The King's Head in Epping Forest

Great spot to eat and drink. Friendly staff good parking area, pleasant surroundings

Stopped off for a late lunch early dinner, ordered a Pizza each It was quiet in there, pizza was lovely and staff were great

Great menu .. and we had a really keen and helpful waitress who made the experience so much more enjoyable

Great meal and great service from Kim. Thank you. I appreciate getting us in at short notice and the great food and service

Food is always nice but I feel you starting to take the mick big time. Offered a small pot of sauce then charge a pound each so 5 pound on sauce? Then 4 pound for a coke? I know we was in Ongar. But I don’t even pay them prices in Chelsea. Greed isn’t good look won’t be returning.

Great place to dine with excellent selection of food and drink. Good service and friendly staff.

Scotch egg was burnt so sent back, didn't want to risk another starter. Gambas pil pil was like spicy tomato soup with some prawns added. Mains were ok but expensive. Nothing was offered off bill and no apology when paying. Won't bother again.

We went there for a Birthday lunch. I was a bit apprehensive because I had heard stories about very slow service but I am pleased to say the whole experience was very good and I would recommend it for a brunch visit.

Nice food, especially from the Specials Menu. Our server, Felicity, was very attentive and helpful. One criticism is the limited choice of ales.

Met some friends for an early dinner, I was first there but felt quite comfortable waiting in the bar area where I was served by friendly staff,we went through to the restaurant which was spacious, informal and has an open kitchen... our waitress was extremely pleasant and friendly,the food was nice and not over priced,I had sausage and mash ,very tasty, a pizza ..remains of which was taken home....ham egg and chips which left a clean plate lol,.....nice atmosphere....and clean toilets!

Great menu options, on the day (it was late on a bank holiday) there were quite a few items out but this was communicated to us well. The service from Ruby was great, she was knowledgeable, polite and enthusiastic. It was a lovely evening!

Absolutely excellent place for lunch. They couldn't give better service if we were royalty. Beautiful fresh food promptly served - thank you 😉

Ordered 2 pizzas and chips waited over an hour for the food sent back chips twice as they were stone cold got my order wrong with another table and pizzas were burnt and cold to add to this one of the workers who I asked for a refund from them turnt round to her colleague and mumbled somthing about me to her furthermore she then said to my uncle who was with me but on another table “that blonde girl took ur food we didn’t mess it up”. They are very unorganised very unprofessional and to be honest I would definitely never return to this pub they rude, ignorant, and have poor service

Just celebrated a family birthday and had excellent food and great service from Julie and the staff. Recommend you try for yourself.

I had been to the Kings Head once before a while ago and thought I’d give it another chance as last time we visited the service was very slow. After visiting the other night, safe to say I won’t be returning. The service was slow, it is a very loud restaurant and we paid £17 for a tiny burger and about 10 chips (if that) - not even a tomatoe or mushroom on the side or anything like that. Very over priced and won’t be returning. Disappointed as this is local pub to us aswell.

Lovely food as always and superb service. Ruby was very attentive and it made our Mother's Day lunch! We'll be back soon.

Wow - what a secret little place this is at the back of the pub. 7 of us went out for Mothers Day lunch. We only had the table for 2 hours but unfortunately 4 got stuck in traffic. Jenny, who was our server, went to check if our table was booked out after us. Thankfully we were able to keep the table much later that originally thought. Jenny was simply the best. If any of you get her you will not go wrong. The atmosphere was brilliant and the food was amazing. Without a doubt we would all definitely go back. For the men out there the burgers went own a treat with my family.

Came in for Mother’s Day and what a lovely dinner we had! Food was amazing and our waitress were lovely (Olivia and Nicky) great service!

