The Speckled Hen in St Albans

The Mac and cheese children’s portion was tremendously small, the toilets were diabolical; and my friends burned their hands because of how hot the water was and it wouldn’t turn off and there wasn’t want soap. On top of that, there was a bad smell in the toilet. My friend had a black hair in his burger and also, the corn was nibbled. The mac and cheese was delicious but it was a shame there wasn’t more of it.

Good friendly staff. Good Guiness!

Quiet comfortable country pub, clean with good atmosphere located on the edge of st Alban's

Love this place.So spacious very clean and tidy .Superb food and staff.Will definitely visit again.Re visited today.16th October Again we found the food and staff were amazing Thank you .We will be coming back.

We love this pub for a little evening drink with the kids, lovely atmosphere! We love the speckled Hen, such a great atmosphere 👏

Love this pub. Great food and family friendly.

Enjoyable lunch ,but could be better . Would be nice if they provided table service there, specially as there was 3 members of staff there . The one member of staff there was very polite with us though as I had to return my dinner . We will give it another try .

Really nice pub, Wayne Perry and Linda were all brilliant. We hosted a work meeting and they were incredibly accomodating, great food, great service and a great space. Pub next to the room was also a really nice atmosphere 👍

A good pub but there's no pool table and no dart board

A good pub but there's no pool table and no dart board

Excellent food , excellent service .. I take my Elderly friend here every Wednesday. We love it .. always clean , tidy And the food is always excellent

Recently had a reservation for 8 people for lunch to be together for a sad family occasion. Staff we brilliant. All 8 meals arrived at the same time and staff continued to check upon us without being intrusive. Value for money. Would go again.

Recently had a reservation for 8 people for lunch to be together for a sad family occasion. Staff we brilliant. All 8 meals arrived at the same time and staff continued to check upon us without being intrusive. Value for money. Would go again.

Lovely lunchtime treat. Very friendly staff, good food and value for money.

After waiting for ten minutes to be noticed, we were told that we would have to wait an hour for food as they only had one chef. We walked.

Great pub and lovely beer garden staff are really friendly, definitely recommend

Visited one Saturday, was served all night by Scarlet and Emma. Both really friendly and had a great. Also the food was really nice.

Good meal.much like other pubs but light and airy. Will be back.

I was looking forward to the beer 😃 Thank you also for the friendly nature and the understanding accommodation even if we can't speak English so well!!!! Three thumbs up from me @kalisyndikat

The Speckled Hen is my pub of choice in this area for mid-week lunch and a pint of guinness whenever I visit my friend. The food is great and reasonably priced (I particularly enjoyed the chicken schnitzel with mushroom and truffle oil sauce), the staff are friendly and welcoming, easy to park. I thoroughly recommend a visit.

My friends and I are pleased with the friendly hospitality and excellent service we received during our visit yesterday. Especially the attention given to us by Perry. The Speckled Hen was clean, comfortable and relaxing. We can certainly recommend the menu and quality of the food, cooking and presentation.

We went to watch the football, first time visit to the pub the bar staff were amazing lovely and friendly good choice of food and beer will definitely be back again thanks for a great night 5*

As a career it’s hard to find nice places to take clients. Had a lovely lunch with my lady today and the staff were brilliant

Food okay. Enjoyed the baked Camembert cheese sharing platter and crispy salt and pepper squid. Great place for a beer out in the sun.

Great to have smaller portions.

Turned up for a lunch treat, didn't realise it was steak Thursday. Chose the sirloin, not disappointed. We come here with family about once a month and never ever have we had a bad meal. Tried most of menu now, from aluminium fries to the mixed grill. Food is highly recommended and the atmosphere is relaxing.

Lovely food nice size portions friendly staff

Went out with friends this afternoon, great service, atmosphere and all our meals were fab. Staff were so helpful as one of our guests had dietary requirements and they also checked in on how we liked our meals. We were sat in the side room which is great if you have a big group.

Lovely pub with good food,dog friendly. Eat in or sit outside in the Lovely garden. Staff were very friendly & helpful. I will recommend to family & friends.

It,s a great place for a drink and a meal with family and friends.

