The Fox

In Luton for ten days, we had some very good meals in the area, but this wasn’t one of them. The Fox came highly recommended. Very busy — a good sign. Unfortunately that resulted in a long wait for food and drink, as well as being extremely LOUD. We had to practically shout to talk amongst ourselves over dinner. If the food was good it would have been worth it, but none of us was particularly satisfied with our meals. The fish and chips was OK, but the other meals were subpar. When asked by the waitress, I was very specific on my lamb being medium rare, pink in the middle, and it came well-​done, tough, and dry. A friend’s chicken was equally overdone and dry. With ten days in the area, I rated several restaurants on Unilocal and this was one to bypass. Harpenden is a very nice town with many good choices, i.e. Billy’s down the street was much better.

Better come prepared. I. e not hungry like us. You’ll be waiting a fair while for starters to arrive. Ours are still not here and it’s been 30mins. On top of that, this is countryside prices, and the quality reflects this too.
Save yourself some money, go to the fish and chip shop near the station and get some simple but tasty fish!

In Luton from the states as well. The thought of fine dining in a pub sounded like an oxymoron. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad. Had the monkfish which was a special and a few colleagues had steak. Wasn’t the best food I’ve ever had but certainly not the worst. Being that the options in Luton are limited, this place warrants a stop in.

In Luton from the States. Wanted fish and chips, so went here with co-​workers (all from out of town on business). Great time.
Great atmosphere for dinner, drinks, or desserts.
Very helpful staff; professonal and friendly. Volunteered to help call our cab when things were wrapped up (or was that a hint to our rowdy group?)
Had the Haddock fish & chips and thought it was great. (But as an American, I’m not exactly an expert on this dish!). It came with spashed peas (which I had eaten before) — also good, but a bit heavy on a mint flavor (just not my deal, maybe yours).
Very good appetizers. We shared a sampler of 6 appetizers– all very good.
Dessert: the group tried 3. A crumble, cookies and ice cream, and a toffee and vanilla ice cream dish. All very happy and we all ate way too much.
I would go here again.

The Fox on Luton Road is a very average semi-​chain pub. The food is very overpiced for the quality, and the pizza in particular is not good. One of those pubs trying to do something for everyone, but end up just doing a lot of stuff very average. The best thing about the place is the nice outdoor seating.
I would strongly encourage anyone reading this to give the other Fox pub in nearby Darley Hall a visit. It isn’t a chain, everything is fresh and usually seasonal, and I can tell you the Darley Hall Fox blows this one away for overall quality and value.
So take the extra few minutes to find the other Fox in the quiet, rolling countryside behind Luton airport.

Really nicely done up pub with a good atmosphere and an excellent kitchen.

Went to the fox for our second visit yesterday afternoon.
Last visit was a family occasion to celebrate our daughters graduation with other family members following the ceremony on a Friday lunchtime and we all thoroughly enjoyed the food.
Yesterday was the two of us we had the Curried Smoked Haddock Fishcakes for starters which were absolutely lovely. I then had the Smoked Gammon with a maple sauce and Mustard Mash with green beans which was delicious. My husband had the Butternut Squash Risotto for main — but I have to say it really was not good; it was a pile of stodge and not the unctious pile of creamy rice etc it should be. He left about half of it which is not like him at all.
We would return as the menu is interesting and the surrounding are lovley, many people were sitting outside as the weather was beautiful.

If I was going to go out for a nice meal in Harpenden I would make it The Fox. There is a great atmosphere here on a Friday/​Saturday night, candlelit dinner and amazing food. The furnishings are modern very clean and presentable.
The food was lovely. Small menu, better than pub food but not pretentious or too grandiose. Nothing over the top. Very fresh and one in our company who had steak could not rave enough about it. They put a lot of thought into the menu with seasonal specials. Summer pudding was amazing.

Good roast, excellent deserts — good beer with lunch. Plenty of kids at the weekend which is great if like me you have them with you — don’t feel too embarrased about noise then.

I agree with Minkymoos about the Roast but pretty much every time I have been the food has been good and the service reasonable. I particularly like the range of non-​alchoholic drinks as it is usually me who ends up driving and the whole garlic baked camembert is just divine. My wife is less keen on that especially when its just me that has it !

The Fox is on the road out of Harpenden towards Luton and does a good Sunday roast. In the Summer the garden area is a good place to enjoy an al fresco meal, while inside, the décor is understated but warm and chic, classy gastro-​pub style. The service is slick and at weekends you’d be advised to book. We once had a roast there that wasn’t all that but that probably had something to do with our late arrival on the Sunday afternoon.

Nice gastropub in Harpenden.