No many people been there nice place not at food yet not had the service yet obviously looking place

I am a regular at the Kings head but on my last visit I ordered a muffin with salmon mushroom and avacodo... My muffin was so small with a tiny bit of salmon.. one mushroom and I had to pay extra for the avacodo!! I didn't have the 2 eggs that came with it because of a allergy... so I was charged £17 ... very expensive for such a tiny meal ... very disappointing

First of all I must say that I have eaten at the Kings Head many many times with friends and family without any complaints so am disappointed to have to write this review. After a very long day involving a family house move my daughter, myself and her little boy decided that a takeaway pizza from TKH would be perfect. We called to place the order and we’re told that the kitchen weren’t answering their phone so we should either come in personally or call back in half an hour. This was around 7 o’clock and we were starving so decided to drive up there and ‘eat in’ bearing in mind we had a child to feed. On our arrival we were left standing at the reception desk/bar area for over five minutes with staff members mostly ignoring us though one said she’d be with us shortly but didn’t come back. Another group of people (men) arrived and a staff member immediately appeared from nowhere and directed them to a table. I pointed out to the waitress that we had been waiting some time at which time her attitude was very terse and even a little aggressive at which time I was so shocked that we chose to walk out. I know the group that TKH is part of are known for training their staff to a high standard and this has always been my/our experience at this establishment in the past. Therefore, I was so surprised at her poor customer service skills. If the waitress had shown the slightest empathy for our long wait I would have of course said “No problem “ but her attitude was far from our usual great experience at TKH. As I side note for staff I’d also like to say if the restaurant aren’t answering their phone, walk the few steps into the restaurant and speak to them yourself rather than tell customers to call back in half an hour!

So we didn’t have the best experience at lunch after an hour wait, some meals were barely warm. HOWEVER, the taste was good and the staff remained warm and pro. A chef down was the reason so understandable, two mains were taken off the bill which was appreciated. Sometimes when businesses aren’t having a good day it’s more important that it’s made right. And it was. 10/10.

Food was lovely great breakfast I always go here as its my local thank you Jenny for your service Anyone that is wondering to come here it is lovely place to dine for breakfast lunch and dinner

What a brilliant place! First visit was a night out with friends, second was lunch with the kids, third was Sunday lunch with a work contact and fourth was a family dinner we had a private room for. It really does cater for every type of experience and the food is great - especially the pizza!!!

The waitress was lovely. The noise levels and crying children weren't great. The mains took an hour's wait to get to us, and it wasn't very busy at that time. Our slot was 5-6.30- the mains only turned up at 6.30 and the fish was overcooked and dry and the chips soggy and warm. The salmon was very nice but the salad was not -loads of runny humus which needed bread, oily rocket, undercooked squash. Its very rare I persuade my husband to dine out-I don't expect we will do it again soon.

Great place to have a good full english breakfast after a pleasant walk through the countryside. Dogs allowed outside.

Had family Sunday Roast at Kings Head, Ongar and thoroughly enjoyed it. Great atmosphere, spacious and light with plenty of room between tables. Food was truly excellent as was the wine with 5 star service from Kirsty who looked after us during our lunch. Great venue and excellent value for money!! 👍

Wondered into the King's Head for a drink and the smell of great food enticed us into the resturant. Very friendly staff and our server recommended the Lamb Rib Roast Special, it was exceptional! Would highly recommend and look forward to returning.

Delicious food, nice ambience for a quick bite to eat as part ofna stopover. Would come again when next in the area

Visited today 11/02. Service at start seemed OK, waiters took drink orders in time. We never had food menus on arrival or given these, so we had to ask staff for these. Only one waitress taking food orders for entire restaurant on a peak Sunday lunch time? Despite having 3/4 other waitress staff standing around and talking. We had to ask 3 times for our food order to be taken. Waited over 15 minutes. Food arrived and was really tasty. We also ordered desserts which were OK nothing special. We had to wait 40 minutes for desserts to be served too. Whilst other groups who arrived after us had already been and gone. I think they forgot about our table.

Nice place, friendly helpful staff, sadly awful clientele. First time there for a quick drink and catch up. Unprovoked abuse from drunk customers who we've never met before. Left without finishing drinks. Have telephoned and spoken management and they have apologised. I don't hold any issue with the establishment, not their fault.

