The Orange Tree - Sawbridgeworth

We returned for a family lunch over Christmas. Not as impressive as the first time. The Wagyu Lasagne had way too much cheese and was swimming in oil as a result. The duck was expertly cooked but the quality of the meat wasn't enough to warrant the price. The coffee was watery and sub-standard and when we mentioned the issue with the lasagne the reaction regarding the feedback was apathetic. I did also write a direct message to the owners when emailed to provide feedback but I never received a reply. I got the impression that either the owners were away on a well deserved break after xmas week or there may have been a change of management. In either case I doubt very much we will return.

Absolutely incredible food; everything cooked to perfection and substantial serving sizes, even the starters and sides! Amazing, definitely returning!

Saw a sign in a well known store recently. You will find a gem! Well, I have found one. The Orange Tree. What a beautiful setting, what a spotless place, lovely service and fabulous food. I have dined in many places and this certainly is in my top three. Absolutely beautifully cooked and presented food. The bonus for my wife on her birthday was an excellent gluten free menu. Not only that but other meals were GFA (gluten free adaptable. Great menu and a wide variety of choices on the daily blackboard. Very impressed and definitely 5 plus stars.

Absolutely amazing food. Very tasty, fantastic value for money and very good service.

Had lunch here today, and yes another fanstastic meal and service. My wife and i love eating here. Such friendly and helpful staff team create the best welcoming atmosphere.

Amazing food, lots to choose from and friendly staff. Thank you all for a lovely experience, the cleanliness was exceptional, will be back again. Thanks Gareth and team.

Absolutely loved the experience. The team were fantastic and surprised us with an anniversary card on our reserved table! Such a nice touch!!!! The service was perfect and the food was outstandingly delicious.

We had the best dinner ever! First time visiting. Will 100% be back again. Absolutely beautiful.

New to the area arrived without a reservation (although I highly recommend you should book) by chance we got lucky. Specials on the board looked delicious. The menu is clear and a lovely back story of the restaurant. They also list where they get their produce from which always indicates a sign of a good restaurant. Ribeye steak was on point (best steak I've had in a pub establishment). So I can't wait to return for a roast dinner. Well done team 👏

Food was delicious, nice place for dinner with family and friends. The lamb was absolutely gorgeous. Thanks 👍

Absolutely amazing food and service highly recommended 👌 👍

The food was delicious, the service was perfect and the atmosphere in our case was romantic. I will go back for more

We recently enjoyed a wonderful meal(s) at The Orange Tree – in fact twice as it was so good! From the moment we arrived, the atmosphere felt warm and welcoming. Even though the restaurant was busy, the service remained excellent. The chef stood out for his attention to detail and dedication to providing an outstanding dining experience. Other staff were equally impressive —their professionalism and efficiency made us feel truly valued and well cared for. The meal itself was delicious, featuring perfectly cooked meats and fish, sauces, and a generous selection of fresh vegetables. The Orange tree exceeded our expectations, and I highly recommend it. Everyone there was just happy to be spending their time together. Staff kept everything moving smoothly, checking in with tables and seeming genuinely invested in making sure people were having a good time. The wine list is good with great options available at reasonable prices for good quality wines And let’s talk about the food: it hit all the right notes. Entre, main and deserts. A special boards is also dynamic as it seems to change (as we visited twice with only a few day in-between). So if you are in Sawbridgeworth area then The Orange Tree is a must visit – if you live further afield then it’s worth traveling. Parking is a plenty. Can't wait to go back.