Had a lovely lunch. The Hunters chicken was excellent and served hot with chips, onion rings and a mixed salad. The large portion of crumble and custard was tasty and filling. Wine was reasonably priced. Good menu choice and good service.

Wide selection of low and no alcohol beers - apart from the horrid Becks blue. And the usual excellent range Green King beers on tap. Fun, lively atmosphere. A good night out!

Was ok quite busy for a Saturday lunch time

Only came in for a drink, but what a lovely pub!

Went there on the spur of the moment didn't know what to expect but it was a really nice meal and didn't have to wait long definitely would go again

Great food and very good service on a very busy night, Nikki deserves a special mention for listening to the order properly and getting it exactly right and the waiter was very efficient and polite. Great service and a good afternoon/evening, a well deserved 5 stars

Nicki was give in us an amazing experience! Keep going this great job girll !!

Refit looks great, food was delicious, my starter was a bit cold, they had no problem making a fresh one which was lush. I would recommend here. Thanx

Great new menu, fantastic service from Lily and George , will see you again soon !

lovely atmosphere and the food is always yummy, relatively cheap and the drinks are aswell, i always get a lovely warm welcome from Nikki and she is so quick getting my order down and bringing it over quickly. So lovely, ensuring everything is okay with food and drinks and just a lovely person and face to see when i come to visit. would deffo recommend this pub to anyone in the area, even if it’s just for a quick drink

Went out for a meal was disappointed as we had the main course, We then went to order dessert & was told we would have to wait 30 mins a the chef was having a break. Appreciate chefs need a break but 8pm on a sat evening prime time? its not freshly made surely someone could have taken the cheesecake from the fridge and put it on a plate

Lovely hot food ,good selection , quite for a bank Holiday which suited us ,meant quick, friendly service . Will visit again when in the area ..

We was served by Nikki, remembered our drinks from last visit and our table no. Food was so lovely, can recommend the Houmous, Pesto & Bread as a starter. So obviously will return again.

A wonderful pub with cute aesthetics, great selection of food and drinks, and good service. They add seasonal specials to their menu which are excellent. Overall a must visit.

The atmosphere is inviting, the staff are friendly and attentive, the food is good, and Monday quiz night is the perfect spot for a fun evening out with friends!

Got served by a lovely girl named nikki who's been an angel since I met her 6 weeks ago.

I haven’t eaten here but they always have a couple of decent ales on. Staff are friendly and helpful. Dog friendly.

Diabolical. Still here awaiting good af5er 45mins. Not busy. One member of staff behind bar. One extremely rude! After asking again food just on its way! Apparently waiting fir chips to arrive and be unloaded. What a joke.

Entered the venue and it was nice and lively, although not too busy. Ordered our drinks before finding a table to peruse the menu. Once we had decided, we went back to the bar to put in our lunch requests. Then it all went downhill from there….. We waited an hour for our lunch and saw customers that had arrived after us getting served before us! We asked the table near to us how long they had to wait for their lunch and they replied an hour or so and were still waiting on their desserts - another hour later! We were not offered any explanation as to why it took so long for us to get our lunch. Finally, our food arrived and it was lukewarm at best; we ate it as we were absolutely famished by this point. Interestingly, the other table also told us their food was barely warm too. The wait for dessert was not as long, thankfully! And it was delicious. However, the music was loud and quite dismal and this did nothing to lighten our mood! We won’t be going back as this was our second, highly disappointing, visit. The people at the other table also told us they would not be returning….. I feel that if you are a ‘regular’ then you get much better and more personable service as I witnessed this. Overall a very disenchanting experience that wasted our time and money!

Had to wait simply ages for the food which wasn't particularly hot. Staff aren't overly friendly and there was an eventual apology for food delay. No atmosphere at all and definitely will not be going back.

Unacceptable wait for food. We had booked for 12.30 and ordered a two course set lunch. It was well over an hour before we got food and it wasn’t hot. No apology from the waitress. It was another long wait for our dessert. Other tables had the same problem and they too were asking where their food was. We finally left after 3pm. Don’t visit this pub if you want a quick meal.

Lovely place to eat and drink, went with family and had a wonderful time. Great staff with speedy service and an excellent range of drinks. Food was fab, can highly recommend the Mac n cheese. Will definitely be visiting again soon.

