The White Horse Hotel

Note: on my date of return home after a two-night break, I emailed the feedback below to info@whitehorsehertingfordbury for the attention of the owner, the point of contact provided by the "duty manager". I have not yet received the courtesy of a reply. 1) room was spacious, attractively decorated and comfortable. Likewise bathroom, although shower head was faulty and needs replacing - water escaped from the circumference and aimed directly at one's face while showering. 2) my husband and I were looking forward to dining at the White Horse on both evenings of our stay. We also planned to have breakfast on both mornings. Unsurprisingly, in light of the unpleasant dining experience described below, we took our custom elsewhere. I did not want a further encounter with the "duty manager", whose unpleasant, sullen and ultimately aggressive attitude had spoiled our stay. This was my dining experience on the first night. I ordered "pan fried salmon niçoise with olive tapanade (sic)". When this arrived, I realised there was no tapenade, instead a large number of black olives. I asked the person delivering our wine, R***, to check the missing item with the kitchen. Upon R***'s return, he said there was no tapenade available and "I apologise for the mistype", a phrase he must have said to me about a dozen times during the remainder of the evening in the restaurant. I was not impressed with the lack of a key constituent within the title of a dish and asked for a consideration to be made as an adjustment to the bill. R*** said he could offer a consideration of £2. I was astounded and felt insulted by this derisory offer, saying that a consideration of at least £5 would be reasonable. R*** repeated "I apologise for the mistype" and left our table. I began to eat my meal and realised it was unacceptably dry. I decided to ask for some mayonnaise. Because there were no members of staff in sight, I went up to the check-in desk and R*** approached me, saying yet again "I apologise for the mistype" - I had not even requested the mayonnaise at this point. I returned to our table and R*** eventually delivered some mayonnaise, forcefully putting it on the table in something between placing and slamming. When I had finished eating, I left many of the black olives which had been off-putting in their dryness and profusion. R*** came to take away our dishes and asked me if I had finished. The passive-agressive tone of his voice made me say "no". I said I couldn't understand how this situation could be described as a "mistype", an expression I had heard by now countless times from R***, given that the words "tapenade" and "black olives" bear no resemblance to one another and it was nonsense to suggest that someone had accidentally typed the wrong word. I said that the menu change had not been flagged to me either before I placed my order, after I placed my order or when the dish was delivered. I asked to speak to the Duty Manager and R*** said, with a smirk, that he was the duty manager. At this point, my husband asked which Brewery Chain owns the White Horse, as he knew I would want to write and complain. R*** replied that it was privately owned. My husband asked for a name and email address, which R*** refused to provide, citing “data protection”. My husband then asked R*** what he thought his wife’s on-line review was likely to be, in light of the above-described circumstances. After another round of several “I apologise for the mistype” phrases from R***, I asked him to bring the bill. He returned with this (copy attached), slammed it on the table along with a piece of paper with the email address ‘info@whitehorsehertingfordbury.co.uk’ and said that £4 (four pounds) had been deducted, after which he left the table. R*** returned shortly afterwards and my husband paid the bill by credit card.

Chantelle - the jewel in the White Horse’s Crown! What a truly smashing afternoon, from pre-lunch drinks to the jugs of ‘posh custard’ with our desserts 😋. As well as enjoying a tasty lunch, your personality, attention and table service was outstanding poppet and we look forward to returning very soon 😊

Restaurant sits well, quietly located in Hertingfordbury. Choice of Comfortable inside character style bar, restaurant spacious & airy. Outside bar seating area well laid out for summer evenings. Plenty to choose from the menu, Rib eye accompanied with truffle chips does it for me . Beer & wine served with a smile, Staff helpful & Friendly. All in all a very pleasant venue, Keep it up, we will book again.