The Cross Keys - St Albans

Today, we visited this restaurant with a group of 19 people that we had prebooked for a walking excursion. We selected our food choices at 10:15 and requested lunch to be served at 12:45. After our circular walk, we returned around 12:20, ordered drinks, and received them promptly. Our food arrived at 12:40, slightly earlier than expected, and it was cooked to perfection, presented beautifully, and of excellent quality. The chips looked like they had been cooked in fresh oil, they were so crisp and clean. We highly recommend this pub and their exceptional service.

This charming pub offers delicious home-cooked meals at a very reasonable price. The service is excellent, and the atmosphere is warm and inviting. The surroundings are lovely, making it a great place to dine.

I rarely write negative reviews, let alone give a restaurant 1 star, but my recent experience at The Cross Keys was disappointing. My grandmother and I have dined there many times before and always enjoyed the food, but our most recent visit for burger night was a letdown. The beef burger I ordered was so greasy that my hands were dripping with grease as soon as I picked it up. The chicken burger my grandmother ordered was overcooked and practically inedible. The chips were overly salty. I have never encountered such poor quality food at a British restaurant before. The only positive was the friendly service from the new bartender. It's a shame because I used to live nearby for many years and always had a great experience at The Cross Keys, but this time was a complete failure.

OLd World Country pub welcoming staff warm and roomy accomodation good value with breakfast included in overall room rate ideal spot if visiting family in the area

We were out for a social evening, catch up and a few libations... no food today. I must say, it is so cosy with the fire going and no loud music blaring out.. call me old fashioned...but it's nice when you want to practice the art of conversing.. Only one thing that put a spoiler on the evening, and that was the wife( I think of a grumpy person on a table in front of the fire. She kept on eavesdropping and being patronising to others...belittling people. We tried to ignore her, in the end she went...good riddance...: But overall, a pleasant evening... Oh and they had the lights on too..very pretty..