The Woodman Pub in East Hertfordshire

Didn't know they'd started doing food. Hopefully not at the expense of the beer and atmosphere which was unique and wonderful.

Came here for dinner with some friends and great reception with a friendly smile from the young lady behind the bar, made to feel welcome. Had a drink in the bar and then out to the back of the building to the restaurant. Overlooking a nice garden, a few tables and a couple of booth type seats. Ordered a selection of food all of which was really tasty and looked really fresh, recommend the Smoked Shredded chicken and the Chicken noodles. Lady serving us was helpful and friendly too recommending portion sizes to us. Had a great evening here with great friends in a nice atmosphere. Would highly recommend trying The Woodman if you are in the area and fancy a great Chinese meal.

We pop into the Woodman every weekend we can to enjoy the friendly local country pub atmosphere and the beer. We’ve looked at the food being served to others and it always looked and smelt delicious so we decided to try it out. We were not disappointed, it was probably the best Chinese meal we can remember eating. Forget the sticky and msg laced dishes that the most Chinese restaurants usually dish up. This was fresh, clean, fragrant, beautifully flavoured and absolutely delicious. As others have said, if you want chopsticks and white tablecloths then look elsewhere, but if you want great food at a reasonable price then you’ll enjoy the Woodman. Oh, and the beers great too.

The Woodman is a delightful place! A beautiful country pub with excellent Chinese food " a winning combination " the blend of a cozy atmosphere and delicious food was such a treat on a rainy Saturday evening. The addition of live music on Sunday's in the garden, weather permitting of course! Well the Woodman just seems to have it all. And talking value for money, absolutely 5 stars ***** Thank you to the Landlord and all the staff from Debbie and Baz

Excellent country pub with amazimg Chinese food. We come here once a week for food and more for drinks. Very reasonable prices and Best Chinese around!

Lovely setting but disappointing I’m afraid. Only one lager on sale as others were ‘off’. So, opted for a pint of Side Pocket ale. Big mistake. Flat and tasted like vinegar. Won’t be rushing back.

Sorry but we had a terrible experience here. Walked in and the bar was as always really friendly. We walked around to the garden and asked for a menu, it was literally chucked to our table. We then ordered our food by a young waitress who quite frankly just didn’t want to be there and was rude When the food arrived the duck (£14) was literally fat from the duck, the chilli beef was chewy tough and in edible. I complained to the waitress which we never normally do and she didn’t give a monkeys. Just shrugged her shoulders. Really disappointed as we have been told by friends the food and service was good. It really wasn’t!

What a lovely pub lovely garden

Great food and service!! Exactly what is needed close to Hertford as not a good Chinese around any more. Great they do takeaways!! Will 100% be back abs telling as people as possible so it stay busy enough to stay there.

Lovely Countryside Pub Lovely to sit in the garden and hear bird song all around, good selection of beers.

Love the pub and food excellent 👌👍

Great pub to sit on the beer garden on a sunny day!

lovely country pub, very friendly staff and Landlord. If you like Chinese/Thai food, then you need to come here. Best Chinese I've had, you just have to make the effort to go being it's out of the way. Open fire too in Winter, nothing not to live really. Big garden at back for kids. It's a gem

Superb. If you like your real ale this is a must visit. Green King Ipa and Abbott plus a guest beer and great oriental food,also a lovely back garden with plenty of seats

I recently visited the pub for a birthday get together and I was absolutely delighted with the quality of the food. The portions were more than expected and the taste was excellent. I could not believe how quickly the food arrived, we were not rushed and the service was fantastic. I have now started using the restaurant for my usual takeaways, they give a 10% discount.

We attended on Saturday evening for a family meal and it was absolutely delightful. There was 8 of us in total and the food, the service and settings were wonderful - thank you to the lovely waitress who served us. The food came in good timing and was lovely, hot and tasty. I would strongly recommend this restaurant to anyone who loves Chinese food. Also, I'd like to say that I often don't leave reviews but really feel like this restaurant is a hidden gem and deserves the recognition - It was also really good value for money.

Fantastic food and friendly atmosphere I ate here the other day and the food was of great quality. The Guinness was also as good as it gets.

I’m a Hertford resident and have used the Woodman as a beer pub for years. I recall in mid 2022 having some very good Thai food to accompany the usual Guinness. I understand that now the restaurant crew have changed, but was pleasantly surprised on a recent visit. A friend hosted a Sunday housewarming with a walk across to the pub for food. Our group of around 25 people nicely filled the restaurant space - this ready made atmosphere evidently enhanced our experience. The food came and we shared many dishes between tables. It was a real novelty to be able to blend Thai and Chinese cuisine so easily. Everything was fresh, very tasty and portions were generous. I was unable to stop thinking about how delicious the food had been, and tonight (Thursday) enjoyed a takeaway with the same experience of the food - utterly delicious and great value. Let’s be clear - if you’re after top level service or the finer touches (finger bowls and chopsticks!) it’s probably not going to hit the mark. If you want delicious food at very reasonable prices in the comfort of a country pub with a great garden (and a great selection of standard draught beer and cider), then you can’t go far wrong. From now on, I would choose the woodman as the kitchen of choice for Chinese/Thai takeaway locally, and I look forward to returning with friends and family to the restaurant in due course.

