The Fox at Willian

We’ve been coming here for years and have always enjoyed meeting friends here, which makes this review especially disappointing to write. Sadly, this visit was a real let-down. The food was poor and vastly overpriced for what was served. My husband’s meal was honestly reminiscent of something you’d expect from a school dinner decades ago. The steaks that three of us ordered arrived barely warm and in very small portions, completely unacceptable given the price. Although we were offered two desserts by way of apology, it did little to soften the blow of a bill of over £240 for four people. It simply didn’t reflect the quality of what we received. The only shining light was our waitress, who was an absolute delight. Her service was excellent and if it hadn’t been for her, we would have walked out without finishing the meal. We’ve always spoken highly of this place in the past, but after this experience we left feeling disappointed and unlikely to rush back.

This is our local pub, and we absolutely love coming here. The staff are polite and professional, and the atmosphere is always lovely. The décor is rustic and a true reflection of classic English country style. The food and drinks are delicious.

Really disappointed with our meal here as been here before and had a lovely experience in the past. We booked a table for my step mums 40th birthday and the service was shocking. During the meal we had the staff come up to us about 1000 times telling us to remember we didn't have long left (we were all aware it was a 2 hour table booking) but we didnt mind too much, however they made it obvious from the get go that they wanted everyone in the eating area (including other tables) gone asap which was really off-putting and a bit rude, none of us appreciated being rushed to eat quicker. The staff then kept taking away half finished drinks, apologising for taking them away and providing replacements, only for the same thing to repeat. Overall there was absolutely 0 organisation, if it were busy we would've completely understand but it was really quiet. Right after we'd finished dessert we are asked to move to another table as there was another booking, which was perfectly fine and we were happy to move for another family coming, only there was no other booking coming. That table remained empty until closing. At our new table, we were watching my mum opening her presents and one of the staff wandered over cutting off our mum talking by mumbling the happy birthday song with an unlit cake. I cannot even begin to tell you how awkward that was. My uncle had to stop him singing and ask the waiter to light the cake, and come back so that we could all actually sing happy birthday to her together. We werent at our new table having drinks for very long before we were told we had to move again as "there was another booking coming here too". Shockingly there wasn't another booking here either. We were told we couldnt be at any table anymore and had to go to the bar if we wanted to stay longer, so we did (there were 10 of us so squeezing all of us plus all of the people arriving who had also been relegated to the bar area was interesting). For the rest of the time we were at the bar no one turned up to those tables that "had more bookings after us". Infact it was completely empty and set up for the next day by the time we left. The whole experience was really really disappointing, our booking was for a special birthday and it was tainted by poor service. I cant say we'll be coming back.

A big, comfortable pub that was packed when I visited. This place is renowned for its Sunday lunch, and rightly so. The roast beef I had - though perhaps slightly overdone - was very tasty, and the portion size was spot-on. Special mention for the service, which was attentive, efficient and friendly.

I don’t like to write negative reviews, but our family Boxing Day lunch was a real let down yesterday. Way, way overstretched in every way - bar was chaotic, not enough staff, empty glasses everywhere and very slow service. Our table wasn’t ready and when we eventually sat down service was slow and food average if that, it wasn’t hot and most courses were tasteless. At £70 a head - including drinks admittedly - it just wasn’t worth it. We won’t be retuning in a hurry.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A truly welcoming country pub! The Fox Inn at Willian is a fantastic place to relax, enjoy great food, and feel genuinely looked after. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, and the service is always spot-on. A special mention to Irmina, who is always smiling and goes out of her way to make guests feel welcome. She’s attentive, friendly, and incredibly helpful — a real credit to the team and one of the reasons we keep coming back. Highly recommended for anyone looking for great food, excellent service, and a proper village pub

We came for dinner with friends on a quiet Thursday night after reading some of the better reviews. However unfortunately we didn’t have a great experience. The service was average. I had high expectations for the food but overall it was bland. The crab and avocado starter lacked texture and flavour and was essentially a small bowl of cold mush. The lamb cutlets, although not burnt, had a charred burnt taste that ran through the dish. My partner’s steak was cooked well but again, lacked any flavour. Overall a really disappointing dinner and definitely doesn’t warrant the expense. We won’t be returning any time soon.

