The Orange Tree in North Hertfordshire

Went for lunch on a Saturday with my grandma. She ordered the light fish and chips, and I had the Mac Salad with chicken breast. When the dishes arrived, I couldn’t help the food envy wash over me, as I eyed up my grandmas wonderful plate of crispy fish with a healthy portion of fries, in comparison to what could be described as the driest unseasoned chicken breast, hiding a portion of salad which wouldn’t even satisfy a bunny. I’m not one to complain, but being served this microscopic plate for near £13 raised my eyebrows to the rafters. I went up to the bar to explain the rabbit food situation, which the bartender AGREED, it was a small portion. He was kind enough to supply me with further roughage at no extra charge, but I feel if even they know they are serving such small sizes, something should be done? No fault for the rest of the pub, the staff were lovely and the atmosphere is cosy.

Reasonable selection of good pub food at reasonable prices, with some nice, different dishes like the mango chicken thighs. Always good, friendly service too. Just wish they would bring back the sweet potato fries!!!

In a day and age when gastro pubs are the norm, it was a great change to get a meal that filled the plate as well as your stomache. What a very friendly pub would highly recommend

Very nice lunch with friends in lovely surroundings. Very welcoming. Food and service excellent.

Good, speedy service by a friendly team.

Only fairly average I'm afraid. I hadn't been to the Orange Tree for about 12 years, but in that time the whole place including the food has become a little bit tired. There are far better options for pubs around Hitchin these days.

Really nice food and good atmosphere

Roast dinner was a let down...potatoes hard

Big lunch but poor food wouldn’t eat here again. Sunday lunch hardly no gravy half a teaspoon of apple sauce given in a cardboard pot. Hard roast potato’s, stewed veg. Microwaved. Sausage n mash sausages pale no gravy hardly, microwave mash …. rubbish wouldn’t eat here again.

Brilliant place, we are from a few miles away in Luton 😭 we stumbled on this place by chance and the food is amazing, price is reasonable, very clean, staff friendly, chef is brilliant

Dreadful food! Party of 4 for a birthday meal. Worst meal I’ve ever had to pay for. I had the hunters chicken. Chicken was dry, the cheese possibly bbq sauce was burnt, no bacon. Dry jacket potatoes & a portion of coleslaw. Went to complain but couldn’t find anyone. Another member had the steak & ale pie. Chips were ok, veg was microwaved to an inch of its life, carrots & broccoli were inedible, pie was ok. The other two had steaks which were ok but not great. A waitress practically threw a bottle of ketchup on the table & then left so quickly I didn’t get chance to ask for butter for my potato & barely spoke to us left the plates on the table & didn’t ask who ordered what & just left. Obviously won’t be returning as the food wasn’t of any standard I eat again.

A very pleasant traditional pub grub establishment with a comfortable atmosphere, good menu of well cooked and well presented hearty meals with friendly efficient staff. The desert menu is very comprehensive! We will be back.

Staff very professional and good service

Personally I would not go there Because I like dark pud .

Hi just a thank you to Kris and team for a great night family dinner for 32 had to pre order but worked really well some orders also on night, everyone was fed food was hot , reasonable and the staff were all very helpful, entertainment was also great we had a really good night thank you for being so accommodating.

Spur of the moment meal out, catch up with a friend. The menu is different from when we last came. It has a vast variety, I'm a fussy eater but went for the Ultimate Macs burger... oh my God, it didn't disappoint. It was huge! Really tasty and delicious, friend had the scampi. Topped off with Biscoff cheesecake. Highly recommend. Great atmosphere, was lovely and warm. Well worth the visit and will be back again soon..

Its a great place to meet our son as it is easy to park as well as eat

I recently visited The Orange Tree for a Sunday lunch while single parenting for the weekend, and it turned out to be a pleasant experience. Despite the restaurant being quite busy, the service remained swift and friendly, which is always a plus when dining with little ones. The roast dinners were generous in portion size, with standout Yorkshire puddings that were both large and delicious. The only minor drawback was that a few of the roast potatoes were undercooked, but this small issue didn’t detract too much from the overall meal. All in all, The Orange Tree provided a satisfying Sunday lunch experience with great service, and I'd happily return for another meal.