Beautiful restaurant/pub. Staff are so polite and helpful, menu is fantastic and great variety and a brilliant separate kids menu. You can taste the quality in every dish. The marmite roast potatoes are to die for. Tried the tomahawk steak this time and it was cooked to perfection. The sides of honey carrots and parsnips were perfectly cooked and had a nice crunch. Everyone was happy with their food. Will definitely be back. Its well priced for the quality you get but when you enjoy food this much, I personally don't mind if it's expensive. Thanks orange tree team

Absolutely delicious food! The kitchen truly impressed us — every dish was flavorful, fresh, and beautifully presented. Our waitress, Emma, was outstanding. She was friendly, attentive, and gave us fantastic recommendations that we absolutely loved. Thanks to her, our dining experience was even more enjoyable — she made us feel welcome and taken care of from the moment we sat down. The restaurant has a warm, inviting atmosphere and it’s clearly a popular local spot — full of happy guests and great energy. Despite how busy it was, the service was fast and everything ran smoothly. You can tell the team really cares about both the food and the guests. We’ll definitely be coming back and recommending this place to friends. Special thanks to Emma for making our visit so memorable!

A lovely pub with superb food. The choice is amazing, had about 10 options on my shortlist. Very friendly staff too and all for a good price.

I felt compelled to share my experience at The Orange Tree. The decor is light and calming in this charming, country house, feel restaurant. The staff are attentive and friendly. The food is simply outstanding. This is the best meal I've eaten in a long time. Everything was cooked to perfection. The portion sizes are generous especially with the starters, which was good to see given the price. I cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough and I'm very much looking forward to my next experience here.

A wonderful lunch experience from arriving to leaving. From the excellent staff and service. Very well presented plates, food was full of flavour, good size portions and well worth the money. Desserts were fabulous.

Delicious food, with a fantastic service. Staff were friendly, polite and attentive. The food was superb. We visited during the 30 degree heatwave. The building has no air con, so it was incredible warm inside but there is an outdoor area which is charming for cooling down and eating outside. Plenty of parking. Would absolutely visit again and recommend!

A lovely place to visit for a drink or a meal. The staff was lovely, very helpful and attentive. The food was amazing, could not fault anything with our evening. We ordered off the main menu and the specials (That are listed next to the bar) 100% will be going back and bringing friends with us.

The food was amazing the stakeholders was a massive tomahawk which I know is very hard to cook at the chef cooked it to perfection exactly as I like it. The person I was dining with had the linguine a big bowl of seafood pasta which they enjoyed the staff was so nice they were very attentive and we didn't want for anything. I can't wait to go back next time and try to stay and kidney pudding.

Amazing food, hands down one of the best restaurant meals I have ever had. Friendly and attentive service and reasonably priced. Superb.

Celebrated a friend’s birthday as she wanted to go somewhere different. We were thrilled with the staff’s greeting, friendliness, polite and attentive service. The menu offers a wide variety and selection of starters, mains and puddings. This was our first visit. We will definitely bring friends and families again. Thank you very much. 03/08/2025

We have just had lunch here and the service was superb. Great atmosphere and as always the food was wonderful, especially the mussels and fries they were to die for!

A really fantastic place for food, I’ve been coming here for a few years and have never had a bad experience. The staff are friendly and helpful, and the food here is some of the best! Highly recommend the roasts on Sundays, but everything on the menu will be excellent, especially the steaks. Booking is always a good idea.

We have just visited the Orange Tree for lunch. The service was excellent. We were greeted with a warm hello from the bar staff and once seated we were quickly asked by a friendly waitress for our drinks order. The menu is diverse and the specials board comprised of many tasty sounding meals. We all had starters and mains. The portions are large and everything we had was delicious. We will all return soon. Thank you for a lovely Saturday afternoon.

Delicious hot food, amazing service from Rene. The Roast dinner was made to perfection with very generous portions. The friendly pub gives a very homely feel, we will be visiting again. Michael

I never leave a review but our experience here was so lovely I couldn’t not. We came for my partner’s 30th and the staff were amazing, so friendly and attentive and had even got him a birthday card which was such a kind gesture. The food was amazing, we all had something different and everything was cooked to perfection; great menu as well. We will 100% be back!