Took my 86 year old Nan for a Sunday roast and was disappointed to find the wheelchair ramp to the restaurant was out of use and the disabled toilet in the main restaurant also did not flush either, was not offered any assistance to get my nan up and down the stairs usually better service than what we received

Gone down hill !! Thought I’d give them another chance after a disappointing New Year’s Eve meal the chef is not good burns pizzas made quite a few mistakes with all our orders. Went again on the 30/1/24 and the same burnt the pizza and served chips that looked like all the leftovers off someone else’s plate. They did discount the meal but still not good enough. Manager seems ok but really young Also this is another restaurant that has a newly introduced SERVICE CHARGE it’s really off putting actually people should be able to leave a tip at their own discretion. It’s embarrassing for people to ask for it to be removed. Times are hard and inflation is high and as it is and adding a service charge on top is not fair it put me of coming

Excellent service and always great food, staff were friendly and attentive, always a good experience when having dinner there

Fantastic venue, with beautiful private room. The food was generous in size and tasty and the staff were so great. Perfect venue for an event.

incredible service and hospitality from the staff.. and food was impeccable. (the beef burger and halloumi) would highly recommend if staying in the area and looking for some great foods. 100% going there again when I'm next in the area.

We had Friday lunch here. We were 3 people. We waited 15 mins for our drinks and food order to be taken. We had ordered a nibble starter and it sat on the pass for 10 minutes and finally arrived with our main meal. We were left to our own devices for the rest of the time. I had to physically go and ask for the dessert menus. Our desserts arrived to a table still full of main dirty plates. The poor guy on duty was alone with 11 tables to serve and coffee, drinks and the rest to do. Not acceptable. Terrible management scheduling and planning. One person should not have been left to deal with all that. Our food was just ok. My lamb was dry, my friends fish and chips were ok. That’s about it. Someone somewhere needs to arrange staff much better! Service was atrocious.

Great food and lovely staff. Very friendly manager Gary and waitress Kirsty and they allow dogs which is a bonus. Great choice of food and quick service

Lovely restaurant and friendly staff

Staff friendly and welcoming and happy to accommodate. 3 stars due to food not being great and having to wait along time for cutlery so had to eat cold food.

First time we had been there. We went to the ongar railway first then we went to the King's head afterwards. My friend has a dairy allergy and for her there was alot of choice. Our waitress Kirsty was very nice and friendly. It is shame that there were only 2 people serving. Would definitely go there again.

An excellent Christmas dinner, thank you!

Visited with family including baby, staff service and food were amazing, had a wonderful afternoon, will definitely return

Should have been a lovely pre christmas get together. Really poor service. Mediocre food. Should try harder during a cost of living crisis, when people expect value for their money particularly when spending hard earned cash on dining out. Would have been easier to get a glass of water at home.

Family meal for all my partners Family.. Due to our party size we chose our meals before arriving. Kids meals had been overlooked. Starters were average then an hours wait for mains. Fire alarm kept going off, but staff did nothing to reassure people it was a test/fault and just carried on regardless. We hadn't even been given our desserts when they came round and asked who wanted coffees! Needless to say, coffee was served before desserts. Poor organisation and not very friendly or helpful staff. All in all, very disappointing.

Poor quality food, barely warm. 8 of us won't be going back.

