The Old Guinea in Hertsmere

Nice food, nice service, rather noisy in the conservatory. Shame the bar consistently served short pints, even after I asked my drink to be taken back and filled up to the purchased 1 pint.

The view is so mesmerising, along with the food. It's honestly worth going to.

Great food, the quality is beyond impressive , especially compare to the very fair pricing. Great service and wow the view- make sure you visit day time at least once. Kids menu is on point, - I couldn’t recommend them more !

Very busy but good some members of our group said portions were small

This is a hidden gem amazing view overseeing the open fields. we got great seating, the food is really delicious, and very generous portions would definitely recommend the old guinea.

My favourite restaurant - I've just eaten my umpteenth traditional English breakfast there enjoying the wonderful food and beautiful view with as always attentive, polite and friendly service. All family and friends I have introduced to the Old Guinea have made repeat visits which tells you everything - I highly recommend.

Lovely Italian food always great service and welcoming. It’s also dog friendly!

Very enjoyable evening, family loved the pizza not a lot to complain about.

This is probably the best pizza I’ve had anywhere. I had the Vesuvius version which was beautifully prepared and served. Overall the Old Guinea sets the standard overall for quality and consistency with friendly and efficient service. Highly recommended!

I had been to the Old Guinea a few times in the past & was perturbed to hear that it had changed ownership & had some poor recent reviews. However, I was pleasantly surprised by both the food & the service. The place was busy & it took a little while for someone to escort us to our table & a while before we were able to order even a drink. However, subsequent service was efficient and helpful. I thought the food was fine, while unpretentious. two members of our party found small bits of plastic in their main dish: when we raised this, the waitress immediately said a manager would come over. He did, the situation was resolved & the offending dishes were removed from the bill. The restaurant is also less noisy as they have sensibly added some sound panels.

Amazing staff very very helpful and food was out of this world thank u so much

Came in here for the first time for lunch this week. I will not be returning. Food was ok, nothing special. But the rudeness and arrogance of staff will stay with me for a long time. When the bill came I noticed there was a an optional 10% service charge. As we had to wait a while to order and for the bill itself, I felt it reasonable to opt against the service charge as is my right. When I asked the waitress, she said ‘are you leaving cash instead then?’ I said no I don’t want to pay it. She then said ‘I can speak to the manager if you don’t want to pay it’. I ended up paying it against my will. She made the situation completely uncomfortable and was rude and aggressive in her approach. To make matters worse, she then could be heard moaning about me to a colleague saying ‘he wouldn’t pay for service’ and they turned their backs, clearly being unkind. I will not return to the Old Guinea and will be sharing my experience with many others in the local area. Plenty of restaurants in the area who don’t treat paying guests with such contempt. AVOID

Excellent Italian pizza and pizza with amazing outside seating and great views. Good choice of beers and wines. A perfect summers evening, with good service.

Came in here for the first time for lunch this week. I will not be returning. Food was ok, nothing special. But the rudeness and arrogance of staff will stay with me for a long time. When the bill came I noticed there was a an optional 10% service charge. As we had to wait a while to order and for the bill itself, I felt it reasonable to opt against the service charge as is my right. When I asked the waitress, she said ‘are you leaving cash instead then?’ I said no I don’t want to pay it. She then said ‘I can speak to the manager if you don’t want to pay it’. I ended up paying it against my will. She made the situation completely uncomfortable and was rude and aggressive in her approach. To make matters worse, she then could be heard moaning about me to a colleague saying ‘he wouldn’t pay for service’ and they turned their backs, clearly being unkind. I will not return to the Old Guinea and will be sharing my experience with many others in the local area. Plenty of restaurants in the area who don’t treat paying guests with such contempt. AVOID

Came here for my birthday with half a dozen friends, the food was excellent, even the deserts, which are often bought in, Not the case here! Staff are lovely and attentive, when we got there they were fully occupied, so there was a little wait for drinks, but as soon as it thinned out a little, that disappeared and drinks were then instantaneous. The food was never affected by how busy it got. TLDR Great little Gem in the countryside, will be rebooking in summer as I anticipate it will an absolute jewel.

Beautiful place with a great view. The atmosphere and service are great, and the food is amazing.

Always excellent. Often, it gets very busy, but service has always been prompt and friendly.

Great little find. We had the carbonara, buratta salad and the kids menu. Cannot fault the food and service. Looking forward to visiting again soon.

