The Cricketers Arms in Rickling Green

Lovely traditional pub in a small Essex village. We popped in for lunch for our anniversary and the food was really good. Reasonably priced and friendly staff. Will definitely be coming back.

Having had excellent food and service at the Cricketers Arms several times before, we dropped in on a Sunday afternoon on the offchance… The team managed to slot us in at a bar table (which considering the number of Christmas parties was unexpected!). We ordered the buffalo chicken burger and the beef and pork burger. Both were exceptional - handmade and cooked to perfection, with excellent fries. Service throughout was absolutely on point and can only enthuse about the entire experience. Will be back (again) soon!

What a find! This place is the definition of an authentic old English pub — full of charm, character, and the kind of creaky floorboards that make you feel part of history (in the best way). We were greeted by the loveliest staff and the GM, Alex, who were absolutely briliant! We stayed in rooms 1 and 4, and honestly? Couldn’t fault a thing. Comfy beds, quiet nights, and we slept like absolute babies. Now, the food… wow. We’re still talking about it. Beautifully presented, tasted incredible! Would want to try EVERYTHING on the menu! A true hidden gem — the kind you almost don’t want to tell people about because you secretly want to keep it all to yourself.

Fantastic local pub! Can't comment on rooms as I have never stayed but staff and food are impeccable. The Sunday roast is simply amazing. All the front of house staff are so polite and accomodating. It's simply an amazing pub. 👍

Really warm and welcoming pub in the heart of a lovely village. Staff and owner so friendly, helpful and chatty. We absolutely loved our short stop here and would love to return. Great walks in the local area. Highly recommend.

To say we had the most wonderful stay in the cricketers arms. It is a quaint country setting with beautiful surroundings. The staff are just fantastic, rooms so cosy and warm, the breakfast is just delightful. All staff are polite and helpful. Such a lovely atmosphere and always loads of banter x defo 10/10 for us x will defo be bk again.

We had the most amazing stay this week. Our room was perfect and food was delicious. The staff were friendly and helpful and were more than happy to answer my may questions. We look forward to coming back very soon.

We ate her on Boxing Day as a group of 14 and it was fantastic. The food was excellent, as was the service. I cannot recommend this place more highly.

Lovely stay at The Cricketers Arms. We were arriving late from a wedding and the check in information was really clear. The room was lovely with excellent amenities. The breakfast was really great too! Would definitely stay here again.

Visiting family in the area booked for lunch, food was great, setting really nice and the Lady host that looked after us was fantastic (pardon my ignorance for not getting your name, I think you said you were a Vegan when we were talking about the home made pies, so hopefully that narrows it down 😁) would definitely go again and highly recommend to anyone.

We absolutely loved our food, the atmosphere and the cosy fire! Our kids finished all their food and loved it. The service was fantastic and all the staff were so friendly. We will be back for sure.

A very enjoyable experience for a group of 11 cyclists at the Cricketers Arms. We met at 9am for coffee in the pub and returned for lunch after the ride. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meals, the Timothy Taylor Landlord was superb and service from the staff was exemplary.

Very enjoyable quick lunch. interesting and varied lumch menu, great service: pleasant welcome, polite, efficient and interested. Pleasant relaxed surroundings, and a great location. Well worth a visit.

Amazing pub, great food, attentive staff. Lovely christmas decs giving great festive vibes. Highly recommend a visit 😊

Stayed one night here. The room was cozy, very comfortable, spacious and clean. The owner Harry, Manager Andrew and the bar tender Lydia were all amazing!! They were friendly and was always ready to please. The food was delicious and the ambiance fantastic!! I highly recommend staying for atleast one night and enjoying their menu which offers a variety of different flavours not only pub style. The prices was very affordable. If looking for a family event, the pub as a few different sections away from the local crowd. The picnic tables and the park right by the side is very handy for kids to run around and also for your four legged friend/family member. Nothing, but good things to say about this place!!

