Magic Mushroom - Basildon

Having visited on many occasions and always been more than satisfied with the high quality of food, service etc, we decided to meet up with friends for a pre Christmas celebration. Seated in the waiting area on arrival, after 10 minutes no one had come to take our drinks order so we had to ask. Whilst the quality of the food was, as always very good, we could not help but notice that the portion sizes had decreased since previous visits. Two members of the party had the cod cassoulet which had a very small piece of cod, literally three mouthfuls, and did not reflect the price tag of £29.50. My goats cheese starter consisted of three wafer thin slices of goats cheese and the cheese and biscuits dessert was also a meager portion for the price. All in all, on this occasion a disappointing visit.

We have visited the Magic Mushroom restaurant many times over the years and it has always been consistently good, often excellent. My family of four went for lunch on December 21st, specifically for the Christmas menu. Unfortunately, we were disappointed with the meal. The Christmas lunch consisted of processed turkey slices, unappetizing stuffing, a few roast potatoes, and small brussels sprouts. I had not realized that the meal did not include pigs in blankets, Yorkshire pudding, or extra vegetables. I could have paid extra for additional vegetables, but I only realized this later. My wife ordered the sea bream, which she said was good but the portion was small. On a positive note, the Christmas pudding was excellent. However, the service we received from the waitress was difficult and it felt like she was looking for an argument, especially when my son requested an ice bucket for our £110 bottle of champagne, which seemed like a reasonable request to me. Thankfully, my son handled the situation calmly, but the waitress's attitude was off-putting. Unfortunately, we will not be returning to the restaurant.

Really enjoyed coming here, and everyone else did too, delicious food, they had prawn cocktail, onion tart, soups, and a lovely roast dinner, beef perfect, chicken really soft and succulent, and the desserts again lovely, ginger cheesecake, banana parfait, and apple crumble, and a chocolate torte with whisky cream, the chef did us proud, the only things we found on just a suggestion, is maybe a tad more communication, for the staff, as our coffee was forgotten, and a drink, and just the gravy on the side, it was fine for me, but not everyone likes it. The staff very friendly, very helpful, good service, and lovely food, definitely return again. The manager friendly and on the ball, all in all, everyone ate everything nothing left, and thats always a good sign, Thanks to all the staff, they all work extremely hard, and compliments to the chef and kitchen staff, brilliant. Thank you for a lovely lunch .

I made a reservation for 11 family members to celebrate my 50th and my mum's 80th birthdays at this restaurant. I had several calls beforehand to ensure they were aware of the special occasion and requested a candle in the dessert instead of bringing a cake. Everything seemed promising, and I arrived early to set up the table with balloons. The manager took our food order, and when we noticed someone was missed, she became upset and insisted she hadn't forgotten anyone. The food was all delicious and arrived hot, but sadly there were no candles on the desserts. When I asked the waitress about it, she explained that the dessert person didn't realize it was a birthday celebration. It was disappointing as it would have been a nice touch for my mum (I wasn't as concerned about myself). The manager did not come out to apologize, leaving it to the waitress to offer us a glass of champagne. We had already put on our coats and paid the bill, so we declined the offer. Overall, the venue was lovely, and the food was fantastic. The manager could improve on their people skills and should be reminded constantly during a party, as phone calls and balloons may not be sufficient.

Had a meal here on a cold wet Nov evening. On arrival my partner and I were greeted warmly and shown to a lovely booth table which was very cosy. Ww ordered wine which arrived promptly and was served to us. Perfect temperature too. We did not feel under pressure to order quickly so allowed us to enjoy the wine and chat. The starter was crab and crostinis. Very tasty and beautifully presented. The flavours were amazing and left us wanting more. We both had seabass and again presentation and flavours amazing. No dessert as no room. Lovely atmosphere and all waiting staff polite and attentive. This was a birthday treat for me from my partner and it was just perfect. We will be back. Thankyou all.