The Cricketers, Saffron Walden

Facebook page of The Cricketers - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Cricketers - www.facebook.com

As the previous reviewer has explained this is not your normal village pub. It is an English Country Inn with upmarket dining owned by Jamie Oliver’s old man and the main reason for visiting here is primarily to eat and possibly also stay in one of the pub’s 22 room accommodation. And if you want to do either make sure you book a fair time in advance, especially if you want to visit over the weekend. It is a quaint original pub building with very low ceilings in the main bar (anyone over six foot will not fit ) , lots of original beans and a focal attraction of the large ships bell perched on the end of the bar. Then there is the main dining room to the right of the bar which is a more modern extension but has a decor in keeping with the main bar area and the benefit that you can stand up comfortably in this session. And then there is also a very pleasant front patio area for alfresco drinking for those who may be walking or cycling this part of North Essex and only want refreshments. But most of the time you don’t just pop in here for a pint, it’s not that type of place and fortunately there are plenty of other more standard country pub options in the nearby villages for that. However, in that respect there are three ale hand pumps on the bar which usually has two from Adnams and the permanent Jamie’s Tipple which is brewed for them by the Nethergate Brewery as mentioned below. For my most recent visit last Sunday, Adnams Ghost Ship and Mosaic were on alongside this and both were very well kept. But then they bloody well should be as you will be paying central London prices for them. But as I said the beer is not the primary reason to visit the Cricketers, the food is, and in my experience it has been superb. This is not a pretentious Gastro pub, but more a fine dining pub with an extensive food menu where you get quality prepared meals of generous portions with locally sourced ingredients at a price level representative of the quality you are getting. For example for last week’s Sunday lunch we averaged £25 per person for two courses for the food only, but for what we got, this was not outrageous. It’s a difficult one to rate because as a pub experience for wet sales only it will not be that good an experience for all the reasons given below, but come here to eat and you will be giving it an 8 or a 9 in that respect. One additional point to note is that as a Country Inn it is only about 25 minutes north of Stansted Airport, and if you need an overnight stop before catching a plane, this makes a much better alternative that the usual faceless corporate options.

A charming country pub in this very pleasant village, it appears to be something of a tourist attraction with numerous brown signs from nearby roads directing you to it, although this may well be due to the fact that it’s owned by the parents of TV chef Jamie Oliver rather than anything specifically about the pub itself. They didn’t appear to be around on our visit though, and although there were a couple of references to their famous son, other than a stack of his cookery books for sale inside the door this was not at all intrusive. In fact considering all his restaurants have numerous merchandise for sale besides being places to eat, it was a relief to find that this is still very much a traditional and attractive country pub, albeit one with a strong emphasis on food. It’s got all the requisite ingredients of a classic country pub including a very low beamed ceiling, such that even the barman knocked his head on one occasion and any punters over about six foot tall had to walk with a stoop, as well as a wood floor which had been worn virtually smooth over the years, a selection of horse brasses, a few farming implements on the wall, and so on. The brick built bar counter was facing you as you entered, and there were brick fire places at either end, one with a wood burning stove and one with a pile of logs stacked up. There were also a couple of nautical influences in evidence, such as an old ship’s bell and lantern on the bar counter, and a brass ship’s wheel on the back wall. Padded bench seating ran along the front wall of the pub, with mostly regular tables and chairs elsewhere, and perhaps in a nod to the pub’s name, an old black and white photograph of the village cricket team was on the wall. Around to the right looked to be more of a dining area, although that said, most, if not all, the tables in the bar were laid up for food or reserved, and if you were just popping in for a pint I can imagine it could be quite tricky to find somewhere to sit. As well as the regular menu, there was a specials board up above the fireplace, although prices were a step or two up from your normal pub grub as might be expected, with the cheapest main course coming in at £15.50 if you disregard the vegetarian and salad options. That said, everything we had was pretty good, with the Feta and home grown Beetroot salad to start and the chocolate orange dome for desert both being particular highlights. Beers on tap were Ghost Ship and Southwold from Adnams, along with Jamie’s Tipple which is brewed for them by the Nethergate Brewery. The solitary cider was Aspall’s Harry Sparrow. Overall I really liked this pub, I thought it had a lovely cosy ambience, good food and friendly staff. But if you’re just going for the beer on the other hand, you may view it somewhat differently.