Enjoyed the most delicious lunch, a sharing platter, here today, thank you. Our food was piping hot, the staff so welcoming and our lovely waitress/bar lady, Misty, was so helpful and welcoming. As there was so much food, they kindly provided a ‘take-away’ container to enjoy later! Helpful, professional and great service, we’ll be back soon🙏

Super friendly and accommodating. All 9 of us happy with our food!

Popped in here for a unscheduled stop for lunch and was welcomed warmly.The menu is varied and reasonable prices and starters came out hot and well cooked and presented.The mains were good portion size and again presentation was good and was very enjoyable.I couldn't finish mine but they portioned it up for me to take home.This was a first time for my companion who couldn't praise the food enough we will be coming back!Thank you so much 😀

Lovely staff, lovely atmosphere and beautiful beer garden. The food and drink was great quality and fairly prices. 👌🏻

A very nice pub with a cosy and complex interior. Nice garden too.

Lovely atmosphere, great indoor and outside seating. The staff are all very friendly and the food is excellent. We had fried chicken burgers and halloumi fries. Great dessert menu which is a must to look at. Cater for allergies well.

A few weeks ago we met up with my daughter and her partner, first time at the Orange Tree and we were not disappointed 😁 it is by far the best place for food and service, we have ever visited. Jordan, our server, couldn't have been kinder and more helpful. I have certain food intolerances but they catered for my needs, no issues, as well as for my husband. We both highly recommend it and thanks again Jordan ☺️

We decided to celebrate our friend’s birthday at this restaurant, drawn by its 4.4 rating and numerous positive reviews. Excited for a wonderful evening, we booked a table in advance. Our reservation was at 8:15 PM, and we arrived and settled at our allocated table by 8:25 PM. To our dismay, a staff member promptly informed us that we needed to place our orders within five minutes as the kitchen would be closing. This was shocking and frustrating, especially since the restaurant was listed as open until 11 PM. We received no prior warning or communication about this early closure, which we found to be incredibly unprofessional and disappointing. The rushed atmosphere significantly dampened our celebratory mood. The staff hurried us so much that we barely had time to glance at the menu and ended up ordering the first items we saw. When the food arrived, it was another letdown. Despite the positive reviews, the main courses were subpar and lacked the quality we had anticipated. Only the starters were somewhat enjoyable. *It seemed evident that the rushed service impacted the preparation and overall quality of the dishes* In summary, our experience at Orange Tree was far from satisfactory. The staff’s behavior and the poor quality of the main courses completely ruined what was supposed to be a joyful celebration. Given this, I would rate this highly-rated restaurant 0/5 if I could. However, since that’s not possible, I’m reluctantly giving it 1 star.

Bloody Amazing. My wife and I were just looking for half an hour out to relax and have a quiet drink. Maybe share a side dish. Popped in here and stayed for longer due to the exceptional service. The food we ordered was delivered quickly, hot and portion size was Stella. I cannot stress enough the amazing service. The greeting when we first walked in, the warm , kind and smiley service at the bar. The polite and genuine service when food was brought over. Just exactly how it should be and used to be. Made me so happy, I suffer badly with my mental health and struggle to be out and certainly find somewhere I am happy and calm. This review needs to be acknowledged by the Area manager and please recognise the brilliant team on shift. We were there between approx 15:00 and 16:00. Due to the great welcoming environment and food, we hung around to chat and even had a mini dessert and coffee. Blown away. Thank you. We shared the nibbly bits platter, a St.Clements and then two mini desserts. The pub was clean and well maintained. 5 stars plus.

Bloody Amazing. My wife and I were just looking for half an hour out to relax and have a quiet drink. Maybe share a side dish. Popped in here and stayed for longer due to the exceptional service. The food we ordered was delivered quickly, hot and portion size was Stella. I cannot stress enough the amazing service. The greeting when we first walked in, the warm , kind and smiley service at the bar. The polite and genuine service when food was brought over. Just exactly how it should be and used to be. Made me so happy, I suffer badly with my mental health and struggle to be out and certainly find somewhere I am happy and calm. This review needs to be acknowledged by the Area manager and please recognise the brilliant team on shift. We were there between approx 15:00 and 16:00. Due to the great welcoming environment and food, we hung around to chat and even had a mini dessert and coffee. Blown away. Thank you. We shared the nibbly bits platter, a St.Clements and then two mini desserts. The pub was clean and well maintained. 5 stars plus.

Everyone was very pleasant helped my sister who's disabled to the table and the food was really nice....

