Beer Battered Fish
The Bull At Blackmore End

The Bull At Blackmore End

The Bull At Blackmore End, Braintree, United Kingdom

Full • Soup • Fish • Dining


"After waiting 20 minutes to be seated at our table in the restaurant my husband went to the bar to ask if we could be shown to our table. Ten minutes later the restaurant manager seated us and explained that they had some big parties in and one of their chefs had called in sick so service was 'dragging a bit '. We chose our food from the menu and waited for a waitress to come and take our order, which didn 't happen for another half an hour. Just as we were considering leaving, the waitress came and took our order finally, an hour after our booking time. Our first course arrived around 20 mins later (nearly half past nine) and the soup was very nice. When we asked if it came with bread, we were told no as it had croutons in it. I asked if we could have some bread anyway and the waitress reluctantly got us some. However, eating a first course at 9.30pm just seemed too late so by the time our main course came out at 9.50pm we just wanted to quickly eat it and get home as it was late and we had babysitters to get back for. We therefore asked for the bill as soon as the main course was finished and left. I understand some nights are busy and it cannot be helped if the chef is unwell but what I do object to is the attitude of staff, who really didn 't seem too bothered about serving us or making the experience a positive one. If somebody had told us on arrival that there would probably be an hour 's wait to order our food, we would have understood and we would have had the choice to wait or go elsewhere but being told that service was slightly 'dragging ' was nowhere near the truth. It was very delayed indeed. A simple gesture such as a complimentary drink and some snacks to keep customers happy while they were kept waiting would have been all that was needed. Nothing was taken off of our bill as a good will gesture for all the time wasted and there was no apology when we paid. All in all it left a bad taste in our mouths and we will not be returning."

The Bull at Blackmore End

The Bull at Blackmore End

The Bull at Blackmore End Braintree, Essex CM7 4DD, United Kingdom

Beer • Pubs • English • American


"After waiting 20 minutes to be seated at our table in the restaurant my husband went to the bar to ask if we could be shown to our table. Ten minutes later the restaurant manager seated us and explained that they had some big parties in and one of their chefs had called in sick so service was 'dragging a bit '. We chose our food from the menu and waited for a waitress to come and take our order, which didn 't happen for another half an hour. Just as we were considering leaving, the waitress came and took our order finally, an hour after our booking time. Our first course arrived around 20 mins later (nearly half past nine) and the soup was very nice. When we asked if it came with bread, we were told no as it had croutons in it. I asked if we could have some bread anyway and the waitress reluctantly got us some. However, eating a first course at 9.30pm just seemed too late so by the time our main course came out at 9.50pm we just wanted to quickly eat it and get home as it was late and we had babysitters to get back for. We therefore asked for the bill as soon as the main course was finished and left. I understand some nights are busy and it cannot be helped if the chef is unwell but what I do object to is the attitude of staff, who really didn 't seem too bothered about serving us or making the experience a positive one. If somebody had told us on arrival that there would probably be an hour 's wait to order our food, we would have understood and we would have had the choice to wait or go elsewhere but being told that service was slightly 'dragging ' was nowhere near the truth. It was very delayed indeed. A simple gesture such as a complimentary drink and some snacks to keep customers happy while they were kept waiting would have been all that was needed. Nothing was taken off of our bill as a good will gesture for all the time wasted and there was no apology when we paid. All in all it left a bad taste in our mouths and we will not be returning."

Fredrick's

Fredrick's

Shoppenhangers Road, Maidenhead, United Kingdom

Tea • Cafés • Coffee • Seafood


"I must say, I was so disappointed with my visit to Fredricks. My friend and I went for afternoon tea and were really looking forward to it. But we both found the experience really disappointing. Firstly the afternoon tea cakes looked nothing like the advert, nowhere near as fancy. The scones were lovely but we only had about a couple of tablespoons of cream between the two of us which wasn’t enough! The chap who initially gave us our tea was lovely but then once he had gone we didn’t see a soul. There was no one coming to check if we were ok or needed refills. I ended up drinking cold tea and my friend who had a coffee had nothing once that was finished. It wasn’t until we were practically finished that someone else came to have afternoon tea that we could actually grab someone to ask them for a refill! The ambiance of the afternoon tea was awful. Initially there was lovely music in the background but after about 15 mins it was turned off and we were left in silence. All we could hear were staff in the next room shouting to each other about something or other. There was no atmosphere at all and we actually felt like we shouldn’t be there! I’ve been to a number of afternoon teas and this was by far the worst one I have had. However this was my friends first afternoon tea and we thought that Fredricks would be fabulous for a first time tea..... but she was so disappointed! I felt really bad for her! : I don’t think I would come again."