Horse & Groom — Restaurant in Chelmsford

Anything that could have gone wrong, did! Booked a table for 7, we weren't seated at that table until 7:35. When arriving to take our order, waitress informed us that there was no Roast Beef left (not a huge issue) and that the ovens were playing up so our food was going to take an extra 20 minutes on top of the usual waiting time (we've already waited 45 minutes, could we not have been told this when we first arrived?!) We decided to stay as leaving would just mean a longer wait for food. We ordered our meals and the waitress offered to bring some garlic bread to the table which could be ready in just a couple of minutes. It arrived 10 minutes later. The meals arrived staggered so some people had been eating for 5 minutes before others had even arrived. The only good thing is that the food was all lovely, not a single complaint from a party of 9 people. We then asked to see the dessert menu and were informed that there was no brownie left (again not a huge issue). One of the party asked for the crumble pie, the waitress asked if they wanted the crumble of the day instead of the crumble pie. They ordered the crumble of the day. 10 minutes later a waiter came back and informed us that although 3 of us had ordered cheesecake, there was only 1 slice left. They offered to cut it into 3 pieces (really?) Or we could change our order. So 2 of the party changed their minds. Our food arrived shortly afterwards, again staggered, and the person who had ordered the crumble after advise from the waitress was presented with a crumble pie instead. They said they'd ordered the crumble. The waiter left and came back with another waitress who simply said "Uhh, I meant to come and talk to you about that". Defeated, the member of the party accepted the crumble pie to avoid having to wait any longer. Again, the food was lovely and not a single complaint. Their saving grace was the fact that the food was genuinely lovely and they gave the desserts free to the people who had to change their order but the service that evening was incredibly poor. Staff were visibly flustered and grumpy with customers as a result, not relaying all relevant information to customers etc. Not sure if I'll be...

We recently visited The Horse and Groom in Writtle for the first time after a family friend recommended it, and we couldn’t be happier that we did. From the moment we arrived, we were struck by the charm and character of the pub. There’s a welcoming atmosphere throughout, and with plenty of parking and a spacious beer garden, it’s the kind of place you instantly want to return to—especially on a sunny day.

The staff made us feel right at home as soon as we stepped through the door. We’d pre-booked a table for our group, and were warmly greeted and shown to our seats straight away. Service throughout the meal was fantastic—Sophie, who looked after us most of the afternoon, was brilliant: friendly, attentive, and really knowledgeable about the menu. Ajay also stepped in to help with our large party, and both worked seamlessly together to make sure everything ran smoothly.

As for the food—absolutely delicious. Since it was Sunday, most of us went for the roasts, which were generous, perfectly cooked, and came with all the trimmings you’d hope for. Others in our group ordered the steak, fish and chips, vegetarian burger, and steak and ale pie, and each plate looked just as tempting as the next. It was great to see such a wide choice of dishes, with something to suit everyone.

Having tried a number of pubs in the area, The Horse and Groom really stands out—not only for its quality food, but also for its genuine hospitality and value for money. It’s the kind of place you can just tell is run with care.

We left already planning our next visit, and will definitely be back soon to enjoy that beer garden. Highly recommended if you’re in or around Writtle—this pub...

4 of us attended at this place for lunch. Booked for 2pm and arrived on time. Or drinks orders were eventually taken after 15 minutes and drinks arrived after 30 minutes. Orders taken and which point we had to change our orders several times as a large part of the menu was not available (apparently delivery of food did not arrive for many items) oh dear!! Perhaps I can use that one at home when I am serving dinner next time?? Food arrived after 2 hours of our arrival. Hubby ordered fish and chips (you would think can’t go wrong with that) yep it was warm, and fish piece greasy and tiny. Our friend and I had salads - easy right? Wrong….. I ordered butter not squash add on for an extra £3. I got 5 tiny slices of deep fried greasy butter nut squash with no seasoning. My friend choose Halloumi which was not cooked at all. Although it can be eaten uncooked that’s not what we ordered at the additional cost. The lettuce was old and limp along with the broccoli. Mine came with quinoa at least but my friend did not and when we asked about it, we were told the quinoa ran out. Why did they not at least split it between our 2 plates? Best of the 4 meals was the steak pie ordered by our other friend. After complaining we were not charged for the salads. We left still feeling hungry and wry disappointed. The manager did not even come over to ask how we were. The poor waitress was very apologetic and tried her best. Needless to say we won’t be re attending. We live in North london and drove down to have lunch here on recommendation of the friends we were with as had eaten...