Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Hertford
Hardens guides have spent 33 years compiling reviews of the best Hertford restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 53 restaurants in Hertford and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Hertford restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Hertford Restaurants
1. Smith's Brasserie
British, Modern restaurant in Ongar
Fyfield Rd - CM5
Established in 1958, this Essex institution is well known for its “excellently cooked fish with some imaginative and well-executed dishes”, served in “generous portions” by “well-trained and extremely welcoming staff who provide great customer service”. It’s “always buzzing with a great atmosphere” – “and if you’re lucky you might spot Rod Stewart… a regular”.
2. The Tilbury
British, Modern restaurant in Datchworth
Watton Rd - SG3
2023 Review: “This lovely country pub” run by brothers Tom (a self-taught cook) and James Bainbridge (a former Fat Duck manager) wins consistent ratings for its high-quality cooking using “good-quality meat and fresh, tasty ingredients”. There’s a “lovely ambience and service to match”, all at “amazing value-for-money prices”.
3. The Fox And Hounds Restaurant & Bar
French restaurant in Hunsdon
2 High Street - SG12
Chef James & Bianca Rix celebrate 20 years at their smart pub/restaurant this year, recording high levels of feedback and satisfaction for their “much better than usual pub operation” – “food and service are great and it’s reasonably priced”. Top Menu Tip – “the clams and fish are always good”.
4. The Waggoners
French restaurant in Welwyn
Brickwall Close, Ayot Grn - AL6
“The food in this small and atmospheric pub is unabashedly French – tasty, interesting and reasonably priced” with “just the right amount of an English touch”. “Splendid service from host Laurent (Brydniak) and his team, who pay a lot of attention to getting the details right”, adds to the appeal of a venue that is “often busy by midday as a walkers’ reward” after strolling around the neighbouring Brocket Hall estate.
5. Auberge du Lac
British, Modern restaurant in Welwyn
“Not yet back to its old self” seems to be the frustrating verdict on this former hunting lodge, scenically located with a large terrace by the lake of the luxurious Brocket Hall estate. In the early 2000s it was a national name under chef Jean-Christophe Novelli, but has since had its ups and downs. After a hiatus, “its re-opening has been long awaited and eagerly anticipated locally with the pop-ups fully booked”. Early feedback suggests “it still seems to be a work in progress. Menu, food and cooking have been very good, suitably refined and up to the standard expected. However, service can be poor, with staff unable to cope and long waits to order. The general decor is also very dated and doesn’t appear to have changed much during the past three years of closure. Hopefully, it will find its feet but it is taking longer than expected!”
6. Skewd Kitchen
Turkish restaurant in Enfield
12 Cockfosters Parade - EN4
This “fantastic upscaled-local Turkish restaurant” in Cockfosters gives the traditional North London Anatolian grill a modern makeover – and fans say it’s “wonderful to see it so deservedly busy” on account of its “excellent food and service”. “They’ve just expanded”, but it’s “harder than ever to get a table on a Saturday night”.
7. Savoro
British, Modern restaurant in Barnet
206 High Street - EN5
2021 Review: A former boathouse on the high street, turned hotel and dining room, that remains of note for its “delightful food impeccably served in a not overcrowded restaurant” – though you’ll need to book ahead on weekends, when they also lay on a “good Sunday lunch”.
8. The Farmhouse at Redcoats
British, Modern restaurant in Hitchin
Redcoats Green - SG4
The “beautiful, charming setting” and “smart atmosphere” of this farmhouse hotel less than half an hour from London win general applause, and “in an area which is something of a desert in respect of ‘fine dining’, it provides cooking that’s a notch above the usual gastropub fare”. “On a warm summer’s day, a table in the garden is ideal for a long, relaxed lunch”.
9. Eat 17
British, Modern restaurant in Bishop’s Stortford
23 Potter Street - CM23
2021 Review: “In the heart of Walthamstow Village”, this “great neighbourhood spot” – a Spar supermarket with kitchen attached – wins praise for its “quality” cooking (“the 2019 Harden’s description of pub-type grub underplays its standard and originality”). “Very relaxed and welcoming for young children”, the venture’s best-known innovation is bacon jam, which you can buy by the jar in various flavours. Other branches have opened in Hackney and, most recently, Hammersmith (somewhat better-served areas, so these respective branches are somewhat less of a local lifeline).