An instant favourite and clearly a place I’d overlooked. It’s popular, so booking is a must. TheOld Guinea offers Italian food in a bright, scenic setting. We went before they’d opened the outside seating, but I can imagine it only gets better in the summer. The pizza was good and the desserts were generous. We’ll be back!

The meal could have been hotter. We were quite disappointed and probably won't go there for breakfast again. Normally there lunches and evening meals are excellent.

Overpriced and overcooked food. A pasta restaurant that cannot cook pasta. Overcooked chicken. Mushy pasta. Do not recommend. This is third or fourth time I have been to this restaurant food has always been poor. I will not go again . Did not serve the correct coffee.

Drinks on the expensive side for pub/Restaurant i thought

Loving evening, perfect impromptu date night. Both of us really enjoyed our food. We will return.

Nice looking pub. Front of house were not particularly welcoming. Supposed to have great pizzas but our experience was not good - the pizza base was almost fried and very crispy, not baked. Calamari starter was most likely from frozen. On the positive side, the Cornish bitter went down a treat. A pity overall because we won't be returning.

Food bland. Tasteless. All the dishes out of 4 meals were poor

Lovely old pub. Food was really lovely we had a selection off starters, mains and dessert was 7 off us. Definitely worth the price. Staff friendly but not very attentive had too keep asking for someone to come over too our table.

Would have been a ten out of ten but felt hurried to eat and head off.Still eating and our plates were being collected.Cant fault it otherwise , food and atmosphere speak for itself.

I give them 3 stars We felt a bit left out and wanted to eat and left after 2 beers. Well, entire families bring in more cash than 2 drivers who came here via maps and good responses It's all very unfortunate

Absolutely delicious food and fabulous atmosphere. The views are sensational and service excellent

Great food and helpful staff. And dog-friendly in the bar area

Went for Sunday lunch. pizza was excellent. Good value; lovely food;.family orientated.

I have been to The Old Guinea before and found the service good, the owner very friendly, the views excellent but the food average. On our most recent visit I found the same again. I had the Chicken Milanese and it was bland. Slightly overcooked, under seasoned and too thin. There were too many chips and they were too hot. Another in our group had the Goats Cheese Ravioli which was tasteless and another had the Goats Cheese Fondant starter which was really quite unpleasant. The service was friendly and mostly attentive and there was live music which was slightly loud but good quality and the restaurant was buzzing as always. Its a shame, because the restaurant has everything good about it but the quality of the food needs to improve.

We had lunch today, with my daughter and wife. Ty e setting is lovely and the food and service were great too. Definitely worth a visit

I used to like this restaurant but the last two visits have been awful. We went for breakfast this morning. Staff are young and inexperienced. Not a problem if they show willing but they really done. Menu says you can have 'eggs your way' so I asked for an omelette. The waitress said she would have to ask; promptly disappeared and never came back. Another one appeared and said she was sorry but omelettes are not on the menu. Bearing in mind that the place was empty, I was very surprised that the waitress said the chef 'couldn't cook and omelette ' but was happy to make scrambled eggs. I've eaten breakfast in restaurants all over the world including in the 'bush' and I've never been told the chef can't cook an omelette. Four of us ordered fairly basic breakfast. Two arrived after the waitress stopped for a chat with her colleague whilst carrying our food and the other two dishes took at least another 10 minutes to arrive. Lucky it wasn't busy!

We went for an early dinner with our 2 young child and having not been for years were very impressed. The staff were amazingly attentive and friendly and the food was outstanding. The specials were great and the new extension area was welcoming and comfortable while still allowing views out over the surrounding countryside. Having not gone for years I left wondering why I don't go all the time and fully intend for this to be a new regular for the family.

Great experience, my friend took me here for a breakfast and it did not disappoint Superb traditional English , Eggs Royale and ni d coffee, orange juice needs to be fresh though Good service , nice and comfortable in the conservatory

We had a lovely meal in the conservatory part of the restaurant. The staff were very friendly and attentive.

Best restaurant and professional staffing

First time visiting this venue, my wife has visited a number of times and was eager for me to experience it also. Well it was worth the visit, food was great, the atmosphere was good and our table overlooked the countryside. The service was also excellent with a tentative waitress who was not over imposing. Look forward to visiting in the summer on a hot day with the floor to ceiling doors open overlooking the open land. Thanks for the overall experience.

