Neils Bar & Kitchen — Restaurant in Rochford

Following the review of Martin Waterman and Scott Gibson, the restaurant’s response to this criticism is extremely disappointing, you have overlooked the fact that your food was indeed complemented by both Martin and Scott, as a small business, it would be in your interest to not only take on board what has been mentioned but to discuss as a team on how you can improve - not become excessively defensive and imply theft!! any business isn’t perfect and there are always room for improvement, I was part of this party and at no point was we asked if the children would like desert, they received their mains prior to their starters which was surprising, it isn’t down to the customer to keep reminding the staff to take orders or even to remove the finished plates ( which one member of our party even offered to help clear it because we were waiting so long) this is down to the staff, we were asked for our drinks at the start and one was missed, the service was indeed slow and had the head chef apologised for the lateness of the meals due to him cooking everything from fresh, we advised him that the kids were not offered their desert and straight away discussed this with the staff and again the waitress brought over the notes that were made - implying that we were lying!! Which again you don’t do!! other diners were constantly looking around for their meals etc because they too looked fed up with waiting, rather being defensive implying your customer of theft and lying, learn from these reviews and see if it can be...

An honest review.

Service: Fabulous service. The waiter was attentive and polite.

Atmosphere: We were the only ones in there for the first hour. The music was what I'd call - music to be depressed to. It's a little thing but the right music could really liven things up!

Food: We ate from the weekend £25 for 3 courses menu. Starters chicken goujons / halloumi strips. Both nice.

Mains: Hunters chicken / rib eye steak. The chicken tasted of fish in places. The rib eye was excessively salty (a common way to make meat have a longer shelf life) both dishes came with chunky chips which were slightly undercooked. Both the mains and the starters came with a side garnish of rocket and sliced chillis. Both times with an excessive amount of balsamic vinegar. Side of garlic cheesy bread. This did not appear with the main meal. We had to ask for it. It had totally been forgotten. When it did come out, it was a barely toasted ciabatta roll, with a slice of melted cheddar on it. No garlic at all.

Dessert: Baklava / chocolate fudge cake, both ok albeit a bit stale.

Drinks: Were spot on, rose wine / bottled beer. Can't go wrong.

We gave our feedback to the waiter who was apologetic and took the garlic bread off the bill. But with a compulsory service charge we felt this was a heavily overpriced substandard meal and definitely won't be returning.

Next time we will head to the Hungry Horse - even they can get a garlic bread spot on - it's...

An amazing little place that is well worth a vist.

We popped in on the off chance and were welcomed by a pleasant young lady who gave us a choice of tables. Thoughout our time there she was polite, helpful and had time to speak to our childen.

The menu is excellent with a wide range of items to suit the most basic of pallets (burgers, roasts and steaks) to the more adventurous with Meze on offer and a range of tapas and greek/turkish offerings.

Being a Sunday we all went for the excellent value set menus with two courses at around £17/18.

Our children tried calamari for the first time and also had hallomi. They then had burgers which they devoured and milkshakes they loved so much they won't stop going on about.

My partner decided to go for a mushroom pasta dish but forgot to mention her nut allergy. When it arrived at the table it was covered in Pesto. Knowing this was our fault and not that of the restaurant I offered to take it so that she could have my beef roast. This was met by objections by the chef / owner who insisted I would have my roast, he would have the pasta and prepare my partner the same dish again with no nuts free of charge. In an age where costs are rising and restaurants are struggling this was second to none service. My roast was excellent.

In conclusion if you are in any doubt visit this fantastic little restaurant. Great value, lovely food and the best customer service I have recieved in...