The Oak in East Hertfordshire

The worst of the 3 pubs along this high street

Lovely staff. Well run. Cosy. Entertainment is very good. Beer, normal Fullers offering; a few guest real ale alternatives would improve. Haven't tried food (other than Scampi Fries!), but it looks good. Would recommend a visit..

I visited The Oak for a quick drink. It was my first visit and I sat in a little snug at the rear of the pub, which was very nice. I will definitely be returning.

A well run traditional pub with great staff

Great pub Brilliant service, nice food, table service, even on busy days Landlord is a perfect example of a great pub operator Live music often, nice atmos, lovely.

Family and dog friendly. Warm friendly atmosphere. Superbly managed, very accommodating, hard working staff and management. Good beer and food amazing.

First visit to the Oak. We were surprised to find the only good on offer was pizza. Such a shame but there was no chef that night. I must say that the pizzas were excellent though. Staff were very polite and helpful and the pub was dog friendly.

The manager was very friendly, great atmosphere

This is our local and after a few different management's at last it's thriving. Love the table service, the staff are fab ... the manager is great. It has all sports on and live entertainment and we now love our local again 🙏

Food was good staff were excellent

Really good Sunday lunch we had chicken, best I’ve eaten out. Good service pleasant staff and friendly atmosphere even though Spurs were losing!

Good beer, great food and great staff 👍

Friendly. Pleased to see you. Happy to help.

Nice little gem in the town. Staff are lovely and friendly. Greek street is amazing. Would recommend 👌

Bar staff friendly beer good very well kept Guinness Greek food excellent

No cask ales available today. I had a nice cold pint of Peroni instead, which seemed a bit steep at £5.20.

As locals in Stanstead Abbotts, we tend to avoid this pub, as it’s been disappointing in the past. Unfortunately this is still the case even under new management. We had thought the football would be shown in the pub, but were told that they can’t show Sky Sports as they do not pay for it. We asked for a non-alcoholic beer, they had run out. We asked for mayonnaise for our chips, they had none. Two out of the three women’s toilets had no toilet roll and there were no paper towels. We arrived shortly after opening, so to be so poorly stocked on a Sunday was a bit shocking. Fairly certain the manager was hungover from the night before. Sadly this pub still can’t provide the basics you’d expect, so we will continue to go to the other pubs on the high street. Fingers crossed the next time the management changes things improve.

A lovely, cosy village pub with friendly staff. Occasional live music. Recommended.

Unfortunately terrible Greek food, and the delivery came with only half of the items we ordered.

Attended a private wedding and wanted to say a massive thumbs up to the chef . We were served a fabulous Greek dinner Well done to all the staff Great day thank you

The food is amazing and full of flavour! What a little gem it is and inside a friendly local as well… we can’t soar to go back

This pub now serves Greek food. We visited on spur of moment tonight. Never been before. We absolutely loved it. Great warm atmosphere, super friendly greeting. Mouth watering menu. Amazing food. Great portions. Ate far too much!! Will definitely be back. What a find!!!!

The Oak is now serving Greek food as eat in or takeaway. Can't believe I'm the first person to comment on this as the food is lovely, we've only tried the lamb and chicken Gyros & Greek Salad so can't comment on the rest of thefood though it was very tasty, filling and great value. Thanks and we'll be back to try more.

What a lovely little gen right in the middle of the high street. A traditional English pub, complete with a fireplace, full of character. The Greek "street/fast" pub food was perfect especially when served with a few drinks. The staff were friendly and attentive. Overall, we have a very pleasant evening.

Nice place ,good food and drink

Lovely atmosphere. The staff a brilliant and very friendly. I have not tried the food but have heard good things. Lovely place to go for a drink.

Best roast dinner we have had in ages!

Lovely lunchtime food. Will be back

Unplanned night out, thought we'd give The Oak a go as we've not been there since new management took over. Excellent suggestion on my part! Family atmosphere, friendly local faces, lovely warm welcome and great service. Good range of beers and almost too much choice on the menu. Anywhere that offers a scotch egg as a snack has my vote. Food arrived in good time, well presented, fresh and flavoursome, and loads of it. Thumbs up for the loaded fries, they were lovely. I'll be back soon for the scotch egg.

Beautiful Traditional British Pub. Humble staff. Good Service.

Very cosy inside. Lovely bar staff

Great bar, great food and great ambient!!

This was my first visit to the seafood stall. Bought a good selection of seafood for the family which they said was delicious. Apart from this, I am writing to say how pleasant and helpful the 2 young men serving me were. Will definitely return.

