The Plough — Restaurant in Dacorum

So the Plough... It's kind of my elected local, there are three if not four other pubs nearer than the Plough, but we choose to come here, and this is why... The staff are really sweet. We've always (apart from once, see below review three yrs ago) been met with smiles, warmth and good humour from staff serving us; The food (that I and the people I've gone with) is really good. The price is decent (enough not to threaten a remortgage strategy lol) Local enough for us to walk over when weather permits. Since the review below, I be been back with various people and mostly with my wife, a handful or so of times, and I'd say all these times within the last 8months to a year. Each of these last visits have been so much better than before (below) so they must've upped their game-face, because I (we) have rekindled our love of this gastro pub. Well done landlord/ landlady, and thank you for some really good times! (Still not too happy I never made it into your Facebook page after conquering the Henry VIII burger though 😂😜) Don't think I could manage one anymore ...😬🫀❤️‍🩹😅

The below review was written by me, wow...3yrs ago according to Google. Didn't enjoy it tonight... The front of house staff were sweet enough, hence the lone star; however they'd made no attempt to put right the mistakes they'd made. We waited an inordinately long time for our meal (over an hour), and we feel it would've been longer had we'd not quizzed them when our food would be arriving. The table next to us came in a good 10 or so minutes after us and they got their food before us. My wife ordered california salad (which supposedly included "skinny fries") the fries didn't show up until we asked where they were. I ordered pork belly which the menu said included pork crackling and apple jam. Neither of these came in my dish, even after I'd specifically requested they made sure I get the crackling. Weirdly, I got a handful of peas thrown in on my plate that were hidden in the mash. I ordered bread n butter pudding which I (wrongly) presumed would be home made. It was pretty dire. Our evening was only made pleasant and bearable due to the chatty lady and her carer sitting across from us. The Plough has historically been such a great place to eat for me, I've been in there on at least 8 or 10 occasions over the last few years for numerous birthdays and anniversaries, either with friends or with family and had always loved it, so this evening has left me really feeling really disappointed because I chose to come here for my birthday tonight. Don't think I will be visiting again for a long while, if at...

My wife booked a meal for us and four friends as it was my birthday and our wedding anniversary, based on the 4.3 star rating. Point three stars would be generous. The staff were sweet but four of the six meals were atrocious. Maybe it was the Monday chef. A number of items were off the menu, and one guest suggested we should go somewhere else! After a long wait the two Pork Belly meals came looking as if they had been scraped off the floor. As they were served we were offered an immediate discount or replacement without requesting it as they obviously looked so very bad and unappetizing, and also they were not crispy as expected. My wife’s Hunters Chicken was burnt and her sweet potato fries overcooked. Her meal was replaced, but the new fries were under-cooked. Worst of all was my Beef Dripping Burger. Half of the components of the dish like the Yorkshire puddings was missing. They said they had none but did not tell me when I ordered. The beef burger was totally burnt , thick, solid black around the edge and impossible to even cut. Maybe it had been left on the grill since lunch time. The “double cheese” was just a burnt stain on the shriveled up burger. The meal was replaced by steak, which was cooked medium-rare rather than the requested medium. So four guests ate together, then my wife then me. Not what you expect in a social meal. How anyone can serve food in that condition and expect customers not to notice I do not know. The manageress did discount the bill but that is only to be expected. The chef has no place in a kitchen if he or she cannot even cook a beef burger. They have probably lost six future customers plus all of our friends and relatives who hear our sorry tale. You have...

We came to the Plough for Christmas dinner. We didn't expect fine dining but were not ready for what we were served, especially in for £70 set menu!

I have to start with the positive, the staff was friendly enough while being slightly pushy as we only had a 2h time slot.

Starters: Those were ok in taste but the portions were small and VERY uneven. One of the pork skewers was half the size of the others.

Mains: My wife had the monkfish which was so dry it had to have been precooked and reheated 3 or 4 times. Two people had the lamb shank, the meat was fine but the mash potato was lumpy and had a weird aftertaste that we couldn't identify. They both only ate the meat. The rest of us had the beef roast, which was served carvery style (this wasn't obvious at all on the pre order menu). The slice of beef was so thin and small it was almost laughable, and it was overcooked and dry. The sides were so bland that there had to be a shortage of salt and pepper in the area (the creamy leaks and carrots in particular). The gravy didn't bring any flavour as it was watery and also unseasoned.

Dessert: The lemon tart was fine, and the Xmas pudding apart from being a miniature version didn't raise any complaints. The chocolate tart was sickly, but the worst was the crumble. The crumble itself was not cooked, and the fruits had a strange vinegar aftertaste. It came with a custard which might be the most bland thing i have ever eaten. We all tasted it and thought it was made with water instead of milk.

The kids food was very simple but fine, and at least the ice creams were not home made.

Overall a very bad experience. Definitely not worth the £70 per head plus...