The Roebuck, Rayleigh

The food & drink are cheap here! There is little atmosphere & the tables are sticky & dirty. You have to ask several times for the table to be cleaned from the previous occupants and then you feel like an inconvenience. The service is poor & the layout is not great either. The quality of the food is awful - very bland, tasteless & obviously bought in & microwaved. For some reason (probably cheap beer) it gets packed on Fri & Sat nights. The Olde Crown & Paul Pry nearby are far better.

12 Jun 2010 21:12

The Old Ship Inn, Heybridge Basin

10 of us (aged 8 to 82) visited for my parents' golden wedding lunch. Food, service and drinks were all excellent. The location is lovely with all the boats passing through the lock & nice walks afterwards. The staff couldn't do enough for us & went to so much trouble decorating the table beautifully. Great home-cooked food & a really friendly atmosphere. Also very reasonable prices. Our party had dishes including lasagne, steak & ale pie, salmon, mackerel, plaice and everyone enjoyed their choice. The desserts were also highly praised and we could not fault the attentive service. I'll definitely return.

12 Jun 2010 20:59