Topic ID 2421
the pub used to be packed sat/sun lunchtimes... now with no food its empty..in there 1:30 today 3 people in the place..shame used to do good food
Reply ID 33944
I agree, the cook was absolutely fabulous at the Old Cross Tavern, their Sunday dinners were the best you could get anywhere, she is a very great loss.
Reply ID 33990
how many can it seat?
Reply ID 33997
Sunday lunch was up to 40 covers but staggered over 3 hours - I guess the OXT seats around 20, Justin, more if you count the courtyard and the bit by the bar (where the no smoking/no dogs lunchtime regulation doesn't apply). The OXT is no longer serving food, apart from filled rolls, until further notice. [:(]
Reply ID 34001
Same is true midweek , went in for some Braughing & Bubble last Tuesday , and instead of the usual busy scene there was just 2 builders nibbling on a roll .
Reply ID 34014
How come they are not doing food at the moment??
Reply ID 34016
quote:No cook by the look of it - see 2nd post above
Originally posted by GillP
How come they are not doing food at the moment??
Reply ID 34018
Where have all the Real Ale fanatics gone ? Even without the great homecooked style food surely this should still be a popular pub . Correct me if im wrong but with the White Horse being owned by Fullers these days isnt it the only Free House in Hertford ?
Reply ID 34025
The cook was my mate's mum and their food trade has gone rapidly downhill since she left.
Reply ID 34040
Sign on window saying not opening till 4pm today.....
Reply ID 34042
I am beginning to think this pub is being run as a hobby, what with being closed on New Year's Eve and serving no food, it is as if Bev has lost interest. I used to consider the OXT to be the best pub in Hertford, but not any more.
Reply ID 34044
quote:I think there were some unusual opening/closed times the previous Christmas too as I recall.
Originally posted by wizkid
I am beginning to think this pub is being run as a hobby, what with being closed on New Year's Eve and serving no food, it is as if Bev has lost interest. I used to consider the OXT to be the best pub in Hertford, but not any more.
Reply ID 34045
is it a free house?
Reply ID 34046
quote:Yes its a true free house. It still has the best selection of real ale and all in tip-top condition.
Originally posted by justin
is it a free house?
Reply ID 34047
quote:Most definitely - and one that serves an excellent selection of real ales. [:)]
Originally posted by justin
is it a free house?
Reply ID 34460
out of interest, does anyone know where the cook has gone? If she has moved to another pub, my mum would like to know!! Many thanks.
Reply ID 34468
Your mum is not alone! [:)] Unfortunately for your mum and other people who like cooked-from-scratch good pub food using local ingredients, the cook from the Old Cross Tavern is currently running the kitchen of a facility that is not open to the public. [:(] However, she is still in talks with a couple of local establishments who approached her when they heard she was leaving the OXT so she may yet turn up in a Hertford pub - I'll post here if I hear anything. Meantime, still no food apart from rolls in the OXT. People who used to eat there have dispersed to the White Horse, the Black Horse, the Woolpack and the Barge for their lunches. Does anyone know whether there are any plans to bring back lunchtime food in the OXT[?] I notice that it is still always rammed in there in the evenings so its reputation as an excellent real ale free house is strong enough to keep people coming in for the superb selection of well-kept beers, even without lunchtime food. [:)]
Reply ID 34475
Is it true the cook left after her request for shorter hours were turned down ? Seems a very short sighted decision by the OXT if true .
Reply ID 34480
it strikes me that firstly perhaps someone ought to actually point this thread out to the owners of the OXT and then get their response on here... Otherwise this thread is going round in circles!
Reply ID 34506
I do know she was upset, so it sounds as if that well could be true. I really hope they try to get her back, her Sunday dinners were fabulous, I am really going to miss them[V]
Reply ID 34524
Kay, the former cook at the Old Cross Tavern, asked me to post the following: I am very flattered by the compliments I have received for my cooking in the Old Cross Tavern and would like to thank everyone for their support. However, modesty compels me to point out that I am not the only good pub cook in the vicinity! If the management of the Old Cross Tavern had wanted to continue their home-made pub lunches, they could have done so without me. The Old Cross Tavern is a deservedly popular pub with excellent staff. I have great respect for the management there, whom I left on good terms, having worked an agreed notice period. Hope this is helpful. Kay is not going to be working in any Hertford pub in the foreseeable future.
Reply ID 34525
So it is a conscious decision by the OXT to scrap the food , what a shame . [:(]
Reply ID 34537
quote:I unfortunately did not experience Kay's Food. I have been told that it was very good. Thank You for posting her reply. Hopefully this will serve to stop the speculation, especially that that keeps threads going round in circles.
