The White Horse Harpenden in St Albans

We were given a voucher for our anniversary for this pub that we had always driven past but never had chance to go in. The staff were so friendly and looked like they knew some of the customers well. They were very good at given us ideas from the specials board that evening. We had lovely waiters and waitresses. The steak was the best steak and chips I've ever had in my life. My husband got the shnitzel which was also yummy. The drinks were great too. Especially the cocktails. You make the best paloma 👏 Deffinatley want to come back again! Thank you for giving us a great evening in your pub!

We had a birthday lunch there and, although we waited a fair while for the food, it was absolutely delicious when it arrived. The staff were lovely & apologetic for the delay. The atmosphere was a little lacking but that was probably because we had a late lunch & were the only people in there. We’d definitely go back again, maybe on M, T or W evening when they have 2 mains for £25.

A very busy lunch service on a warm day. Food was good with a great choice of specials on the menu.

A well run enterprise. Great food, great service, good value. Also has a large on-site carpark. Highly recommended.

We ate Sunday lunch there to celebrate my 50th birthday. We were a party of 10 including 2 children and had boojed in advance. The staff were accommodating and helpful but service was slow. The food was decent ... not the best pub roast but tasty. They were happy to bring out the cake my mum had bought at the end of the meal and everyone sang happy birthday which was a lovely end! Oh and not to forget the tiramisu martini which was delicious!

Ate here yesterday with my friend after an interesting walk. Very disappointed with the food we ordered. The green salad had not been wash properly and some parts limp and brown, the pie we ordered was the most tasteless I have ever eaten. There were no condiments on the tables outside! The property looks great from the outside but unfortunately the food was a great disappointment

I have now been twice. Unfortunately it was poor both times. As is evident from my visits and even other reviews the chefs do not care enough about their dishes. Obvious mistakes like burnt food will be sent out in the hope that customers do not notice, this provides a wild inconsistency with the food, sometimes a good product and sometimes terrible. For the price they charge it isn't really acceptable. Which is a real shame because the waiting staff are extremely lovely and deserve better. I've had money off the bill both times but we all would rather a nice meal than some money off a bad one. I won't be coming again.

I went here with my ladies from David Lloyd Luton for meal it was amazing 👏 thank you

Overrated and expensive. Best for just a beer or glass of wine

Lovely food , lovely service , decent soft drinks , we only dropped in by chance as- an accident blocked the motorway so we thought we’d stop by . Our waiter was very helpful and polite.. we have been here before but a while ago … there were quite a few pooches about and I am not a dog lover really but this again didn’t detract my visit as they were all under control and happy!! I promise we won’t leave it so long next time… hasta la vista!!

Not impressed, no salt on the table. Tea pots were 1/2 filled. Poached eggs over cooked. Tiny ok sausage. Tiny delicious black pudding. crusty thinly sliced sourdough. We had to ask for butter. Very slow service as we were the first customers. Would love to return as it’s a good location and the food in the past has been good. But not this experience plus a £9.00. Tip added. We did not want to make a scene as we were treating friends. So a coupon to return would make a difference.

I have eaten here many times before and have always really enjoyed the experience. Today was not so good. The sun was shining, and people were eating inside and outside. There were only two front of house staff and one barman. They all worked very hard and were rushing around to serve quite a busy lunch crowd. I felt sorry for them but admired their efforts. Several menu items were sadly 'not available'. Some of the food arrived not really hot enough. The Lasagne was dry, not hot and unappetising. This, in my view was mainly down to there being too few servers for the number of diners. Now I know that our dear government have majorly hit the hospitality sector with extra National Insurance, increased minimum wage and other business cost increases but Peach Pub management really must make sure that they adequately staff their restaurants and kitchens.

Made a last minute booking mid-afternoon on the day prior to our reservation and had a terrible time. Having placed our order, we had to wait over an hour for our starters to arrive despite, whilst waiting, having enquired several times if they were nearly ready. Watched three people at an adjacent table arrive about 40 minutes after us and still got their main course before us. When our mains arrived, the lamb was nearly raw, the size of the chicken portion was very small and some of the vegetables were cold. The manager eventually came over and apologised and knocked a lot off the bill but, by then, we had all had enough and simply wanted to get out ASAP. It was supposed to be my birthday lunch! The weather was beautiful and sunny and it seems to me that the restaurant accepted far far too many bookings for their staff to cope with. A major failing

Mixed feelings about my experience. The crab & poached egg tart starter was really poor. It is not a tart at all - a vol au vent, which is extremely overpriced. The beef & ale pie though was super. A proper pie with lots of tasty filling. Food served piping hot which is great. Would really like red wine served in a red wine glass - not a white wine glass. This really annoys me. Service a bit mixed too. Felt rushed at times although we did get everything we needed. Would I return - I’d have to think about it.

