January 2025 by Joel Joely James Freedman
absolutely awful experience from start to finish, not even sure where to begin!
arrived at 2.30pm on time for our booking, squeezed onto a table right in the way of the bar, completely ignored for the first 20 minutes until we beckoned someone over,
drinks order taken and kids food ordered, drinks arrived at the table 20 mins later, with one drink missing (a glass of wine) had to then ask another ten mins later where this was,
a whole hour passed and no kids food and nobody even bothered taking the adults food order, had to again ask for someone to check on the kids food and then ask to order ours,
kids food comes out after asking and it's completely inedible, the chips were rock hard as were the chicken goujons which were actually just nuggets, the other sausage and mash was again like rubber and cold,
other child's sunday roast had rock hard potatoes and completely left off the carrots,
all sent back and they finally got them back out and right,
now over an hour and 20 mins since we sat down the adults starters just arrived which to be fair were good,
had to wait another 40 mins and no adults main so we decided enough was enough and we were leaving, at which point the mains magically appeared,
manager informed us that the kitchen was behind and there was "nothing he could do" very unapologetic and seemed as though he was used to this kind of issue
would strongly advise against going as it seemed everyone had issues with food taking ages and terrible service
October 2023 by Mark Finn
Lovely check in and rooms quirky but nice , was in Oval but maybe better in Courtyard . Food / nice but on expensive side . Would recommend and use again .
September 2023 by Angie Jane
Food was first class , highly recommend, would come again
August 2023 by Beckles1
When we arrived on the saturday we were greeting warmly by the younger man behind the bar. Check in was fine and shown to our room. Room at first glance looked lovely and we couldnt wait to settle in. We had dinner and drinks at the pub and then settled in for the night. Bed was very comfortable but the pillows were solid. The following morning was when it all went wrong. My partner ordered the poached haddock with spinach and poached eggs and the plate was swimming in water, the skin was burnt on the fish (yet is was meant to be poached!) We returned in the afternoon for dinner and we had the roast. The pork was dry and roast potatoes were from fozen! The beef was over cooked and tough. I then had the chocolate pot which was delicious but certainly wasnt worth £9!! One day we returned to our room after being out all day on the motorbike, washed our hands before going to the bar and we had no towels! So instead of ordering drinks we had to ask for towels!! The cleaners do the bare minimum of making the bed, hoovering the floor and bleaching the toilet. There were cobwebs above the bed highlighted by the light behind the backboard and the owner of the cobweb was also there, a lovely daddy long legs. Rubbish was put by the bin as too big for the bin but only the rubbish in the bin was taken. On our last 2 nights we had a takeaway from Saffron Walden which was lovely. The best on the morning of our departure was to say the least embarrassing for the pub. My poached eggs were snotty, hash brown soggy, bacon was like shoe leather and inedible, we complained to the older lady who served us and was told this is how the chef likes to cook bacon. This is a poor excuse as bacon takes just a few minutes to cook fresh. When i went to settle the account at the end of our stay, I found out they had already taken the money out of my bank account.
July 2023 by lilolilColchester
Bedrooms in The Willows and supposedly the best, clean but tired decor. Staff at breakfast and cleaners really lovely. Food not at all good. Anglian breakfast dry and luke warm. Avocado with poached egg on sourdough - bruised avocado one egg like jelly and the other rock hard. Toaster didn?t deliver toast just warmer bread. Dinner disappointing too, a medium rib eye was rare and nearly blue and even after returning to the kitchen came back the same leaving blood all over the plate. We were offered a replacement meal but the other diners had finished their meal so not a practical solution when ?right first time? is what we expected! The cost of the steak was removed from the bill however we didn?t get the impression that anyone was really bothered. Then our ice cream arrived very melted as it must have been out for too long. We have eaten here several times before, admittedly prior to current ownership, and the food didn?t come close to our previous experiences.
July 2023 by barbarawK8516ZW
Visited in April, when we thought it was okay - my husband loved the hand-raised pies and it's a lovely old pub. Personally I found the wood fire's smoke wafting through the eating area a bit difficult, but at least the room was warm - as was the welcome from the staff. Second visit in June was dire - staff weren't welcoming, they seemed poorly trained they and hung around the till gossiping, periodically saying sorry to questions or requests for service. No alcohol free wine was on offer, starters were adequate. My main course was dire - chicken served on gnocchi with peas a la francaise - small and over-cooked chicken, gnocchi like tasteless bullets and peas drowning in an under-seasoned pool of cream. My husband's pie was okay - as before - and deserts were an odd combination of salted caramel, a biscuits and ice cream. Yes, should have sent most of it back but on our 40 wedding anniversary we didn't want to ruin what had been a lovely day. Final insult was the bill of £110, having eaten a few weeks before at the Galvin Green Man - which is in the Good Food Guide - for less, same number of courses and same drinks. It's such a lovely building, great location, but we'll never come back.
