Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Hitchin
Hardens guides have spent 32 years compiling reviews of the best Hitchin restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 18 restaurants in Hitchin and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Hitchin restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Hitchin Restaurants
1. Paris House
British, Modern restaurant in Woburn
Woburn Park - MK17
“An incredible location, with a fabulous driveway through herds of deer” helps set an impressive tone at this striking mock-Tudor, timber building (originally built in France in 1878), which sits in the grounds of Woburn Abbey. It’s long been known as a foodie destination, and on current form, reports acclaim “perfection in food and setting” with “slick service and food that’s to die for”. “Why that one Michelin star is so elusive to regain is a mystery. (We have been eating at Paris House since it very first opened in 1983! After the happy days of Peter Chandler it went through a difficult phase. But Phil Fanning the chef stayed with it and eventually acquired the business. He hasn’t looked back. It remains a favourite and the food and wine are superb)”.
2. Stratton House Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Biggleswade
London Road - SG18
At The Stratton House Hotel we specialise in unpretentious food that makes the most of fresh, quality produce. We like to think it’s some of the tastiest you’ll find around Biggleswade.With a seating capacity of sixty-five, this well-appointed restaurant is ...
3. Hermitage Rd
British, Modern restaurant in Hitchin
20-21 Hermitage Road - SG5
2021 Review: This former ballroom gains most praise for its “great breakfast/brunch” that makes “a brilliant way to start the weekend, with lots of free top-up coffee and newspapers to read”. In addition to “the best brews, home bakes and bagels”, there’s also a full dinner menu featuring sustainable local produce.
4. The Farmhouse at Redcoats
British, Modern restaurant in Hitchin
Redcoats Green - SG4
“Great food” from “an imaginative menu” makes this “delightful traditional farmhouse hotel” a real “local favourite” – and a useful bolthole just 25 minutes from London. But service, particularly from junior staff, “can be hit and miss”, and some find the new conservatory (opened February 2022) to be “very noisy with sound bouncing off the hard surfaces”.
5. The Fox
British, Modern restaurant in Willian
This village pub-with-rooms just off the A1 offers “attractively presented food” on a menu which is “a cut above standard gastropub fare” – best enjoyed in the “new outside dining area, which in summer evokes a lovely Mediterranean feel”.
6. Luton Hoo, Luton Hoo Hotel
International restaurant in Luton
The Mansion House, Luton Hoo Estate - LU1
2021 Review: Afternoon tea is “a real treat” in the “wonderful and friendly surroundings” of this country house hotel and spa, whose claim to fame is that it appeared in ‘Four Weddings’. Reports of more substantial meals here are more up-and-down.
7. The Tilbury
British, Modern restaurant in Datchworth
Watton Rd - SG3
“This lovely country pub” run by brothers Tom (a self-taught cook) and James Bainbridge (a former Fat Duck manager) wins consistent ratings for its high-quality cooking using “good-quality meat and fresh, tasty ingredients”. There’s a “lovely ambience and service to match”, all at “amazing value-for-money prices”.
8. The Waggoners
French restaurant in Welwyn
Brickwall Close, Ayot Grn - AL6
“Consistently lovely” French food and “helpful staff” led by “genial owner Laurent Brydniak” and his wife Aude ensure that a meal at this “fantastic restaurant is always wonderful” – “I love the small rooms with just a few tables in each”.
9. Auberge du Lac
British, Modern restaurant in Welwyn
By the lake of the Brocket Hall estate, this former hunting lodge achieved fame in the early noughties but hasn’t since fully capitalised on its characterful style and beautiful location. Originally set to reopen after a major refurb in April 2022, it will now be 2023 before it is officially relaunched, although new chef John Barber will be organising pop-up events from October 2022 as an opportunity to try out some of his new dishes and entice diners to return once the Auberge re-opens.
10. The Prae Wood Arms
British, Traditional restaurant in St Albans
Garden House Lane - AL3
2019 Review: A “beautiful location” – this “large, rambling and well-spaced” Georgian private home was opened as a gastropub by the Chester-based Brunning & Price chain in 2016, and has quickly built a solid reputation for a “pleasant” menu “full of excellent choices”, “allied with good service”.
11. Thompson
British, Modern restaurant in St Albans
2 Hatfield Rd - AL1
Chef-patron Phil Thompson’s “lovely food continues to excite” at the restaurant he has owned for 10 years (formerly known as Darcy’s) – which makes an “excellent place for a leisurely romantic evening”. His classical style reflects his early years cooking for the Galvin brothers and Marco Pierre White.
12. Tabure
Turkish restaurant in St Albans
6 Spencer Street - AL3
2021 Review: This “very good modern Turk” uses high-quality ingredients, including organic meats from Wales, to produce some interesting meals in this under-served town, and it “gets busy and can be very noisy”. There’s a spinoff branch in Berkhamsted.
13. Megan's at the Old Bell
British, Modern restaurant in St Albans
22 Chequer Street - AL1
With its inviting décor, this fast-expanding group has been a big “winner” since the pandemic, mushrooming to 18 sites, all of which have generally proved useful additions to their respective areas. But while “it certainly looks the part, and the staff look after you well enough”, the brunch-friendly fare can be hit ’n’ miss, with reports ranging from “surprisingly good” to “formulaic and really abysmal”. Top Tip – “always a top option for feeding the family”.
14. Dylans Kings Arms
British, Modern restaurant in St Albans
7 George Street - AL3
“Top grub, a cut above the local culinary landscape”, has earned a devoted following for this fifteenth-century pub in the St Albans cathedral quarter, named after a dog belonging to landlord Sean Hughes – who “continues to be the host with the most”. The menu changes monthly, but may include a smoked duck Caesar Scotch egg, or a spectacular prime rib of English dairy cow to share at £80.
15. Lussmanns
British, Modern restaurant in St Albans
Waxhouse Gate, High St - AL3
With its “tasty food” and “unusual setting” in a glass-roofed modern building next to the eleventh-century cathedral, this well-priced local bistro with an emphasis on sustainable cuisine makes “a good base for lunch or dinner”. It is part of Andrei Lussmann’s five-strong Hertfordshire-based group.
16. Elephant & Castle
British, Modern restaurant in Wheathampstead
Amwell Lane - AL4
2022 Review: Popular with walkers, this attractive eighteenth-century boozer is “very cosy inside and out” (the latter courtesy of a “godsend” of an outdoor tipi). On the culinary front, it's “a cut above pub grub, with surprisingly well-cooked and presented food, especially the fish dishes, and good veggie options too”. “Their own beer (Farr Brew) is also very fresh and tasty.”
17. The Silver Cup
British, Modern restaurant in Harpenden
5 St Albans Road - AL5
It looks like a fairly typical roadside pub (with rooms), but this two-year-old venue beside Harpenden Common from local lads Matthew Reader (chef) and Michael Singleton is a distinct cut above. You get “very good cooking from a local team who are serious about delivering a quality experience in an area not known for the quality of its eateries”.
18. Eileen's
British, Modern restaurant in Ampthill
86a Dunstable Street - MK45
This “small & intimate” spot from MasterChef: The Professionals finalist Steve Barringer offers “very popular tasting menus (5 & 8 courses) that change monthly” – and “you need to book well in advance” to taste this “adventurous cooking – especially for Ampthill!”. It is named after his grandmother, who introduced Steve to cooking as a young boy.
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