FRIEND went there Friday for fish and chips Lt was apserlutly fantastic 😊😊😊

Very refreshing nice Staff & lovely food Well recommended 🙌🙏

Went there for food and to watch football. Only a couple of people in there but none the less manager made us feel very welcome. Food menu was limited but understandable as post lockdown limitations on all businesses. Very much enjoyed.

First indoor pint in such a long time. Great staff, couldn't be more friendly or welcoming. Decent beer. I've missed places like this.

Bar staff are amazing and beers good. Food is lovely. Well worth a visit. 5 stars even though new bar steward is a complete dork. Couldn't organise a sea food platter in the ocean.

I have ordered a Sunday roast to take away for three weeks in a row. I have to say they are absolutely delicious and the portions are very generous. I will also definitely be dining here once reopened. Thank you for getting me through lockdown with your lovely cooking. Joel

Lovely roast today at The Oak. Fab family atmosphere, and friendly helpful staff. Would definitely recommend :)

Ur normal pub but the food is so good

Good food good drinks and good atmosphere

Lovely pub - actually took my temperature on arrival!

Very nice pub offering some nice alternatives to traditional pub food. The hot dogs are huge (and served in a baguette rather than a hot dog roll) so wasn’t able to finish it, but was very tasty. Staff were very friendly and welcoming. One piece of constructive criticism would be for some more detailed explanations of the items on the menu, as we didn’t know what some of the items/ingredients were. Would definitely return when in the area.

I just wanted to so how well the staff are at the Oak's They all work very hard and always lovely and had me and my friends welcome, we will be coming back again :)

Food and staff are lovely. Although menu was priced up wrong and we was charged the extra with no refund. " That's not great service "

Enjoyed a quiet pint of ale here. Was a choice of beers on pump. Parking off Street at rear. Friendly landlord.

Lovely friendly atmosphere and welcoming. Ed is very charming and gave us the want to return. Excellent

Shame as staff we’re lovely Beer flat ,ribs no taste and very fatty Worst was the pizzas under cooked soggy !

friendly staff but unfortunately the food was very poor. Soggy pizzas, very fatty and no flavored ribs and found a hair on the food.

Ate there for a post lockdown meal this evening and were extremely overwhelmed by the friendliness of the staff, exceptional food (really recommend the Oak BBQ Platter) and very good cleanliness to put you at ease, for those more anxious about contamination. All round excellent pub !!

It's a lovely local pub and has a great atmosphere. The food here is exceptional, locally sourced ingredients ensures quality dishes. Theres a pool table and darts, and sometimes live entertainment, a great little place to visit

I had a pint and it was great! Friendly barman. Nice atmosphere.

Excellent place, nice friendly atmosphere

Lovely pub. Fantastic polite bar staff. They show the football which is a plus

Lovely, lively atmosphere when they have bands playing.

We used an area of the pub for a40th birthday party. Craig and Cormac could not have been more helpful it was a great experience. Great pizzas and selection of drinks. The pub has a really nice feel st atmosphere. Highly recommended

Nice friendly pub with interesting range of food and good size TV for sport etc.

Good atmosphere, friendly staff, most weekends something going on whether it's a band or sporting event. Good quality beer and ale too

Nice and frendly good beers and a very good bands (issues)

Came here with a large group of friends and family. The menu is small but that just goes to show that what the oak offers is top notch. Between us we had starters of sardines, and the prawn and chorizo. Both were excellent. Then for main there was a selection of beef and Turkey roast, again excellently cooked and great sized portion. There is a great atmosphere in the restaurant with the staff being very attentive and down to earth. Definitely will be coming back to try the paella.

Went on Saturday for a birthday girls lunch. They had no bottles of prosecco apart from the individual ones and no champagne. The ovens weren’t working and an engineer arrived as I did but I wasn’t contacted to say there was a problem. In the end we couldn’t eat there and had to go elsewhere very disappointing. Only saving grace was the lovely lady who was very apologetic.

Met with good friends for a midweek night out at The Oak and we were all really pleased with the food and the service. Delicious tapas with some good house wines. Friendly service and a very reasonable bill at the end. We will definitely return.

Really like the place. Eaten twice a d the quality and quantity of the food excellent. Best roast beef I have had in memory. Lots vegetables, home made gravy and Yorkshire pudding. Perfectly cooked beef, outstanding. London pride is superb and a welcome break from the McMullen beer served so annoyingly frequently in this part of Hertfordshire. Also Asahi lager and Camden pale on cask, both sound choices. Very nicely decorated, and very warm friendly atmosphere with open fire, woodburner, fruties and an old games machine. Like.

