The Load of Hay in Watford - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

The Load of Hay is a Watford Jewel that has become a second home for me and my partner since we moved to the area. The atmosphere, the customers, the staff and especially the landlady Julie are what makes this pub an absolute joy and treasure in the local area. Supporting your local businesses are important, and the Load of Hay is the family pub that will always look after you. So many fun events to attend including Karaoke night and Blankety Snatch. If you haven't been to the Hay yet, then make sure you put it on your radar when you're next in the area and say hello to everyone!

Visited last Sunday for lunch with friends food was delicious and great service will go again & highly recommend

A great Sunday lunch ,really lovely roast.and lovely attentive waitress. Just as good as before.looking forward to the next time.

Lovely welcome, lovely food and a great experience

Visited whilst visiting family as its one of their regular places. Was amazing service made to feel super welcome. Food was delicious! Will definitely return if and when back in the area!

Nice local pub. Quiet when I have visited during the week. Bar staff friendly.

Lovely Sunday lunch with my niece's Emma. Had the lamb which was lovely. Friendly staff in a friendly local pub.

Awesome little place. Very kind owners. The attention to detail in here is awesome. Keep in mind my visit was during the day. Im pretty sure the night time atmosphere would be just as good

Good prices, easy going and friendly.

Great food and a nice selection of beers.

Not the same "Vibe" I experienced the last time I visited, way black in 2013. The the place rocked. It was very "quiet" the live music was great , but overpoweringly loud for a smallish bar area , and you really struggled to hear someone speak to you! Not really any "Gay People there either! The Staff were lovely, engaging and warm. Will give it another chance possiblly a Saturday to see if it's different then , and hopefully better than Friday Night experience.

Brilliant night, great music by The Tease. Hope they will be back again soon.

Nice pub, good prices on drinks, attentive bar staff, fairly good prices on drinks

Nice cozy pub. With great atmosphere. The food was great.

Just popped in for a pint after a walk and there was a band on so stayed and had a few more and really enjoyed it felt very welcoming and comfortable in my walking gear.

We just had the most amazing home cooked Sunday roast ! We went for lovely dog walk and ended it the lovey load of hay . Such friendly and helpful bar staff too

Everything was wonderful, outside it was pouring with rain and cold The Load of Hay was warm cosy and very friendly as ever. Our roast beef meals could not have been better. This is our favourite Sunday lunch pub.

The Load of Hay is a traditional British pub. It’s quit small so booking recommended. Had the best ever Sunday roast ever. Have also eaten lunch on a weekday. Reasonably priced very good food. Great food great service.

We recently enjoyed a really tasty, homely Sunday roast. It was lovely, the pub is so cosy & sweet on a rainy winter Sunday and the jam sponge with custard was so nostalgic. The staff are very warm & friendly - they can’t do enough for you. Over experience, would recommend!!

Amazing bar staff, nice food, good booze. Very friendly locals, deffo worth a pop in.

Went for an organised buffet lunch. Warm and welcoming ♥️

We had a Xmas meal here. The staff were lovely, they really looked after our group and the food was nice.

A great pub! Friendly staff and filled with wonderful characters! Known for its LGBT friendly environment, I've had some great nights out and had the pleasure of performing there aswell. The experiences I've had at the load of hay have been very friendly. I would recommend this pub to anyone open minded and looking for a friendly cosy pub to enjoy a drink and a chat.

Great food simply cooked friendly staff and atmosphere definitely going again

Lovely old school local doing a Sunday lunch.

My wife and I frequently have lunch here and the food is always excellent. Today it was a veg lasagne and a mac ‘n’ cheese. Very good indeed. Thank you.

One off the best roast dinner go try for yourself and you'll find out yourself hmmmmm amazing 👏 😉

Couple of pints and a G&T, spot of lunch in the garden. All good, what more could you ask for?

Great local pub, brilliant staff & fabulous food. What more could you ask for.

Had a good time in the load of hay drinks got good atmosphere

Good choices, good food friendly efficient service. Had the beef lasagne for me and veg lasagne for the wife. Followed by syrup sponge and custard 😋

Only drinks and no food even though big advert outside. The drinks were very cheap.

Welcoming pub friendly and clean and even sells draft mild lovely

Fantastic service great landlady decent company

Sunday roast .beef was tough could not chew it not happy + roast potatoes were burnt to a crisp ..no apology. Wont be visiting again

Previously had a roast dinner here and was excellent 9 out of 10 Totally different experience this time 2 out of 10. 4 meals left and not eaten was not a pleasant experience.

Excellent atmosphere, food and service 👌

Great Sunday roast, pleasant atmosphere and friendly and helpful staff.