Very enjoyable experience at the Fox. The place itself is very well decorated, the dining hall is very welcoming. The food was delicious, and our waitress (Libby) was very polite and knowledgeable. Will definitely return.

Great pub to drink and socialize - we had a blast there and made two new friends! The whole little village there (Willian) and the church next door, is quaint and beautiful. It fancies itself as a gastro-pub but like a couple of others that experienced on this trip we were somewhat disappointed with the food, the menu etc somewhat pretentious, they try too hard and end up with no stellar result to validate the term gastropub in my opinion. That said - I will be back for drinks on my next visit to the UK

The Fox is an up market restaurant/pub set in the beautiful village of Willian, near Hitchin. Their food is absolutely amazing, and the service is great to. This is my favourite place to eat! It's quite pricey, but very worth it for a special occasion. They specialise in fish dishes, but their non-fish dishes are fab too. The only down side to their menu is the fact that they tend to only have one vegetarian option, so I don't think it's the best place to eat at for vegetarians.

Just on the edge of Letchworth, Willian is a pretty little village. The Fox combines a pub and restaurant next to the village pond, specialising in seafood brought in fresh from Norfolk, and meat from the farm next door. This is a restaurant that takes full advantage of the freshest, seasonal ingredients, and the service is good too. I haven't tried their fish and chips yet, but they won the award for the best fish and chips in the country at the Great British Pub Food Awards 2010. I'll be trying it soon! As a bonus, in a little building at the back, you will find a farm shop, containing fresh fruit and vegetables, wine and an excellent fishmonger. I'm a regular visitor, picking up Cromer crab, sacks full of mussels, plaice, monkfish, mackerel, or whatever else came in fresh that morning.

This is a top class restaurant and gastro pub in the lovely little village of Willian. It's run by the same people who own the White Horse restaurant in North Norfolk which some people may know. It's a regular entrant in the 'Good Food Guide' and other restaurant review books and rightly so. The food is lovely, beautifully cooked and presented. The wine and beer list are extensive too. The atmosphere is congenial, not at all snooty and the staff are attentive and friendly. But cheap it is not - in fact it's quite pricey. I wish I had the cash to eat here more often but for me it's definitely a special occasion type of place I go to maybe twice a year. Maybe when I win the lottery I'll go more often ...

Love this pub!!! Every time I visit my sister we will always come here. The food and atmosphere is great, the pub is clean, the staff is amazing !!! Just love it .

Excellent country pub with a restaurant. Food is to a high standard and bar area is also great.

Amazing food and a great choice of drinks. So many wines by the glass. You can choose between the restaurant bit or the more laid back bar. They also do great one off events and the menu is always seasonal. A great place to reward yourself after a walk around the arboretum! Or just a walk from the car!

Lovely mealinteresting menu and the food was well prepared and quality high. The service was good, but a bit confused at the bar. We ate in the lovely garden, a good setting for lunch. Food was £20-25 per person for lunch, two courses.

Been there for lunch a couple of times, it is a lovely gastro pub, that serves wonderful food... im sure ill be back again!

In over twenty visits, we've encountered close to 100% consistent delivery of professionally cooked and presented food. Service has been variable, but has been OK to excellent, never poor. And we come for the food, mainly. The menu changes often enough to give an idea of the kitchen's range. It is, at times, staid, but this may sadly!! reflect clientele's taste. Quality of produce (meat, fish, vegetables) is pretty consistently first-rate. In the past year we've tasted excellent, and excellently cooked and presented, pork, venison, oysters, beef, and lamb here. It is probably worth noting that it is fairly unusual for a good restaurant, even a 'gastropub', to offer such generous portions. There are also, as a 'starter' rather interesting slices of bread. These are all well and good, but our only (extremely slight) complaint would stem from the (apparently recent) drive to use 'British' rapeseed oil where good old olive oil (or British butter!) would have done better.