Originally posted by Rachel
Kay, the former cook at the Old Cross Tavern, asked me to post the following: I am very flattered by the compliments I have received for my cooking in the Old Cross Tavern and would like to thank everyone for their support. However, modesty compels me to point out that I am not the only good pub cook in the vicinity! If the management of the Old Cross Tavern had wanted to continue their home-made pub lunches, they could have done so without me. The Old Cross Tavern is a deservedly popular pub with excellent staff. I have great respect for the management there, whom I left on good terms, having worked an agreed notice period. Hope this is helpful. Kay is not going to be working in any Hertford pub in the foreseeable future.
Reply ID 34539
It sounds like if Kay fancied opening an eatery in town, she'd do very well :) Uglys is available... make a nice bistro!
Reply ID 50594
Can anyone tell me if they ever started doing midweek lunchtime food again ? Havent been since the above mentioned Kay left but do miss a quiet OXT lunch on rare midweek days off .
Reply ID 50599
quote:They offer filled rolls and various pies and pasties
Originally posted by Donostia
Can anyone tell me if they ever started doing midweek lunchtime food again ? Havent been since the above mentioned Kay left but do miss a quiet OXT lunch on rare midweek days off .
Reply ID 50605
Thanks , not quiet the Braughing & Bubble of old but i'll give a pie a try then .
Reply ID 50610
Pork Pies are good (cos, unless you are very strange, you eat them cold)but if you want a hot pie it gets nuked. Doesn't do the pastry any good at all. Pity
Reply ID 51698
Went in for a pint (or three or four) last night and noticed that the kitchen is being refitted - as a micro brewery.
Reply ID 51701
that is _excellent_ news!
Reply ID 51716
Good luck bev !!! (and Mary) Will be over soon to check it out and or help if you'll let me !!!!!
Reply ID 52460
Do I hear right that the Old Cross Tavern is having a beer festival 29th May and over the bank holiday weekend? Does anyone have any news on the beers to be enjoyed and what the "homebrew" may be like?
Reply ID 52462
I wouldnt have thought the homebrew would be ready yet.. However they do usually have a beer festival at the bank holiday - went last year and it was really good! it was packed though, people everywhere!
Reply ID 52464
There is definitely a beer festival over the bank holiday weekend with a hog roast on Sunday -- notices are already up in the pub. And the home brewed "OXT' ale" has already been on sale several times in the last week or so.
Reply ID 52471
ah excellent, how is it then? that was pretty quick!
Reply ID 52484
quote:The initial brews were quite qood, but in my opinion are still in need, not surprisingly, of some fine tweaking to come up to the standard of the regular beers. I understand they are doing such tweaking. But well worth trying if it's on, and cheap compared to the regular beers.
Originally posted by codek2
ah excellent, how is it then? that was pretty quick!
Reply ID 52505
What has all this got to to with "Food in the Old Cross Tavern" as in the title of the thread?
Reply ID 52506
I think "Beer is Food" Rooster...........
Reply ID 52514
Indeed. you can live off guinness alone aparently :)
Reply ID 52519
I had a pint of what I think was the second brew. It wasn't really to my taste. Hope the tweaking will improve it though. It'll probably take a few brews to get it right but it's great to see the return of pub brewing in Hertford. I thought it was very similar to Bev's Brew from Mighty Oak which I don't like. If only it could taste similar to Castle Rock Harvest Pale, Hophead or Brewers Gold he'd have a real winner on his hands. I wish him well.
Reply ID 52521
quote:Whatever!! Quote from dictionary! food noun 1 a substance taken in by a living organism that provides it with energy and materials for growth, maintenance and repair of tissues. 2 solid as distinct from liquid nourishment food and drink. 3 something that provides stimulation food for thought. ETYMOLOGY: Anglo-Saxon foda.
Originally posted by Capitalist piglet
I think "Beer is Food" Rooster...........
Reply ID 52522
Rooster, I really hope that you're having a joke with this level of pedantry. You've certainly helped me form a bad impression of West Street and The Black Horse over the years of my reading this forum.
Reply ID 52523
quote:Well someone had to say it.
Originally posted by Mr P
Rooster, I really hope that you're having a joke with this level of pedantry. You've certainly helped me form a bad impression of West Street and The Black Horse over the years of my reading this forum.
Reply ID 52524
quote:Ah. . . so that will be the hog roast washed down with any Darkstar brew.
Whatever!! Quote from dictionary! 2 solid as distinct from liquid nourishment food and drink. 3