Blue Anchor - Braintree

Brilliant food, locally sourced, friendly and attentive staff. Lovely atmosphere. Highly recommend and will definitely go again.

I recently went to this restaurant for afternoon tea and was disappointed. The scones were overcooked, the cakes were dry, and I had to wait around 20 minutes for my tea to be served. Some tables didn't receive any tea at all, as it seemed like the staff was more focused on serving the larger tables and giving them extra everything. One table even received four pots of tea while others received none. The only highlight of the day was the lady from Tiptree who shared the story behind their gin and vodka.

It is half term week so the restaurants and pubs are understandably busy but must be aware it will be hectic and plan their staffing accordingly. However, we visited the Blue Anchor yesterday and it was very busy, We selected our lunch and checked with the waiting time with the waitress. 30 mins we were told. I ordered the soup of the day with artisan bread and my friend had a posh finger finger sandwich. The food arrived about 40mins later and I was presented with a sandwich. The waitress took it away to change it, which took about 5 mins. I then asked for butter when she returned. She brought this and I had to ask for a knife. By this time my friend's sandwich was quite cool. The artisan bread was crumbly and I guess it had been left out and dried up. The portion size was unbelievable it was served in a white china serving spoon and consisted of 5 spoonfuls in total. The flavour was fine, the butter was rock hard and had to be abandoned as it just wouldn't spread on the crumbly bread, that I left. My friend had a better deal but there was only a small piece of breaded fish in the sandwich which barely filled it.The chips and salad were fine. On arrivng back home, I realised we had been overcharged having paid £25 .50 p, I guess they charged me for the returned sandwich as opposed to my soup Not impressive.

This place is the best ever. It is in a pretty village called Feering. It has a very good car park opposite and can be get to by railway getting off at Kelvedon. The food is fantastic and the staff friendly and welcoming.

Friendly staff all wearing masks. All Covid safety measures being taken, including individual sanitiser on each table. Large tables enable safe distancing. Food as always good with plenty of choice. The only place I would feel safe meeting up with friends.