The Sun at Northaw

Went for a simple lunch on a sunny winters day, in the early run-​up to Christmas.
Service was pleasant, but slow. As we were in no hurry this was not a problem. A good choice of interesting wines on a shortish list, and visible was a good range of beers. The French red I chose drank well without being memorable, showing at least someone cares. The starters were generous, well dressed veritable goat cheese with some really fresh leaves decoration. The special sausage & mash was delicious and very generous. The pud was also very good and by then we had had so much grub we shared it.
Go hungry, a good place to eat.

Went to this pub for the first time about a month after it had first opened. The food then was lovely and the pub had a great atmosphere, despite being just a little over priced.
However when I went back there for my birthday meal a couple of weeks, I dont think I could have been any more disappointed. We had booked a table and arrived 30 minutes early to have a few celebratory drinks. However on arrival it was evident that there were only two staff members working the entire pub/​restaurant. With a queue of people at the bar and a few tables filled it took about 10 minutes to get the first round of drinks in! When it was time for our meal we were taken to a table at the back of the pub and given some menus. After 30 minutes of sitting at the table without seeing one member of staff, I had to go to the bar to try and order some food and more drinks. Despite being run off their feet the staff were extremely friendly.
When the food arrived after almost 40 minutes it was very average compared to on previous occasions. So we decided to get the bill and went just down the road to a quaint little pub where we ended up having a relaxed night!
In all the pub was overpriced (even despite its geographical location and rustic menu), and extremly understaffed!

You can see from the other review here exactly what we found. The staff are overworked, the prices are high — but then this is a pricey area — but the place was packed and with reason. We didn’t eat but I had the best pint I’ve had all year. The food looked great. I waited standing at the bar for about 15 minutes. After 10 mins the barman acknowledged I was there but just kept skidding up and down the bar. So self-​important! I suppose he was the owner. I quite believe that the food is very good but I wouldn’t take anyone I liked there. If you are going to try it I suggest going at a quiet time and not expect too much. You could be very pleasantly surprised.
By the way we gave up waiting after the 15 mins and went to the pub along the road which is a very average pub but at least they served us.

Been there three times now. Would have been four if they had have been open on a Sunday late afternoon. Every visit has had something go wrong. Items not on the menu, unfortunately it wasn’t the calfs brain they had run out of.
Staff all over the place in a disorganised way. I’m sure they didn’t mean to be rude, but to be ignored is never a happy thing when dining out.
In the main average to poor food. Over priced.
But… There has always been one thing that stands out on every visit which is why we have been persistent, they did a vegi flan which was truly remarkable.
Some of the wines have been great, in fact the manager/​owner was quite drunk one night as we all sampled a bit too much of the stuff, good fun, but he’s gone now.
So that’s it for us. Giving it a miss for a while. You might fare better.

The Sun is overpriced. The cheapest item on lunch was £12.50 and the food was very, very average. The staff were hurried. There is a dog who lived and walked around the restaurant.
Northaw is lovely. But don’t eat here.

My girlfriend and I ate at the Sun the other night and, living only minutes down the road, have found ourselves wondering why it’s taken us so long to take ourselves here.
It was nothing short of fantastic.
Locally sourced ingredients (S.E. England) with a map on the back of the menu to show where items come from all just bolstering the credibility in this regard.
I was tempted to try the razor clams which I had never had before and was not at all sorry. They were delicious. The GF had a pheasant and chestnut soup which she found delicious.
My roast whole pheasant with creamed savoy and her vegetable wellington mains were equally good.
We squeezed in a couple of fabulous-​sounding desserts and were too full to move. The egg custard with little vanilla flecks could have been pudding by itself!
Good, interesting beers; a charming\ dog called Smudge; shelves and windowledges piled with food and local information books; and great friendly staff make this pub an absolute gem and probably a monthly visit for us!

Let’s look at the good stuff first. The Sun is a lovely looking pub and Northaw is one of those odd bits of just-​north-​off-​London where you can easily forget that you’re a mere 10 minutes from the M25 and about 30 minutes from traffic jams, congestion charges and strange men trying to clean your windscreen.
It feels, then, like a proper country pub — just one that’s commutable. I’ll also score it highly on some of the food, the beer — a half of a local Hertfordshire bitter was excellent — and the room, where clever use of part walls and curtains means atmosphere whether the place is full or empty. Yes, it’s in the sort of colour range that suggests B&Q do a specialist range — white with a hint of gastropub perhaps — but it’s a lovely light space.
Service was also charming, if a little sloooow. I’m all for the relaxed pace of country life and a lazy weekday lunch but this just felt like understaffing.
What else did I like? The map on the back of the menu — here’s where we source all our ingredients — was a nice touch and that passionate devotion to small suppliers meant some good food but some silly, frustrating mistakes. Steamed crayfish with wheatbeer, bacon and peashoots was excellent but why no finger bowl? My burger was also first rate and chips cooked in beef dripping while lacking the bite of the triple-​cooked packed in good crunch and flavours. And a strawberry trifle, with meringue replacing the sponge, was exemplary, a perfect summer pudding.
On the other side of the table though, things were less satisfactory. A very good caluiflower and goat’s cheese soup was rich and tasty but served in a massive bowl that left us wondering who’d finish such a portion. The elderflower and gooseberry fool had similar size issues. It was tasty and fresh and light but could have fed a family of four northerners. As for the ploughman’s oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Limp leaves. Insipid chutney. Dried out cheddar that: a) had clearly been left out for hours; and b) still bore the plastic sheen that clingfilm leaves. A piece of stilton that had been taken off the knackered end and was grey and dry. Someone in the kitchen had clearly noticed this wasn’t good enough so flipped the cheeses to hide the dodginess. Er, how about taking them off the plate and serving something edible instead? Done well, a ploughman’s celebrates your sourcing. Done badly well, it speaks volumes.
There’s something promising here and other diners were certainly lapping up the excellent looking chicken and other hearty stalwarts. But if they don’t tighten up on the (easily solved) problems now, they’re fighting a losing battle.