Good food at good prices in a relaxed atmosphere. Staff friendly and accomodating.

9th June. Just eaten at the Orange Tree pub for the first time. Booked a table for 12pm. I would highly recommend coming here. Staff, customer service was amazing, good atmosphere, excellent food. Toilets lovely and clean. It is a well oiled machine run pub.

We were just here for a birthday dinner. The staff were amazing and patient with us and went above and beyond to help us celebrate (with a chocolate wafer in the place of a candle, because I forgot candles!). Food was lovely; they had a wide selection of options and they were able to cater to our dietary requests and offered great vegan options. We had a lovely time and the staff made the experience incredible. We will 100% be back in the future. Thank you so much for the great service and lovely vibes ❤️

First time we've been here, to meet up with family. Lovely quiet place, with good atmosphere and great service. Very clean and good parking facilities.

Absolutely appalled by one of the staff members who was helping out on this particular day, absolute ZERO customer service skills, arrogant and just rude!! ordered a side of bloomer sliced bread which he brought out to us... dry as a bone, when i questioned why the bread was so dry and seemed stale, he just replied... the kitchen is hot and that is how the bread is.. no apology at all... just extremely rude and arrogant with bad attitude.... wont be eating there again. Then when ordering our coffees a little later.... he was very rude again... as i asked if possible to make the coffee hotter.... absolute arrogance... i complained and a lovely young lady took over and made us lovely hot coffees, it was just an awful experience the whole afternoon and we had spent a lot of money.

Fantastic food and a lovely pub

We had a lovely meal to celebrate our friend’s birthday. The service was good , but then something strange happened. One of the staff came over around 9.30pm and said they would be closing soon and calling last orders at 10pm. Admittedly the pub was quiet for a Saturday night but it put a dampener on the whole evening. We stayed to around 10.30pm when a staff member came over and said ‘we’re closing !’ Obviously wanted to get home .

This was our first visit and it was nice. It wasn't too busy on arrival so drinks and service was quick. The food was nice and the menu good, plenty to choose from. It did get busier as the evening went on but tables didn't feel on top of one another. Wheelchair friendly and parking out the front and an overspill car park so plenty of spaces. Would visit again

Very good vibes great service friendly happy and child friendly Food selection was great all arrived together without any delays and the price was good too

Nice pub, great staff, good food reasonably priced. Nice outside seating area.

Loved the food, and service was a great. Will be back

Food was to a good standard. Lots to choose from and very reasonably priced. We visited on a Sunday lunch and unfortunately they had run out of gammon by the time we arrived.

1st time at a mcmullen's, but was as good as any of the other chain pubs, Orange tree was good, probably better than most.

Visited for a retirement lunch, and was impressed by the service we all received. Approx 30 covers all came out promptly and the staff couldn't do enough for us.

Probably the best food me and my family have had in years!, the only issue was with one waiter, wouldn’t look at you when taking your order and had go over to him twice to get served just like he didn’t wanna be there

Very lovely place, friendly staff, lovely food, would definitely recommend!

Great Tina Turner tribute event. Special reserved seats for us as my wife is disabled and wanted to see the performance.

Great food and great service at lunch time and value for money

Booked a table for a nice evening meal with the expectation of great food as experienced from previous visits. However, myself and my partner decided to go for the specials menu this time and opted for the Fish pie £15.95. Sounds great on the menu but when it arrived and we started to dig in I would say that a Young's fish pie from Icelands has more fish and flavour to it than what we were served and would of paid a fraction of the price. And the veg that came with the pie obviously came out of a steam microwave bag with no character to it and it was just flat. Apart from the let down with post COVID portions I would say that the atmosphere staff and service was great but unfortunately the food standard has declined.

Great food fast service polite staff

Went to a wake but room not set aside ready. Food was mostly spicy and not suitable for all. I could only have a few little sandwiches and a small sausage roll. My brother and family were the same. I would have to say we would not go there again. They let other people just come over and take the food, they were not at the crematorium. Not well organised

Lovely and friendly pub 😀 go back and i would recommend to anyone 😀

Great venue to meet friends and family. Good food and choices. Reasonable prices. Quieter or lovely area’s with good divisions so you can have a private group area. Especially well cared for by BEX so I returned again for another meal two days later! I will be back.