We went to the Kings head for dinner tonight after visiting the Epping Ongar Christmas event.We had a fantastic experience here,we thought originally that the small bar area was the full restaurant so we decided to book it up as it was very busy but we were delighted to find the restaurant section at the back.It was fantastic and a really modern,airy,Christmasy and fantastic atmosphere.Very nicely decorated as well.Music mix was great too.The service was fantastic as well,the food came out really quickly and our waitress was fantastic,extremley polite and took great care of my gluten free allergy.She even went the extra mile and brought out a gluten free slice of toast which tasted heavenly and a really thoughtful idea.We also asked the waitress if we could keep the olives on our table when she was clearing up the starters and she was happy for us to keep the olives.The food was delicious as well,the halloumi fries were just gourmet and so delicious and I loved the sweet chilli dip,flavourful and Smokey at a very nice level.Also I heard amazing things about the scotch egg from the rest of our table.Also olives were really delicious too.Everything was a lovely portion size.Also the cheddar and bacon house burger was delicious,the beef patty was cooked really well and tasted delicious.Also bacon,cheese and sauce was lovely too.The chips were well cooked and delicious.Everything was piping hot and a good portion size.Also I would like to thank the person who folded all the napkins for folding them so beautifully.The toilets were really clean too and the restaurant was clean as well!Just beware that the steps are very uneven and a low head area in the main toilets in the bar area.Would highly recommend!!!!!!!

There was so many things wrong! Saturday night, a celebration family meal with 8 people. Obviously short staffed, just 1 waitress. Drinks took ages to arrive each time they were ordered. The arrival of the starters were staggered, 7 of the party had finished but the 8th still hadn’t received her starter. A member of our party went to the counter to collect it as it had been sitting there while the waitress was cleaning another table. The Prawn starter was obviously frozen prawns, No taste to them at all. Mains came at roughly the same time, My main meal had cold vegetables, others said their main was “ok but nothing to write home about” We Ordered desserts and coffees. The Luke warm coffees arrived and the desserts arrived 15 mins later. Shouldn’t coffees be after the desserts? Brownies were not brownies but chocolate sponge and the Portuguese tarts were soggy as warmed up in a microwave not an oven. Not impressed at all with the meal over priced and below average, the service needs improving, one waitress cannot do it all, i felt sorry for her.

Convenient location with free parking. Sadly the food was an issue. Good variety on the menu but there were issues with the quality and service. We were a large group but had pre ordered three days before our sitting. The management need to address the issues we experienced or people will not book in the future!

Outstanding roasts, one of the best I have had in Essex.

Brilliant lunch. The team there were absolutely fantastic. The waiter looking after us overheard it was my birthday and took it upon himself to get the team together and sing happy birthday . Lovely touch. seeing that we really weren't expecting it. Food was awesome too.

Ate at the Kings Head with family during my visit to Essex, had a fantastically well crafted selection of food. Everyone in our party had a fantastic meal. Carol and Michelle were super attentive and friendly. Would highly recommend!

Long wait for food and then it arrived cold!

Really disappointed waiting nearly 2 hours for our food, no offer for drinks in the mean time and a very poor attitude When questioned of it

Visited with a party of 18 friends.Service was first class & extremely efficient with food of exceptional quality. A proper gastro pub.

Saturday lunch time. Quiet at the time we were there. Lovely place, old & ultra new ie timber frames and huge glass windows that really make the best of the building. Service was great and pleasant. Attentive but not overly so. I had the Eggs Benedic. Perfect. Freshly cooked to order. O recommend this pub in Ongar high street.

We popped in after an event we took part in to have a drink and a chat. Was very nice atmosphere in there. Only downside was the stairs to the toilet.

Lunch was good we shared a number of starters. (Mussels pork belly bites prawns and calamari- all v good) The staff are fabulous. Really helpful and go the extra mile. The refurbishment is a great success.

I visited the Kings head for a lunchtime meal with my friends. The food was lovely however the service was not how it usually was and it seemed understaffed. Sat near the bar , we heard a glass smash and then proceeded to watch a...

In all my years of driving to work through Ongar, I have never visited this pub until last weekend. I was so impressed with the venue, the service, and the quality of the food, cooked to order. I recommend this pub.

We visited for Sunday lunch to celebrate a family birthday. Booking online was easy, staff were friendly and warm when we arrived. The atmosphere in the restaurant seating area is great, as tables are not on top of each other but it still felt busy...