My wife and I visited today to have lunch after looking for somewhere to eat on the way back from visiting a friend and The Orange Tree was local to him. We were in no way shape or form disappointed with the level of service and the food was exceptional, full of flavour and by no means short on the portion. We will be making the trip back down from Cambridge to try out more of the fantastic sounding options on the menu of which there are plenty including an excellent specials board. I would recommend booking ahead, we were lucky to be seated as things filled up quite quickly for a Monday lunchtime and that speaks for itself. Well done and thank you to everyone concerned at The Orange Tree you have gained future customers.

We went to the Orange Tree for lunch to celebrate a birthday and had a lovely time. The food was really great. The atmosphere there is relaxed and I couldn’t recommend it more.

Food is beautiful! One of our favourite restaurants 😍 perfect for any occasion and the Sunday roasts in particular are lovely! Staff service was impeccable but since Angie left, I feel the customer care has unfortunately dropped. Angie used to be so welcoming and accommodating however the new front of house staff isn’t the same, which is a huge shame! We recently came twice in one week and when we asked for the table to be amended to add one more person (this was the third visit the following Sunday) there was no help at all and when we turned up the restaurant was half empty.. besides this, it’s an amazing restaurant and of course, we’ll be returning!

Just called in on the off chance they had space, they fitted us in, we had a superb meal, my mum is gluten free and she said it was the best fish and chips shes had. Good sized portions and excellent food. We will definately be going there again.

Visited 11/05/2024, lovely atmosphere. Reasonably priced food, the food was average for the area - a bit too much dressing/sauces. The service was excellent and lovely atmosphere.

very cute restaurant! clean and tidy, pretty too. nice service, had baked camembert + bailey's crème brûlée and it was amazing!!

Had a wonderful Sunday lunch at the Orange Tree. Roast Beef, Roast Salt Marsh Lamb, and a Fish pie were all consumed with much praise on our table. The menu has so many great options that it begs for another visit. It will definitely be at the top of my list to visit again in the near term when I am outside of London. I only took a picture of the desert as the main was demolished in next to no time.

We went to The Orange Tree in Sawbridgeworth for a meal celebrating Vicki's birthday. The food was great as was the service.

“A lovely dining experience! The food was delicious, and the cosy atmosphere made it even more enjoyable. The menu offered a wide variety of choices, catering to different tastes. Overall, a great place to eat!”

We had tasted their takeaway Sunday lunch during the pandemic and were really impressed so decided to visit in person. So glad we did as the food was again fantastic. There was brilliant menu to choose from and everything we had were delicious. Reasonably priced drinks menu. Great service..we will return.

Mehhh it’s okay I suppose for a country pub lunch, but god is it over priced. For what it is paying £80+ for 2 meals is a tad steep. Would I return… possibly …. Will I rush back and tell all of my friends …. No

Mixed emotions about this place. Unfortunately, our experience got off to a frosty and unwelcoming start. When we arrived, we stood waiting to be greeted, but a young waitress looked at us, completely blanked us, and walked off without a word. So, we ended up seating ourselves at a table. I believe the manager on duty then came over and said they were fully booked, but that they would still be happy to serve us. This was strange, as the restaurant was almost empty apart from one couple. Throughout our time there, another two or three groups arrived without bookings and were still seated, which made it clear that what we’d been told wasn’t true. The manager also gave off a poor vibe—she seemed fed up and as though she didn’t want to be there, which really brought the atmosphere down. Thankfully, things improved once we were looked after by a lovely gentleman waiter with glasses. His service was excellent—friendly, attentive, and professional. He did everything right and really helped turn the experience around. Unfortunately, the initial mood had already been spoiled. No complaints about the food either—it was delicious and very tasty. If the young waitress received proper training (or perhaps reconsidered her role), the experience could be far better. To be fair, the manager’s mood did seem to improve later when she took our order and checked on us, though whenever she was at the bar she still looked very moody and could be heard complaining. Perhaps it was just a bad day for her. If we had simply been greeted properly from the start, and the manager had shown a more positive attitude throughout, we probably would have given this place 5 stars. It’s a real shame, because the gentleman waiter was absolutely perfect.