10. Thompson
British, Modern restaurant in St Albans
2-8 Hatfield Rd - AL1
Phil Thompson has owned this city-centre casual fine-dining spot (offering à la carte or seven-course tasting menus) for over a decade, and oversaw what was another solid performance this year; the dining area “consists of a number of small rooms, which gives a feeling of intimacy” (there’s also a charming Victorian-style courtyard), and Thompson’s classical training alongside the Galvin bros and MPW means “there’s always a good spin on traditional ideas”.
11. Tabure
Turkish restaurant in St Albans
6 Spencer Street - AL3
2021 Review: This “very good modern Turk” uses high-quality ingredients, including organic meats from Wales, to produce some interesting meals in this under-served town, and it “gets busy and can be very noisy”. There’s a spinoff branch in Berkhamsted.
12. Megan's at the Old Bell
British, Modern restaurant in St Albans
22 Chequer Street - AL1
“Fairy lights, greenery and charming decor create a warm and cosy atmosphere” at this still-expanding group, which is most popular as a “reliable and friendly brunch option”. Its Med-inspired tapas is typically rated somewhere between “tasty” and “nothing special” and scores overall are dragged well down by those experiencing “chaotic service” and “food that doesn’t live up to the pretty dining room”.
13. Lussmanns
British, Modern restaurant in St Albans
Waxhouse Gate, High St - AL3
“Long established in St Albans”, and part of a five-strong, sustainability-oriented chain, this glass-roofed outfit by the cathedral continues to please with its “jolly good” bistro cooking (the latter recommended for its “consistent quality” and equally “good value”).
14. Dylans Kings Arms
British, Modern restaurant in St Albans
7 George Street - AL3
“One of the best in the area” – this fifteenth-century hostelry in the cathedral quarter (named for the landlord’s dog) only has “a small dining area at the back of the pub”, but provides “a very good menu – it’s limited to a few dishes which is encouraging as they are all very good!”
15. The Orange Tree
International restaurant in Totteridge
7 Totteridge Village - N20
This smart ‘country pub’ overlooking the village pond in Totteridge, far North London, boasts a menu that ranges from steaks to sourdough pizza. But marks suffered this year on the basis of one or two reports saying recent standards have been “all a bit ‘meh’”.
16. The Fox
British, Modern restaurant in Willian
2023 Review: This village pub-with-rooms just off the A1 offers “attractively presented food” on a menu which is “a cut above standard gastropub fare” – best enjoyed in the “new outside dining area, which in summer evokes a lovely Mediterranean feel”.
17. Mr Todiwala's Petiscos
Portuguese restaurant in
75 Queen's Road - IG9
2023 Review: “Great atmosphere and something quite different!” – this “warm and welcoming” Buckhurst Hill operation mixes Goan and Portuguese influences. It’s a partnership between Cyris & Pervin Todiwala and the Redman-Schaffer family from Woodford, delivering “great little dishes” (‘petiscos’) and “fantastic Portuguese wines from independent estates”.
18. Vrisaki
Greek restaurant in Wood Green
73 Middleton Rd - N22
2022 Review: This Greek-Cypriot taverna in Bounds Green has earned a wide following across north London over 50 years for its generous ‘Special Mezze’: various cold starters followed by charcoal-grilled meats and fish specialities. Family-run by Adreas and Anthony Antoniou, it has recently been given a modern revamp.
19. Hermitage Rd
British, Modern restaurant in Hitchin
20-21 Hermitage Road - SG5
2021 Review: This former ballroom gains most praise for its “great breakfast/brunch” that makes “a brilliant way to start the weekend, with lots of free top-up coffee and newspapers to read”. In addition to “the best brews, home bakes and bagels”, there’s also a full dinner menu featuring sustainable local produce.
20. The Rising Sun
Italian restaurant in Mill Hill
137 Marsh Ln - NW7
“A true treasure in the leafy suburbs”, this “small and quirky” 16th-century pub operates as a “restaurant spread over different rooms”, “delivering a consistently high standard of high-quality British/Italian cooking”. “Luca (Delnevo) and the team treat you as part of the extended family”.
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