Love this place! The food has improved massively since a few years back. The service was excellent - Our server Jamie was very welcoming & attentive. 10/10

Popped on for lunch with friends, had drinks at the bar and the barman Jamie was really helpful with the wine selection

Fantastic pub in Harpenden. Jamie, Bronte and the team were wonderful!

Had a fantastic experience at The White Horse Harpenden, Jamie looked after us with exceptional service & care, his welcoming manner excelled anywhere we have been before, rest assured we will be back again! Thank you Jamie & white horse!

Good food. Excellent staff. Good Real Ales.

Came here for a birthday meal for my nan, our waiter connor was so lovely and attentive, the food was lovely, and all the staff were so wonderful even singing my Nan happy birthday. Truly a lovely experience all round!

Poor value. We had the ‘special’ brisket burger with balsamic onions and cheese. Beautifully described but the reality was disappointing £20 for a good but basic burger with a portion of french fries, no slaw or salad. We were offered mac n cheese as a side but why would we want additional carbs? Plate looked pitiful for a ‘special’ Our friend had a fish pie, in an individual dish but not a generous portion. She did get lettuce leaves but thought this was an odd choice with fish pie. Summer vegetables would have been preferable. Overall underwhelming meals. Service was friendly but the waitress kept interrupting us (3 times at least) she apologised but I felt if she had waited just a moment, we would have stopped our conversation and she could have asked her questions without talking over our conversation.

Visited for Sunday lunch and was shocked at the number of babies, toddlers, prams etc. I appreciate families may want to eat out but what about adults who want adult time and enjoy a relaxing Sunday roast ? It is a pub after all ! Portions seem to have been reduced since my last visit too. Food and service ok to be fair. Not sure if I would return in future though.

Nice place to go for lunch. Food and service was ok. Could have been better but you don’t walk out disappointed.

A lovely pre-Valentine’s meal. Thank you, Morgan and Isabelle for looking after us so well. We had a great evening.

Good Sunday Roast options available, including bottomless Yorkshire puddings, roasties and gravy.

I'd give The White Horse six stars if I could. We came here for dinner one evening recently, Jozef took care of us from start to finish, talking us through the menu and drinks, answering all my pedantic questions about how things were served! The food was first rate, the menu offered up loads to choose from, the staff and service were superb and the place itself - particularly outdoors - is perfectly located and really pleasant. We will be going again soon.

Lovely setting for a dinner with friends. The menu included several veggie/vegan options that were subtly different from the usual offerings, so that was an unexpected plus. Would definitely come here again (assuming we had a similar generous voucher offer...).

We visited close to Christmas and service, quality of food and the restaurant decor and ambience was superb. We returned in the new year and our experience was replicated second time around. Thoroughly recommend this neighbourhood gem!

Lovely restaurant with great food in a village location 😋

The White Horse is our go to when we don’t feel like cooking dinner and our most recent experience did not disappoint. Everyone in the group was very happy with their meal - super tasty and the perfect amount of food. Good selection of wines as well

Great atmosphere. Great food. Defo be back soon

Just popped in for a hot chocolate. Great service with friendly staff.

Top marks to The White Horse for yesterday’s fantastic meal. Six of us celebrated being a family here on December 23 and the service, food,ambience were all ( as usual!) faultless. We would like to thank, especially, Jamie, Bronte and Dan: you always make our weekly visit here a total pleasure and really, we can’t thank you enough. You were also able to make really good room for us on a very busy day, as I had only booked for 4. Heartfelt thanks again. We will be back!

Went for dinner with my wife, son & daughter in law on Thursday 19th December. The restaurant was already busy at 6.45 p, nice staff, good service & great food, we enjoyed all of our 3 courses very much, good atmosphere, we will definitely return in the near future, highly recommended.

Cappuccinos are great here but the rest of the food was horrendous. Tiny, stale and overpriced portions.

Good food for large group. Repeat visit. Always excellent.

25 minutes to get the first drink and 30 minutes before the starter came out and I was literally the first one there. Salmon starter delicious. Turkey Christmas dinner was terrible. Turkey was very dry. Roast potatoes were not at all crispy - in fact they were barely roasted but somehow very dry. Veg was ok, but parsnips burnt and veg mixture very strange tasting. No more than a couple of spoonfuls of Gravy. Everything was so dry. But to be fair, the stuffing was lovely. Pecan dessert was terrible. It didn't even have a soggy bottom, the pastry resembled mush. It was severely undercooked. The coffee was nice. I love this place, and have had plenty of delicious meals. But it was not busy. I was the first meal. So no excuse. The chef(s) are really doing this place an injustice. This is basic cooking that I would expect ANY chef or cook to get right

Had three different servers. The original server completely forgot to order side dishes. When chased, no one apologised (took ownership) and as we finished the main meal, still without side dishes, we cancelled them. Staff were non-plussed. Pity as food was nice but won't be returning in a hurry

Wonderful pub with amazing food and awesome service! Would reccomend to anybody.

