The Anchor — Restaurant in Rochford

It's a mixed bag from us. Our first visit. A 40 minute drive. On entering we approached the bar, and as we were unsure, told the barman we had booked a table, to which he answered, "what do you want to drink". We ordered a drink and we were left with no direction. It seemed he wasn't interested. So zero stars for the barman. The staff in the restaurant however is a different story. We approached the colleague at what we presumed was the restaurant point of sale, as we had no direction. Throughout the meal, the restaurant team were attentive and pleasant. 5 stars for them. The starter arrived and was enjoyable. However, the mains were brought to us almost immediately. We both ordered salad, with extra chicken. When it first arrived, there was not any chicken, so my wife mentioned there should be chicken. Apologies accepted, then our dinner was brought out with the chicken. Lose a star here. Chicken was too dry. The salad. Well over dressed, but £20 for a bag of rocket salad from the local supermarket? We didn't eat it all, you get a lot in the portion, but just too soon after the starter. Paid our bill and took our drinks outside. Views are fabulous, so sat there enjoying the views. Overall, restaurant staff, great. Starter, great. Mains, chicken far too dry, salad drenched in dressing. Looking at other plates coming out, food looked great. Very nice pub/restaurant in a great setting. Would we go back? £92 we spent and was disappointed at mains, but the barman was our main issue. We say, try it for yourself, it is a lovely pub in a lovely setting. Maybe we were just unlucky with our mains. It happens, don't let it put you off. The barman only cost you a star and a half, I wanted to score less for his attitude but the restaurant staff made amends, so 5 stars for them. And lost half a star...

Is the Anchor getting complacent?

Firstly, I have been to the Anchor many times with my family and have had wonderful meals in great surroundings and served by excellent staff however, last night proved to be an exception. The staff were their usual friendly, helpful selves, but the signs were bad when I asked for a pint of Grolsch and was poured a Peroni. I was talking with my wife, so only noticed at the last moments. The starter was the best part of the meal (vegetable frittis). Excellent as always, but it went rapidly downhill. The mains (chicken milanese burger) was very bland and lacklustre. The brioche was soaked in butter (too much to be tasteful), the chicken was overcooked and hard, and not much of it, and the burger contained just one piece of sad looking rocket and tomato alike. Chips were good, but overall very poor. It got worse! We ordered bombalone for desert and it lived up to its name. The Italian donuts were so hard you could use them as cricket balls. The custard and chocolate sauce were OK though. We are there for Christmas dinner and I hope it picks up again. Perhaps this was just a one off? It happens! What was notable though last night was the amount of food left by diners during their courses. That never normally happens there. I wrote this hoping it could be used as constructive criticism. The Anchor is not majorly expensive, but its not cheap either, so expected standards should be maintained. I hope it returns to its excellent standards again soon. The one star was earned by the as usual...

The setting is lovely and l would have awarded five stars, had we had a table with a river view, which is what l'd hoped for. When we arrived, we were really disappointed to be seated down in the main body of the restaurant, near the kitchen, with not a window in sight. The rather surly young woman on the desk informed me l ought to have requested a window table when l booked - l booked online and there was no facility in the booking form to specify a table! "Well, you should have phoned, then," was her unhelpful comment. It was a shame that this marred an otherwise delightful experience on a special night out to celebrate my partner's birthday. The food and the service were absolutely superb - quite impossible to fault. The menu was extensive and varied, not to mention extremely imaginative, and the servers incredibly helpful in making sure my partner's choices did not compromise her gluten and dairy intolerances. Worth every penny of what, by my standards anyway, was a pretty hefty bill, by the time wine and the tip were factored in. Sometimes you get what you pay for and are happy to do so. The Anchor does need to clarify its table booking policy, however...and perhaps ask its staff to reconsider the way they speak to customers disappointed in the...