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!!

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 gastro pub on the Suffolk/ Essex borders in the lovely little village of Nayland…read more The pub is very unusual in that it grows most of its own vegetables aswell as rears it's own meat, so those worried about their food miles can eat here with a clear conscience. There is a seperate restaurant upstairs serving great comfort food, the steak with green beans and lardons and the beef and onion pudding are highly reccomended, added to that some locally produced real ale, really friendly staff, and open fires, make for a cosy night in a country pub. Be warned though, don't be fooled by the pub's quiet country location, you'll need to book for the restaurant at weekends. If you are in the area it is well worth a visit

I wonder if the previous poster has even been to The Anchor Inn or is indeed the owner of the Lion…read morein Leavenheath or the Crown in Stoke by Nayland. I have been going to The anchor for about 2 years since moving to Colchester, the food is amazing and the staff are very friendly, I prob go maybe once a month or so usually on a Sunday, which is so busy i always book( after being caught out one Sunday!) To say there were 4 people in there! I think the fewest I have ever seen is about 40! The waiting staff are superb always running about with the food like a ants nest, you usually have Becky or Rachael behind the bar both of whom are lovely and the new manager Dave never stops moving. Sunday Roasts are I think £9.95 and they come overlapping the plate and its not your usual Sunday offering there is always something random like Boar Pigeon or Pheasant. I had not been for a couple of months and in my absence the conservatory had been redecorated and had new tables and chairs and the bar had been repainted, although the tables in the bar could do with replacing as a couple are a bit rickety!

Great ambiance and splendid views of the water. Staff are super nice and accommodated my auntie who…read moreis elderly in a perfect table by the window. Delicious food and very reasonable prices. Très bonne ambiance et une vue spectaculaire de l'eau comme arrière fond. Les employés sont très sympa et ils ont tout fait pour rendre ma vieille tante confortable avec une table à côté de la fenêtre. Délicieuse nourriture avec des prix très raisonnables. May buen ambiente y una vista espléndida del agua. Los empleados muy amables e hicieron todo lo posible para hacer sentir cómoda a mi tía que es viejecita y nos dieron una mesa cerca de la ventana. Comida deliciosa y precios muy razonables.

I first heard of the Butt and Oyster when I read Arthur Ransome's "We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea" as…read morea teenager. In recent years, various members of my family have moved to the Stour valley area and so I was very excited to finally have the opportunity to go here, having just re-read the book to my own sons. The Butt and Oyster certainly lived up to my expectations. Although, like many country pubs have become over the past ten years, it's really more like a restaurant with beer, the interior is still clearly old, with terrific character. Its situation in the village of Pinmill is everything you could wish for as a Ransome fan, with a host of boats new and old lining the 'Hard', a scattering of well-preserved cottages and sailboats drifting by on the Orwell. The food here was very tasty with some local themes - seafood in particular. I had a delicious Lowestoft skate with capers and roasted tomatoes. Plus, they sell Adnams ales which instantly gives it at least four stars on my scale. A couple of pints of Broadside washed the food down a treat. After lunch we also had a great walk through meadows upstream along the river. A real English country experience that feels like it hasn't changed much since Ransome's day. Except that it takes credit cards.

A real discovery, 14th century building with friendly staff. Good, uncomplicated, pub fayre…read more Generous portions and for the area, good value.

We stopped at this pub last year (July 2010), charmed by its pretty location. We found the inside…read moreto be a disappointment. It wasn't particularly clean, the landlady was more interested in tapping on her laptop and was morose to say the least. The beer was awful, the menu uninspiring and overall it was a miserable experience. But..we heard it had been recently taken over and lots of work had been done to the kitchen, so we decided to give it another chance. We were so glad we did! Despite being very busy, we were greeted warmly and with a smiles. The food was excellent, freshly made & cooked on the premises and at a very reasonable price. The beer is superbly kept and the overall atmosphere is friendly and relaxed. We will definately be going again, and have no hesitation in recommending this. Its a beautiful pub, and with the new owners, will soon become the place to go. Superb!!

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.

Amazing food and service, always made to feel welcome great value for the quality and portions…read morehighly recommend the mixed roast! You won't be disappointed!

The Shepherd & Dog was just.a pub which was very popular but I never had the inclination to drink…read morethere. That was then but now it's been revamped into a restaurant that serves dishes that are of very high quality. Their Sunday roasts are good value with plenty if taste. The staff are friendly, polite and extremely efficient. Customers do like to dress up when they dine here and I don't blame them. As it does add to the ambience

This place is incredible!!!! Where do I even start??? The location is just stunning! You're…read moresurrounded by the most amazing views. All of the food is absolutely incredible.. Especially the yummy homemade cakes and the white hot chocolate!!! (The cakes are made fresh daily)! The breakfasts are just amazing too! The afternoon teas are delicious as well, I've had quite a few now.. Usually our children come with us as well and it's never an issue at all!! The staff are so so lovely here! They're so attentive, patient and beyond friendly! I just can't fault this place. If you're ever near here or live local you definitely should stop by! You won't regret it. If I could give 10* then best believe I would! I go here all the time and absolutely love it xxxx

We just moved to the area and whilst on a drive to Cambridge saw this place and thought we'd give…read moreit a go. It has traditional opening hours and even though is part of a brewery chain, still feels locally run and independent. The draw for us with the Sunday Carvery which didn't disappoint. We booked as we were not sure how busy they got and was glad we did. They weren't packed but were busy enough. I think larger groups should book in advance. The standard menu has a good variety and those who ordered from it enjoyed what they had. The roast was a selection of Beef or Turkey and both were cooked very well. There was the usual selection of vegetables on offer which meant you could fill your plate and fill up quite quickly! We managed to wolf down our roast dinner very quickly and managed room for traditional desserts such as Lemon Meringue and Spotted Dick. The service was very friendly and the cost was very good too for the standard of food available. My only criticism is that the food was not pipping hot. I know that's difficult with carvery as everything sits around under heat lamps but maybe they could make the food just a shade hotter. It's a minor criticism though as we had a lovely lunch. A nice pub with a friendly atmosphere. Nice to visit if you're in the area.

Browsing the web we came across a beer festival in this pub. Not having visited before we decided…read moreto take a trip out and check it out. What a find! Lovely 'quaint' old pub, a traditional ale house with friendly service and, more to the point, a fantastic selection of real ales. My heaven. Marquees set up in the garden with barrels ready to be imbibed. Quiet during the day but, I am sure, extremely busy in the evening. Going to keep an eye out to visit next year with friends.