Met a friend here and had a relaxing dinner - difficult to rate atmosphere as it was 80% empty but there was no intrusive music so we were able to talk easily. Food is just a bit too carby for me but what I had was nicely cooked and filling. Service was excellent - manager and team members were all really friendly and welcoming. Shame I don't live nearer as it's better than my local Mac's pub!

This place has really gone downhill food wise. I love the atmosphere and decor, but the food was dire. We went for Sunday Lunch for my husbands birthday. I had the roast gammon which was cold, the veg luke warm with a tiny splash of gravy. Is gravy rationed? I can imagine the food was in a row in the kitchen and just slapped onto the plate one by one! No attempt at presentation. Staff were attentive despite the place being full. To top it all when my husbands cake was brought out it was placed in front of me……….They really need a good chef to shape up that kitchen. Such a shame.

Nice choices on menu, nice sized portions, great service

Nice pub I only have a coffee I was driving

Lovely food good price. Great service.

Very disappointed with the food. I asked for Mac Salad which was supposed to have chopped tomatoes, cabbage, spring onions, spinach etc and when the food came, the only thing on my plate were lots of spinach leaves. I complained about this, pointing to the other ingredients on the menu only to be told "That's how it comes" My friend ordered soup of the day and it came in a very small dish (probably half the ladle full). I left my salad, as it wasn't what I had ordered and anticipated, but in the end they charged me for it. They told me to complain 'higher up'.

Really disappointed. Have always recommended Orange Tree but some of our meals were really dry mainly the fish and burgers, we had pre-ordered as requested others were ok. Don’t know why but definitely gone downhill to previous meals.

Had a very nice Sunday roast with my husband for his birthday. Will definately be returning

Went for Sunday roast. Its was very busy and thats a good sign for a start! 1st time eaten in here. Food was very nice , quick and attentive service. Would definately recomend. Would go back there for sure. It's also very good that the the General Manager takes time to read his feedback. Shows he cares.

Orange Tree was recommended by a friend. Pub grub, but was tasty and presented well. Friendly staff.

Such a nice meal! The food was exceptional and so was the service from Michaela. Thank you. My friend and I will be back.x

Popcorn chicken and sticky toffee pudding were great. The roast beef was chewy and had been heated up on a griddle. Roast potatoes weren't crispy, and broccoli was overcooked and yellow.

Food very good, staff very polite but dressed very scuffilly, they should really wear a uniform so they look smart. A very young waiter was getting cutlery and obviously a dirty spoon so decided to wipe it with his thumb and proceeded to take it to a table (lovely, so hygienic). Cutlery should be wrapped with the napkin so there hands don't touch them. Don't think I'm being over fussy. Friday 26th January 2924 at 12.30 ish.

I absolutely love this place. It feels cosy and homely. The food and service is great. I can see the team’s passion and love for this pub and its customers every time I come here. Is one of my favourite place to go when I want to meet up with friends. And plenty of spaces for parking.

I'm afraid to say this is the first time I've ever had to write a negative review for the orange tree. We were here for my husband's birthday, unfortunately my food was cold, stuffing was under cooked, potatoes were undercooked. It was very much a production line roast dinner, shame as we had been there the two weeks prior and the roast was delicious hence why we came back with further family. Granted the place was busy, but we left very disappointed with what was received. I hope this is not a new trend as we love the orange tree and never have really had a bad meal here

Really comfy pub, very relaxed cozy atmosphere. Nice to not have a TV on with sport on! Loved my food, delicious salad with my baked potato. And dog friendly too. I love it. Will come again definitely 🥰

Great pub very friendly staff and dog are welcome in the bar area

The food was ok at best - they ran out of roasts except turkey and gammon and it was only 2pm, so a bit rubbish. Some of the food felt cold and the potatoes were undercooked. Service was good, drinks were lush. Just work at the food and it’s a 5.

Excellent as always highly recommended 👌

I recently was visiting my friend at Stevenage.. And we found this gem by accident.. What a cosy little place.. Amazing food. Such great and friendly staff.. I have no doubts we will be going back.. Some of the dishes were so good we ordered the same again

Good yummy food. Nice atmosphere and pleasant staff. Been there a few times now. Always good.

When and had Christmas dinner. The table was laid out lovely. The staff are always friendly and very polite enjoyed my meal and evening and would recommend Christmas dinner here

Went for Christmas dinner pub was packed service was excellent food was lovely great atmosphere will definitely be going back!

Very good atmosphere, excellent service as there were some big parties there, friendly staff and good food.