Very popular with families, the speciality pizzas are filling and tasty. If you can, book ahead and ask for a seat in the glass-sided conservatory, or (weather-permitting) in the rear garden. The views are splendid. We chose the ‘magnum’ pizza bases, which were very good, if a little on the pricey side. Service was fine and the atmosphere, lively.

One to come back too! I Came in over the weekend without a reservation. Thank you to our waitress Ruby who was lovely and helped with my fussy daughter. The salad nicoise was fabulous! Atmosphere was great and service was excellent! Will definitely be coming back, couldn’t find any faults during my visit. :)

Thank you so much to Patricia and Archie for being so helpful efficient and courteous. You went over and above to make our night enjoyable. The food was amazing as was the service and the atmosphere. Thank you so much guys so appreciated.

Very busy on a Sunday but service was prompt, food excellent quality and venue quality excellent. Personally, the calamari I had was the best I've tasted, being soft, hot and really fresh. Not the usual frozen rubber bands that can be served up! That main meal of Pulli Pesto was really tasty and piping hot. It's a lot of food so, you've been warned! 🥰

Ama,ing refurb well done and still good value

Small & cosy restaurant, lovely food. Sitting outside looking at those views in summer is wonderful... just wish their were more tables as the place becomes more and more popular.

What can I say .. the staff are probably the best I’ve seen in many years . Familiar but professional… friendly but respectful… they made our experience amazing . It just so happens that the food is first class too .. but to be honest even if the food was average .. I’d go back for the people! Well done guys x

Had a fabulous birthday meal here today (27/1). The staff were so welcoming, the restaurant & bar were nice and clean and the food was fantastic. Toni & her staff made us feel so special with a chorus of Happy Birthday. Will definitely be back soon.

Brillant service and the food is amazing

Really lovely cosy lunch with great views. We were with a friend who is gluten and dairy free, his pizza was delicious, would have been extra good if the restaurant had gluten free beer.

I recently went to a birthday dinner with 20 guests and have to congratulate the staff for delivering our courses all at the same time despite the restaurant being full. Excellent service, great food and lovely atmosphere.

Fantastic place to eat, great food, lovely looking restaurant

We go to The Old Guinea a lot! Never have a bad meal here, very friendly staff, incredibly quick service. Highly recommend the Capricciosa pizza!

Very beautiful place ⭐️ amazing view ⭐️ i had lamb ragu pasta was delicious 🤤 10/10 ⭐️ definitely i will be back again 🌟🌟

Nice little pub with a great atmosphere and decor. Considering the food menu focuses on Italian cuisine rather than traditional pub items I expected much better from their pizza/pasta. Have been twice and both times found the pizza was mediocre. Their pasta dishes were a little better but for some of the "meaty" options there was little meat to be found in their large portions which seemed to be mainly pasta and sauce.

An old pub now skilfully converted into a bar and Italian restaurant. Inside and outside dining and also a conservatory type building overlooking the nearby countryside. Food is very good - albeit on the expensive side if you're not having a pizza. Engaging staff, clean and atmospheric. A great place for lunch or dinner

A very quaint pub with excellent Italian food. I highly recommend the Picante pizza and will be re-visiting!

Great service and delicious food (and the plates are FULL!)

New owners and sadly the pizzas are no longer authentic italian as before. The base resembles over oiled fried bread with waffled texture. No pizza oven ? In many years of travelling in Italy have never had pesto added to the topping of a pizza. Such a shame the old authentic recipe has not continued with the new owners. Staff friendly and attentive and the restaurant was very busy but we won’t be returning.

Love going here, great food and relaxed atmosphere 👌

It's was good food and good service.

Brilliant. We were a party of 26 and they accommodated all our needs. Food was amazing, service fantastic. A beautiful pub. Highly recommended.

Went here with my work colleagues as this was the only place in the area, the views were very nice food was decent but a bit pricey!

I went with a friend for an evening out. Our order came within 5 minutes so obviously wasn’t cooked fresh. The portions were tiny - like a child’s meal. The mushroom tortellini was so salty and only 6 small pieces of pasta in an over creamy sauce . The pizza was served on a small plate and was so over cooked my friend couldn’t even bite into the crust. When asked how our meal was we told the truth and the manager said a half hearted insincere sorry but basically shrugged his shoulders. He could have redeemed the situation slightly if he had made some gesture of offering us a coffee or something but he had taken offence at our complaint and walked off and ignored us from then on. We would never return!

