We love family run restaurants that source local produce and The House by Hilly Gant meets all…read morethese requirements. Yes, an odd name but check out the map and look at the lane next to the building. As soon as you enter the warmth of staff and management hits you. So friendly. Shown to a table on their patio because it was during a warm spell. Nice to eat al fresco, normally abroad but not the UK. Drinks order taken and they arrived promptly. Small menu, thank goodness. A hate is large menus that cannot provide the quality. Wine list is of a reasonable range at reasonable pricing. Our first course arrived. Wonderful chilli prawns in garlic butter on toasted sourdough bread. Delicious. The main course was difficult to choose. My partner decided on Essex grass-fed beef, medium rare. That looked to me, a brilliant choice. Cooked to perfection and, she said, tasted exquisite. Was I jealous? No way, as my East coast skate wing covered the plate. Pan-fried with a parsley and parmesan crumb. Skate wing is deceptive as the 'meat' covers both sides of the wing. Too much for me as I gave in after about 75%. After a short break we shared a platter of cheeses. I did like that the biscuits were my favourite of water biscuits. My choice as the minimal flavour doesn't distract the subtleties of the cheese. All in all a wonderful evening. Professional, friendly service. Nice ambience. Thank you everyone. See you again soon.

Best food in Braintree! Our group of 8 had a fantastic lunch here. The service was outstanding and…read morethe food was delicious.

Once again a friends meeting and, naturally, the pick was The Green Dragon. It has never let us…read moredown. Covid precautions still in place, thank goodness. This, I mean, for the safety of customers but, more importantly, for staff. Without the staff, establishments like this cannot open and give decent service. The food and service in this 'pub' had never changed. Always friendly and priced in the region giving everyone a chance of eating out once in a while. Loved the starter of scotch eggs. Was worried that a Scotch egg was a little heavy for a starter but these were a little smaller. That didn't take away how delicious they were. The mains of mussels with fries was a great offer. My parents were Belgian so I was brought up on 'mosselen met frites'. These met my taste buds very well. Still a great pub, great service, lovely atmosphere. Guys #staysafe

Went here with my family after a long day of sightseeing. Grump and hunger all around. The…read moreappetizers, chicken wings and some felafel lime things, soothed our frayed tempers and prepared us to enjoy the meal. I had the Ploughman, which I thought was tasty and lots of fun (as an American I hadn't had anything like it before). My sister had the chicken pie and it was yummy. My mom enjoyed the lamb, but my dad wasn't much impressed with the fish and chips. We got ice cream for dessert and it was very good. Highly recommend the lemon curd sorbet. The service was a bit slow, but the waitress were nice. One was still going through training.

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.

First of all the people there are very, very nice. The food was great…read more And how you top the amazing beams are 500-year-old farmhouse! As an American, the 1st cup of coffee was quite cool, the 2nd cup was hot enough. When we asked for a glass of water... I was surprised to see ice. Some of you may enjoy ice in your water. If you go, take a few minutes to look around the whole place. It's quite charming.

One thing lacking in Braintree is a 'local' pub for just a drink. Prior to visiting friends on St…read moreValentines night we fancied a drink. The only close pub was Fowlers Farm. I know this pub is more for meals but, on the off chance, we popped in and asked if there was anywhere we could sit to just have a drink. Remember, the night , and I was pleased to see the pub was packed out. The young man said we could use a table pointed out to us but for and hour and a half as it was booked. Let me say that this act has made us want to visit Fowlers for a meal later in the month. Food looked delicious and staff worked so hard. I know the pub has a wonderful outside area for the warmer weather and a pint. In summer we know where to come.

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.

After getting passed the front door, and the 'you're not from round these parts arrrrre uuuuuuuuu?'…read moretypes who were stood at the bar, I had a really nice time here. It's a really charming pub, with very friendly staff and delicious food. I had the rabbit stew, which was delicious. It's the kind of pub that you could hole up in on a cold wintery day, but enjoy cold beers in the summer too.

If it wasnt for the fact that a friend was taken here, and in turn took me, i doubt the 'Five…read moreBells' is somewhere i would have found on my own. In the quiet village of Colne Engaine hides this real gem of a place serving great food and drink and a warm welcome. I have been on about 4 occasions now and each time made sure a tried something different on the menu. To date i have still not been dissappointed with any of the food on offer, and have enjoyed the quality of the wines they serve. The prices are also very reasonable in my mind, which means being able to treat yourself a little bit more often!

Good service good food good portions clean and decorated very well nothing more to addread more

Where do I start? The pub is on the main through road of Gosfield so can't be missed easily. Plenty…read moreof parking space, if one of you is driving. Unlike many pubs today, which thrive to survive using the the restaurant side, this pub has two bars as well as the restaurant. So, if you want just a pint then there is plenty of seating room. Wood beamed ceiling and inglenook fireplace, nice for those colder nights in winter. We were there to celebrate a 30th birthday and on arriving, early, we were welcomed by the bar staff with warm cheery smiles (a pleasant surprise these days). A table for the eight of us was already laid and we decorated it a little. Then down to a few drinks while awaiting the other guests. Nice selection of real ales and, I noticed, a fantastic selection of worldwide whiskies (although my favourite, Laphroaig, was absent). Once seated we perused the fantastic menu. I guarantee that there would be something on it that anyone would choose, even veggies. My problem was that there was so much choice and I wanted to try everything. I started with Cromer crab and avocado with lime dressing. Aberdeen Angus rump steak with a homemade peppercorn dressing (none of the usual bottled sauce), Portabello mushroom and really CHUNKY chips Wow delicious, both courses. Finally, cheese and biscuits. Three unusual local cheeses, with loads of crackers, celery, apple wedges, butter and a pot of home made chutney. A meal in itself. Going on the sounds from our friends and the empty plates around the table I can only assume that the other meals were as delicious as mine. Nice touch for a pub. Cream teas in the afternoon, unusual. Anyway, thanks to all you guys and gals behind the bar and in the kitchen for a wonderful evening. You all have done the English pub/restaurant trade PROUD. We will see you again.

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.

Slices of beef that can be cut with a fork, light Yorkshire pudding, freshly cooked veggies with…read moreroast potatoes. Dish of cauliflower cheese and, as requested, a lashing of hot horseradish sauce. Are you salivating yet. This restaurant cannot be beaten for a Sunday lunch. Nice wine list and let's not forget their house wine, beautiful Sicilian white. I finished with a cheese board of wonderful Italian cheeses. My partner has a love semifreddo which went down a treat. Service is second to none but not 'in your face'. They keep a distant eye on you and are there in a flash, if needed. A big plus is the price. Extremely reasonable. I'll review the mid week menu at a later date as we will be returning.

We made a reservation for Sunday roast at P&B. To be honest, it was like Thanksgiving on a plate…read more We ordered the 45 day aged steak. It was tender and delicious. The potato's looked better than they tasted (overrated). What tasted the best in my opinion was the sautéed leeks and parsnips and carrots. The bread was like a fried donut, eh. The Scottish eggs are decent. The ambiance was cool n trendy. Music was on point. We enjoyed our night here.

Vibe: 8/10 Service: 8/10…read moreValue: 6/10 Pork snacklins: 6/10 Sirloin roast: 8.5/10 Roast cod: 7.5/10 Chocolate mousse: 7/10 Overall: 7.29/10 (3.64/5) [To clarify our review system: 10 = we'll never have anything else as good as this in our lives (we use 10 very sparingly!) 9 = extraordinary 8 = great 7 = above average 6 = average Anything below 6 is being critical]