Cowper Arms Hertford — Restaurant in East Hertfordshire

We've visited a number of times over the last year - we enjoy taking the kids for bike rides down the old railway line and the pub is perfectly located for post ride meal. Over the last year, our experience is there has been a real drop off in both service and the quality of the food. Yesterday my wife and I ordered a chateaubriand to share and the kids Mac and cheese and fish and chips from the kids menu. Firstly the kids Mac and cheese was very stingy, previously I remember the kids portions being good. Even more disappointingly after an hour wait for food (our table was at 5pm so wasn't expecting that to be peak time) the steak which we ordered medium rare came very well done. It was extremely disappointing - not what you expect for a £60 steak! We tried to complain but as has been our experience previously we couldn't get hold of our waitress so we covered it in sauce and got on with it - Didn't fancy waiting another hour. We did complain later and were given free desert, which to be fair was excellent. Unfortunately, disappointed for not the first time. The last time we went it was a Sunday and after a long wait our roasts were cold. Had to request extra gravy to warm it up. It's a shame, but they are charging premium price and delivering poor service and now disappointing food. Got to be honest, amazed at the great reviews the pub is still getting. The staff are friendly but seem to have no pride in what they are delivering - just going through the motions. I really want the pub to be great, but standards seem to be slipping to the less quality pub brands of its owner...

Lovely pub with extensive and interesting menu, of very high quality, but what stands out the most is the quality of the service. I really felt welcome. Superb. Thank you.

Update: just visited again July 2021. What an absolutely gorgeous lunch, thank you Cowper Arms team. I want to highlight Natalia, who served our table exquisitely, knowledgeably, with charm, poise, class and fun. What a delightful lady. Used to come here a lot when I lived nearer. It's always been a great pub for surroundings, food, and service. Today I had one of the best lunches I've had in years. Rack of Lamb on a bed of interesting loveliness, with Dauphinoise potato and a scrummy jus. And five berry crumble, custard and a dollop of ice cream. Not pub stodge, quite the opposite. Classy and refined and delicious. Yet still a crumble and custard - not a nonsense deconstruction. Absolutely heavenly. Yes the food was THAT GOOD, so I want to highlight head chef Tom and his whole team for an amazing lunch. We will be back!

Update: April 2022. Disappointed the rack of lamb no longer featuring on the menu. Instead I chose the fillet steak medium rare ( it was probably rare in truth) and it was a beautiful piece of fillet, could not fault it. The mini deep fried sort of "English onion bhaji" was divine - how clever, and how delicious. Served by a hostess called Ellie. Talk about adding personality to the job of serving diners, my goodness this lady should be teaching this job. What an inspiration. What a lovely person. This pub/restaurant is...

Arrived at the weekend for a Sunday dinner with the family. Waited for 10+ minutes at the bar to be served, with 1 staff member serving. Many others rushing around on what was a busy Sunday lunch. Found a seat outside to base ourselves at, which took half an hour for someone to appear to clear from the last group. Even then they cleared only the plates and not the glasses. Eventually we moved these to another empty table. Ordered more drinks via the app while we decided on food. A long time passed and no sign of the food. When we were ready to order food, we ordered extra drinks, not wanting to wait until the evening to be served again. Everything arrived at once. Whennit did arrive, it came with no cutlery. Wed ordered pizza for the little ones and burgers for us, so 'finger food' you might argue. Yes, well, we received no napkins either, so with greasy fingers, that would have been nice. As the afternoon wore on and tables vacated, the glasses, plates etc remained. The place was less than half empty, with staff stood chatting at the bar, despite outside requiring clearing. Inside was maybe ⅔ full, but the service was poor. We've had pleasant experiences before, so I dare say we will be back again, that this was perhaps a one-off. The pub is conveniently located next to the old station along the greenway, so ideal for a family stroll with the dog before nipping in for a refreshment or two and some nibbles. The staff were friendly and polite, but perhaps better attention to detail, particularly in the...