28 Aug 2025
James Cameron samples a very different sort of pub to those he has been frequenting lately…
It’s going to be a slightly odd review, this one. There is only really one thing going for The Speckled Hen, and that’s its location. This isn’t to say that it commands spectacular vistas over majestic valleys filled with migrating herds of giraffes. The only views are of the Hatfield Road, which features few giraffes so is unlikely to be balm to anyone’s soul. It is, however, the only pub between The Three Horseshoes and The Rat’s Castle (as was), so if you happen to live around here, or be in the area for other reasons (presumably Oaklands-related), then you don’t really have any other options. If you aren’t, then there is nothing about The Speckled Hen to justify a trip as there will almost certainly be somewhere closer doing something similar.
There is no point in me recommending it or not, as you will either have been yourself or will not have any intention of going. Instead, if you will allow me to describe the place as part of a paean to that most vital of social institutions, the local pub.
The Speckled Hen has everything that you need in a good local.The staff are welcoming and patient with ditherers, there is a good range of drinks on offer at the bar and a good range of little nooks to secrete yourself in. They also run frequent quizzes for those of a trivial mindset.
Decor is pleasant without being spectacular, but that’s beside the point. Whilst it might be lovely to walk into a quaint little country pub with low beams and wizened yokels, the feeling soon disperses. More important by far is having somewhere you can meet your friends, sit around for all or part of the evening setting the world to rights and then be able to walk home at the end of it.
Though The Hen was largely deserted on the Monday lunchtime that we visited, you could tell that later in the day there would be plenty of loyal clientele in there chatting with the staff and being offered the usual.
Once again, the food is not likely to attract your Jay Rayners or Michael Winners to this suburb of St Albans, but it would keep you from flagging on a lengthy session, or provide a suitably non-distracting excuse to meet an old friend for lunch.
There is a wide range of food on offer, from pies (all good pubs should have a pie) and burgers to sharing platters.
They also have a good selection of vegetarian and vegan options, and being part of a large chain (Greene King) are very diligent at marking allergens. For reasons best known to themselves, they also sell lollies.
On a previous visit I’ve had a very good battered halloumi and chips, but because this was lunchtime (and we were still full from our visit to The Plough at Sleapshyde on the previous day) we all ordered from the lunch menu, aka the sandwich menu.
This is reasonably priced at around £8, although if you want chips (and who wouldn’t) this is an extra £3.
There is, however, a lunchtime deal with a sandwich, chips and a drink for less than a tenner, which is approaching bargainous.
Sandwiches can be had in either ciabattas or wraps. We mainly had ciabattas because they offer more stodge for your buck, but did get the fish goujons in a wrap. This was effectively a pretty solid fish finger sandwich, the goujons were soft inside with a crunchy coating.
The side salad was fairly unremarkable, being just a pile of rocket, but rocket is always welcome.
The vegan sandwich filling on offer was ‘meat’balls, served in a tomato sauce with not-cheese.
These were better than the vegan meatball subs that you used to get at Subway, but as I don’t think they do them anymore the comparison is largely academic. The ciabatta was good but very floury and could have been crispier.
We also went for the rump steak sandwich. This came packed with generous chunks of beef, tasty but a little chewy.
It also came with a substantial pot of mustard. This does not reflect well on me, because now I come to write this it is obvious that this was there to spread on your ciabatta if your tastes are that way inclined, but at the time I assumed I was supposed to dip my sandwich in it, which led to several mouthfuls of really very fiery mustard.
Chips could be either skin-on fries or slightly too large normal chips. Both did the job that chips were there for, which is to fill you up whilst also tasting of salt and vinegar if you put salt and vinegar on them. Overall it was a reasonably priced lunch with reasonably good food that came reasonably quickly.
I will not be reminiscing on this meal by the fireside in years to come, if I didn’t have this review to write I probably would have forgotten about it by now, but that is altogether beside the point.
Just having a place in the middle of a largely residential community that people can spend time in outside of their house is vital for so many reasons. For those not forced into the office during the week it is a great place to either linger over a laptop or meet up to socialise.
It can be almost lifesaving for those who live alone or who need a break from their domestic situation for some reason.
We take them for granted at our peril, assuming they will always be there to dispense beer and chips whenever we need them, but we may stroll down one sunny afternoon to be confronted with yet more flats.
I therefore salute you, Speckled Hen, and wish you a long and happy life. Also, your mixing of classic ‘90s club music was banging.