Visited here with a friend on a Saturday night, we were the only ones in here so alarm bells rang. The young waitress was rude and didn’t have much idea of what you normally get in a Chinese restaurant, when we asked for a finger bowl she said what’s that! Nothing like a traditional Chinese, didn’t even offer chopsticks. Food was very average and then at 10pm they wanted us to pay the bill and leave. Definitely won’t be going back.

Very disapointed with the meal and the service . We were the only diners at lunch today . Perhaps this is indicative of what other people think of this establishment! The food was luke warm served on cold plates No provision for keeping the dishes warm as in most chinese restaurants. To cap it all the restaurant was poorly heated ....never again.

Great pub, good beer, best Chinese in East Herts

Great beer and beautiful country setting. Went on a Tuesday lunch. No food, and even with forewarning no desire to do anything for walking group. So out of 18 people only myself and wife ventured in. Chinese restaurant menu looked very appeting and good value. 🙂

Great for a family weekend walk as has a good play park. Thai food in the week is also superb. Edit 9/2021 food is still amazing, really good Thai food with great service. Been twice this week and been delicious Edit 10/2022 the food has changed to Chinese but with a few other Asian dishes like Thai curry. Still very good, had lovely seafood udin noodles and a very hot Thai red curry.

Nice pub, lovely garden, poor choice of drinks...

There is a new menu and catering team from mid October 2022 with all the traditional Chinese things as well as some newer ones like the mushrooms or the edamame beans as starters. Thai curries are available too. We experienced good service, good food and drink at fair prices and will happily recommend it to our friends .

Lovely pub and lovely service. Recommended.

Excellent food , service a bit slow

What a shame the Thai chefs have gone and been replaced with Chinese/Cantonese cuisine. Not quite the same the Thai food was awesome this was not so good.

Still a great place to stop off and have a drink. Off the beaten track but we'll worth looking for. A great restaurant too.

lovely beer garden and great beers.. food is odd. chinese takeaway on a hot sunny afternoon...could be a perfect setting but food sells it short.

Nice place to visit nice atmosphere around enjoyful

One of the best pints I've ever had....and I've had a few. Abbott Ale straight from the cask. Friendly folk, well worth a visit

Old fashioned country pub - good beers

What a fab pub. The Thai food is the best I’ve tasted locally. Great choice of dishes at a great price. We have been a few times and will definitely be back.

Nice pub. Pity that they dont serve Coffee.

What a fab pub. The Thai food is the best I’ve tasted locally. We have been a few times and will be back again. Great selection of Thai dishes at a great price.

The most delicious Thai food, lovely staff and generally excellent local find

Had drinks outside prior to our dog walk. Good facilities, toilets very to clean. Will revisit for sure highly recommend.

Great little find. Superb beers and ales with delightful Thai food.

What a lovely find! Lovely pub, great beer and the food... Thai food, that is the best I've had in a long while. Great taste and fab price and full menu .

Awesome the food is absolutely amazing so freshly cooked good choice of dishes will definitely be back and will recommend to friends thanks for a great meal

Awesome pub. Great beer and great service. Superb Thai food too. Thank you!

Great real ale and fantastic food, just a shame it is so difficult to park.

Very lovely pub. Staff very friendly. Nice playground for kids.

Lovely pub surrounded by lush countryside and next to a duck pond. On first appearance it looks tiny but once into restaurant area it’s very large with nice garden with small sofas and children’s play area. Dog friendly in main bar and out back. Great...

Great pub and it's not changed since my last visit in 2014. Highly recommended

Lovely food sat out in the garden, friendly staff and good wine. What more could you want on a Friday evening?

The staff are friendly but was a bit slow. This was due to how busy the restaurant was. The food is very good and I can recommend it. Yes I am going back.

Lovely place with a great atmosphere. The food is second to none-very tasty and reasonably priced. The bar staff are very friendly and serve you with a smile! Great kids area at the back. Will definitely return.

We love this little pub, great Thai food restaurant. The beer is well kept too.. their gardens are amazing if you want to sit outdoors

I’m so surprised reading the reviews, I have nothing but good things to say. Never eaten at the pub before and the food was lovely. Friendly staff, best Thai I have had and great value for money. Make your on opinion, x

We visited last night & although on the quiet side (although we ate early) we really enjoyed it. The kitchen was more than happy to acommodate a few changes we requested to our order & the food arrived quickly. Really enjoyed all of the thai...

Well everyone has a bad day but this place is unbelievable, no staff and the only ones available so rude! is a massive understatement, we waited 35 minutes just to get a drink and then when we asked for the menu well that was a big mistake, a further 25 minutes to take our order then just when it could not get much worse, was told that four items ordered out of the six in our party was not available, it was pretty obvious a locals come first situation, as the staff seemed to wait almost on them making us feel well less than welcome, with that we cancelled the food and went on to a much friendlier pub.

Well everyone has a bad day but this place is unbelievable, no staff and the only ones available so rude! is a massive understatement, we waited 35 minutes just to get a drink and then when we asked for the menu well that was a...