July 2023 by Google user
Stayed for one night. The pub is lovely and the evening was very nice.\\nOur room was very nicely decorated and perfect for our needs for the evening. The only real annoyance was the people who were below us. Either they were being exceptionally loud or the ceilings are very thin. We also had to wedge our room door closed to stop it banging about, as we had the windows open, as the room was quite warm.\\nBreakfast was lovely, staff were brilliant and helpful. Would recommend to anyone looking for a decent room for an evening away.
July 2023 by Richard Fisher
Stayed for one night. The pub is lovely and the evening was very nice.Our room was very nicely decorated and perfect for our needs for the evening. The only real annoyance was the people who were below us. Either they were being exceptionally loud or the ceilings are very thin. We also had to wedge our room door closed to stop it banging about, as we had the windows open, as the room was quite warm.Breakfast was lovely, staff were brilliant and helpful. Would recommend to anyone looking for a decent room for an evening away.
July 2023 by Mette Øbo
Simply just a lovely place.Nice room, pub, food, service - everything.Practical for your last night in England, if you go by Stansted Airport and want a lovely evening with a bit of luxury.
July 2023 by Carlos_Gonzalez2013
Very nice stay in Cricketeers in Clavering as part of a birthday present to my wife. The pub/B&B is located in a beautiful area of Essex, and we had a fantastic room, very comfy and clean. The staff was very friendly. And breakfast was superb. Highly recommended for a weekend break in Essex.
July 2023 by H I
Very nice pub and hotel are room was very nice had everything we needed thank you!!The staff are extremely helpful and friendly and one member of staff study out from the rest, and that was Gail.She just could not do more for us extremely warm kind and friendly credit to this company.We would come back just to have a chat with Gail.Food & drinks: The food at this place is fabulous, Jamie Oliver parents owned this place from the start, but sold it on recently!!
July 2023 by Pete Morris
Stayed here for 1 night as had a flight from Stansted the next morning.The good: checked in and was taken to our room by a friendly man (the manager?) And the room was nice and comfortable with a very good blackout blind! Tea/coffee making facilities, bottled water and biscuits in the room. Staff at breakfast very friendly and attentive.The less good: the bathroom could do with a deep clean every so often. Black marks on grout and on bottom of shower screen where the rubber seal is.Breakfast was disappointing. From reading the evening food menu and seeing reviews I had high hopes. It was fine just not as good as I expected. Sausage (single) was hard and tasted cheap, bacon was extremely salty, egg was cooked very well (poached). The plates need to be smaller as it looked like half measures. We also turned up at 7:10 to find the pub closed when Breakfast was supposed to start at 7am.All in all, it was ok and served a purpose for us.
July 2023 by MargeEastAnglia
Meal on the Sunday evening for the four of us was very nice, but rooms are tired, especially Lords and very noisy at the front - not worth the money. Breakfast was very disappointing - hard, tried bacon and sausage, dried baked beans and not great service.
July 2023 by MattHM
Stayed for one night before a morning flight. Friendly check in and personally shown to our room. Room finished well with good quality amenities. Good night's sleep. Shower worked well and lots complimentary toiletries Having checked out the menu and food reviews I was expecting a great breakfast experience. Doors to the restaurant were not open at 0710 when we tried having been told served from 7. So we returned having got ready for the day. Friendly waitresses who took our hot food orders and served our drinks. Quality of food for the full Anglian breakfast were sadly of a very cheap and poor quality. The sausage was absolutely vile, cheap and rock hard and the single small hash brown soggy. Also sadly the wait for breakfast was quite lengthy meaning a bit of a rush to finish and get to the airport. Would happily recommend for the right price if room only, but sadly breakfast let down the experience
July 2023 by FrancesLangton
What an absolutely fabulous place to stay! The staff went out of their way to help us get in the rooms a little early as we were being picked up to go to a wedding. The room itself was amazing for the price, very comfortable and really nicely decorated, and the breakfast was superb. We would 100% stay here again if we were coming to that area.
