The best restaurants in Clavering Uttlesford East of England

We visited as a family group of 7 including 2 young kids, and the staff were really helpful. The Thai food was probably the best since being in Thailand. Also they had a wider selection of vegetarian mains than most, which is great. The hosts Ananta and Sergio were very hospitable and friendly ( as were the locals in the pub) , we had a chat long after. Even though we live 20 miles away, we will be back. 😃

This is a beautiful location with views across the Essex countryside, and the restaurant itself is quaint and well presented. However, waiting 20 minutes to be acknowledged and place a coffee order seemed a little disconcerting, and the tardiness and lack of customer engagement continued, resulting in the food order arriving just within the hour! I appreciate the clearly stated policy of everything being freshly cooked, and therefore a delay is inevitable, but this whole enterprise felt self indulgent and appeared to lack any real customer focus. That said, the food was very good.

First of all, let me make this clear, we are well travelled foodies. We recognise the problems that the catering industry is under in terms of pricing etc. but we know poor food when we eat it and we know overpricing when we see it. We visited the Cricketers just before Christmas for a lunchtime meal, seven of us in all including my aged mother as a pre-Xmas treat. What a disappointment. What a mistake. We won't do that again. The essential complaints: pricing and lack of quality. The meal was dire and appalling value for money. Most of us chose the smoked trout to start. The portions were tiny, billed as "small plates" which was very apt. Most criticism is however reserved for the mains. The majority of us chose the fish pie. This consisted mainly of mash potato with some tiny fish flecks mushed into it. A fishy flavouring, as it were. No discernible fish pieces whatsoever. Mostly mash with a few peas added for colour. Appalling. I left most of mine. The only redeeming feature was the kale which accompanied it. One of our number chose the cod. This surfaced as a small slither of fish (not a thick slice as you would normally expect for this dish) placed on top of a mound of mash sitting in an overpowering saffron sauce. Finally, the majority chose apple crumble for dessert. Once again poor quality including overlarge pieces of apple which had not even been peeled. I can honestly say the pie masqueraded as fish pie. It was the worst value for money fish pie I have ever eaten. In short, the meal was amateurish and extremely poor value and not in any way what you would expect to associate with a gastro pub. The bill duly arrived. All the dishes chosen, three dishes in all were separately identified. However, we all assumed that we had in fact chosen from the fixed price menu. This was queried and we were directed to the indistinct reference to the three italicised dishes at the top of the menu to which the fixed price only applied. This was not at all clear and added considerably to the disappointment. Were it not for the presence of my 92 year old mother, rest assured we would have walked early on but only after registering our complaints. You know the vibe. In these circumstances, poor quality is often revealed at the outset. Our complaints would have kicked in once the inadequacy of the mains became apparent. Finally, it was uncomfortably cold in there. Lets put that down to energy prices! We used to eat here regularly and I might add fully satisfied under the old Oliver regime. Never again. The Chestnut group is clearly not for us. Incidentally the service staff were very good and cheerful.

I have to let it be known that this little gem of a pub is not only one of the prettiest interiors of any (of many!) pubs that we go to - it's beautifully decorated, it is also one of the cleanest, with staff being super quick to clean tables and seating areas as people come and go, which is no mean feat given that they are very welcoming of canine companions and that they are pub surrounded by many beautiful walkways. I've never seen it look for one moment anything short of spotless. I've been taking my weim pup to this pub since last Summer and they've seen her go through the stages of too cute to 'complete and utter 'two and a half handful' where I've had to put all my efforts in to managing her (she is 100% typical of her breed!), they might they have been so patient, calm and lovely to her and us. Thank you for being a lovely place to go, team F&H

First time here and had a very nice evening, nice welcome and very Christmassy look and feel. Very warm and cosy feeling to the place. Staff welcomed us and Laura served us throughout, she was lovely and a real credit to you, nothing was too much trouble. Started with the crispy duck and ribs which were amazing, the table had lots of different starters and everyone said the same…. Yum. Mains went down very well too and good portion sizes, everything was hot and well presented. We was a large group and everyone was served food at same time in a timely manner. Lovely evening, thank you