Lockdown relaxed so a trip to Maldon was called for and, of course, a visit to The Queens Head…read more Siting outside was a little cold and the heavens did open as the rain poured down. That didn't stop the staff giving wonderful, friendly, service. Even though I have had both jabs I am still extremely careful and the Covid precautions in this pub cannot be beaten. A wonderful pint and superb fish and chips. That fish was so fluffy and the batter light yet crispy. Thanks everyone for this break from the tedium of lockdown. All the best and #staysafe

Down by the river Blackwater,good selection of ales, Adnams,Farmers, Woodfordes, Greed Kerching…read more Food looked good, beer was in very good condition, staff were very friendly, well worth a visit.

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 only dropped in for some tea on the way back from the beach but we found a warm friendly…read morewelcome, a very pleasant atmosphere, it was clean and tidy and they made good tea! We liked it enough to say that we would come back and have a meal. So a provisional 4 stars, but it might be more or less when we know more, it made a good first impression.

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.

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.

The vegan burger is AMAZING! Wow! So so delicious and flavorful!! When visiting Margate we went…read morethere so many times! The vegan nachos were so yummy as well and the staff is so friendly!! Can't wait to go back!

For my first breakfast in England, i wasn't disspointed. The meal was so great, all included, eggs,…read morepudding, sausage and bread. The service was too. As greedy, we will come back to The Greedy Cow.

Great and fast service , quick replies and highly reccomended! it was most memorable meal.read more

This was my most anticipated meal while visiting London, and it did not disappoint! Perfectly fried…read moreand generous portion of fish accompanied by piping hot crispy yet creamy fries/chips, served with tartar sauce, curry sauce, and mushy peas. Vinegar, salt and ketchup were also available and plentiful for dipping or dredging to your heart's content. We tried the cod/haddock and the hake, which was so light and delicate. The lobster roll was sadly over-dressed and lacking in lobster meat - save your stomach space for the fish. Decent beer and wine selections are available to wash down the fried feast.

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.

Recollections May Vary... but this Shambles Won't…read more CHECK-IN DISASTER On arrival, we were asked to scribble our contact details on the back of a scrap of paper snatched from the till. We confirmed breakfast for 09:00am the next day, as we had to get home early to avoid extra kennel fees for our dog. We were then escorted through the back yard--past broken furniture and barrels--to reach an external block. This, we were told, would also be our morning route for breakfast. BREAKFAST? WHAT BREAKFAST? At 09:00 sharp, we found that route locked and the pub in darkness. Walking to the front, we met three other stranded guests who also couldn't pay or get in. A few minutes later, two men walked out, saw all five of us standing there, said nothing, and drove off. After calling the pub four times (no answer), and trying each external door, we eventually found the front door now open but the pub still deserted. Keys for the entire building were sitting on the bar. We waited at a breakfast table... nothing. Eventually, I went behind the bar into the kitchen and found the same two men chatting at the back. Nothing was switched on. When I asked what was going on, they casually said they'd "be out shortly." By now it was approaching 09:15. We had to leave, and when one of the men appeared to ask if I still wanted breakfast, I explained it was too late. Apparently, in their world, this counts as a reasonable attempt to serve us. THE COMPLAINT NIGHTMARE * No reply to our message via Booking.com for 2 days. * Booking.com told us to contact the pub directly rather than them. We explained we already had. * After 6 more days, and unable to contact the pub either, Booking.com offered 20% refund (barely covers the drive-thru breakfast purchased as alternative) * We declined and messaged again. * Finally, after Instagram DMs, The Bull offered 25%. We reluctantly accepted. * We were told to wait a further 15 working days but the refund never came. No more messages were responded to by either party. And then? Nothing. Chased them again. Another eight days later, refund still missing. 2 VAT invoice requests ignored. Messages read, not answered. THEIR RESPONSE? Disgraceful. No apology for locking us out. No mention of the two men leaving and returning later. Tone suggested we declined a perfectly reasonable breakfast offer. They even had the temerity to contradict my timings by quoting the time stamp on their CCTV which showed a difference of just minutes. It always seems longer when you don't know what's going on. Indicative of their lack of respect for customers and general bad attitude. MY ADVICE? Read other reviews before booking. I wish I had. People like this give hospitality a bad name. They don't deserve to be successful. As someone with 30+ years in hospitality (including running a successful pub/B&B), I can honestly say this was the worst complaint handling I've ever seen. If you value your time, your money, or even a basic breakfast, avoid The Bull at Great Totham, Essex.

Three years on and nothing has changed. The manager was rude at every opportunity and we felt…read moreunwelcome from the minute we walked in. There was a function going on the night we went, of which we reminded multiple times, before we were ushered around the restaurant to accommodate other guests. We had small children with us who were effectively told to shut up (despite it being a supposedly family friendly restaurant) and the rest of us weren't treated any better. The only reason I did not confer a single star was thanks to the solid food served by the kitchen. The staff working there should be commended for putting up with the incompetence of their fellow employees.