Service was very slow , not enough stuff , hard to get waitress attention.some itims not available on menu

We visited here tonight for a 21st birthday family meal. The food was lovely from the starters to deserts. We all ordered different things on the menu and enjoyed everything. Waitress Kirsty did a fantastic job aswell. We will definitely be back again soon.

Waitress was only one working, rest of staff and manager standing around talking, food is over priced for what you get,ordered calzone as they had a stone fired pizza oven and ended up with a microwaved one. we were the only ones in restuarant and still waited thirty minutes to get desert, which was not as described, was going to give waitress a tip until i found out that it has to be split between all staff.so she does all the work and the rest of the staff (all male) reep the benefits. 5☆ was for service was for the waitress only. Will not be going back or recommending to anyone.

Agree with a review below, got the ribeye steak and wife got the cod from the grill. Steak was fatty and tough, not good quality at all, very poor for the price. Cod was average at best, very bland. Very disappointed.

Reservamos mesa pero nos tocó esperar la comida más de cuarenta minutos. Truncó la grata experiencia de la comida, que por otro lado estaba deliciosa. El lugar esta bien decorado.

Good food and even better service. Reccomend.

This is a lovely pub, bit pricey and always seems understaffed, the staff working are friendly but they are under pressure

Great place great food great staff Even made a baby dinner for us The chicken and mushroom pasta fabulous

Great food, friendly helpful staff.

Beautiful pub and restaurant with a pizza oven, serving mainly Italian food. Owned and restored by a lovely friendly couple. The building was originally built around the 1600's and is apparently haunted 😉 Loads of little rooms and pockets to have cozy chat's or larger areas for groups. Only found the venue whilst waiting for the steam train 🚂 ----- The following is from my second visit to the venue - which was planned during the summer 🌞 where we had 3 course meal and pizza as our starter's. Didn't get to take a picture of the aubergine pizza 🍆 🍕 as it was delicious and was swallowed whole 😋👀 The staff were amazingly friendly and helpful. The King's Head is a great example of how hospitality should be! Lovely covered outdoor terrace and seating area. There's a huge car park to the rear which I didn't know about on my first visit. Beautiful field and stream that run around the rear of the property. Perfect for a post-dinner walk.

Awesome place for dinner and the staff were lovely x

Lovely meal celebrating my son in laws birthday

Only cistomers there on a Saturday night should of set off alarm bells, food quality was poor. Waitress was so helpful and embarressed.

Ordered two £32 steaks that were tough as old boots. When we complained we were told they are normally good. I asked for a salad instead of chips but got a bowl of rocket and chopped tomatoes 😏when the bill came they had not reduced the price so I had to ask them to reduce the bill accordingly After a long discussion with the manager the waitress returned to tell me they would reduce the bill by £27 which was (in my opinion) not good enough! A pity, as it’s a nice venue and good atmosphere but we will not be going back

The fact that it was empty on a Saturday night should have been our get out quick card. Other than the lovely decor and our sweet waitress that were the only two good points. The food was actually beyond awful, fish that was inedible because...

So disappointing! We went here for a Sunday roast, having previously eaten here for many lunches/dinners and loving the food. On this occasion we ordered roast beef and the whole meal was poor - roast potatoes were soft and dry and tasted old, beef was...

Me and my friends attended the bottomless brunch yesterday and it was amazing! I had the french toast which was out of this world and presented so lovely. The cocktails were beautiful and the staff were all amazing. The vibe from the DJ was what...

We have visited numerous times before including father's day and mother's day and have never experienced what we experienced this time round. We waited over an hour for our starter. They then brought 3 of our starters up together but forgot one so we had to ask. They were so understaffed that we had to get up and ask for different items. The main came up another hour later although they had run out of one of our side dishes but didn't bother telling us! The main was of average quality and the Sunday lunch which is normally excellent was over done. The potatoes were burnt and hard, with the meat containing lots of fat and stringy. Staff kept on asking if we wanted drinks but to be honest this was annoying as all we wanted was food. We decided to skip desert as we just wanted to get out of there. When we complained about the service all we got offered was a free round of drinks! Won't be visiting again.