We stopped here for a meal, with our large dog, as it was about half way on our journey to Norfolk. We also stopped on the way back as we were impressed the first time round. As before, staff were friendly and welcoming, and the service was very good. The food was delicious and we really enjoyed our meal. I had the Pork Belly (previously I had Pan Fried Salmon), and my husband had Chilli Beef Wrap (previously he had Fish & Chips). Desert, both times, was Flourless Chocolate Cake, and Sorbet. It is a lovely location as we took our dog for a short walk before resuming our journey. First time we visited there was a cricket match on, the second time there was a dog show and family fun day.

Wow what a meal!! We have just visited The Cricketers Arms for a meal with family to celebrate my Dads birthday. There were 7 of us and everyone really enjoyed their food. Everything was cooked perfectly and really good portion sizes too. The triple cooked chips were so good 😋 The staff were friendly and attentive and we were given a warm welcome when we arrived. I would definitely recommend a visit if you are in the area.

Stayed here for 1 night as was attending a wedding in the area. Could not recommend it enough! The room was absolutely amazing and so clean. Had breakfast the following morning which was unreal. Few options for a cooked breakfast along with cereal and tea/coffee/juices to go along with it. Staff are very friendly and helpful. Very good value for money and would definitely stay again.

Mum and l have visited this place a few times but just for tea and coffee as we do with a number of places. However, we wanted to eat there today, so headed out and arrived at about 4pm. On arrival, we noted they were super busy and regretfully, as we had not booked, they were unable to serve us any food, which we totally understood. For future reference, l took a look at the menue, and we really fancied the nut roast. I asked Emily, who we had been talking with, and asked if she recommended it and confirmed it was a really nice dish. I told her l regretted that we were late, but at least l knew what to have for next time. They were continually busy both at the bar and in the restaurant and were clearly under pressure as you would expect, but they were all professional, smiling, and getting on with their duties. We were just about to leave when Emily stopped us and said they had managed to make us the nut roast if we wanted it, and l am so glad we stayed to have it. The nut roast was out of this world, very tasty, presented well and in great quantity. We finished with apple crumble and blackberry with custard (would have been rude not to) and wowzer, taste, quantity, quality again top shelf. Big thanks to Amelie for looking after us, professional from start to finish, and her colleagues were great too. Thanks for looking after us. David and mum Janet Date of visit: July 2024

Very nice and friendly local. Very convenient

We booked a room and breakfast at the Cricketers Arms for a local wedding the next day. Because of various motorways from Kent being closed, we phoned the Cricketers to let them know we would be arriving quite late and they said that was not a problem. When we arrived we had a very warm welcome from Jacob and shown to our room which we could not fault. In the morning we were greeted by Andy, who is the manager, with a lovely welcome and asked if everything was okay. We said that we had no problems at all. Andy showed us to our table for breakfast and gave us a menu and took our order and within a short time our breakfast was served. The breakfast was one of the best we have had for a long time. On checking out we felt like a family member. We have stayed in 5*hotels and not received as warm a welcome as we received from the Cricketers Arms. Would we recommend and stay here again ...most definitely. The staff here are a credit to them. The Cricketers Arms have definitely got it right.

After a long flight from New Zealand we arrived slightly weary but pleased to be at our accommodation for the next 3 nights. We were met by a lovely young chap, who made us very welcome just what we needed and this continued throughout our stay. All the staff are lovely and friendly, the food is outstanding. Our room comfortable and we had everything we needed. Thank you Team for your excellent friendly service you made as feel welcome, we feel rested and ready for the rest of our full on holiday.

Stayed here for two nights with family and friends for our daughter’s wedding, which they hosted. Rooms were spotless and absolutely excellent service and food. Andy, Manager, and Lydia, along with their great staff worked so hard and went above and beyond to make the reception thoroughly enjoyable. The Buffett meal was excellent. Many thanks to you all. *****

Fantastic building in a lovely location next to the village cricket pitch - the room was great; comfortable, clean and quiet - nice cooked breakfast with options was included - the beer was good and the atmosphere was friendly and welcoming. I would definitely recommend.

Another fabulous lunch yesterday, even though fete was on and pub was so busy the level of service and food was still 💯 , well done to all of you for coping so well 😀 this is such a fabulous find......sshhhh!!

