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.

Ye old windmill eh! What a cool old building (it has been…read moreexpanded from the original portion) and a large outdoor "garden"- what you or I may call a patio. Came here with my fam for the Sunday roast. While my group didn't have much to complain about, there wasn't much to praise either. I'd say the service was noticeably better than the food....ahhh the food. The food. Well, I was most definitely disappointed. Knowing that we would only get one Sunday Roast dinner, I had been desperately looking forward to this meal... unfortunately it fell flat, real flat. Yorkshire - looked nice and large, but it was pretty flavorless The meats-opted for the pork and beef. One piece of the pork was EXTREMELY dry, and the other was just regular dry. The beef, not so much dry, but both were lacking flavor -even with the watery gravy. Both were a let down. The sides-The roast potatoes were the highlight, I only wished there were more. The sweet carrot puree was decent, however I definitely would have preferred to have them glazed whole. The cabbage was also nice, but it was just boiled cabbage. The stuffing, if you could call it that, was more meaty than stuffing like. It had decent flavor but the texture was just odd to me. I'd say the customer service was a 4 star but, it wasn't good enough to bring the food up from a 2. Therefore I'd have to give it a 2.5 stars. If you're coming specifically for the roast, maybe try elsewhere.

This pub/restaurant had nice food and some nice servers but very slow at giving food and telling…read moreyou when food is about be done and the deserts are basically half than usual and is over priced for how much your paying I would only suggest going here if you was with your mates and at least 6 of them to have a nice time here it's not best for just a casual family meal since how long it takes for 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.

Went for lunch. We were 5 and had a variety of items from the menu. Starters of prawn cocktail,…read morebelly of pork bites, duo of duck parfait, nachos and dusted calamari were delicious and generous portions. For main courses we had the baked sea bass, sea bass fillet and smoked BBQ ribs. Again really good. Usually at a steak house people to the beef which you will see from the other reviews was well received but I thought it would be of interest to highlight the broad variety of good and tasty dishes on the menu. Recommend making a reservation as it is very popular.

Nice cosy-feel pub downstairs with seating / restaurant upstairs. Staff are friendly, prices are…read moretypical for this kind of steakhouse chain. I'd say the food is better than other similar type restaurant chains. Lot's of parking.

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.

Ultimate London comfort food!…read more On a Saturday night around 7:30PM, the wait for a party of five was 45 minutes. The food was well worth the wait. The Steak and Blackheart Stout Pie was delicious. The steak was tender and the mash was smooth. Definitely get the Sticky Toffee Pudding. The pudding was sweet, soft, and warm, pairing perfectly with the silky pudding and cold vanilla ice cream.

What a great start to our trip to London. We're from California and this was the best first meal…read morefor us. Mashed Route: Step 1: choose from a variety of mash Step 2: choose protein(s) Step 3: choose gravy Packed with umami and deep flavors. All 6 people in my family finished their entire entree. Owner was great - very friendly, accommodating, and great conversationalist. Ambiance was on the smaller side with an open view of the alley. 5/5 would return

Great food, service and ambiance. I will return again. One of Chelmsfords best kept secretsread more

There are so many amazing hidden gems in Essex, and Russell's Restaurant is one of them…read more The building dates back to 1372, and is a converted barn. Before it was a restaurant, it was a woodshed, where my grandfather would go to buy wood. The restaurant has kept some of the original features, like the beams and high vaulted ceiling, which gives it a very rustic feel. The food is mostly French inspired, but mostly locally sourced (something I always like to see!) For my starter, I had the seared king scallops, which were served with a pea and asparagus compote, black pudding and black truffle oil. Scallops are one of my favourite things, and if it's on a menu it's a pretty safe bet that I'll be ordering it. These, in my opinion, were perfect - which is very high praise, as scallops are really easy to get wrong. These were perfectly seared and crisp on the outside, but really juicy inside - not at all stringy (which is the worst!) and the combination of asparagus, black pudding and truffle oil was divine. My dinner date had the chicken liver parfait, a pate served on toasted brioche with a sultana and sauternes jus. This was followed by a main course of duck - a seared Gressingham duck breast served with duck rillette bon bons, roasted pommes de cocotte potato and sauteed pak choi with cumberland jus. The duck was beautifully cooked, and the meat was meltingly tender. For my main course, I went for the Tournedos Rossini, served medium rare. The aged fillet of Aberdeen Angus beef was served on top of a potato and parsnip rosti, and was topped with seared foie gras, baby spinach, truffle oil and a wild mushroom jus. Basically, it was a whole list of my favourite ingredients on top of one another, and it was delicious. The flavours were delectable, and the whole dish was presented impeccably. After dinner I went for a coffee followed by a coconut and Malibu pannacotta topped with toasted coconut and sweet candied pineapple. The standard of the food and service is really impressive - and the venue has a lot of character, and for the quality of the meal, the price is really quite reasonable.

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.