The Angel — Restaurant in Chelmsford

I can not express how utterly disappointed I was visiting The Angel a few days ago. I've been going there all my life. 20+ years ago with my Nan and Grandad. Then I worked there over a year about 12 years ago. It was always so lovely and warm and welcoming. The food was never amazing, it's a chain after all. But it wasn't terrible. My husband and I visited there Tuesday afternoon after a long wait at the Hospital. We were starving and as it was pretty quiet (4 maybe 5 tables full) we were ushered to a table service area. The young waiter took our drinks orders and returned fairly quickly with them. Telling us he'll be back in a few minutes to take our orders. Everything on the table was sticky and unpolished. 15 minutes passed and no sign of the waiter. So my husband ordered at the till. About 20 minutes later our "Food" came out. I ordered some starters as the vegetarian options weren't great and my husband had the chicken curry. Which he enjoyed. I had some sort of mushrooms swimming in cold brown sauce with bread thrown on the side and arancinni balls. Stodgy tasteless lumps on a bed of purple goo, tasted like beetroot. Sort of. Ate half of one. My Italian heritage wouldn't let me choke down anymore. The Cheesy flatbread was edible and the onion nest was a greasy pile of nothingness. Once we'd had enough. The waiter walked past us once and what I can only assume was the manager (due to her jeans and t-shirt) walked past us, empty handed 3 times with a sour look on her face. Noticing we were finished, but ignoring us. Eventually the waiter came back and cleared the table. Still hungry we thought, surely they can't go wrong with dessert!? My husband had a crumble with a watery custard and I had a small brown brick with scoop of icecream on top. Apparently it was a brownie. I'm not sure in what world. My one star is for the flat white I had before we left. That was delicious. Once again, we waited and then gave up and paid at the bar. Where we weren't greeted but grunted at by a small middle aged woman. Who then demanded £75+ pounds!!! I had to laugh. Then she had the audacity to ask if we'd like to leave a tip!? To which I laughed some more and headed out the door. It's an absolute disgrace of a place. Mardy, slow, sour staff and the prices are day light robbery. I'm saddened to think that's the end of so many good times and great family memories. But alas, it is....

We often drive past The Angel, today we decided to stop for lunch.

We were greeted in a friendly way and told how to order. The menu was pretty comprehensive, with a wide variety available.

We ordered a couple of soft drinks while browsing the menu, settling on calamari and arancini to start, with fish cakes and fish and chips as mains. We were able to leave a tab open should we want to order deserts.

The starters arrived after a few minutes; the calamari was plentiful, in a crisp batter and no taste of rubberiness, which can so often be the case. The arancini was equally well cooked, with a beetroot dressing and fresh pesto. Both dishes were very tasty and we had no complaints.

The mains arrived in a reasonable time and, as with the starters, looked well presented. The fish cakes were large balls (two) served with tender stem broccoli and fries. These were both good but could have had a bit more fish in - as they were the fish was a little overpowered by the potato. The fries and broccoli were fine.

The fish and chips came with mushy peas and triple cooked chips - these were well presented and looked home made. A bonus was that the chef didn’t think 6 was a reasonable portion and filled the plate! The fish was a large piece in crispy batter, housing a nicely steamed piece of fish - no grease here - as it should be. This was the best fish and chips (and peas !) I’ve had when eating “out” in a while.

Overall this was a good visit - good food and friendly staff, with only a very small complaint and that not all that serious.

9.5 out of 10 - highly impressed and recommended. Thanks to all for making this a good experience. We...

This is a difficult one for me, have been here over many years and always loved it we went recently for a family meal on New year's Eve. I understand they were short staffed in the afternoon so this may account for a few issues. As we arrived the bar seemed less busy we were shown our table and started to order, as the family we went with were difficult and wanted separate bills our food all came out at different times (in fairness this was explained that this may happen ) so some had finished their dinner before others got there starter but hey ho that was an issue the family caused . Going back to get drinks at the bar was an issue, long wait and then when I finally got served someone else shouts from behind that they were waiting so the barman after taking my order then stops and serves them and then proceeds to serve another customer behind them ! I was slightly miffed and annoyed at this point so walked off from the bar. Credit to the waitress after a few minutes she came and asked if we wanted any drinks and here I must apologize as I was quite rude and abrupt to her and simply asked for a glass of water. She brought this and then a few minutes later a beer that I had originally asked the bar man for, I really must praise her for her professionalism and customer service and wish that I had apologised for my earlier rudeness. The sharer starter we had was fantastic and the Burger I had was great, my children had the kids menu and this seemed good quality and my partner enjoyed her lamb. The place has great character and we love the real fire and garden in the summer. Overall...