Very warm and welcoming. Staff and food were both very good as was the atmosphere and surroundings. Will definitely return and thoroughy recommend

I only discovered this restaurant the night before we visited on Friday 22 November. The weather was very cold but the online images and reviews were very warm! Our overall experience was well worth the 35 mile round trip! From start to finish everything was exceptional! Even the background music was to our taste and at a perfect level. We will definitely be returning and thoroughly recommend this local gem.

We arrived on Sunday around 5.30pm to a bustling restaurant. The atmosphere was great - busy but not too loud, happy staff keen to make our visit good and importantly, delicious food. We’re booking for next week!

We enjoy our stop at The Wh decided Horse. The one side. We are visiting from Miami and we love the food there. The soup was delicious, service very friendly and the environment very nice and nice. We are coming back next year!

The best of the best pubs in the East 👍🏽👍🏽

First time visiting and had a lovely Sunday roast! Would give a honest 8 out of 10. 8 just due to the potatoes not being as I would expect to be and the Yorkshire puddings slightly burnt! But didn't affect the meal as all 3 of us ate everything! Will definitely go back as it's hard to find a good consistent Sunday roast! Great service by the staff also.

Average food average service. Outside area stank of wet overflowing ashtrays.

First time at the white horse with two elderly dogs. Warm and welcoming. Superb Sunday roast. Next time we are booked into the snug.

Friendly and attentive service despite the pressure of having lots of diners with which to cope. Splendid food - and quite a large choice on the menu (plus intriguing "specials"). The White Horse ably deserves the title "gastropub". Not inexpensive but The White Horse offers value for money.

Lovely place lovely cooked food just very small portions

Very disappointing roast lunch today 1 1/2 slices of roast beef, roast potatoes that were like billiard balls …dry and hard and definitely not fresh …. I was starving and that makes it even more disappointing …we’ve all had that feeling !

10/10, really enjoyed it and the food was gorgeous! Highly recommend!

Still one of the best places in harpenden for a quality delicious meal in wonderful surroundings and great service .

My best friend and I lunched today at the White Horse, a favourite venue of ours. We were not disappointed : Mary had Duck Confit and pronounced it superb. I wasn’t very hungry so had just a starter - Camembert and a dessert - Chocolate Fondant. Both were excellent. We shared a beautiful bottle of our favourite white wine, Chenin Blanc . White Horse ….. you are going everything right!

Had a great lunch here today. Lovely food, nice service, big car park. Highly recommend. Will return in the near future.

Went out for a birthday meal with the family. Food was alright, not the best. A lot of mistakes with each course. The starters took 40 minutes to come to our table. Understand there was 7 of us but the restaurant was barely busy. The mains and the desserts then both took 30 minutes. The staff were really pleasant and nice, they apologised and knocked off some of the food. This was highly appreciated. Wouldn’t be rushing back for food. Drinks were good, prices were decent. They did a really nice birthday plate but the plate was frozen so it made the sticky toffee pudding really cold.

Fantastic food and served with a smile! Will be back!!

We’ve been here a few times and never disappointed. Last nights dinner (Saturday eve) was absolutely delicious. Our only gripe (which is no fault of the restaurant) was by 10pm we were the last diners and the atmosphere dwindled. Really enjoyable and very good service too! Thank you

Went for a bite to eat. Interesting vegetarian options. Was disappointed with size of the starter and had a salad which had bad gone off lettuce and spinach leaves.

There were 5 people in our party and we all had a lovely 3 course roast dinner here. Staff were friendly and efficient and the atmosphere was great. I would highly recommend.

I have lost count of the number of Sunday lunches we have had here and we drive from Letchworth just for this. As always everything was really excellent particularly the people. We will be back again soon

Went for lunch, sat outside. Good service and excellent choices on the food and drinks menu.

Will certainly go again as everything was perfect for my group of 6

There was a 56 minutes wait to be served. Many of the items on the menu were not available. Some of the portion sizes would be more suitable on a children's menu. About 10 pieces of ravioli don't make a main dish in my mind

A regrettable experience AGAIN. 56 minutes wait to be served. Too many items were no longer available on the menu. Why can’t the chef expect that there will be a big demand on a Saturday night? Some portion sizes were abysmal except for the fried Fish and Chips which was generous. We must be unlucky. All very sad.

