The Prae Wood Arms in St Albans

We go to the Prae Wood Arms on a regular basis for sunday lunch and we have never been disappointed. Food is always delicious the staff and service are excellent. We really could not fault the whole Experiance. We are going again with our son and daughter in law on Boxing Day for lunch this will be our 4th year returning, I think speaks for itself.

1st time I was here. Just had coffee and soft drink. Atmosphere was good and deco is nice. Staff was friendly.

We had booked the Prae to celebrate my mums birthday. On entering the whole place was overpoweringly hot and so loud. We were shown to our table and the noise and heat just got worse. Our server came over and we asked if he could do separate bills for the four couples (some were ordering drinks and steaks, and others weren’t) He said “no I’m not doing that, you’ll have to work out the bill between yourselves. - not a good start. Mains arrived and all was OK. We ordered desserts, the sticky toffee puddings were really dry and claggy and my crème brûlée had curdled, and was inedible. I pointed this out to him and he said “OK I’ll let the kitchen know”. No apology and no offer to change it/ or order something else, but happy to keep the £8.75 on the bill. Also should have been a white chocolate and raspberry brute, but not a raspberry in sight. They obviously don’t care about decent customer service, but hey ho we won’t be returning.

Amazing place and the food is superb

Lovely building, friendly staff, nice atmosphere. The bathrooms are amazing!! However... We had booked our table a few days in advance. At the bar we were told our table needed to be vacated by a certain time as it was booked to the people dining after us so being late leaving the table wasn't our fault. It wasn't pleasant clock watching while we were eating then deciding if we had time for desert or not. The starters were very good. The main meal portions were small for the price. The chips were skinny, hard and very few. The salad could have fitted on a desert spoon. The green cabbage was too tough to eat. We were feeling like fish and chips but it wasnt on the menu so chose other meals then we walked back to the car park and saw in the next part of the dining rooms, people were eating fish and chips, so disappointing.

Excellent atmosphere, very friendly staff. Very good food with ample parking.

We visited here as a treat for my birthday. We had starters of goats cheese panna cotta, chicken liver pate and soup for starters; for mains fish and chips, venison loin, sausage and mash and chicken Milanese and ice cream for dessert. The staff (Jo) were lovely- and even moved us to a quiet area so my deaf father could actually hear us- in fact all the staff were really efficient but friendly too! The food was good, the view was good and the atmosphere was relaxed- we will visit again.

Really good food and drinks, pricey but the atmosfere is second to none.

Such a lovely venue with small intimate dining areas. We were met with a smile and taken to our table. Food delicious. Jess H looked after us throughout the evening and was totally professional and informative. We were even given small wine samples when we couldn't decide which one to order. Little things all add up to a lovely experience and you can be sure we will be back...

Amazing service - one of our group has a gluten allergy. Our server, was knowledgable and the manner and technical language she delivered the information gave us full confidence they understood the importance of distinction between intolerance and allergy. Beautiful venue, clean and comfortable. Different spaces to suit different needs such as cosy, spacious, private. Food options were great, delicious, healthy and satisfying especially from a vegetarian! Lovely place will definitely be back and would highly recommend to all

Nice pub in a lovely location, nice size outdoor space if the weather is OK! Food was really well cooked (I had cod/chips) although slightly on the expensive side, you're paying for decent quality. Plenty of parking and a good venue for a slightly more upmarket pub experience. Only down side was service was very slow (15 minute wait just to get the bill) , I don't think it is staff fault they probably just need a few more staff at peak times. Overall would recommend provided you are not in a rush.

Simple straightforward food, perfectly cooked, service was spot-on, reasonable price, happy to recommend.

Really enjoyed our evening here. Sat in garden with saffron and peppercorn gin and hada fillet steak and watercress sandwich, so large we shared it, then had a really good cheese board.

Lovely setting nice food I thought a little bit on the expensive side but not extortionate. The service was a little bit hit and miss as it got busier, we had to wait quite a while for drinks ( and to be asked if we need more as we sat with empty glasses ! ) . But overall okay and will return.

I highly recommend it! The place is wonderful! I only eat chicken, I can't eat any other meat, I was at Sunday roast and there was no chicken. They have a grill in the garden. They made me a chicken roast even when it wasn't on the menu!!! The food was great and the service was so friendly that it exceeded my greatest expectations!!!! I highly recommend it!!!

