. Just a bit hot inside.

Me and my sisters had a wonder meal, thank you

Living nearby we decided to explore some other places to eat outside our lovely village. After reading 3 good & bad reviews on TripAdvisor we decided that this is the place and after just one visit we found our new place to enjoy food during weekends and on special ocassions. We went with Heather's reccomandations: sausages and chips for our daughter, duck for my partner and red bream for me - all tasted so fresh with so much flavour. We knew the main course would be tops after we were left smilling once the starters were finished; many restaurants do not pay much attention to the starters but the chefs here care about their customers and take this art very seriously. I was so pleasantly surprised by all the food that I felt I had to give Heather a hug for reccomending us the food. Thank you for having us, what a treat!

Good pub in the centre of the village. I had the foxy burger which was nice , but had a very big burger Pattie a bit too big to eat with ur hands but still nice. Service was fairly quick drinks took 10 mins and 30 mins for food. A good pub overall

Food was great and good value. Service was a little slow and disorganised. We waited nearly 30 minutes to order food. But otherwise it was really good.

Great pub with loads of tables for food. Tables outside the front for the summer months and a play area out the back for kids. We all had a great time! Only issue (and its a fairly big one) is the prices. Nearly fell over when I was told it was £4.50 for a large glass of coke. If the prices were reasonable I would be back in a heartbeat.

A brilliant find for us, our motorhome and large dog. We were all made to feel very welcome. We started with drinks on the village green, returned to our Moho to freshen up and returned for dinner that surpassed our expectations. The red bream and pollack were both excellently cooked. Sharing a pistachio pavlova was the perfect end to the meal

Home made burgers absolutely fantastic . Didn't need the panini they were presented in though instead of burger buns . Lovely village green to sit outside on

Best village pub/restaurant in South Cambs/North Herts area! The pork Tomahawk with the chorizo and Cajun cream sauce is genius.

Wow! Service was spot on, and the food....amazing! Portion sizes are very generous so did not make it to deserts. Will be going again.

If a certain Danish lager owned this then it would be the best place in the world. I'm local, well three miles away and love to walk up from Royston, have a drink and food and then stumble back down the hill. Good quality food in healthy portions with a constant changing award winning menu with well kept beers and always a big smiley face. Landlord is quite a character and is not afraid to try new ideas. Well worth a detour if you're passing through.

Absolutely lovely food and attentive service. The pork tomahawk on a Savoy warm slaw with lots of cubed chorizo was superb. Beautiful location too.

Have stopped off at the Fox & Duck a few times in my bubble car,sat outside on a beautiful sunny day with a pint,really peaceful quiet place to just relax,I haven't tried the food yet but from what I've seen portions are plenty and food looks delicious.

My brother in law lives in the village and so 6 of us walked from his place to this local pub- and it's such an interesting place. The food was AMAZING quality and humungus portions, at a very fair price, and the interior is definitely pub-pub. The staff were great, the owner was lovely, the wine was wonderful. Will definitely be coming back again! I feel like if they cut down a little on portion size and cleaned up the interior to feel a bit more like a restaurant, they could really become a notable gastro-pub, just based on that food quality from the kitchen! That being said, they seem more than happen to just be a traditional local pub-pub and those are a dying breed that aren't owned by Green King- so maybe it's for the best!

Lovely food with a wide variety Classic pub vibe and dog friendly Lovely staff and location would definitely recommend

First time here and certainly no disappointment, it was simply fabulous in every way. Staff were all so lovely, polite and courteous and the food was delicious. Great value for money too. Highly recommend to everyone.

Top Would give this 6 stars, if I could. Save yourself the money - instead of going to Tom Kerridge’s or Gordon Ramsey’s (I’ve tried both), come here. This is what good food ACTUALLY should taste like. Very well done 👏

Great food and beer and friendly service - what else do you need on a sunny bank holiday. Will with a visit if you're in the area.

After a long day being out in the sunshine,decided to give this country pub a visit....lovely food eaten here and very prompt service too.....😁👍

The Fox & Duck is a gastro pub well-loved by the locals - which is always a good recommendation in itself. Weekends are hyper busy and booking is recommended. We visited for a family birthday and all 6 in the party loved it. Even the...

What a cracking pub in a fantastic village. The green outside the pub must be so busy during the Summer. My son and I were on our way back from a funeral in Rickmansworth. Luckily, we got there just before 2pm, that's when they stop taking main menu orders. The ladies behind the the bar were just the best, a little cheeky, but exactly what this pub needs. I had the gammon, thankfully without a tomato, or even, 'half a tomato' option. Where does that other half go?! My son had the fish and chips. We left nothing. It was so busy too, which isn't a surprise to be honest, even though it appeared to be a Greene King pub. I'm just hoping that the old fella on the table to the left of us was okay after his unfortunate coughing fit? The staff were just exemplary considering the situation.

Lovely big beer garden and great food.

Great little pub, tucked away in the Hertfordshire countryside. A choice of real ales at the bar, and well cooked, generously portioned meals. I would recommend the chicken caesar salad and the pork tomahawk chop - delicious! The staff are invariably friendly and helpful, and...