Ideal place for a date good food live music and friendly staff

What a disappointing evening. The conservatory was cold and had to sit there in my coat The food was also very poor. The starters looked like they had be purchased from Iceland. All 4 of us felt the food was disappointing. Avoid

Had to sit with our coats on,was freezing! manager never came over,and showed very little care or attn to us.Likewise they Wouldn’t change the order at all when we requested Would not go back

Excellent service and food. Will definitely visit again soon.

Had the full English. Was ok. Sausages really pink hoping they don't make me ill. Novice Service and decore was odd just lots of dead flowers and plants

Was quite disappointed with the food. We had a wrong starter but didn’t send it back carbonara was too much cream, too rich. There was 6 in our party, and unfortunately we were all disappointed with our meals. Service was ok, it’s supposed to be an Italian restaurant, don’t think chef was Italian. Won’t go back until they change the chef

Service poor, food description by waiter incorrect, burnt pizza, other pizza mistake with ingredients. Plus staff forgot us as we were seated in the bar dining area. Altogether a very underwhelming evening. It looks like there may be new owners or recent new owners.

Beautiful setting for beautiful food. The Old Guinea served amazing food and followed it up with amazing service, we’ll be back again for sure.

Great open countryside view. Has massive patio. Nice atmosphere. Simple but nice menu.

Had a lovely experience on wednesday night . We tried the new additions to the menu . Food presentation and flavour was really good . Portions great and the female staff who served us very friendly . Were let long enough but not too long between courses and the waitresses attentive and polite . drinks were reasonably priced and mixed well . Again the cocktails nicely presented. A return visit after a long gap but it felt less country pub and more london bistro . Restaurant relatively full for mid week and views as we arrived before dark sensational .

6 of us called for lunch. Nice premises, though parking seems to be an issue, not wanting to park outside someone's house it was a 500m walk for a clear stretch of road. The food and service was pretty reasonable, it was the portion size that was questionable. I had a spicy beef calzone pizza, which was nice tasting, but due to the lack of filling (mostly a large blob of cheese) not much beef, I was left hungry. My wife's friend was also left wanting more, 5 ravioli, does not make a hearty meal. Our kids had pizza, which was ample for them. My wife had penne pasta and had too much, so a little bit of juggling with portion size would make this a top venue.

Really great food in a beautiful location. Service was excellent, friendly, efficient and polite. You can eat outside too, weather permitting, with beautiful unspoilt country views. Inside eating is very comfortable too. Highly recommend for lunch, can’t wait to return maybe in the evening.

Beautiful food to match the views. We love it here

The location was amazing. Very relaxing scenery. All dishes were delicious 😄

Beautiful in the summer with the wonderful views, however the new extension is not so great in the cold weather. Very noisy due to low ceilings and freezing cold in the glass extension. Food was average but pizza very disappointing.

Fabulous food, excellent service and the most beautiful restaurant at night dining in their garden room, stunning! Highly recommend a visit here!

Wonderful place and great food.

Perfectly fine meal, good value for money.

Ordered the seafood linguine and it was mushy, uncooked and inedible. Spoke to the unhelpful manager and she said ‘it’s not our fault it comes out of a bag of frozen seafood mix’ and refused to take the £16 off the bill. On previous occasions food has been good but will not return

Great location and food! Local gem! They are very accomodating despite being very busy. The place is always packed! It is always a pleasure to drive there after work, for lunch or even just a drink, and enjoy the view. Highly recommend their thin crust pizza!!! <3 I tried different meals but personally would stick to a pizza as many other meals are not so good! Visited on many occasions as I really like the vibe!

Great location with fantastic view from indoor and outdoor. Definitely recommend it and we’ll come back soon.

Had a lovely meal with friends. This was our first time. We sat in the front area and you are allowed to take your dog in as well. Had the best pizza and the magnum base is fantastic. Service was very good and the food quality great. We enjoyed three fantastic courses all good. Will come again.

The food was good. If I'm picky, the only thing that let it down was the pizza a bit over done with black around the edges but still tasted good! Would recommend as the food is good, staff are friendly and it's in a nice location.