Great little pub, lovely atmosphere and the food smelt delicious 😊

Me and my partner visited one Friday night, we wanted a few drinks and some food.When we arrived not one seat was taken which I guess was great because we could sit down.however every single bar stool was taken making it very hard to get to the bar, in fact we had to politely ask for someone to stand up so we could be heard by the bar staff, perhaps they could take away a couple of stools on a Friday and Saturday nights so it’s easier and less intimidating to get to the bar?The atmosphere was very clicky, as soon as we walked in we were given funny looks by all the intimidating men who crowd around the bar area (probably regulars) but that’s something I ignored because some local pubs are like that.The bar staff were friendly, but when I asked what time they stopped serving food I was told the chef wasn’t feeling well and had to leave early so I needed to order fast. I’d decided not to order in the end because I felt rushed and wondered what kind of illness the chef may have... this was only about 7pm.I would definitely like to give this place another try and perhaps try the food.It’s just a shame you couldn’t get to the bar without disturbing someone who was sat at the bar area.

Tried the new tapas menu at the oak last night and was very impressed. We pre-ordered the paella - which was amazing and packed with seafood and chicken. The aubergine in honey was delicious and not something I would have ordered but was probably one of my favourite dishes. We also have croquettes, chorizo and calamari, pardon peppers all of which was delicious and we accompanied it all with some lovely Spanish wine. Craig and his team are all very friendly and welcoming. This is a fab addition to the village and really hope everyone supports it.

Myself and my girlfriend just left this pub. Would love to say a big thankyou to the amazing staff for our relaxing quiet chilled afternoon/evening. Perfect. Plus the polite customers also made us feel very welcome. Keep up the good work. 👍👍

An amazing very family oriented pub,great food,great locals and staff 👍🏻💙 lived in the village for almost 2 years,best move I made 💙

Great place to watch the football in the village.

Tried the new tapas menu this week and really enjoyed it. We tried several dishes all reasonably priced. The calamari and churros were our favorite! The bar staff were really friendly as always. Happy we have something different in the village!

Disappointing to run out of pizza dough before 19.30, especially when advertising 2 for 1 pizza on a Monday!!!!

Inviting pub and warm and friendly staff.

Fullers London Pride and good bands!

Friendly service and good drink options

Nice bar good pizza and a mix of people would recomed

Beer good , food good,.......all good.😁

Limited menu if you don't want pizza, food was quite nice.

Brilliant! After waiting at another pub for ages for service and left , we walked in and were immediately able to order!

Lovely pub for a quiet lunch. Free parking near by, nice food, and polite staff. Only negative is I could not see much of an ale selection, but the London Pride was on tap and went down well!

Good spot to watch the rugby....even if the result was my good!

Food was ok and they've got the football on. Saw a woman throw a pint over a man whilst we were there so extra star for that.

Very poor. Service was so slow and very unfriendly. The pizza's were under Cook and soggy. Burgers were burnt. We had to wait a long time and one meal was completely forgotten. If the pub was busy I would accepted this but we were the only people eating. Very disappointing

Fantastic service, really happy to go the extra mile for us, as we where a difficult table (a vegetarian, a baby and a dog) and the desserts! Melt in your mouth kinda stuff

Used to go to this place when it was a top notch fish restaurant, the quality of the food then was excellent, they focussed on fresh well cooked ingredients.The menu has changed, now catering for a different demographic, but the quality has not, again, local ingredients well cooked. I had a great hand made Pizza (not your frozen rubbish) and hand made burgers to any style, the wife had a crayfish, and a friend had a Haloumi. To be clear this is a cut above anything that I have sampled locally and I cant recommend the place enough.Its true, I preferred it before, but I understand the reasons for the change and enjoy the new lease of life.

The premises had been closed for a short time following the closure of a restaurant. I thought the restaurant was very good and so I was interested to see what the pub would be like. I had to step across broken glass and a dusting of used cigarette butts on the way in (not a great sign of a nice clean pub), found atmosphere immediately intimidating and so left. Went to the Jolly Fisherman up the road instead, good selection of drinks, nice staff and friendly environment.

Omg this pub has had a new lease of life 18 months ago which was great for the village now is like it was with the Lord Louis absolute dross drink in the pub is dirty I will never ever very sad because we saw how it could be

Ate at the oak for lunch. Service was poor with both drinks and food taking a long time to arrive. I had chicken strips and sweet potato fries. The chicken strips were thin and there wasn't much chicken and did not enjoy them. However, the sweet potato fries were nice.

