The Plough Great Chesterford — Restaurant in Uttlesford

I really wanted to give a better review as we visited last year and really loved the food and the place but yesterday’s experience was not great at all. Our waiter was very friendly and polite so I cant fault him there but we did ask for a cushion for the highchair to help our little baby sit better in it and also a bowl of hot water to heat up her food, both of which were completely forgotten about. We were the second table there so it was not very busy. The nut roast was nothing like last year. It was a flat tasteless sheet on the plate accompanied with bland carrots cut up the same portion size for a child, 2 pieces of broccoli and 2-3 quarter sized potatoes. It really was nothing compared to the roast dinner we had the first time we visited. My mother and husband were not impressed with their meat roast either. They both loved their desserts but my apple crumble was not a traditional crumble at all. It was a dry bowl of apples and ginger biscuit crushed up on top. Everyone tried it and agreed. Being vegan I can make a great crumble using non dairy butter and maple syrup etc. It said vegan on the menu but was served with a scoop of dairy ice cream on top. Very confusing. To top our experience off there were a family sitting beside us and a man who kept referring to our daughter as a boy and kept belching loudly without apology beside us while we tried to eat. To say we lost our appetites then entirely is an understatement. The pub is very cosy, beautiful dogs and the staff are so polite. It’s just such a shame the food is not up to the scratch. We sadly won’t...

I was in 2 minds whether to actually leave a review, however having seen another person share the same experience at the plough yesterday I thought I should. Whilst the food was excellent, I can honestly say the scenes I witnessed of the man who I am presuming is the Landlord (bald, glasses) were outrageous even for myself who has been in the hospitality services for 20+ years! I first witnessed him shouting and swearing to a couple of ladies in the car park, I did ask them if they were OK afterwards and they explained that he had just decided to have a pop regarding an incident neither had actually been involved in or aware of (they were just moving cars). I then whilst finishing off my meal with my family witnessed him shout and swear at a lady at the bar in front of a fully packed pub, she looked visibly shocked (even with a mask on). I then asked our server if everything was ok, they said this is what he can be like and had already fired someone that day! Having looked at some of the previous reviews that are lower scored I can say some of the replies to patrons are far from friendly and extremely sarcastic, lacking in any kind of respect for those who have reviewed. I am sad to say that again as excellent as our server was and the food I will not be returning to a place where this kind of behaviour is acceptable and let alone done by management in front of families (some with young children) highly unprofessional and quite appalling - I would say do this kind of thing in private not and not a...

Lousy!

My partner, myself and two friends had the misfortune of suffering a meal here on 12.3.16. This is not a mistake that we shall be repeating. It's a shame because the staff are very welcoming and the pub itself is lovely, unfortunately I cannot say the same about the food. I ordered a rare steak which sounded very tempting on the menu and was served to me perfectly cooked. However the taste and quality of it were miserable as we're the accompanying vegetables, and odd choice of stir fried veg that had been reduced to a disgusting sweaty gloop.

It gets worse. One of our friends is vegetarian and, not fancying anything off the main course menu asked if she could have the mere from the starter board "supersized" up to a main course portion. "No problem" were were told. Said meze arrived, a tiny pot of shop bought, low quality hummus, an equally tiny pot of olives and a loaf of bread. A whole loaf! That, in my mind, does not constitute a meze nor was it appetising in any way. Very poor value for too much money. The other two diners had the mixed grill which was again not up to standard although basically edible. Personally speaking, when I part with my hard earned cash for a meal I expect the food to be of a quality consistent with the price paid for it. On this occasion I and the rest of my party were all bitterly disappointed.

I will not be dining there again as the experience ruined our evening and our friends had travelled a long way to visit us only to be served badly prepared,...