The Old Windmill — Restaurant in Chelmsford

Terrible Experience - Beware!

I have dined at The Old Windmill in South Hanningfield several times with my family and always enjoyed the food and service. However, our recent visit was an absolute disaster.

I ordered pie and chips and requested a pot of peppercorn sauce, which I noticed on the menu was available with the steak. Initially, the waitress accepted my request. However, she returned 10 minutes later to inform me that the chef refused to provide the sauce because it had been portioned out for the day. This made no sense to me – how could the chef predict exactly how many people would order steak and peppercorn sauce that day? I was absolutely willing to pay extra for the sauce.

At this point, I no longer wanted the pie and chips and felt extremely frustrated. The restaurant claims everything is made fresh, yet they couldn't whip up a basic peppercorn sauce, which requires only a handful of ingredients. The manager then came over, apologised, and said he would speak to the chef and get the sauce. This led me to believe the chef was being difficult and simply didn't want to serve the sauce with anything other than the steak.

When my food finally arrived, I was already anxious about the situation. Halfway through my chips, I found a small black hair. I immediately called for the manager, and upon inspection, we found several more black hairs in the bowl of chips. Absolutely disgusting!

The manager refunded only that one meal, leaving us with a bill of over £200. We left feeling disgusted and extremely disappointed with the entire experience.

If you value good service and cleanliness, I strongly advise you to avoid The Old Windmill in South Hanningfield. Our experience was appalling, and we will not...

Lunch at The Old Windmill in South Hanningfield felt like a little countryside holiday without the hassle of passport control. We parked up for a casual lunch and ended up staying far longer than planned, thanks to the charming garden and the laid-back vibe under a billowing safari-style tent. It was the sort of spot where time just floats by, perhaps helped along by a couple of chilled fruit ciders (pineapple and raspberry, if you’re curious). Followed by a glass of Prosecco.

For mains, we went classic-with-a-twist: a proper steak sandwich with thick-cut chips (no skimping here) and a hot duck wrap crispy, rich, and generously packed also served with golden chips that were just the right side of indulgent. I had grand intentions of snapping a photo for posterity, but the food arrived smelling so good we dove straight in. Cabin crew instincts kicked in: tray down, forks up!

The grand finale? A chocolate orange tart paired with blood orange ice cream, zesty, rich, and beautifully balanced. It felt like a proper pudding. Not too sweet, not too heavy just right.

The service was excellent, friendly, attentive but never overbearing. It was the kind of traditional British hospitality I really appreciate: warm, efficient, and down to earth.

All in all, The Old Windmill delivered a perfect pub lunch with a hint of adventure (safari tent and all). I’ll be back next time with my phone ready, but no promises I won’t forget again if the...

On one occasion about two years ago we booked and paid for a Christmas meal but were chased out afterwards for outstanding money because they had not recorded a phone call. They were apologetic but it wasn't good enough. Today. Go for drink at bar. Older bar maid miserable, I felt bad for ordering. Then she curtly told me that sauces and cutlery were at the table. Sauces were, because we had had to clear the table on to one of the other uncleared tables BUT no cutlery, back again to happy lady, got a younger one, asked for cutlery, got a look like I'd asked to move in to her house, then got it with a veiled sarcastic remark disguised as politeness. THEN the dry martini and lemonade is JUST tonic water. We point this out, I am informed that she indeed used the dry martini and the lemonade from the tap to make it which means we must be lying, I offered that she taste it, she did so pinching her nose. I said I don't want to eat here (as we had ordered food) let's go. My wife wanted a refund because they were so rubbish and rude but the woman failed to realise she was indeed rude or that there was anything wrong. Don't go. The food is average and overpriced and the over-worked mostly VI Form staff are prickly...