Fantastic roast, lovely pub, and great friendly service. What more do you needed on a sunny Sunday afternoon?

We had a great Sunday lunch, for 6 of us, it was good to be able to eat later in the afternoon. The service was excellent, they were very helpful, The place was very busy, especially with the bouncy castle on the Green. Good to see a local business doing well

Great staff good price fab food.

Lovely country pub- worth a visit if in the area. Also has playground at the back.

Where to start is the thing here, fantastic village pub and location, ample parking spaces, lots of picnic tables on the green. Staff were amazing, very friendly and helpful, well stocked ales on tap but the food, omg we had steak n stilton with caramalised...

We’ve been to the Fox and Duck a few times for a Sunday roast and the food has always been really nice with lovely service from all the staff! I definitely recommend coming here for a roast and the rest of the main menu meals...

Great pub and lovely food. Brilliant atmosphere. Dogs allowed too. Worth a drive out to eat there.

Attended a charity event for Essex and Herts Air Ambulance. Staff friendly and food was excellent

Never been to this pub before but what a treat!!! The food was outstanding! The best meal I’ve had out in a very long time. The waiting staff were lovely and a real credit to the pub. They were friendly, chatty, helpful and really added...

Traditional old pub with really great grub. Many thanks for the wonderful meal!

Good pub, well kept beers, food looks good too

We had a fantastic meal on sunday, although the restuarant and bar was very busy we were seated quickly (we did book a few days before) and drinks were brought to the table. When we ordered our meal it was hot and very generous portions, didn't think I was going to finish it all! Everything was perfectly cooked, beautifully presented and served with a smile. I managed a dessert too, which was just heavenly! I strongly recommend booking a table here, and suggest you don't have breakfast first!!

Very popular despite relatively remote location. Gets very busy at times. Rather rustic inside. Good food. Ale just ok

One of the best Sunday Roasts I've had. Huge, generous portions and everything was perfectly prepared.

Went for the Elvis evening, it's really nice to have a local place nearby that does unique events such as this. There is also a cocktail selection that offers gin cocktails from local producers in Hertfordshire.

Nice wine and lovely food, had the baked camembert, it was lovely.

Lovely food and setting, Good service too.

Lovely roast dinner with generous portions. Very welcoming and dog friendly. Great location too. Will be coming back.

Fabulous food, great service thoroughly recommend.

Beautiful roast, great service. Lovely pub

Turned up today ‘Mother's day’ with BFF what we thought a booking for 7! Turned out it wasn’t for this pub however the manager still accommodated us even though the pub was extremely busy! Excellent service and food

Busy for mothers day and didn't have our booking !!!! Manager sorted things out and found us a table quickly. Enormous portions and everyone agreed the food was delicious but no one could finish. Will definately return

Our local pub. Good selection of vegetarian food from a la carte and bar menu. Also specials most days

Friendly. Nice pint of Landlord. Inside tables fully booked on Sunday lunchtime, but they were happy to feed us sitting outside (weather was nice enough for that to be sensible). Nice Sunday roast, Vege and vegan options available. We weren't hungry afterwards :)

Took a long time to get served at our table we eventually gave up waiting and asked to have our order taken. Young staff who don’t make an effort to make you feel welcome or looked after, barely say two words to you. Food wasn’t...

We live local and came across this Stunning pub the food was amazing, along with the staff definitely be back . Sticky toffee pudding was so light and to die for . Great food served by efficient staff . You won't be disappointed I promise you .

Visited for the first time Feb'23 The middle aged lady, seemingly in charge, was curt, unwelcoming and rude, making for a wholly unpleasant experience. A chap sitting next to us noticed the exchanges and mentioned he was given similar short shrift! The Pub felt 'damp' not unsurprising for a building of that age but there was a grubby stickiness to everything - floors, tables etc and the toilet was gross. Shame really as the menu looks good but I wouldn't eat there based on the above.

We could not fault our visit. Food and service excellent. We will most definitely return. Thank you to the lovely staff.

Been there three times now and every visit has been top drawer! Superb food! The staff are lovely! Highly recommended ❤️

Fantastic Sunday lunch, book in advance it gets very busy.

Fantastic meals in this friendly pub and reasonable prices for quality of meals. Friendly service and meals were freshly cooked. Would recommend.

Wow food was amazing staff were exceptional, made us feel very welcomed especially 1 lady who helped with everything she really is a treasure she made sure everything went to plan, As for the food just amazing all dishes came out pipping hot extremely tasty...

Lovely Sunday lunch plenty of vegetables. 4 of us enjoyed thevroast beef, pork and nut roast. Very busy with lots of families enjoying lunch too. Plenty of car parking.

Absolutely delicious Sunday roast, just been with my two friends & we all had different, beef, chicken & pork & they were just yummy!! Great selection of Gins too & desserts…(shame we missed out on the brûlée, sold out) but the lemon tart was equally fab!! Very very busy, but lovely atmosphere…thank you…definitely be back!!

We visited for a family meal, a group of 10. Service was friendly and the atmosphere was lovely. Food was amazing, freshly cooked and worth every penny.