The service and quality of food has really gone down hill since the place became bigger. Simply seems that the kitchen is unable to cope with the quantity of patrons. We booked a table for 4 on Sunday 1st Oct 2023, given that it is a particularly busy day to visit a restaurant, however, should this really impact the food and service? Clearly it did. Our starters didn’t arrive in a timely manner, in fact they gave them to us for free because quite simply they took so long. The service, given the seemingly huge number of staff, was poor at best, observing staff standing around chatting for more time than they were serving. This place used (in my opinion) make the best pizzas around the area, but alas when our pizza’s arrived they were burnt, not just a little, the spinach on mine was unrecognisable, the dough was tough and chewy. Really disappointed with the old Guinea, used to be such a nice place to have a meal, now it’s simply far busier than the staff and kitchen can cope with. It’s a shame, used to be such a nice place. Now they have converted the rear with an acoustic nightmare also, when the roof is closed, the noise is incredible. Just my opinion, but we won’t be visiting again any time soon, and if we happen to go there as an invite, then pizza will definitely be off the menu for us, and I suspect more free starters? I guess there is always a positive.

Visited OG for the first time based on a recommendation from a friend. You’ve never stumble accross it by accident. Unless you’ve been told to go or seen a review, you’d never venture this far. But OMG was it worth it. The pizza was incredible. As a vegetarian they switched toppings on any pizza to make us something that was out of this world. Better than the food was the service. Mark (the manager) was outstanding. He really set the bar so high for the rest of his team. I’m sure you won’t regret paying them a visit. Thank you Old Guinea

An inpromtu late lunch/dinner. Restaurant was deserted which always makes for a slightly uncomfortable feel. The view is ok. Menu is fairly priced. Our food came out at lightening speed. Food was good. No stand out moments. Sometimes I think service charge bumps up the bill a little bit too much especially when we are not a part of the tap water crew. I’d like to think staff are paid a fair wage and we don’t have to top them up?

Fab place, everything was good and relaxed...pizzas v nice. Want to come back daytime as the views are meant to be great. Lovely atmosphere for a group catch up

The food is great here and has a menu full of different choices it’s a great Italian. Always busy here so book before you go!

Superb food, amazing location, amazing service, great portion sizes simply amazing. Our new go to pub.

Lovely view. The service was good. Excellent pizza.

Really great spot for pizza. I was a bit dubious when I was invited for pizza on a Sunday at a pub, as I was expecting my usual Sunday roast. However, the food here more than made up for it. The pizzas here are very good, especially if you go for the magnum base. The toppings are very fresh and the dough is clearly well made. We had a number of starters, which were all very good too. The views out from the restaurant are beautiful, especially on a clear day. Would highly recommend. Only the fussy will be disappointed.

Great menu/Great Staff/Great Views

Decided to go for a meal at The Old Guinea, last night, as our daughter was off to University the next day. Haven’t been there before but will definitely go back. Fantastic location, restaurant is great. Ambience and atmosphere was lovely. Food was excellent, portions huge, took some home! Cocktails superb. Service was excellent, staff were so helpful and attentive for our allergies. Well worth a visit, reasonably priced, great food and service.

Went here last night as I’ve heard such good things. Very very disappointed. I got a chicken Caesar salad and it was okay, tasted fine chicken was a bit discoloured. As soon as I got home I felt violently ill, this morning I had to come home from work because I was throwing up all night and all morning. I don’t know if the chicken was uncooked or if it was the Caesar dressing but something was not right with that salad. (I hadn’t eaten much else that day apart from some rice) very very annoyed and disappointed

Go for the view, the friendly staff, but not sadly, great food.

6 of us visited on a Thursday night, which turned out to be a very busy night for the restaurant. They coped very well everything. The restaurant does have a car park and parking on the road is possible. I was the 1st of 6 to arrive, and upon arrival, and before the busy period started, I was greeted by a very pleasant man who allowed me to choose the table and suggested a particular one which had a great view but would also be great for conversation - he was right. Outdoor seating is available. However, we chose to sit inside due to cooler evenings. Staff were friendly and patient when it came it ordering. The food and drinks came in a timely manner. However, I was expecting the food to be more flavoursome. For me, the dessert and the herbal tea at the end of the meal was more enjoyable than my king prawn stater or the mushroom ravioli main dish. I thought the staff, location, atmosphere, and the view from the restaurant was spot on while the quality of the dishes needs improving. At the end of the evening, the staff did not rush us even though we were the last to leave.

The only nice thing about this pub is the view. We ordered a meat and cheese platter and it came very bland meat was chewy and no sauce or oil for the dough balls. The waitress forgot to put our mains through so we had to wait even longer. Food came and it was under cooked and tasteless and also quite expensive considering we didn’t order any alcohol. Quite disappointing really was looking forward to a nice Sunday meal but won’t be returning