Rack Of Lamb
County Hotel, Samphire Restaurant

County Hotel, Samphire Restaurant

The County Hotel Rainsford Road Chelmsford, Essex CM1 2PZ, CM1 2QD, United Kingdom

Beer • Wine • Coffee • British


"My wife and I have been to the County Kitchen a few times for their Sunday Carvery. So why, you may ask have I only given the County Kitchen 3 stars and entitled my review as lacks consistency? Well the title does say it all, it isn 't that the food and service and surroundings are bad its just that as a complete package it...........lacks consistency. Perhaps I should explain rather than repeating myself Our table was crammed in with others in the small conservatory/veranda area. It felt cramped as we were against a pillar and so close to at least 6 other diners that it felt uncomfortable and unwelcoming, especially as the rest of the restaurant was empty. Moving on to our food. We opted for starters, followed by the carvery. My wife 's starter crab haddock fishcake, with chive hollandaise was presented nicely and according to her very nice but lacked flavour . Mine was pork belly terrine and chutney my comments mirror those of my wife 's. Lacked seasoning and flavour, but looked nice. I echo Greg Wallace 's thoughts on Masterchef the other day..... ...would rather have something that tastes good rather than a dish that just looks pretty... Now the carvery you have a choice of at 3 roast meats plus vegetables and if you feeling really hungry there isn 't a limit to the number of times you can go back. But for most appetites 1 visit is enough. Being a little greedy I had a couple of slices of port with yummily crisp crackling) and some beef. The carver described the beef as medium rare my preference) but it was more like medium to well done so it was a bit tough and chewy shame as it looked a fantastic joint of beef). That finally put an end to our meal, we paid our bill £59.95 incl bottle of wine, and starters) and left. I have to say that this hasn 't been our experience on other occasions, so perhaps its was just an off day. Will we go back? Probably, but we won 't be rushing back. Its not a bad place, it just.....lacks consistency!"

The Atrium Brasserie At The Kingston Lodge

The Atrium Brasserie At The Kingston Lodge

94 Kingston Hill, KT2 7LJ, Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom

Cafés • Sushi • Asiatic • Fast Food


"We made a reservation through Groupon for Sunday lunch for four at this hotel, even though we are local residents and had never been there before. The hotel has a 4-star rating, so we thought it would be a good opportunity to try something new. However, we were disappointed with our experience. The dining room did not meet our expectations - the tables did not have tablecloths as shown in the website photos, and some had linen napkins while others had cheap paper napkins. Despite booking in advance and mentioning it was my daughter's 12th birthday, no table had been prepared for us. The menu was just an A4 paper, which is not what we would expect from a 4-star establishment. There was no drinks menu available, so we had to make do with what was offered. The food was mediocre at best - my husband's beer was described as stale, my pate was served with poor quality bread and not enough onion jam, and the prawn cocktail was average. The roast dinners were also disappointing, with poorly cooked potatoes and frozen vegetables. Dessert options were limited, and the lemon tart we chose was unremarkable. The lack of tea or coffee offered was also disappointing. Overall, the service and quality of the food need improvement before we would consider returning. It is a shame to leave such a negative review, but the owners should take note and make necessary changes to attract more customers. Additionally, having a consistent standard across all tables, providing better quality ingredients, and improving service would eliminate the need to rely on Groupon for business. The potential is there for this hotel to be a great dining destination, but changes need to be made."