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.

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!!

Outstanding food, convivial ambience and excellent service contributed to a wonderful dining…read moreexperience at this quintessential English country pub. Definitely a place to revisit for a special occasion or a casual lunch in the adjoining "Bakehouse". Highly recommended.

Great property. Friendly staff. Exceptional food. I needed a place to stay near Knebworth for a…read moreconference and this place was recommended by a friend. They've apparently updated things recently, and it definitely show. They even provide old-school hotel rooms like it's 1978. Groovy, baby. Stay here with confidence. I'll definitely be back the next time time a trip to Knebworth goes down.

A great country pub in the small village of Woolmer Green. It has a great selection of well kept…read morereal ales with frequently changing guest ales. A good selection of larger and wines also on offer. The food here is wonderful, all made and cooked on site by their resident chiefs and all produce is sourced locally. The prices are very reasonably and on a Wednesday and Saturday they have a selection of home made pies priced at £5.75 which and are brimming with fillings, it also comes with a potato side of your choice and fresh veg, I normally struggle to finish it. The puddings are something to die for, highly recommend the cheesecake. As for the staff, I have not found another pub that has staff this accommodating and friendly, nothing is to much trouble for them, if something you want is not on the menu, they will try to accommodate your needs. The pub is an old coaching house it has a large bar area split by a fantastic open fire that is lit during the colder periods giving it that real country pub atmosphere. It has some big round tables in this area that can seat 6-8 people, ideal for having a chat and a drink with friends, it also has some soft sofas for lounging around on. They have a defined restaurant area, which is set to the side and tastefully decorated. I believe they also do B&B so an ideal location to stay if you like your country walks. All in all this is a lovely pub, give it a try if you are in the area.

A great, but really quaint, old English pub in the middle of nowhere. Great service and extremely…read moregood food. Very nice in the summer as the gardens are vast and overlook the countryside. Lao, if you are in the area in November, they have a fantastic firework display (arrive early, it gets packed)

What an amazing traditional pub. Views to die for, massive garden space, ample parking and the…read moremost amazing pub brimming with character. The staff are always friendly, professional and helpful. The food is always amazing quality from rolls at lunch to the best chicken pie in the evening. We turned up without a booking just wanting a summer time drink but when we asked if we could possibly have a table they managed to fit us in. During lockdown we visited several times. Everything was really professional. We felt extremely safe but none of the enjoyable experience was compromised.

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.

The George is one of my favorite pubs anywhere. Beautiful drive through country roads in Kent to…read moreget here, full traditional pub with a beautiful garden with tables outside. Service is super friendly, food is amazing, beer is plentiful. I would have lunch here every weekend if I could.

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

What can I say except this is a must visit. Try the Beef and you will be hooked…read more Its a shame that it is a little out of the way as you have to drive to get there. There staff are very welcoming. It has a feel of an really oldie worldie pub but with a touch of class. There are often some very nice cars in the car park which suggests that some very ell to do people go there so try it. You will be pleasantly pleased by what you find and sad you didnt find it before.

This venue was a favourite venue for many years. Following its recent change of hands we went again…read morefor lunch on quite a busy Thursday lunchtime. There were only two people serving and they were struggling to cope with the bar and waiting at table. You order your meals at the bar and as the one lad there kept having to take meals from the kitchen, the business of taking our food order took ages. The meals we ordered did eventually come and were quite tasty thought the vegetables were simply microwaved carrots and green beans. The waiting staff brought meals out to other tables but didn't clear ours on the way back to the kitchen. The table was actually quite mucky and was never cleared; when we went to the bar to order dessert, the staff were unaware of what was on and what was off. The whole place was seriously understaffed and the staff were not really competent.. Based on this experience we decided to go elsewhere for a meal at Christmas time.

This is fast becoming a very good local pub,with friendly staff . I is on the village green, with…read moreparking at rear The management appear to be making great efforts to create a good atmosphere,with great food (at reasonable prices ) . I think they are doing a great job Steve B 18/10/2009

"the royal oak" a 5 min walk from ockendon station. my first impression on looking at this "ye…read moreolde" pub was well presented and clean, upon going inside initially it was dark. a very clean refurbished pub with a marble bar and exceptionally clean and pleasant surroundings. the bar staff were very welcoming and greeted me with a smile, they were attentive and made me feel as though they had known me for years. the beer garden has a relaxed tone about it with parasols and seating for over 100, the grass and border flowers are immaculate, whilst i was there, there was a wedding party in the other side (the restaurant) the food i hear is superb and well worth a visit on a sunday.. my overall impression is this is a place you can bring your wife/ partner to and will both be impressed at the attention to detail and warm friendly atmosphere... terry h (an impressed member of the public) 08/october/2013