We ate at the restaurant for dinner and it was amazing. In our group we had vegan and omnivore eaters, and each person absolutely loved their entree. They had multiple dishes that could be made vegan! We started with the homemade focaccia, and then enjoyed the fish and chips, roasted vegetable risotto, and the feta pie. Also shared a side of the roasted red cabbage with honey. The food was awesome. Plus the pub was dog friendly, and we were greeted by a sweet dog and local family who were very sweet and welcoming. This was definitely one of our favorite meals while traveling through the countryside as foreigners. Highly recommend!

I chose to have my Birthday meal with my family here, (including my elderly barky Chi), and I couldn't be happier. Atmosphere was lovely and friendly, I even got 2 wonderful Birthday hugs from the guy who greeted and seated us, (sorry, I didn't catch his name). Food was served quickly and was delicious. We'll definitely be going again. I would highly recommend this place.

We've been wanting to eat at The Cricketers Arms for a while, and they really looked after us today. We had a booking elsewhere, but they let us down at the last minute (Fleur de Lis, Widdington, if you're interested). Phoned The Cricketers Arms to see if they had any immediate availability, on a busy Father's day Sunday afternoon. They moved some stuff around and managed to squeeze us in. The staff were all great, the food was superb, and they even accommodated a menu choice that wasn't on the special set menu. We look forward to going back soon.

Lovely quiet almost rural location . Room smelt slightly damp on arrival ...shower weak & warm ...also could not see any extractor fan . Heating too hot and difficult to turn down. Double bed was two singles pushed together with a double mattress. Very clean & tidy room and hotel generally. Staff polite friendly efficient . Superb breakfast .

*Apologies for the photo, I was so hungry and started eating before I realised I needed a photo!* We visited as a couple on a Sunday Lunchtime during the summer. We were the first to arrive as we booked a table for midday as we were picking up a family member from Stanstead Airport. The car park was pretty hard to maneuver around as a car had blocked the notice showing an arrow to the rear car park, and throughout our stay, there were many others struggling with where to park their cars. The restaurant is clean and traditional in decor, although we did have a bit of a wobbly table and the chairs were quite hard. Service was friendly but slow, which isn't an issue if you don't have a deadline to be at the airport for, food was nice and fresh, compliments on the roast potatoes that still had the lovely crispy edges! 😋 Portion size though was small, considering the price, we opted for the 3 roast, and was disappointed that the chicken that arrived was a very small half leg, and not the meaty half, with one smallish slice each of beef and pork. I will say that you can tell it was quality produce though and the small piece of pork crackling that came with it was amazing and the gravy was to die for! 👏🏻 Sadly we ran out of time to sample the dessert menu. Nb: We have rated the rooms as 5 stars, although we haven't seen them, but if the cleanliness and style of the restaurant is anything to go by, we can imagine they were good?

Bijoux but nice rooms, good food, very nice breakfast, dog friendly and plenty of parking. Bathroom heater too complicated and shower pressure very low, but neither is the end of the world. Would certainly stay here again.

The shower was broken and the window didn't shut properly. Both of which couldn't be helped and were reported. It just might have been nice to be offered some kind of compensation.

Away for two nights with friends. The pub was lovely. Very welcoming. The food was amazing and service was good. Izzy was very helpful. She was amazing. Our room was lovely although the bathroom was a bit tired. Could do with a revamp. We had a lovely stay.

Amazingly comfy bed. Room a little tired in places, could do with a spruce up in the general accommodation area. However, it was a very comfortable stay, lovely peaceful location, good food and fantastic customer service, so friendly & welcoming

Really enjoyed my stay here on business. Was bowled over by the Food as it was delicious. Various choices for Breakfast (from 8am). Good location for country walks & cycle way 11.

Great traditional British pub inn, very dog friendly, evening meal was great we sat outside on a beautiful evening, village is typical British with village green and cricket. Staff helpful. Breakfast ok, no fresh fruit or croissants. Excellent overnight stay for price will stay again.