My friend and I always choose to meet at The White Horse for Sunday lunch . The Sunday Roast is delicious . In the Summer we enjoy sitting on the Patio with my dog. The Service is very good. Highly recommend !

This was our third visit, both previous were for lunch during the week which we enjoyed so we decided to come again today but for a roast this time - mistake! I had soup to start and that was extremely thin and had actually separated...pretty grim! Only the one roast option for vegetarians, and my partner had the beef. The potato' and all the veg were old and tasteless, the parsnips were actually inedible and everything looked like it had been defrosted and reheated! The gravy was also very gloopy and the whole meal was just generally very underwhelming. I left a good part of mine which is something I never like to do, but it was just not enjoyable. It was not a 'cheap deal' where you might kind of expect this and we booked for 2pm so not particularly late for a Sunday lunch, so no real excuse to receive a load of reheated crud (in my opinion). I give the 2 stars to the actual pub/building and to the staff who were all friendly and attentive and we still made sure to leave a tip for the lad that served us. No stars for the meal this time though. Sorry.

Staff were very friendly, cappuccino was way too hot, beers were excellent ;)

I visited recently for lunch with my husband. We hadn’t made a booking so my husband went into the dining room and spoke to a male member of staff. My husband said we would like to sit outside as the weather was nice, there were lots of empty tables under the canopy set with cutlery, however we said we would like to sit on a table just outside the canopy to make the most of the first warm day we had had for a while. We were told by the male member of staff that if we sat on the tables outside the canopy we would have to order at the bar, I was really surprised the man could not take our order as the area outside was very quiet and in the dining room there was only one table of diners, so he clearly wasn’t rushed off his feet. I said to my husband that I felt we were sitting in “the cheap seats” due to the attitude of the staff member. My husband went to the bar to order drinks. There were 3 other people buying drinks so there was a wait to get the drinks. My husband did say how friendly the young lad was behind the bar who apologised for the wait. We chose what we wanted to eat, I asked a passing waitress who was clutching an iPad on which to take orders could she take our order, we were told she couldn’t and that we had to order at the bar, so another trip to the bar to order food. This was annoying as there were so few people dining outside, so surely taking our order would not have been a hardship. After our meal which was not memorable we thought we would like a coffee, so yet again we had to go back inside to the bar to order our coffee. To pay the bill we had to make a 4th trip to the bar to make payment. I appreciate pubs have rules, however as the pub was so quiet and the staff were not busy, I would have thought the staff would use their initiative and take our order, 4 trips to the bar was absolutely ridiculous. We both felt the male member of staff (slim with a beard) had absolutely no intention of being friendly or to try his best to make our experience at The White Horse pleasurable. He clearly wanted to stick rigidly to the rules with no thought for good customer service. The White Horse has potential to be amazing, but it always seems to miss the mark. The staff, with the exception of the young man behind the bar, give the impression that THEY are doing the customer a favour. It was no surprise that the pub was quiet. Yes, we could have moved 3ft so we would be under the canopy so we would then have been served, but as I mentioned earlier we wanted to make the most of the warmer weather. Sadly we won’t be returning anytime soon, nor would we recommend.

Excellent all round except for a mix up over one of our meals.

Wonderful Sunday lunch today. The food was excellent, the staff were friendly and attentive. We ate inside, and had pudding in the garden. There’s plenty of outdoor space and a quiet, grassed area for the children. The pub has a good sized car park too. We will definitely return. Thank you.

I have visited the White Horse 4 times in the last 6 weeks, once for an early evening supper which was very nice, and twice for Sunday lunch, both of which were excellent. Sadly our lunch yesterday was a total disappointment. The service was haphazard, with the wrong dishes being brought to the table, items missing from every course, and the food that we did receive was nowhere near the quality it had been previously. It was a real shame.

Another lovely evening here…great service (thanks to Jamie!!) and fab lobster cooked to perfection! Super team!

Poor quality food for the price, very greasy food, deep friend, Did not eat chips, was asked how food was, told them it was very greasy, they done nothing about it!!! Nor offer fresh chips, not good customer service really !!!

Two excellent full English breakfasts today and absolutely brilliant service by very polite and friendly staff. One tiny suggestion would be to reconsider the bread used in the sausage bloomer. I think it was sourdough baguette and was rock hard so I left half of it as I couldn't chew through it. Would prefer a softer bread and a good sausage sarnie! However, we had a delightful breakfast in the glorious sunny garden and will definitely revisit.

