The Oddfellows Arms — Restaurant in Chelmsford

This is a really special pub... it's brand new, everything sparkly and clean like a swanky modern chic bar, yet it's a special pub with a lovely atmostphere, a nice change from the fusty old pubs with everything old and falling apart and decrepit, giving them 'character' and 'history'... well the Oddfellows Arms is going to make history and has a nice fresh new smart shiny character that drags the idea of a pub into the modern era! The place has real pzazz without being a tacky bar franchise... Mark the owner and barman is a true gentleman, and a consumate professional... my new girlfriend is the picky type (amazing she picked me!) and he and I actually managed to get her particular drink requirements bang on at only the 2nd attempt, the 1st attempt was me getting it wrong after she'd phoned me to tell me what to have ready for her when she arrived, (noone's perfect Mark, I should have listened to you and waited for her to arrive but I was trying to impress her... and failed miserably!). He saved my date and I wish him every success... apart from the rowdy bunch who dragged me away from my date to talk football and rugby... those West Ham supporters... 🙈😂 don't let them back in Mark! 🤣 The Christmasy mulled cider I had was delicious, I'll be back for another of those before long... I hope you open a chain of them up and down the country, cos you're dragging the very idea of what a pub is into the modern era and I think its gonna fly... bravo matey, my lovely new girlfriend and I will be regulars when I make it down, I live 100 miles away, but started my working life nearby and have loads of friends in the area and my mother lived not far away till she passed away this year... now I have a new reason to be back in Essex as much as I can, and I do enjoy life on...

I ordered from The Oddfellows Arms Smokehouse from Deliveroo.

After reading the reviews on Google I thought it sounded very nice. I ordered a meat box which comes with 2 meats and 2 sides. I got the beef brisket and the jalapeno & cheese hot links (sausages). The two sides I got were skin on fries and sweet potato fries. I also got a mac'n'cheese side, too.

When it arrived, I opened the bag and pulled out the 3 sides but then couldn't find the meat (the main part!). I looked into the bag again, slightly annoyed, and noticed a squashed brown cardboard box at the bottom, camoflauged into the brown paper bag. I pulled the box out of the bag and instantly noticed how light in weight it was. Upon opening the meat box, I could see it was 75% air and 25% utter disappointment. The beef brisket was 2-3 extra thin slices of beef which looked like they were just tossed into the box and which reminded me of the thin slices of beef you can buy at the supermarket for sandwiches for a pound or two. The hot links were thinly sliced and didn't even hint the taste of jalapeno and cheese. There were about 10 thin slices of garlic-y sausage meat just scattered around the box. They reminded me of the sausage meat that a pizza place would put on their pizzas. I saw a few sausage slices in the bottom of the bag, too. I'm not sure if these were intended to go in the box or not.

This cost £26.50!! And for what? Some fries, mac'n'cheese and not much else!

This was such a disappointment. I don't know why there were so many positive reviews when I looked.

Unfortunately, I will not be visiting this place again.

I hope this...

Hidden gem in Chelmsford. I know this pub used to be a little rough around the edges but I was so impressed. Often when places say they do “barbecue” it’s a frozen burger with some store bought bbq sauce. But this isn’t the case with oddfellows arms. They have gone out of there way to smoke meats properly and deliver amazing results. Great selection, real star of the show was the brisket, melt in your mouth. Also recommend the pulled pork, you can tell it’s been cooked slow and low and isn’t your standard microwave packet most pubs use. The sides were great too, flavourful beans, top class Mac and cheese, cornbread had great flavour, if a little dry. Staff all lovely and great service. Easy to use app for ordering, simply scan, order and pay. Then everything arrives quickly and perfect. I do not have a single complaint about this place, was really impressed, will be recommending to all my friends and will definitely be back soon.

Also pour a bloody...