The Chequers, Great Tey

New Licensees over the last year have made a real difference. A friendly welcome, clean & tidy. Food is typical pub food, but certain things are well done, such as homemade pies & puds. Good guest beers. Toilets could do with updating, but otherwise all is ok. Is now a nice place to visit again. Nice atmosphere.

11 Feb 2012 22:33

The Drunken Duck Inn, Barngates

I used to love this place. You could relax with a warm welcome, good quality, if sometimes quirky food, excellent beer and fantastic location. Our dog and children were always welcomed. Then over the last 5 or 6 years, they seem to have had pound signs lighting up their eyes, which in turn has led to the ruination of this friendly pub. This is no longer a pub. It is a restaurant more concerned with the idea of trendy, overpriced food (even by home counties standards) than it is with the comfort and relaxation of patrons. When the sports car brigade have got bored of the "jus/foam/everything with coriander" style cooking and moved on, I only hope those looking for a genuine lakeland pub will find they are once more welcomed and catered for. Don't get me wrong, I love fine dining and in the lakes if you can go in with your boots on, accompanied by dogs & kids and enjoy a good beer and have some pretty fancy food, all in one place - excellent. Why does it have to be one way or the other? The DD no longer manages this balancing act and unless there is a major change in attitude, we will not be returning.

22 Oct 2009 16:35

The Harvester, Stanway

You would think a Harvester, by definition, would do a good steak or mixed grill. Not so. I had a mixed grill that was so overcooked (in fact burnt) that the meat could not be cut, even with a steak knife. I picked up some of the meat and tapped it against my plate to see how hard and unpliable it was. Let's just say I feared for the plate.
When asked to change the dish, the staff were very unhappy and the plate came back with the same chips and veg on, all dried up and inedible. They did not even plate me up a fresh lot of chips and veg. My husband's steak was cremated even though he'd asked for rare. The chips were those style that are full of promise, but when you bite in, you find they are full of fresh air.
All in all, very poor food and unhelpful staff. I don't know how they are still trading, unless their custom consists mostly of parents who are too nervous to take their children into a decent pub/restaurant. Won't be going back.

22 Oct 2009 15:46