I came here last Saturday and the place was lovely ! The staff were also so welcoming and the food was absolutely amazing, would definitely recommend.

Had a great experience this Friday at the Prae. The food at the barbecue was excellent and the live music was really good. Staff were all very attentive and helpful. Definitely recommend and will 100% be back again.

We attended the live music on the lawn this Friday and it was so lovely! We sat down on the picnic benches with burgers and beers and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves- definitely recommend!

Lovely place. Great food and service.

Good food, value and venue however front house customer service needs to improve

We had a really lovely evening at the Pre Wood Arms, especially how well they cater for GF needs. Fantastic meal and service. Look forward to going again soon

Amazing range of food including allergy specific options and tailored options, nothing was too much trouble to change or adapt, fabulous ambiance and garden for children to play in, and service was second to none!

Had my dad’s 80th birthday meal there. Great venue, great food and attentive staff. Excellent place.

this was for an 80 th birthday so very pleased with the room and service. the food was hot so good with a lovely waitress.

Had a lovely time thank you, the atmosphere was nice and relaxed, the food was superb, the roast beef melted in the mouth & so nice that the Yorkshire pudding wasn’t dry and overcooked like in many other establishments, the vegetables were perfectly cooked too. Our waitress was lovely, very polite & friendly.

Waited over an hour for our food. We had to go chase it up and was told it’s on its way. Ten minutes later we was advised they forgot about our order and didn’t put it through in the kitchen and ended up refunding us. Service is shocking if you sit in the garden area. Lovely pub but sadly we won’t be returning!

Lovely evening sitting on the terrace having dinner with friends. The service was excellent - quick, friendly, patient and efficient . I docked one star from The food simply because I didn’t really enjoy my main course - others on the table did enjoy the same dish so it was probably just me! I’d definitely go again. The building is amazing. Really beautifully decorated

Perfect place to eat if you have young children whi need to run off steam between courses.

Lovely pub, good food, friendly service and the sun was shining!

Great food good service, bar service very efficient. Food good quality and well presented. Lovely grounds really nice place highly recommend and will go again.

Really nice spot secluded but pretty busy! Lovely grounds and plenty of space to avoid hemmed in feeling of popular places. Lovely combo of “proper” country pub with very decent dining. Bar staff ver y efficient and focused but professional and polite. Restaurant staff much more friendly/ personal ( probably comes with the busy-ness of the place and the roles.) Great range of beers excellent food selection and we had great service on a fairly busy Sunday night. Cod and chips a major hit! Lamb very good, roast beef /Sunday roast was ok. Had a great time and looked after very well. Decent portions and value but particularly -very tasty! Highly recommend and will go again.

Been here numerous times over the years, has always been stellar food and service. Unfortunately this cannot be said about their outdoor BBQ dining experience. The food is as expensive as the indoor menu but a different realm in terms of quality. Fries were cold and stuck together, portions small, and burgers were like something you'd get at a family cookout where the grillmaster has gone to grab a drink and forgets their in charge of the barbe, dry and overcooked. Witness chef take back a plate from a customer, whose fries had already been grabbed by the customer, thrown back into the deep fryer then served to someone else. Hoping this was a one off, but won't be risking going back to the BBQ tent again, £125 for four adults and one child.

The pub and the grounds are amazing, a great place to be in sun. The food was poor, very poor considering the price of a Sunday roast is more than other local restaurants. All of the food was either over cooked or left under a hot lamp and gone hard. I wouldn't recommend going here to eat, but would be good for a drink in the garden.

I only looked it up on the website. I did go here years ago -18 - & stayed but I think it was under old management! Im going in a few weeks time - to eat -& cant wait.

A beautiful pub with amazing food, well worth the trip from Milton Keynes! We will definitely visit again.

Good and varied menu. Sadly, Some of our party's food was luke warm/cold when it arrived, given the nuclear heat of the chips I suspect the food was waiting for them to cook. Service was friendly.

My mum and I visited this pub a week after Mother's Day for a late lunch, and the meal was amazing! We had a lovely window view from our table and our server went above and beyond to accommodate us both. I'm gluten-free, but they took the time to go through the allergen process with me and ensured my food and drinks were carefully prepared. For starters, I had the halloumi fries and there were so many for the price you pay for them. I then had a chicken and wild mushroom pie (which was gluten free as standard, a rare sight these days!) finished off by a beautifully presented chocolate brownie. During all three courses, our server kept us regularly topped up with drinks and was always checking to make sure we were okay. For a busy weekend, the service was very quick and all our drinks were great - they even do alcohol free prosecco! All in all, a great meal with great service in a great location, will definitely be back soon. Would imagine this pub gets very busy during the summer months, so would recommend booking if you can! (I initially wrote my first review on Google Maps shortly after our visit, however I'm moving all my reviews to TripAdvisor.)