Terrible disrespectful service! Long wait for food and rude management. Do NOT go here. Won't last long!

Literally the worst service I have ever experienced, rude manager, untrained staff, utterly unbelievable! Waited over 2 hours for food with not apology, genuinely can't believe this place is still open

Incredibly slow service, unapologetic manager, awful experience overall

Rude arrogant manager! Can wait up to 2 hours for food with no real apology. Fingers crossed it will get taken back by green king soon and run by better publicans

If I could give no stars I would! I have been here 3 times and always want to give this place another try as it's a lovely setting but the first time I visited the bar staff were completely and utterly rude, saying we only serve locals first and you'll have to wait, the second time i visited we ate and I found the plastic wrapper stuck to the bottom of my rice, tonight we waited over 2 hours for our food with no apology and extremely bad service and when we asked for a discount on the bill the manager became extremely aggressive, rude and confrontational. I have literally never known a place like this and can't believe it's still running. They should be ashamed of themselves.

The service was the worst I have ever experienced. Incredibly rude staff and a 2 hour wait for food, wrong drinks order. I would avoid this place at all costs

Horrendous service, we waited 2 hours for service and our polite prompts were met with outright aggression. Maybe a bad day, but I would stay away entirely. The food was also beige and lukewarm.

Terrible service, terrible food don’t bother it’ll be out of business soon.

Food took 2 hours to arrive with no credible explanation. The managers attitude was appalling. Sadly although in a nice location we will not go back.

What a place 2 hour wait for food. No real apology. Really hope this gets taken over by better managers soon.

The food is wonderful and it's a relaxing garden too. Love the quirky decor. Would recommend.

A most charming and friendly pub . Food is excellent along with the staff

Quick service and a great setting

Awesome authentic Thai food with some very iffy table service.

Lovely pub, the only downfall on our visit were the barking dogs inside!

Just returned from having a delicious Thai meal, the quality of the food was absolutely excellent. Lovely atmosphere and great service. Can't wait to return to eat inside in the warm!!

Had an excellent Thai green curry... really friendly service. Inspite of sitting outdoors in the wind it was worth it! We will be back. Thanks

Lovely pub, small but lovely in a lovely village by duck pond.

Excellent beers and friendly staff.

Wow dedicated service, arrived and sat down with someone to take drink orders within a minute. Friendly hard working staff and the sun stays out on the front garden until late. This is a gem of a pub. I have eaten here before and they also do really good Thai food A++

Excellent service and atmosphere

Couldn't resist. Google asked "How was the Woodman?" Well, it's 2021 and there's a pandemic. Therefore it is currently closed. It's coming up to spring and the ducks are looking for lurve.....

Included a visit to the pub for our Sunday walk half time stop and at first glance it appeared as though it was Covid secure However, things were not as they first appeared. On arrival it was clear that an effort was made to introduce...

Absolutely fell in love with this attractive countryside pub & combines two of our favourite food regions (Thai & Spanish tapas). The sweetcorn cakes are outstanding and as a vegetarian I highly recommend the vegetable tempura and patatas bravas. Super lovely and attentive staff are the icing on the cake here.

Great pub with friendly staff and a really lovely garden. There is an excellent play area for kids. I would have given a higher rating if they did food on Sundays. It is the perfect spot for a first rate roast. To be fair, the lack of food may be down to the new normal that all pubs are having to contend with.

Lovely local pub with good beers and I have heard good food.

this is a lovely pub with a huge garden .Its decor is like a typical old English pub with little crooks and crannies. Very clean and friendly atmosphere.Food was nice but a wee bit expensive for a pub .We had the steak pie and chips...

Friendly people, nice atmosphere

Always lovely here, great outside space. Nice prosecco!

Friendly staff, nice atmosphere

Fantastic country pub. Extremely good and friendly service

I love grilled pork called Moo yang jim jaw in Thai, from the special menu cod fish choo chee or with chilli sauce, very fresh fish, price not expensive

Had a 2 course Thai meal just before Christmas. The food was good, the wine reasonably priced, the service was also good. It's in a small village just outside of Ware and we have visited just for drinks in the past, they have recently extended...

Never at home as there .... Love woodmanshire

Great atmosphere, nice food and very friendly staff

Decent beer poured straight from the barrel and nice food several evenings a week

A group of us visited for my friend’s birthday & we very were disappointed with the service . Having had our booking put back half an hour already at their request we still waited nearly 2 hours for our food. When it finally came it...

Had a lovely Thai meal reasonably priced, lovely country pub friendly staff good choice of beers (especially the Guinness)

Lovely setting,with comfy dining. Food delicious -thai & tapas.

Not eaten here yet but I was very impressed.

Great beer garden and thai food. Top pub!

I love this pub, great ambience about it, its like visiting your most favourite Auntie, pub is old and lovable. Food is amazing, Thai and Tapas and every time we have been the food has been cracking. Lovely tables out the front on a summer's...

Best quality beer straight from the barrel.

Nice Thai menu and good beer garden

Almost idyllic had some wonderful beer.

This place is growing on me. Might be the lager, or the crisps...