The Horseshoes Country Pub & Dining Room — Restaurant in Epping Forest

I vowed long ago NEVER to take a photo of any meal I ever ate, and stuck to it in the entire decade I have had a phone that both takes pictures and allows me to post same on the interweb. Today, however, marks an even more momentous episode in a life that stretches over eight decades from the dim and distant 1950s. For the entire length of this 21st century, I have proudly eaten every palatable meal (and many that were anything but, especially when I was teaching myself to cook) to the last morsel, but the roast dinner I had today defeated me. Hence the picture. I was there with a hungry group of people who ride bikes, and were taking part in a special edition of my 'Taking the Peaceful Route' event. We had ridden up through Epping Forest and had various adventures on the way, including a ride past the very beautiful Copped Hall, and all were sharp set, made even more acute by a delay in getting our orders in, because the first sunny Sunday in far too long had packed the place beyond its usual capacity. Still, everything comes to he who waits, and when we were served the food was truly excellent. I had the roast lamb, and if the quantity was more than even I could cope with, the quality was equally exceptional. The roast potatoes were crispy on the outside and fluffy within, and all the remaining vegetables were cooked to perfection. I could perhaps have done without the cauliflower cheese, but it made for an interesting bonne bouche, and I'm going to blame it for filling me up so much I had - oh the mortification! - to leave a few scraps on my plate. When I thanked the waitress for my meal, and admitted defeat for the first time this millennium, she punched the air and cheered. Why can't I give this place more...

The Horseshoes Country Pub & Dining Room is hands down my favourite pub in London ~ no notes, just vibes 🍽️💅🏽. This was our fourth visit and yet again, they understood the assignment 👏🔥.

If you’re after Michelin-level food without the “sell a kidney” price tag 💸😅, this is the spot. Nestled in Waltham Abbey, it’s our go-to post-hike treat ~ because what’s the point of fighting for your life on a trail if there’s no gourmet reward at the end? 🥵🚶🏽‍♀️🍴

The food? Sensational. We had the scallop & crab Thermidor with olive mash and prawn butter (say that five times fast 😮‍💨🤌), pan-seared sea bass, and the juiciest burgers in town 🍔🦞. Everyone at the table was living their best foodie life.

Racheal looked after us like absolute royalty 👑, even tweaking my dish to suit my eccentric request 🙏✨. She gave me bombastic side-eye and laughed at how specific I was being. Thank you Rachael we love you! 🥰 The vibe is cozy, family-friendly, and full of dogs and kids ~ 10/10. 🐶👶🏽💕

Also, let it be known: I do not commit to an Epping-hike unless the Horseshoes is part of the post-trek itinerary. The food is my motivation, my reward, my reason for trekking uphill in the first place 😂😤. I was literally singing when we got close to lunch.

Follow me for more motivation… mostly...

Food was decent, although we had one of the specials (the salmon) which we only found out was way more expensive than everything else on the menu (£21) when we got the bill. We probably should have asked the price, but it would have been nice to have been told this when ordering as we assumed it would have been similar to other dishes.

The menu was not completely clear, i.e. I ordered a burger which stated it came with “chips, BBQ sauce and coleslaw” - this suggests all of these items are on the side, but I was disappointed to find the BBQ sauce was served IN the burger. I hate BBQ sauce so this ruined the burger for me.

The tables were not properly spaced for Covid in the restaurant area - my wife was sitting less than 1 meter away from the person on the next table.

The service was a little slow - there was only one person serving all the tables and at one point we didn’t see anyone for about 15 minutes - this was directly after someone on the next table returned an apple pie dessert as it was cold (when they ordered it hot), so maybe there were problems in the kitchen.

Wouldn’t be in a hurry to return, but maybe if we...