Came here for a pub lunch and afternoon drinks on a recent sunny Saturday, and had a brilliant time. The food was delicious, the waiters were friendly and efficient, and the garden was the perfect place to enjoy the sunshine with a beautiful patio, extensive lawns, and swings, tractor, and wild den area for the kids to play in. Strongly recommend if you're looking for a country vibe you can walk to from the city.

We spent the afternoon here last Saturday and it was glorious! We’ve eaten a few times here but the summer menu was lovely. We had the chicken calbrese salad and my husband had the salmon Caesar from the bbq menu. The service and staff are always polite, friendly and welcoming and nothing is too much trouble. A perfect pub for a summer’s afternoon ☀️

Staff were really helpful, and the food is great! Chef was amazing, catered for dietary requirements, and the restaurant was very clean.

Went here with my family and had a great experience! Food was incredible and service was amazing!!

This is a lovely pub / restaurant the food and staff are amazing the service was great and I would highly recommend it if you’ve not been before.

If you walk up to the bar, stand behind the customer that's currently being served to get service. Bar staff cannot see beyond one small section of bar. Basic food for price

Underwhelmed by the quality of the food and portion sizes of the dishes we ordered for the price. I was expecting more having been highly recommended by a friend.

A large chain but they've cracked the code of getting almost everything perfect, from atmosphere and service to the food and garden (usually with a decommissioned tractor for the kids to play on).

By far one of the nicest places to go for food&drinks, food taste unreal! the prawn starter and sea bass main was stunninggg! the waiters were amazing, and a massive field for the kids to run wild on, thank you to the team for making my birthday meal special, will deffo be back

The atmosphere was nice, service was not bad but food was extremely disappointing. We ordered beef Sunday roast, the potatoes tasted like rock - probably at least half day old and the beef was chewy.

I was struck as soon as we pulled in to the car park what a lovely relaxed atmosphere it was. The food was delicious and cooked beautifully and there was a good choice. The staff were friendly and attentive. We really enjoyed our visit

Beautiful multi room pub in a stunning location

Nice pub (converted country house) with alot of character. Mainly geared up for food. Food and service pretty good. Nice looking gardens too.

Good food. Great beer garden and outdoor seating.

We went on Sunday 26th May, the restaurant was busy, but we were quickly seated, and served. the staff were efficient and helpful. As usual our food was excellent, and all 4 of us had an enjoyable lunch.

Great location and excellent food

Visited on Saturday 18 May, table of 7 for lunch with dog. Excellent food and drinks, impeccable service. Thank you!

Beautiful surrounding, food well prepared and hot so many places serving warm food nowadays

This was our third visit and although we live over 40 miles away we will definitely return again.

I really like this place for a lunch. It has a great atmosphere and the food is always good, we ate here yesterday but have eaten here about 6 times before and it is consistently good. The waitresses are excellent and attentive despite being busy. My only grumble, and this is far from the only place this happens at, is that getting the bill and paying it was tricky as it was hard to hunt down staff at that point. If you've given someone a bill, they do want to pay it rather than sit for ages and then find someone who wants to take your money.

We have used this restaurant as the go to venue for family meet ups for some time. In all honesty the food has never been great but it is a nice venue. We have just had Sunday lunch and are incredibly disappointed. Is it me of is waiting an hour for food after our arrival slow? Our waiter was very pleasant and good at apologising. The beef was OK. The roast potatoes pale under cooked and sprinkled with dry herbs - yuk. The other vegetables were 2x boiled carrots and some savoy cabbage - not very exciting! The celeriac pure on the menu did not appear. The gravy was tasteless and the Yorkshire pudding just about OK. One of us had the lamb which was described as stringy and was in fact braised not roast. The burger also did not excite and the quiche was very bland. The cheese cake was good and coffee fine. We won’t be hurrying back………..

