Great gastro pub. Fab food, atmosphere and really friendly service. Strongly recommended.read more

The Bear has become a good quality gastro pub recently with a nice atmosphere and a good menu and…read moresome great specials. The ambiance is relaxed country pub and the staff are very helpful. There is a reasonable ca park as it gets quite hard to park in the summer. I have visited for lunch and dinner and both were very nicely presented and well cooked. The skate is very tasty and the scampi and Jenga chips are good. The costs can be a little bit higher for lunch but the menu is very similar and therefore for dinner, I thought it was quite reasonable. Peter who used to be at another Billericay restaurant is the restaurant manager and as normal makes sure we get well looked after.

A great, but really quaint, old English pub in the middle of nowhere. Great service and extremely…read moregood food. Very nice in the summer as the gardens are vast and overlook the countryside. Lao, if you are in the area in November, they have a fantastic firework display (arrive early, it gets packed)

What an amazing traditional pub. Views to die for, massive garden space, ample parking and the…read moremost amazing pub brimming with character. The staff are always friendly, professional and helpful. The food is always amazing quality from rolls at lunch to the best chicken pie in the evening. We turned up without a booking just wanting a summer time drink but when we asked if we could possibly have a table they managed to fit us in. During lockdown we visited several times. Everything was really professional. We felt extremely safe but none of the enjoyable experience was compromised.

The George is one of my favorite pubs anywhere. Beautiful drive through country roads in Kent to…read moreget here, full traditional pub with a beautiful garden with tables outside. Service is super friendly, food is amazing, beer is plentiful. I would have lunch here every weekend if I could.

If you're looking for a good pub, it doesn't get much better than this…read more Lovingly called simply "The Axe" by locals, this pub is in a different league to most other rural pubs. I'll explain why and try to be concise. The cuisine is exceptional. There's a good selection of quality drinks. The service is excellent. The atmosphere is always friendly and welcoming -- the sort of place where complete strangers tend to strike-up conversation. The location is perfect, overlooking the Village Green, with a big beer garden behind, and a vast playing field behind that. It's a lovely village, nestled in the gently-undulating farming landscape of rural north-east Herts -- no wonder Braughing was recently awarded the prestigious "Village of the Year" accolade. The pub's menu always includes the best of local produce, from locally-reared beef to local pork sausages, alongside popular country pub dishes. (Braughing village is famous for, among other things, the delicious local sausages, and this is a good place to sample them.) Did I mention the pies? A different pie every day it seems, and you won't find better pies than these. I don't make a statement like that lightly.

This is fast becoming a very good local pub,with friendly staff . I is on the village green, with…read moreparking at rear The management appear to be making great efforts to create a good atmosphere,with great food (at reasonable prices ) . I think they are doing a great job Steve B 18/10/2009

"the royal oak" a 5 min walk from ockendon station. my first impression on looking at this "ye…read moreolde" pub was well presented and clean, upon going inside initially it was dark. a very clean refurbished pub with a marble bar and exceptionally clean and pleasant surroundings. the bar staff were very welcoming and greeted me with a smile, they were attentive and made me feel as though they had known me for years. the beer garden has a relaxed tone about it with parasols and seating for over 100, the grass and border flowers are immaculate, whilst i was there, there was a wedding party in the other side (the restaurant) the food i hear is superb and well worth a visit on a sunday.. my overall impression is this is a place you can bring your wife/ partner to and will both be impressed at the attention to detail and warm friendly atmosphere... terry h (an impressed member of the public) 08/october/2013

The only pub in the village and a good one too. Plenty of local trade but welcoming to strangers…read more Has a very large car park and a huge beer garden with pond. At the rear of the pub is a games room, which also doubles as a dining area for the great food this pub serves. the barstaff are friendly and polite and take debit cards with cashback!! Sky Tv available for sports. Child friendly.All in all a great pub

Cool little stop with great coffee and great service. I recommend you stop in if in the area. I may…read moretry the food here on my way back from the coast.

