Reviews in Essex

Discovered this cafe just before Christmas and it's already one of our favourites. Lovely atmosphere, friendly staff and great food.

Had breakfast from the new menu with friends. So many lovely options to choose from. Food was delicious, service was excellent and the atmosphere was good. Will definitely return!

Not quite up to the standard of food or service that we are used to at the Barn.

Four of us went for Sunday lunch and enjoyed the food. Unfortunately my husband was disappointed at the lack of crackling (as stated on the menu) when he received his pork. This was more than made up for by the friendly and efficent service of the young man who served us!!

We held our staff Christmas Party here. Food was lovely and the staff were very helpful and friendly. Would definitely recommend.

we had our office christmas lunch here for the 2nd year in a row and it was lovely, food was superb, hot , nicely presented and all arrived together, would highly recommend

Always fantastic service. We come here regularly and find the staff so friendly and welcoming. Would definitely recommend!

We visit occasionally as walking distance from our home.. Service efficient and polite , food always tasty ,never feel rushed. Would recommend.

What an amazing restaurant. All vegan, most gluten free, and all super tasty with really friendly staff. Very quirky restaurant (in a nice way) - some fab memorabilia, although having to go outside to reach the toilet was a bit of an experience!!

We had lunch yday and the food was pretty good - kedgeree and the pie special were delicious. The Buddha bowl with chicken was a bit of a disappointment - chicken lacked any sort of flavour and didn’t seem very fresh. The salad wasn’t hugely seasoned, felt like each ingredient was just plonked on the plate like a salad bar. For £18 we felt it was overpriced. For £10-12 it would have felt like a fine meal but £18 is what I’d expect to pay for a nice main meal at dinner. Lunch for 4 for £100 (no alcohol or desserts) feels steep at a cafe! Good service and lovely atmosphere!

Had our booking at 4pm on a Saturday. We were greeted well and shown to our table. The food was not at the standards we have had in the past, there was hair in some of the dishes, and cooks/chefs behind the grill/dessert station were eating food whilst wearing their hygiene gloves but did not replace them after using their hands to eat food. We found this was very unprofessional and did not have very good food hygiene standards. Hair was not in hair nets nor were the waiting staff hair tied back. It was not busy so the standards should not have been so low. We were there for all of about 50mins. We probably will not return as this

Came here on Boxing day and as always we all enjoyed the whole experience. Great food, varied menu to suit all tastes and excellent service provided by friendly and attentive staff. Thank you Blue Anchor team for making the day special.

Very disappointed to see they were only serving breakfast - this wasn’t stated on website or on my reservation confirmation (I booked for 12.45) 20 minute wait for order to be taken. Overcharged - did email to see response but they didn’t come back to me

Visited on New Years Eve. Really good atmosphere in the Restaurant. Staff were extremely friendly and efficient. Food was beautifully presented and tasted superb. Only 1 of us had eaten Ox Cheek before but everyone enjoyed it. This is a regular haunt of ours and it never disappoints.

New year tasting menu - I love the food at this restaurant but I thought the menu on this occasion was over complicated, strong flavours mixed . I think because it was NYE a tad on the pricey side.

First visit here with friend for breakfast. Full English and eggs Benedict were very nice and good quality food. Staff were friendly and efficient. Everything was lovely and clean and the garden centre itself is very nice, not over priced.

One of our favourites pubs and restaurant and didn’t disappoint again. We had the seafood platter (my usual) and husband had the lamb which looked delicious I may have to have that next time! Maria looked after us as we enjoyed our last meal of 2024! Thank you very much.

As always the food and service was first class. We were there at lunchtime and as usual very busy but rightly so as the food is always fresh and appetising. Highly recommend.