The Hoops Inn — Restaurant in East Hertfordshire

We arrived to meet friends for a pre-booked meal in the patio area, due to covid. As we sat down we were told that we needed to order immediately as the chef was going home. This is curious given that the booking was made and accepted for a time when the resident chef was leaving for the day. Sadly this information was not shared with our friend who made the booking.

Two of our party had the 4 meat roast which sadly only compromised of 2 meats as despite knowing that the pub was going to reopen, it seems that not enough food was ordered in to cover the potential amount of diners. The fact that only 2 meats were offered was not reflected in the price.

When the roasts arrived, one of them featured 2 ultra thin slices of very fatty pork and 1 newspaper thin slice of beef, the size of an egg. There was no crackling, the gravy was cold and the vegetables were hard. I ordered scampi which arrived small and tepid.

Despite being pressured to place a main course order, it was almost impossible to place a dessert order and I had to actually go into the pub twice to grt any attention in order to be shown dessert options. Upon ordering, 2 of us had apple crumble which was not baked but put in the microwave denoted by the fact that the crumble topping was grey in colour. Another member of our party had bread and butter pudding which arrived cold.

The toilets were dark as there were no lights and 1 cubicle door in the ladies didn't have a door lock. Having been in lockdown for so long, surely the lights and door locks should have been repaired during this time ready for reopening.

To add insult to injury, we were charged for items that we didn't order and paid a premium for what was quite frankly a disgusting, embarrassing and extremely overpriced set of...

One could say that we a frequent regulars whom enjoy the very short walk for fine food and wine.The Hoops is a characterful building with sympathetic interior. The staff are very friendly, attentive and always helpful. The chef grills an awesome rib eye steak. The food is always fresh, well prepared and delicious. Generally, all the dishes are well presented and look very good. Most tastes appear well catered for.

Enjoying the lazy summer evenings in the sun drenched gardens whilst pleasuring a nice cold lager is also highly recommended. Even the cat enjoys the short stroll down to the Hoops. He says...

seriously understaffed...waited ages for food and drink.. new owner shouted at our kid for stepping on stone in garden.( fair play our 7 year old kid should not of been there, but he should of politely asked her to move instead of shouting aggressively at her)his excuse was he spent £100 on gardener. totally ruined our day. wish we left as soon as it happened but was going on recommendations from friend which must of been from previous management. manager should choose a different career... he has more respect for dogs...