We went to the pub on a Wednesday at around 2:00 PM, which is not a busy time. We got a table quickly. and ordered simple food, namely burgers and fried fish, but after more than 30 minutes, we received only sparkling water. When we asked about the food, a man answered that this pub used fresh ingredients therefore it takes a long time. But it will be done in 5 minutes. But as time passed, we hadn't have the food yet. So we asked again, a woman who appeared to be the manager walked up to the table, without any apology, she told us that it had been a busy day and we didn't reserve in advance. So the food will be late. This was not true at all, because we went on a Wednesday at 2:00 PM, not a packed house. And we ordered only simple food. If the restaurant wasn't ready to accept guests without a reservation, just don't. And again we ordered only fried fish and chips and a burger. If you can't make it in more than 40 minutes and promised to have it in 5 minutes but didn't, you should say "sorry", not blame us for no reservation. This is unacceptable and irresponsible. we left the pub 15.00, eat nothing. Will never return.

Lovely pub with great food. Better in the summer for children as it has a huge open space

Good food and lovely ambience. I like Prae Wood for lunch or dinner. The food has always been good on several visits and always nice when you can sit outside in the sun but also nice and cosy in winter. I judge venues by their toilette facilities and Prae Wood is excellent

Beautiful building and garden area. Love the grand loos! Staff were friendly. Food was tasty, but a little overpriced. Great range of local beer on tap. We'll be going back in the summer.

Absolutely fabulous place, great grounds, beautiful pub, food was very tasty and service was excellent. Wonderful day!

Food arrived first, before the drinks. The sunday roast was only warm, small vegetables, flat Yorkshire pudding. Wine was warm, and no ice bucket was offered. When we told the waiter, there was no apology or any suggestion. Very expensive meal. We were disappointed, as this was not our first visit..

This is a beautiful restaurant. There are lots of different rooms that give the place a great atmosphere. We came with friends for Sunday lunch and were wonderfully looked after by a very friendly and efficient. The menu is tailored for Sunday roasts but there also a great choice of alternatives. All our meals were absolutely delicious. The chicken liver pate was the best I have ever had. The steak burger was cooked to perfection. The fish cakes were excellent too. Leave room for dessert as there are some great ones. It’s very good value and I highly recommend this restaurant.

Lovely country pub, my favourite in St Albans, great in all weathers!

Beautiful location, great food, friendly staff. A lovely dining experience all year round

All round top marks. Food was perfection and service second to none. Setting and decor are beautiful and felt authentic to the original house. Would thoroughly recommend the Sunday roast!

Unfortunately, the quality of the Sunday Roast was very poor. The starters of soup and pate were fine then we had to wait for 45 minutes until our main courses arrived. The Sunday roast consisted of OK meat, undercooked potatoes, a few hard mini carrots and some green beans with a few cabbage leaves. The plate was topped off with gravy that can only be described as awful. No horse radish or apple sauce was offered to accompany the food. The main was so disappointing and bland in flavour that we did not stay for dessert. For a Sunday roast ranging from £21 to £25 we would have expected something more appetising. I have not had a meal before where I had to clean my teeth ASAP to remove the bad taste from the food out of my mouth. We will not be returning. Note to the management: Your restaurant used to create super food! What has happened? Reduce your number of covers so that your kitchen staff have the time to concentrate of quality and not quantity. Your waiting staff will not be overwhelmed and ultimately the diners will enjoy their meals.

Booked in last minute for the Easter Egg hunt and it did not disappoint. First time going, and it was seriously a hidden gem. The outside area is so big, good seating and indoors was absolutely lovely. The staff are so accommodating and friendly and the food is delicious. Enjoyed by the whole family. Cannot wait to go back again, especially when the weather is a lot better. Highly recommend A+.

Quite expensive for drinks at a country pub. Very nice and big beer garden though

Lovely experience. Thank you Daniel for looking after us so well

Absolutely lovely experience and a peaceful pub, great view of the garden and surrounding scenery around the pub. Huge thanks to Daniel (server) for looking after us, very attentive and accommodating, will definitely be back! 🍷🌲

This is a great venue. I have been many times and they have never disappointed

Best steak sandwich I've ever had - and a lovely building

Have just had the loveliest birthday lunch with family and friends. Food excellent and friendly staff made it a very special time. Thank you to all of you

Great place,find it hard to relax when dining area has ambient music playing,and the bar has heart radio blaring and it feels like a bad dj trying to mix two types of music...feel like iam going mad.....turn 1 off pleaaaaseeeee

Only grump was there was no cheese and onion pie - so delicious - but food still excellent - just set my heart on pie 😂

Best Coffee in town with out door garden!!