We visited on fathers day, this was not their finest service, we were there for nearly 3 hours and didn't get the 4 pizzas until we were about walk out depite being told repeatedly that all of the food was either on the pass, being plated or I'm just going to get it. The food that did arrive was a very mixed bag, the fish and chips were nice, the gluten-free pasta was very average, and the sunday dinner was overcooked and bland. It was such a poor service that we ended up only paying for the drinks.

Managed to get a table last minute and place and atmosphere was great. Staff friendly but overworked as not enough. Only negative was no cauliflower cheese or stuffing left which was disappointing. Food tasted nice and portions very big. Took ages to get food but...

My first time, and last. Lovely looking restaurant. Service was awful. Waited over an hour for meal.

Food nice enough just very expensive… it’s a shame as it’s a real turn off for goi g back. Service was great, particularly one barmaid.

Great food, lovely staff and very efficient

The food was really nice and we didn’t have a long wait for it, the drinks service was good although I ordered a cocktail which was £9.60 and it didn’t come out as expected and the glass was only half full which was disappointing. The...

We had a lovely birthday Sunday roast celebration here. The staff were lovely and sang happy birthday with us and were really welcoming to the kids. The food was delicious, especially the porchetta. It was so yummy we forget to take pictures of the food! The kids menu had some great variety including vegan pizza option. We loved the experience and would definitely recommend it 👍🏽

We where there for lunch. Waiting around 20 minutes and now one came to us. Seating on the table like invisible people. Some new people came and they were served straight away.

Unfortunatley didn’t have a very good experience. This was our second visit and was very disappointed. The chicken was awful with no taste and very tough. We had to ask three times for water glasses. They didn’t have enough staff on although our waitress was...

The food was good, we had steak, but the evening was made special by Tia the waitress……………………….. And that’s all

Amazing food, best calzone I've ever had. Don't expect to be served at the top bar... it's a long wait ...go downstairs!

Used to have Sunday roast here once every two months. It used to be great quality. Blushing beef, well cooked veggies. However the quality has been declining since covid. I have only just left the restaurant after ordering a Sunday roast and I can’t see myself going back. Beef was tough, as were the green beans. Other veggies soggy. Not good enough for the price and how they used to judge themselves. Kids food was even worse, could hardly cut the chicken. Sad decline from what used to be a really good kitchen. 2 stars as the pub is beautiful / cosy with good waiters.

Went for the first time for a Saturday night for dinner with friends. Great ambience, easy parking, lovely service and decent food. Only complaint is that food was continually sitting on the pass for ages despite chefs calling for service and as a result our...

Delicious meal as usual, we’ve never had a bad meal here. The food is all freshly cooked, always served hot and there is always a vast selection of specials available. They are accommodating to menu changes and cater to all allergies with most of their...

We took our Mum for an impromptu Saturday lunch, without a reservation. This is the second time we have been to The King's Head and the food was very good, as was the ambiance. They have an extensive menu, something for everyone. We received excellent...

Went for dinner last night and wont be returning. Ordered the harissa chicken wings which were tasteless and not one bit of spice of them. We ordered two pizzas as we saw the wood oven so expected them to be really good but due to...

Food good but service very slow this time, think they were under staffed.

My partner and I came here for the second time on a Friday night. The food was great but the food itself coming out was very slow. I understand they had a few big tables but I’ve been to many restaurants before that have better...

Went here today for lunch today we were welcomed and shown to are table promptly. The waitress came over to take our order but had to wait nearly a hour for our food once it arrived was very enjoyable. Just the time taken let them down

Lovely meal and excellent service by Nikki! Perfect for children and families as well as couples. We will definitely return!!

The food quality is alway consistently good and service is alway friendly and helpful! Especially with my kids. Kirsty is more than often our waitress and she always remembers our little ones intolerances