Me and my partner managed to discover this gem of a pub by randomly choosing somewhere close on the…read moresat nav whilst we were away for my 30th birthday. The pub is beautiful and cosy, the landlady was kind and cheerful and the food.....oh god, the food! We both had a starter of pigeon, not something you usually see on a pub menu and it was superbly cooked and tasted amazing. For my main I chose the steak burger with chips and onion rings, the burger was big, flavoursome and juicy and the touch I like is that the tomato ketchup on table was all homemade, not from a bottle! We will certainly come back to this awesome place if we are ever near the area again because it was outstanding!!

The Leather Bottle is quite proud to announce that they're in The Michelin Good Pub Food Guide, The…read moreGood Beer Guide, and was a final of the Best Gastro Pub in Essex 2010. So much so, that they've erected publicities on a pole outside in the green. Hey, if you've got it, flaunt it, right? While I can't speak to the food, I can wholeheartedly report that the staff is smiley and friendly, the Doom Bar real ale is refreshing after a five mile jaunt through the countryside*, and the back garden is sun-drenched and filled with laughing children on a Sunday afternoon. This seems like quite the weekend social hub of Blackmore - not that there's much in the way of competition. Although I'd just had a reasonably filling sandwich for lunch on the green outside, I began to salivate uncontrollably upon seeing (and smelling) the fish and chips brought to a table near us. That's in contrast to the burger on a dowdy-looking bun that her dining companion had. I won't lie, I considered shanking the other diner for a bite, but she was Asian too, and probably hungrier than I was. She might have bitten my ear off or worse. Instead, I just ogled from afar. Whether you're seeking a comely cosy bar scene, a fine dining experience, or a lovely afternoon sit in the sun, The Leather Bottle's likely to do you just fine. You just have to be willing to make the trek from Ingatestone - but a worthwhile sojourn it is! ---- * And quite reasonably priced, considering we had a pint and a half of real ale for barely over £4.

Lovely little location, great menu and the food was even better, shall definitely returnread more

*GUSHGUSHGUSHGUSHGUSH!!!*…read more I can't say enough wonderful things about this pub. This five stars is 90% based on the food. Best pub food ever! First of all, there are 5 or 6 veggie options on the menu, which is a rarity. Some of their options are a mushroom stroganoff, vegetables au gratin, ploughman's sandwich, and a mediterranean pasta. My husband had veggie lasagna which was served with chips and salad. I had vegetables au gratin - broccoli, carrots, aubergines (eggplant to my american friends), bell peppers and onions, drowning in a rich cheese sauce topped with breadcrumbs. Heaven in a bowl!! There was a lovely salad on the side along with a generous portion of coleslaw. There's a nice selection of homemade desserts as well, which seem to change every week. We sampled the almond cheesecake which was amazingly delish. Aside from excellent food, there is good selection of beers. The manager is a super friendly guy who remembers us every time and always stops to have a chat. There's a cool layout with the bar in the entrance and two rooms off to either side. There's plenty of room for groups, however it's still small enough to feel cozy. Lots of outdoor seating as well. The White Hart is now a weekly trip for us!

Quite lovely Sunday dinner. Food was plentiful and very good array of choices. We have done several…read morepub meals and this was one of the best . We both chose the chicken, spinach an mushroom pie from the specials board. There was also quite good new potatoes (nice alternative choice from chips, they also had mashed) and the vegetable side was a veritable garden. Green beans, broccoli, peas and carrots - all in a portion size that would have sufficed alone. The tomato basil soup starter was delicious. We were unfortunately too full to partake of any of the yummy sounding desserts. Service was friendly and location is quaint-true locals type of place we go out of our way to find.

Hen and Chickens is a lovely pub full of character between Chesham and Ley Hill. It is especially…read morefriendly on a cold day as they have two fireplaces either end of the main bar. The locals are helpful and quick to smile and chat. I haven't eaten there, but the menu appears to change regularly and the food looks reasonably priced.

Absolutely lovely little pub, I cannot think of a single criticism. Me and my friends frequently…read morepop in and the staff are always wonderfully friendly and chatty. The food is superb, and the drinks to match. My favorite aspect has to be the quiet garden that is always spotlessly clean and peaceful. I would recommend the Hen & Chickens to anyone, easily my number 1 favorite pub.