Beautiful surroundings .nice to sit outside weather permitting but that'd as far as it goes.Service slow.The food definitely not up to any kind of star rating. I ordered vegetarian cottage pie with greens and sweet potato. When it arrived we had to check it was what I had ordered.Mixed greens covered over half the plate, red wine gravy a quarter of the plate and the some kind of pastry pie with a spoonful of dried cracked sweet potato on the top, tasteless would definitely not recommend this place for food. There are many good places to eat in St Albans which are worthy of your money, this was not one.

Although very busy, all tables taken, the service was excellent, quick and friendly. There were several alternatives that we would like to choose from on the extensive menu, and we were both pleased with our choices Food was tender, well prepared and well cooked, serves on hot plates.

We had a really disappointing experience here when we came with friends in the run up to Christmas and they were only offering the Christmas Menu. The purpose of this menu just seemed to be a way of charging extortionate amounts of money (far more than usual) for a much smaller selection of extremely poor quality food. My partner and I both felt that our turkey Christmas dinners were appalling, especially in comparison to previous meals we’ve had at this restaurant. The turkey was overcooked, the sausage undercooked, the veg wasn’t nice and the portion sizes were small. I wouldn’t have minded the price if the food was nice but it was awful. It’s a lovely setting and they’ve done a really nice job of the decor etc but we felt completely ripped off by this experience so sadly won’t be coming back for a while and certainly not when they’re only offering the rip off Christmas menu.

Beautiful venue, as ever, but staff could risk a smile. The food is fine, but whole experience could be improved by the staff pretending to at least be hospitable

Took my brother here for his birthday hoping that as a 'gastro pub' and a higher price point than other local venues, the food would be reliably good for an occasion. I had the pumpkin and sage tortellini to start and some of the things on their nibbles menu instead of a main. My brother had a steak burger, which incidentally is minced steak rather than a piece of steak, as you would expect if you ordered a steak sandwich. It was a brioche bun (when is this 10 year old 'trend' finally going to die a long overdue death?) The bun was soggy as hell - not sure if from gherkins or 'beer onions'. Of all the things I ordered, the only thing I would order again was the crispy squid. Everything else was completely bland (pumpkin tortellini, whipped feta, halloumi - the 'tomato relish' did not at all compliment the flavour'). When I go out for lunch and spend £55, my expectation is that the food will be, if not exceptional, at least tasty and either better than I could make at home, or on a par with this. It wasn't - we didn't even finish it. Wish we had gone somewhere else. Very disappointing.

Lovely gastro pub, great food,friendly staff, lots of parking

Food was lovely but service was very poor with only 2 staff for a big restaurant

Really fantastic atmosphere. Staff are so friendly and attentive. Would highly recommend.

First visit and very impressed with service and food, despite peak weekend lunchtime. Thank you, we will be back!

Had a lovely meal with the family before Christmas. Been here a few times now. Service was brilliant, nice homely warm atmosphere. One of our meals wasn't quite cooked through but said about this and they changed it with no hesitation. Highly recommended!

Family get together..with dog Great meal good service looking forward to returning

My second time at the Prae. In the section we were seated, six tables, there were four dogs (with their owners). All the dogs were well behaved and although I am neither a dog lover or hater it felt inappropriate.

Mary was our server, she was very attentive, efficient and friendly. Food was hot and very tasty. I highly recommend this place…

Great venue and location with friendly staff. Menu is very good and at reasonable prices! Thank you!

The Prae was a brilliant choice for a lovely relaxed evening out with a group of friends. Plenty of choice on the menu and a great selection of wines, the food was delicious and the meal went at our pace. The staff were super friendly and welcomed our dog.

Beautiful surroundings, great ambience, friendly staff, delicious food. Gets 5 stars every visit!

A beautifully restored building. Great garden. Superb menu. Excellent range of drinks. Log fires. All about quality here.

Fantastic setting, food and service - highly recommended!

Came here for our birthday lunch and had high expectations from looking at the venue but the food was really quite terrible. Gristly meat, luke warm and nothing special considering the price which was quite high. We’ve eaten much better roasts with high quality meat for less money. The lady who served us was very grumpy and whenever answered us, sounded angry. Really disappointing!

Late lunch with friends just after Christmas. Lovely ambience, gorgeous food and excellent service. Highly recommend.

Lovely staff but very poor choice for vegetarians and way way too hot with fires, radiators and people all aglow!