Small cosy pub. Good atmosphere. Sadly promotes good food, but kitchens closed, so bit disappointed that signs outside are misleading. So if you want food find an alternative

Always great food never had a bad meal from them & staff are very friendly & welcoming would highly recommend them

Please note, a lesson in not only presentation but also amazing chips. These are " Jules chips" the very best.Mmmmmmm

Great food and excellent prices. Definitely be back. Visited with family. Deals available on a Monday night.

This is a brilliant little pub with a really friendly atmosphere. They also put on live music .I went there with the wife for the first time the other week and they had live music, the guy singing was brilliant! The bar staff were polite and very friendly. This is a small but welcoming little pub and I would go back.

The entertainment was great, the staff were friendly and the little baskets in the ladies loos are a really sweet touch and a sign of what a nice welcoming pub it is.

5* for Vincenzo's pizza's this guy is killing it we need him in St Albans. The best NY style pizza. I'd be back all the time just the pub is so dated and the beer isn't great. Maybe if their made you feel more welcome that would be a great start. Pizza yes !!+ Pub No !!

In a landscape of chain pubs and identikit eateries the Load of Hay was a pleasant surprise. The Sunday roast (order your beef medium rare if you want medium) was tasty, great value, and came with a solid selection of vegetables. And £15 for a bottle of Malbec was very reasonable too. Would go again next time I’m in Watford.

Finally we got round to trying the Pizza served at this small pub and was completely blown away! The pizza was outstanding and made with real passion and love. We had the fungi a pepperoni with some dips for the crust which was the best dough I have ever tasted in the UK! Get down to the land of hay for Vincenzo's pizza!

Great pub & Vincenzos pizza next door is to die for

Good pub lots of locals good good

Lovely Sunday roast! Nice fish and chips in the week too.

The food was really disappointing. We went for Sunday roast but the chicken appeared to be boil in the bag and very thick - it really didn't look appealing. There was definitely no garlic and herb seasoning on it! The beef was tough. The gammon was white. The potatoes were rock hard and had a funny taste to them. The honey glazed were tasty and beans were OK but be prepared for the dinner to come out cold. Maybe this was just a bad day for them as we were a big party but if they couldn't cope then they should of said and managed us differently. It was a real let down.

Great customer service 👏 that's why they have got 3 stars and also they did the right thing with regards the food bills. However the Sunday roast was pure rubbish, the gammon looked liked it had been put in a microwave and the chicken said on the menu garlic and herb but it was more like boiled chicken with no trimmings. The beef was as tough as old boots. The roast potatoes were rock hard and also only 2 not very good considering the price. Lets say I will not be going back!

Went in for lunch and was very impressed with the fish and chips, nicely cooked fish and good chips and peas at a very reasonable price. Would totally recommend, staff really nice too.

Welcoming, friendly and fun pub with great grub and very quaffable local ales!

Super friendly. Great buffet for friends birthday.

Propper pub, dog friendly and friendly locals.

very friendly staff and regulars, nice pint and noone judged me for being dressed as a lady.

Came here for a Sunday lunch to celebrate my best friends 40th birthday and we all loved it! (As usual) Their Sunday roasts are the amazing and they do the best roast potatoes ever! Julie and the rest of the staff are so incredibly friendly and the service is superb! Can’t wait to go back xxx

Great pub. Friendly and welcoming place. Very inclusive for everyone. (Plus the added bonus of amazing pizza from vincenzos doesn't hurt 😋) LGBTQIA+ friendly.

New management hard working looks good

Great food, welcoming staff, lovely place.

Fantastic best pub ever. The garden is lovely and very sheltered. All felt very safe as all rules were in place

Reminded me of Di Fara in New York. Can't wait to have another one. Great dough ,and toppings. This guy knows what he's doing....

Lovely pizza, sausage and peppers as topping is the one for me🍕🍕🍕

Incredible pizza. Eat in and takeaway. Always ready super quick, really easy to pick up from the hatch next to spaces for parking, and it’s the best pizza I’ve had in ages. The Raging Hog with the chilli honey is my absolute favourite. Perfection!

Wow what can I say. This pizza is the best I’ve ever tasted. He needs to be open 7 days a week. Can literally drive by and pick up from the hatch outside the pub.

THE BEST PIZZA IN WATFORD! Ordered the small Pepperoni Pesto and Fun Gi, wanted large but they’d sold out already! Unbelievable flavours, solid base, authentic through and through! If you haven’t tried Vincenzo’s yet, get yourself involved! You won’t regret it. One bit of advice...order early as they go quick!

Best pizza ever! I had the raging hog - it was huge and delicious. Watford’s hottest new pizza joint. I heard the chef studied pizza under the New York greats, and only moved to Watford in the witness protection program, accused of a crime he didn’t commit. Looking forward to my next visit - keen to try the sausage and fennel next!