Lovely place . Had family get-together there for our nan passing . And was a buffet put on which was perfect excellent food . Definitely the place to go

Staff had a mare with the service which, in fairness, they put right unprompted. If they hadn’t, this review would’ve had fewer stars. Food was nice enough - nachos were tasty (not soggy!) and lasagne ok

Good job I booked! Dog friendly, gluten free very well catered for,we were served with good food all round. Mozzarella bites are a must and an excellent choice of puddings! Thank you.

Cosy, warm place to have a good pub dinner. We will have our Christmas party here, so looking forward to it.

Good pub restaurant with nice food. This was a Friday evening visit and the pub was busy. We hadnt booked but they managed to accommodate. I chose the 8oz Rump Steak with Jacket Potatoe and peas £13.75. I chose a Diane Sauce also £1.75 . The presentation was good , cooked just right and tasted delicious. I chose a large glass of the Spearwoid Shiraz £6.75 which complimented the meal well. The service was ok except had to ask for the bill twice.

Decor not really to my taste. Pretty much the same as when I visited in 1980's. But service was excellent and the food was at the higher end of quality for this sector. All in all great value for money and we will be returning.

I have given low for food.. fish and chips..so dissapointed..grey fish and not much fish..just batter...made to look big by using a long piece but thin. Cod should be white. Service was OK.. on previous visits it has been much better. I wonder if understaffed on this occasion as a funeral wake was also in progress.

I was pleasantly surprised,I'm not a fan of pub/restaurant chains. But the food and service was very good. My wife felt quite cold though. Sad to see how empty these places are on a Saturday night these days. The Staff (Although not exactly pushed) were excellent

Went here for lunch, food was really tasty and the service was very good. Staff were very friendly and polite, has really improved since I last went here. Will definitely go back.

Great secret meeting place.. but not enough Mogu Mogu. Staff recognise a good board game when they see one - top marks.

Outstanding. Have driven past this pub many times over last 20 years. Today we actually went in. Lovely pub food was amazing and the 2 girls that were working so professional and friendly. Their customer service was second to none. Would definitely recommend and will certainly be back.

Friendly and helpful staff, lovely and cosy inside and brilliant food. Loved the meals and drinks, thank you ! :)

Really nice setting. Staff very pleasant. We had the grill, was gorgeous. Our waiter was really patient with us changing the order of what we wanted and not wanted on our plates. Think his name is Bailie. Well done and thank you

Great Sunday lunch for the price - well cooked, lots of variety of veg, large portions and vegan/vegetarian option + all the meat choices. Will be back

Well managed pub-restaurant. There was a large post-funeral group when we arrived; nevertheless there were enough staff to deal with us promptly and we had a table in a quiet part; the premises are quite large and pleasant. Table staff were sensible and knew their jobs (well done Bailey) and clearing, getting more drinks etc etc were all accomplished professionally. The food was of a high standard. If I have one reservation, the menu is a little quirky. Burgers and steaks, fine, but not much else for me in the carnivorous line. I had fish and chips which was fine. I had pea soup too, the first time I have found a "proper" soup on a pub menu for a long time. Under £100 for four, two courses, drinks and coffee.

We came to see Danny who was the Michael Jackson tribute, it was a great night. Well done to the orange tree for putting this on!. Didn’t eat last night at the orange tree.

I come here once a month for Monday quiz night. Can't comment on the food, but service is good and staff friendly. As a female it can be sometimes daunting coming into new local pubs, but the staff will make you feel at home and it has a nice relaxed atmosphere. Keep it up guys :)

Went there on a Sunday. Good food served in good time and hot. Excellent service and friendly. Recommended.

Nice place to go on one's own or as a group (as we did). Not a huge choice for plant-based food, but what I had was nice. Good, comfortable atmosphere. Would have been 5 star but for a pub with such a huge area, including garden and car park, no bike rack/safe area? Might seem a minor point but it's an important oversight. The rest, very good.

Lovely pub will go for lunch soon

Service with a smile, excellent customer service and food couldn't fault and pricing 👍

Never seem able to get my drink right

Really splendid little pub with great food, beautiful wood paneling and a decent selection of beers. The beer garden and live music is wonderful, If you're into that sort of thing, but there's also quiet corners as well.

I don't think I've ever been served 5 drinks quicker. The burgers are huge, but there is always room for one their premium quality starters. I would certainly visit again!