Beautiful pub, really lovely atmosphere, very friendly and attentive team, and the food and drinks were delicious!!

Had an amazing dinner at the White horse tonight! Went for a friends birthday and couldn’t be happier. The team went above and beyond to make her feel so special and catered for her as she is a vegan! They even brought her a lovely dark chocolate tourte with a candle at the end of our meal . I, myself had the spring roll and lobster from the specials paired with a crisp glass of wine. I will definitely going back again and will recommend to everyone. Thank you again team! 🌟

We visited on a Sunday evening and had a roast dinner. Big mistake, although the beef was tasty the potatoes had not been recently cooked . Everything else was mediocre, none of it was hot. We have had great meals at the White Horse but would not return for a roast or on a Sunday evening. Service was slow.

Had a bar meal. Sandwich and chips. Food was nice the chicken schnitzel which was ok a bit overdone.

As always lovely food and great service. Staff are very attentive and food beautifully presented.

fantastic food fantastic staff especially bronte

Fantastic meal last night to celebrate my Son-in-Law's birthday. Food was excellent and our waiter was superb. Brilliant service. Nothing was too much and he certainly kept my young Dad entertained! Beautiful evening, so we sat outside. Highly recommend.

Lovely olde worlde pub with immaculate outdoor seating area (blankets & heaters too) plus snug & separate bar area away from the restaurant. Excellent Sunday roast lunch too. Highly recommended.

Great meal and very well served by Joseph who coped very well with our requirments and allergies.

Great service. Lovely sitting outside with our dog. Portions a little small but otherwise food decent.

We have been to restaurant many times and this was our worst experience. It was Friday evening but to wait over an hour for our first course is unacceptable. The restaurant must either hire more staff or reduce the number of bookings. The next table sent three of their meals back to the kitchen. Finally, my wife and I suffered upset stomachs a few hours later. Management must take action!

Tried new summer menu….unfortunately was disappointing. Fish pie was overwhelming with parsley and mint peas, and chicken schnitzel was bland and greasy. Hope it manages to improve as pub is lovely, and hope our experience was a one off.

Friendly staff, good food, nice venue. will come back

Love their pies, beeing a Monday it was very quiet, but we went for the pies, for the price I expected a slight bigger portion, however it was the best by far

Very impressed food was amazing and service was excellent. Looked after by Abigail credit to The White Horse.

Simply the best place in harpenden...great service great food and the best ambiance.

Lovely clean place lots room comfortable seating spacious tables friendly servers, tasty food

Had a great lunch yesterday with a small family get together. Warm welcome, service excellent - cheery & knowledgeable. Food delicious. Was a great choice. Thank you White Horse for looking after us

It’s Asparagus season at The White Horse and the chefs produce the best Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce and a poached egg I have honestly ever in my life tasted. My husband had the Spiced Lamb Shank with Couscous and a red pepper salsa, which he described as utterly delicious. And the desserts are to die for…I had the White Chocolate Pannacotta with crushed Amaretti and gin-soaked strawberries: he had his favourite, Chocolate Fondant with Vanilla Icecream. To say they were both totally scrumptious would be the understatement of the year.

Ordered fish and chips the waitress came and said they have run out of fish, then ordered the duck salad ….no duck left. The waitress was trying to be accommodating but I was disappointed.

Very poor breakfast experience. Long wait, several items on plate were cold and had to be sent back. A drink that was ordered never arrived. Staff friendly but inattentive. Would not return.

Very poor breakfast experience. Some of the food cold or not cooked at all. Items missed off order too. Servers were polite but generally inattentive. Will not be returning.

We visited here for our friend's 40th and had a lovely meal. The staff were great as was the food.

Only downside was starter special Cherizzo Bon Bon which was a bit bland, steaks were great, Shiraz was lovely and the service was unhurried and attentive. Would definitely recommend and will be back.

After a hiking route, which the place has many routes, we ate the soup of the day, carrot and cilantro, wonderful. As a second, the beef pie. Also very good. Great service. Professional and fast. We ate on the terrace. The day was very good. Neither cold nor hot, so a 10. In line with this, it has plenty of room outside. The interior was neat and clean but I can't rate it because we were hardly there. The only “but” about eating out is that the road is very close and has a lot of traffic. A little extra noise. But, totally bearable. It has parking. If it's full, it's not difficult to park nearby. Recommendable.

Problems with some of the kitchen appliances so limited menu but…. Tiny portion(£20 for a tiny piece of belly pork potatoes were an extra) , expensive , partner had a rotting potato and baked Alaska was a disaster. Luckily not local to us so won’t be returning to this overpriced, small portioned, poor restaurant.