Best pizza I’ve ever had, raging hog is delicious! You won’t get a better pizza in London! 5 star rating Honestly

Sceptical when I walked in and wasn't expecting much to be brutally honest. I was wrong. Lovely staff and freshly prepared good honest pub food. Really enjoyed it and would recommend not to judge this book by its cover. A great local boozer and highly recommended by me and 3 fellow diners. Check it out

Great pizza and everyone is so friendly .Highly recommend 😁

Very friendly and food was good. Social distancing in place and details taken as required. Nice olde world pub. Would definitely visit again.

We collected takeaway Vincenzo's pizzas and they were delicious. We tried the Raging Hog with an amazing chilli honey and the Fun Gi which was really tasty too. They were ready in 10mins from order. The collection was directly from the kitchen so all covid safe. We'll definitely be back!

Called in here on Friday to try some of the pizza following on rave review from a friend and was not disappointed! We arrived early as apparently they often run out on weekends. What can I say? The food was incredible and definitely worth the long trip down from Hemel. I ordered a large fennel sausage pizza and a friend had the spicy one. In all honesty all of the options all sounded great so it was a bit difficult to make a decision.The pizzas were both were huge and delicious. As someone who regularly both eats pizza as well as cooking my own I was blown away. Easily the most authentic and tasty pizza in town. The prices were also incredibly reasonable.I'll be back to try the other options shortly, well worth the drive down.

Fantastic, gel for your hands to enter,loads space , very impressed

Nice food and good value for money. We sat in the small beer garden outside on table for 8 an it worked well. Friendly service and really enjoyed the food, also dog friendly.

The Load of Hay attracts a large number of regulars. It friendly and easy to get talking to people. Today I had a taste of the pizza they have available from Thursdays to Sundays. Certainly delicious enough for me to have a take away or eat in on another occasion. Really nice enclose garden at the rear. I dont come here as often as I should.

21/8/20 I thought I'd give this pub another try, having heard that it's improved, but unfortunately, arriving at 6.45pm and keen to try a pizza, I'm told they'd run out! And only one, out of three beers available... Oh well, maybe next time...?!

Splendid! Booked with them for a pick-up for their Sunday Roast dinner. Turned up at the designated time; paid by card through kitchen hatch and received 2 yummy chicken dinners (choice of beef or chicken) and 2 cheesecakes (choice of strawberry or Baileys). Dinner was delicious! Roasties cooked to perfection; veg included cabbage and swede and delicious cauliflower cheese; nice gravy, good breast of chicken and Yorkie pud with stuffing. Cheese cake light and yummy and seemed homemade which you can’t beat. Can highly recommend this and it was lovely to taste a good pub roast in these socially distanced times. Well Done Load of Hay ❤️ We’ll be back!

I lived in the area many years ago and thought I'd dive in for a cheeky pint as I was in the vicinity.I couldn't help noticing the change in the social scene,but cosy all the same.

Went for the first time today based on recommendations and reviews of good food but thought I must have gone to the wrong pub when I got there. Menu was dire and atmosphere unpleasant. May have been good once but not any more.

Rubbish!!! What's happened here?

It's a lovely atmosphere and funny people, just enjoyable!!!

Best pub in watford! Good family vibes!

Great food and great service. Very friendly atmosphere

Very local, nice little beer garden with plant hanging around make it nice and cosy on summer eves, the bartender was welcoming, beer selection is nice and reasonably priced.

Friendly pub, popular with regulars but welcoming to strangers too. Great food. TV for sport enthusiasts, nice garden too.

Lovely atmosphere and very friendly staff !

We go fortnightly for lunch with my Father in Law. The staff, customers, food and drinks are excellent.Love the Beef Lasagne, Steak and Chips, Fish Pie etc. really tasty homemade grub - excellent quality and value - go on treat yourself, I don't think you'll regret it - we certainly never have.

We went for drinks to celebrate my friend’s birthday, the staff were very friendly and the locals very welcoming. Also they had local beer on pump, Tring Side Pocket, for £3 a pint so I was absolutely made up. A really nice LGBTQI+ friendly venue, will be visiting again.

Lovely cosy pub. I heard about from a friend who had been here yrs ago. Travelling from stanmore was easy to get here, walking up from Bushey Station. Will come again this weekend when busier as its only Monday.

Lovely little pub! Everyone was extremely friendly, great staff too! Loved playing space invaders on the retro gaming machine.

Excellent place, friendly.. Good prices..

As always, the Sunday Roast was most excellent 👌😎

Had lunch here for my birthday with a large group of friends. The food was delicious and plentiful and the staff were friendly and welcoming. This pub has a lovely cosy atmosphere. Will definitely be returning 👍

Great atmosphere, nice people, great service and the bar maid was very pleasant and welcoming

As usual a great atmosphere friendly staff.

Lovely place to eat and drink people so friendly lovely pub cosy and nice

Amazing Service. Super friendly. And the foods quite good

Nice cosy pub with friendly staff.