The Hurdlemakers Arms — Restaurant in Maldon

This pub had been a favourite over the years offering good food at reasonable prices. As we had the in-laws visiting in a post-Covid capacity, we felt that a revisit to this old haunt would be a safe bet for lunch. This would have been our first lunch trip at the pub, and unfortunately it has left a very poor opinion of the establishment - thinking that perhaps we had a better memory than the actual. The owner unfortunately has a persona that is not friendly or welcoming, you are made to feel like your are inconveniencing them, by your attendance. The tables had a sticky hue to them, fortunately one of the post-COVID, benefits is that we carry a bag of antibacterial wipes, which made it fresher - but should the establishment not take care of this?? Service was slow and the food came at a glacial pace that would have made a sloth happy - considering the pub wasn't full or overly busy, it seems strange that our order clearly caused confusion - what challenging items did we have, you may wonder.... Three different baguettes, a portion of chips and a Jacket potato with Chilli. The baguettes were ok, the chips are superb, but that is where it stops, the Jacket potato was nicely cooked, but the amount of Chilli was poor, if you inhaled too quickly you would have 'hoovered' it off the plate, in-fact the two pre-packed butter portions had more volume than the chilli - and we waited almost 90 minutes for this. Overall, the experience was far from what we remembered and it feels like this is one visit that should have been confined to a memory........ For the benefit of doubt it could be that they are slow to adapt to reopening post COVID however, being under same management, I am not convinced of this rose...

Visited the Hurdlemakers Arms yesterday afternoon for Sunday dinner without exception this is the finest establishment we have ever been in! The service was beyond amazing we were a party of eight with three children aged four and under and how the staff treated them was astounding bringing games and playing with them! Unfortunately one of the children was taken ill and Lettie and the staff literally overwhelmed us with their care and attention giving us support and making meals for us to take away we were literally blown away! Some of our group stayed to have our meals and the food was absolutely delicious! Thank goodness the child who was unwell is recovering well and Lettie even asked that we call to let her know how things were! This was honestly like being at home with family, the entire service from every member of staff was overwhelming and the food was exceptional like it was cooked with love! If you are looking for outstanding food, sublime service and the warmest welcome this is the only place to go! We are very fussy guests when it comes to looking for good food and this truly is first class, the whole experience just blew us away! Thank you to everyone we will absolutely recommend you to everyone visiting the area without hesitation...

Such a lovely relaxing time down The hurdlemakers. Always recommend it to friends if they seem a bit stressed or look down. The staff and land lady and lord are lovely people. Always a welcome when you get through the door. The staff are so friendly and go out of their way to make you feel welcome. We was regulars down there last year and one of the bar staff remembered my little boys name which was a good touch, her little girl was playing with him in the garden. Fantastic place for kids, lovely set of swings, climbing frames, monkey bars, footballs knocking about for them to play with. The food down there is fantastic, sometimes a bit of a wait but it's a small place and gets busy so understandable and the food always comes out nice and fresh, and big portions. The Sunday roast is magnificent. A fine selection of ales and ciders, all from local breweries. They only won an award yesterday for the 2nd best pub in Essex. Highly recommend this pub, just passing by then pop in for a drink and you will coming back again and again. They also they have a yearly beer festival in the summer. Hope to see you down there some time, you may catch me there in the summer, spring, or...