I got stuck in the middle of the British country side and the B&B I ended up at highly recommended…read morethis place. I would come back jut to eat here. I was raised partly in Italy and this was some of the best Italian food I've had in 15 years of visiting the U.K. since I graduated Uni there. An Italian family own and operate the place and they're hospitality is second only to the food. Absolutely amazing meal, just tell them what you don't like and they'll bring the rest. I wish I could give them more stars. I will share some of the photos from the beautiful evening I spent on the patio. I just wish I had a lover with me to share the experience with.

Fish and chips was fabulous!!! We sat on the deck and relaxed in the pretty back garden. Highly…read morerecommend

Went on a Sat night, beautiful building and decor, lovely service, and the best steak I've had…read morerecently. Four of us went and everyone said how good it was, I can't remember the last time we all agreed (my brother is the difficult one, not me). We actually booked for a Sunday lunch while we were there, and if anything the Sunday roast was even better than the Saturday dinner. I really can't recommend it enough, a great find.

Whilst this bar/restaurant looks very clean and inviting once inside the place has a strange…read moreambiance. The two occasions I have visited both staff would have benefited from a customer service course. Very "clicky" pub with over priced food.

I had a wonderful trio of pork and it was so posh! The setting was ornate with lit candles around…read morethe room and on the table. You're surrounded by exquisite antiques everywhere you look. The owners serve you themselves and make sure you're having a lovely time. The bartenders were absolutely wonderful and I could not recommend a better place. If you want the true elegant dining experience, this is the place to go. It overlooks wonderful fields and a perfect place to dine and watch the sunset.

Great place to eat, service was ultra friendly, we will be back and back with more people. Great…read moreselection of gins.

We celebrated a birthday in their private function room and had a great evening. The staff was very…read morefriendly and attentive. We forgot candles for the birthday cake and Angus went to the shops to get us candles. The food they served was great and there was lots to spare. Definitely recommend for a private function. We also came back for Sunday lunch. The place was packed and the food was good.

It's very easy to write reviews that complain about a restaurant. I like to write down the…read morenegatives first then positives, if there are any. OK, negatives. That's that out of the way. There certainly were NO negatives. On entering we were met by a charming young lady with a fantastic smile. We had reserved a table but our friends had not arrived. So a drink, meanwhile, was called for. Nice selection of real ales, my kind of pub. Unlike many pub/restaurants, this pub had an area where you could have a drink. Also, in the warmer months there is plenty of seating outside. When our friends arrived we were shown to our table. Given more than ample time to choose from the menu. In fact the time taken was our fault. When two women haven't seen each other for 20 years, need I say more? Chosen from the menu was Cumberland sausage and mash, looked delicious. Two fish and chips, or I should say, whale and chips. The fish was enormous and the chips chunky. I had succulent scampi. Finishing with a crumble which, according to my friend, went down well. Two ice creams of generous proportions and my usual, cheese board. Three cheeses, crackers, butter, chutney, celery and grapes. Finally, very well brewed coffee. A wonderful meal for a price that in our estimation was more than reasonable, some will say a little OTT. All I can say was the food was brilliant, service fantastic and the decor, attractive. Loved the place and we will be back.

Oh yeah! Americans…read morefrom California here. Who would've known that mashed potatoes, sausages, and gravy would go so well together! Loved every bite. Got the gravy on the side, didn't think I'd use all of it, before I knew it, it was all gone. And you wouldn't think that the type of mash or type of gravy or type of sausage would matter that much, but they really do all have distinct flavors! I will be mixing mustard into my mashed potatoes from now on. Originally came for the sticky toffee pudding, so of course we ended with that. Marvelous! The toffee sauce is so comforting and rich, the cake was so moist, and it was perfectly balanced with the ice cream. Didn't detect any dates, maybe they were too finely chopped. Also the apple and blackberry crumble just didn't hit the same; it was slightly dry and on the sour side (maybe don't take a bite directly after the pudding!) Service was so helpful and friendly; I'm sure they love watching people fall in love with their food. Quick with refills and offered extra condiments if needed. Great air conditioning as well (always a plus), and I loved the green blacksplash and blackboard caligraphy on the walls as well. Bangin'