My first time coming to this pub and the experience that me and my friends had was brilliant. The food was 10/10. The staff and the pub itself is very lovely too. Throughout the evening we had a young lady serving us (Rosie). She done absolutely phenomenal job! Checking up on us and making sure everything was okay with food and drinks. Felt very well looked after. Great experience, will be coming back for sure!

Haven't been there for age's, the food was lovely

I went to the speckled hen for a chicken burger.Not only was the food excellent but my server Rosie, is one of the best in the business.She is simply a ray of sunshine X

Great service and great food. Well done x

Speckled Hen is a Green King pub. Food is pretty much what you'd expect to find in a chain pub. Prices are not bad, especially if you go for one of their deals. This pub holds regular quiz nights, which are great if you're taking part, but not so good if you've arrived for a quiet dinner and a chat. Would love it if they brought back the Yorkie wraps!

Once we arrived we sat down and ordered drinks and food through the mobile app, we didn't see our drinks till 40 minutes later and that was only after going over to the bar twice to complain, we then had to wait an extra 20 minutes for the food. I ordered the bacon and cheese burger which had a stale bun and was overcooked. We were sat in the dining area which had good music, but it was too loud, to the point where we had to shout at eachother just to have a conversation. I definitely would not recommend this establishment and would most likely advise people I know to steer clear.

Good food, friendly staff and a good selection of ales

Nice pub cozy, staff really friendly was served by Hannah who was very attentive and lovely

I went here on Christmas Day for Christmas dinner with my family. The food was very substandard and lukewarm. The music was competing with everyone talking. I couldn’t hear myself think or talk to my family. The music seemed to get louder the longer I was there. The waitresses were lovely and very polite. I just felt like they were ran off their feet trying to serve everyone their food.

Local friendly pub. Good food, friendly staff.

Don't bother for food. Food service is terrible, and neither the owner nor the staff seem to care. Many occasions I have been here thinking it can not possibly be the same again, but unfortunately the same experience everytime. Wil not be buying food again.

Great atmosphere Great staff which make a pub Will be retuning Maybe only negative is the craters in car park

Was part of a large group dinner booking. They closed the kitchen when only half of the group had ordered until we complained. No opportunity to order desert etc. No table ordering so we all had to order at the bar individually. Ladies loos were out of action apart from the single disabled loo. Food was ok but was delivered at different times. No one cleared the table so we did it ourselves. The Speckled Hen used to be cheap and cheerful so no one expected much. The prices have gone up and the service has plummeted. Awful

Good choice of food and beers. Great atmosphere and, as I was there on a Thursday, I was able to participate in the (really quite difficult) music quiz. A great night

Main course ok however order was incorrect. The wait for desert was ridiculous, almost an hour and yet again incorrect the staff should know the difference between ice cream and clotted cream

Very good food, nice service and beautiful deco.

The food is great, and they always have exciting entertainment for the family. Lovely atmosphere and great staff, thanks for having us when we come!

It was very disappointing the English breakfast was so dry , over cooked eggs, and tasted blunt .slow servicenot a pleasant experience.

Went for Christmas dinner as a family of 16, tbh I went with my work the week before and wasn't impressed. However I thought it maybe better the next time sadly it was worse here are the following reasons. 1 The mains were cold and not great in quality. 2 The service at the bar was very slow and at times not manned. 3 The dessert took forever to come out about an hour after finishing our mains. 4 The price of drinks especially wine is very expensive for average wine. Don't think the lager is much better tbh about £6.20 a pint. 5 Not once was we asked if the meal was ok. It's a shame I've used this pub a lot over the years but it's gone down hill and I won't be going back for a while or recommending it.

We booked breakfast with Santa. The staff were nice and polite but they overwhelmed as the restaurant was quite busy. Initially Santa came to hello and interact with us at our table and told us we can see him in q little while after our breakfast for photos. However when we had finished our breakfast and tried to go and take pictures with Santa we were told he had left. There was no warning or any explanation as him leaving. We were then offered to take pictures with one of the staff members which was ok for the time, Our daughter was quite disappointed and this indeed did put a damper on our experience. Had they given us a warning g or informed us at the start we at least may have had the option to take the pictures straight away then have breakfast after. But we were not given this choice we were just expected to accept he had left while the whole point of booking was to have see and take pictures with Santa. We are very disappointed with this experience. We will not be visiting Speckled Hen again.