Lovely roast full and very helpful service.

Thanks for the petty response, not sure it was my table you were clearing because my plate was far from empty. Perhaps check your facts before sarcastically responding to bad reviews online. Your service and food was poor (and the hostility in your responses is honestly sad). Will not be going back, go to The Jolly Fisherman instead.

Visited at lunch time on a bank holiday, pub was not very busy. Went up to order food but the lady behind the bar seemed not very clued up on the menu and did not realise that there was a sandwich menu too. I ordered our food and drinks and was told the credit card machine was down and she would come over with our drinks and the credit card machine. She then turned up with the machine but no drinks so I paid. The drinks then took an age to appear and I had to go and chase.The food took even longer and yet again had to be chased. The chicken and bacon baguettes were poor filled with mayo and little chicken or bacon. Weirdly served with coleslaw so even more mayo. The fries they were served with were fine . The chicken strips were poor too but the sweet potato fries were nice. No complaint about the potato with beans. Since returning home I have read some of the managers response to negative reviews and they are nothing short of shocking. I expect mine will be similarly dismissed which says it all. We will not be returning, there are better places to eat in the village.

booked table for 8, arrived and was shown our table, but decided to order a few drinks at the bar, when we were ready to be seated we were told our table was booked for someone else, and not us, which we clearly were not happy about, staff were rude especially the owners wife. never a good idea to be rude to customers, face to face or on this site,

Could be cheaper but food tasted good staff was quite nice but not much room to put buggies or to park near by (2 minute walk)

Booked dinner here after reading generally great reviews, and in particular my partner being very keen on fish and shellfish. We were seated quickly, and after ordering drinks ordered the mussels and the goat's cheese foam to start. The mussels were excellent, and the goat's cheese foam was light and pleasant but the plate looked rather rushed with lots of tomato roughly quartered on top. We both had the halibut as a main, which was brilliant and thoroughly enjoyable, and by far my favourite course. Things went a bit awry with dessert unfortunately, where we ordered the brownie and the apple tart of the day. The brownie was very good, but the apple tart was bizarrely submerged with the thickest gelatine I have ever seen. Not being a fussy eater, I picked out the fruit, but I was really disappointed as I couldn't even eat the pastry. Service was a little on the slow side, although the waitress seemed new so I can't be too harsh. She was also apologetic about a couple of errors made by others.Overall service was OK, and some of the food was very nice, but I can't really give more than an average rating.

We really enjoyed the food and the service was excellent. We tried the Sunday lunch menu, it has vegetarian options as well Thank you

We have eaten at the Oak a number of times. The food and service have been great. This week, not sure what had happened, service was poor, the wine was just plonked onto the table. Food was ok.

Been waiting to visit here. Worth the wait. Food excellent

Having visited when it first opened we were looking forward to going back. Unfortunately we wasted an evening!! We booked a table for 8 30, we were seated immediately. After 10 minutes I asked if we could order drinks! Having received our drinks our Waiter arrived telling us that could we now order quickly as the kitchen was closing in 10 mins! This poor start only got worse, a member of our party ordered skate wing without the butter as he has an allergy. The food came with the skate wing smothered in butter!! They took it back and said they would supply another this left the 3 of us to eat our meals which had a few items missing and the ribeye I had was of poor quality and underdone, obviously not ideal. Finally the wing arrived not fully cooked!! At this point we decided to abandon any hope of a decent meal and left. Having messed up twice I would have expected the management to step in but we were left with the young waiter offering a discount on the bill which was totally inadequate for such a poor situation.

We eat out quite a lot and after looking on the Oak website we chose to go there have crab,mussels and fillet steak. Sadly none of these were available which we found irritating and strange for a restaurant supposedly known for specialising In fish/seafood. We understand fish / seafood is available regarding the catch but most specialised fish restaurants always seem to have mussels and crab. There is no excuse for no fillet steak ! Why advertise this on your website if you haven’t got half the goods available. The food we had was very nice and service good,although I find four very miniscule scallops expensive at £14.50. I would have expected 6 at this size or four larger ones. To re- iterate,the food we did have was nice and service good,just a shame you hadn’t got what was advertised on your website .

What a disaster. Calling yourself a gastro pub does not mean u are one. Food mediocre at best and actually gone off at worst. How any restaurant , let alone one that specialises in fish, could serve fish that had gone off amazes me. When it was sent back they blamed the supplier. Because the service had been so slow one of our party did not get a main course and the restaurant seemed OK with this. Staff were very nice but inexperienced.