Stayed in Willow rooms in this friendly hotel. Modern with good space and facilities

Having dined here for many years, this evening didn't meet the high standards experienced in the past. The quality of the food was 5* (again), absolutely superb. Upon entering , there was no welcome or acknowledgement of arrival by bar lady or other person (think the duty manager) hiding behind a laptop. Even when bar lady had served customer begire us, there was still no acknowledgement as she went to person with laptop and then she came over to seat us. Drink order fine, food superb. However, we never ordered a starter and if this was the case before, the starter cutlery used to be removed. No longer happens despite not being busy. Had desserts, again the food superb. The dessert cutlery wasn't placed by each person but placed in a pile on the table - so was effectively self served! We had finished desserts and asked if wanted anything else. Not at that moment as we were still drinking our wine. Nope, the bill arrived with 'would we be paying by cash or card' .... obviously they wanted to get home but it wasn't even 9pm at this time. Usually we'd have a tea or coffee after our alcoholic beverages were finished, but not tonight, after all the bill had already arrived! Our table was in mid-conversation when we were interrupted to see if we were ready to pay our bill .... simply "no" we weren't ready to pay our bill.as our evening hadn't finished .... and a couple were still eating their meal on another table. Rather than rush us by presenting thd bill, it maybe would have been better to see if we would had preferred any more drinks and let us decide when we wanted our bill. Then to cap it all, at 940, laptop guy came over with card machine in hand as "they wanted to cash up". Where is the 'hospitality service' in all if this? You're a hotel too, so pity any residents wanting a drink after a hard day - you may have cashed up already! When we left, within minutes of paying, no one about to say 'thank you/ goodnight' or any other niceties. Chef did a great job tonight, it's a shame front of house team didn't follow through the high quality delivered from.the kitchen. Disappointed overall as a result as has always been a delightful experience here. I understand there has been a change in management, perhaps much to focus on if wishing to retain customers and fill those seats.

The setting of this restaurant pub is beautiful and the food excellent . Sadly what lets it down is understaffing at the bar and outside . A few young waiting staff who don’t seem organised and kept bringing the wrong order to the wrong tables. They forgot a side order , didnt bring a glass of wine and I gave up on being served at the bar . I paid for chips that never came and no refund forthcoming . Disappointed overall

This was a cute little pub with nice staff, however it wasn’t very clean for my visit. There were dead spiders in the shower and the bathroom bin hadn’t been emptied unfortunately since the previous occupant. However the food was good and breakfast was lovely. Would have preferred some fresh fruit at breakfast.

A delightful pub set in a picturesque setting overlooking a cricket field, the food itself was very nice but the service was terrible. The staff seemed quite uninterested and there wasn’t any interaction. There didn’t seem to be anyone who was in control, the food order came and a few things were wrong. It took ages to get a drink, we had to get up and ask to be served, we then had to get up again and ask for cutlery and then desserts took an eternity to arrive. It didn’t seem that busy at all so I don’t understand how they could get it so wrong for us.

We arrived slightly early and had a lovely lunch with them. Very good service and great food. We were staying the night for a flight. The next day. George showed us to our room. All was fine apart from the fact it was so cold we asked him to turn the heating on Three times. then we realise there was no remote control for the TV. The room also smelt very damp in the end we decided it was just too cold for us to stay there. There was a lot of noise from the bar downstairs in the end. We went down to see George and asked for a refund which he did happily he was brilliant, but I would not recommend staying Here even after requesting the heating being on and remote control for the TV, nothing was actually done about it

Feel a little mean leaving this. Location - not so good. No shops or amenities without a drive. Cleanliness- questionable at best (rooms). Stood on broken glass in the bathroom.....not my own making.. pulled one bit out my foot this morning. Mould in the shower and other areas with a random ass air-vent in the shower cubicle. Dirty floor tiles / grout n the bathroom. Left said broken glass in plain sight, and not moved by housekeeping in 2 days. If it can't be easily reached it seems it's not hoovered due to the dust under the tables in my room. Images to follow.for the room. Food:- Actually decent but overpriced in my opinion. Starter, main and sweet and your looking at 50 quid a head easily. 7 quid a pint at the cheapest. My gripe right now, I'm.a resident here for 4 nights. Went down for a beer at 10pm (bar closes at 11). Doors locked. No entry. The barman says, it's quiet so we've closed for the night. So i thought what about us folk (residents) paying to be here? Didn't cause a fuss. But if you advertise times, adhere to them. Not a happy camper right now.