the poor rating has to do with the rude staff at this location. i'm not sure if he was the owner or…read morea staff member, but there was an older man who was very rude to us when we arrived. we entered the establishment, as that is what you typically do when you want to dine at a restaurant, and he came up the stairs and didn't even offer a greeting. i mentioned that we had a reservation for that time and he immediately just kept repeating that our table was outside. we went outside to their small patio dining area, and saw that there was a table with a "reserved" sign on it, so we sat down. i thought it was incredibly rude that he spoke to us in that manner, and it seemed like he expected us to somehow know that that table was ours before we had even spoken to any staff. i was seriously considering getting up and leaving but i decided to give this place one more chance. it then took a while, but we were eventually served by a much more pleasant and friendly younger server, who helped make this experience better. i would give this place a lower rating, however i must admit that the food was delicious. as an american tentatively wanting to try british bangers and mash, this exceeded my expectations. we all spoke about how the sausage was plump, snappy, and delicious, definitely one of the best we've ever had. the mashed potatoes were also amazing- cheesy and heavenly, and i'm not even usually a mashed potatoes kinda person. i am glad that we stayed solely for the delicious food, but i would not come back because of our experience with the staff here. the place already was one of the emptier spots on this very busy soho street anyway.

Chose this on chance for lunch and what a great surprise- the food was delicious! The steak…read moresandwich came in tasty sourdough, the meat was generous and tender and the chips were irresistible. The garden was being landscaped so we ate in the conservatory, which was okay.

Visiting from America, the Plough was our local pub. The young owners were nice enough to…read moreaccommodate us with drinks when we showed up before opening time. It is no longer so much a traditional pub as it appears from the outside, but more emphasis on the restaurant side of it. Fine with us, it was the only cooked food source within easy walking distance our cottage in the country. What good food it was, as good and wholesome as anything served in our 'foodie' neck of the woods here in the San Francisco Bay area. With cheeses like Winterdale Shaw, (they have their own dairy herd, and chalk lined cellar to mature the cheese in), and Bloomy Rinded Somerset Brie, it was a pleasure dining there.

My absolutely favorite place in all of England. My husband and friends had liver and onions…read moremultiple times. I had the pies. I will never have a pie again and not dream about the grumpy mole. The wine list and bar is amazing.

I must say - these have to be the most charming ladies that run this adorable pub in the most…read morequaint town nestled in the English countryside. The interior is just like the demeanor of the staff: warm, likeable, and feels like home. In fact, it was incredibly difficult to determine where we wanted to dine, because of the sheer cuteness found in the decor and ambiance of The Grumpy Mole. It was just too damn nice outside to take a beautiful, sunny day in England for granted. So, we opted to sit on their patio and enjoy a near perfect day. Knowing how delicious the curry is in the UK, I opted for that choice and my high expectations were met. The chicken was tender and well prepared. The curry flavor was abound but not overpowering, while the naan and rice were soft, not stale. But the real highlight of the experience was the charcuterie plate packed with meats, cheeses, olives, and more. If only I had the fortune to return to England more often, then I would visit The Grumpy Mole on every visit. For now, I will dream of that day and hope it is on a cold, winters night, where the interior of the Grumpy Mole is cozy and warmed by a crackling fire place, of which I am sitting by while sipping on a piping mug of cider.

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

Our annual Christmas get together but where do we go? We chose The Castle because of good words we…read morehad heard and read but would it reach our 'exacting' standards (if those ever existed). Immediately, on arrival, we knew it would. Such a friendly welcome by the bar staff and front of house. Shown to our table, a nicely laid table, by a really charming young lady by the name of, we learned later, Eleanor. Drinks were ordered while we waited for the remainder of our party. Those drinks arrived promptly. When the entourage had arrived the food started to be served as our pre-requested, telephone, order. I would point out that Eleanor managed to serve the whole table and take drinks orders. A massive achievement. We had been to other establishments where two or three servers waited on us and still got things totally, disastrously, wrong. Not with this young lady, perfect. The food was fantastic, so compliments to the kitchen staff. Wonderful starters and as for the Christmas roast...delicious. Plenty of meat, stuffing etc etc and masses of veggies. Perfect. I missed out on a dessert as I was totally full but the remainder of the table tucked into plate loads of Christmas pudding and some had cheese. The whole evening went wonderfully well thanks to all the staff. People do forget those in the background that we never see. So thanks you to them. A massive thank you to Eleanor, the princess of The Castle.

From the owner: We serve Breakfast from 8pm Monday to Saturday. We offer food at all times of day including a…read morerange of Cakes and Desserts from a counter that go perfectly with a tea or Coffee. Our Main meals come served with a tasty complimentary loaf of bread for the table and if you order our Traditional Menu items we will receive a complimentary cup of soup or salad depending on the season.