Poor service. Some food came to the table at least 10 minutes after the first. Then, some plates collected whilst others still eating.

Not a great experience. Half of our parties food came at least 10 minutes after the first ones. Then, when most have us had finished eating, the young waiter took our plates, even though some were still eating. The food was okay for pub food, but the whole evening was ruined. We would have spent more if it had been more enjoyable. We will not return.

Food was pretty good and very fair price. However, having made the booking several weeks ago, we were placed at a table in the bar area, not the separate dining area, next to the main entrance. Freezing cold evening which was experienced by us every time the door opened. Having had the main course, we were not asked if we wanted dessert, which we would have had. Therefore asked for the bill and left. Disappointing experience at a venue which had been recommended to us. Will not be returning soon.

We read the reviews and decided to go here for a meal Whilst the food was okay, the area we were sitting in wasn't!. We weren't put in the dining area, despite booking weeks before. We would have had a dessert, but we were not asked if we wanted one. Definitely disappointed. It's a shame, but we will not return here for food.

Staff very polite but my friend had to go to the bar to order, I was quite surprised , food okay, but it was the first I went there I'm sure it will be better next time.

Great pub Lovely senior menu at very good price Nice food Very helpful and pleasant staff Very good meal

Disabled facilities...Good menu...signature dishes.dog freindly

Wow what a place pensioners lunch time menu 3 courses 8.99 great menu hunters chicken apple and blackberry pie and custard delicious.very recommended

friendly good selection on menu food was good will visit again so relaxed

Slightly better than, perhaps, expected.

Had a nice 4th birthday party yesterday but was rushed on abit at the end .

A very nice pub with excellent, polite service, good prices and atmosphere. Sadly the food does not live up to the rest of the pub's attributes; I find it quite basic and often blunt. It is a shame, because by improving this I would give the place its fifth star!

I can highly recommend The Speckled Hen as an excellent traditional pub that also serves great food. The staff were efficient and friendly and made us feel very welcome. We were served by Tina who went out of her way to make sure that we enjoyed our visit. We will definitely be visiting this pub again.

We came for dinner but stayed for the quiz. Tina expertly handled us and ensured we left satisfied. The food was great and the quiz was very enjoyable.

Very nice staff lovely food nice price and free parking

Very delicious food and friendly service! The tables, chairs and atmosphere in general is comfy and nice. Highly recommended.

My wife and I had a very pleasant lunch the other Tuesday. We went for the Pub Classics menu, two main courses for £14.99, you can't go wrong! Delicious scampi, chips and mushy peas for me and Gammon steak, egg, a pineapple slice and chips for my wife. Drinks weren't expensive either and the service was quick and cheerful. Plenty of parking.

We've had a work reunion event at this pub last night. Staff were very helpful to get it organised and the buffet food was excellent. All in all We've had a very good evening. Thank you Linda and the pub staff.

Staff were brilliant food wonderful a fantastic experience!! Great menu can’t wait to come back! Thank you

Been going here for years. Superb pub run by great team. Great selection of beers and a music quiz on thursday that has been going for 17+ years.

Nice and cosy place with big garden

considering this pub is just a few miles from my home, I've never used it as I don't drink alcohol so never quite seen the point, however, this all changed last week when my son moved home and the pub has ended up between our...

Didn't have any food this time. Service was prompt and efficient, and it was a lovely day so sat in the garden. A very enjoyable couple of hours.

Great staff..jay D host of open mic on wed

Staff very good Nice and clean food hot and good price Will be back Only one thing fill the holes in around car park

Brilliant service, lovely staff. Great food. My sister is over from Australia, she enjoyed the food. We will be back again before she goes back to Australia.

Large selection of craft beers. Friendly staff and good food. Clean tidy and spacious. Would recommend a meal and a pint.

Lovely pub and lovely atmosphere. Mainly come for the two quizzes. Love them, but would love some questions aimed at a younger audience!