Chef & Brewer Horse & Groom in Chelmsford

Visited for dinner with my partner. I'll start with the positives - the refurb is gorgeous. The garden is a lovely place to sit on a sunny day and enjoy a drink. The service was good and the staff were welcoming. The menu has a large selection to choose from, including a specials menu. Unfortunately the food was a let down. The starts were average, we enjoyed the calamari. For our mains I had a pie which was ok, it came with chips, veg and gravy. The veg was bad - the green beans had the stalks left on so I was picking the stalks out of my mouth. And the other veg served with it was radish?Radish with pie and gravy? Very odd. The other main we ordered was from the specials menu which was soy pork belly served with rice and veg. It was literally just pieces of meat and dry rice with no sauce. Very disappointed and it was £19.25 for that dish alone :( We felt most things on the menu were extremely over priced and left feeling like we had wasted our money

Recently refurbished, the Horse and Groom continues to serve great food at reasonable prices. I chose the Rump Steak Sandwich on Ciabatta. Well cooked and came with chips and side salad. A hearty lunch on its own. Followed up with a mini trifle and tea. A great luchtime with friedns. The staff were pleasant and attentive. The restaurant was busy, and bustling, although it was Friday. Will definitley come again.

Where to start. My partner and I recently visited the newly refurbished Horse & Groom. It's somewhere we have not been for some time as on every occasion there is always something missing from the menu. The pub looks inviting and the decor is pleasing, sadly however it still doesn't quite hit the spot. On arrival I ordered a Hedgerow Fizz which should include a sprig of rosemary and raspberries as per the description, neither were present. I pointed this out to a member of staff and was told there was no rosemary, things worked out better with the raspberries as a small pot was brought to the table. Strangely some rosemary had found its way to the pub for my second drink which had all the ingredients present. Following this I attempted to order the pate starter but was told this had run out, so I went without a starter. We both ordered a roast with a side of cauliflower cheese to share. One of the roasts was the pork loin with crackling. Crackling being one of the selling points of this dish. Sadly the food turned up without the crackling. Why? They had run out bar a piece measuring approximately one inch long (photo attached) which was delivered to the table after we queried where the crackling was. No mention had been made of the missing crackling when the meal had arrived at the table. Lastly the cauliflower cheese although tasty was extremely small for the price of £3.50. We went to the pub with an open mind, but was disappointed that despite the overhaul nothing has changed. I will say that we were given a discount for the meal, but we would have preferred not to have to complain about the same old problem.

Service was slow, our meals were over cooked and it really wasn't as good as its been in the past - the food was not good. The wait foe it was too long. Not good at all

I normally title my reviews “THE GOOG BAD AND THE UGLY” but today unfortunately it was BAD AND UGLY. This is the reason we don’t go out much lol. We have visited this pub several times and have given excellent reviews but today was a disaster👎 The starters were good but for £31.75 you would expect a good standard. My partners so called beef rump served pink was no way pink with the stuffing rock hard couldn’t cut into it with vegetables an absolute disgrace and left inedible as per the photo’s. My fish and chips way overcooked and left as almost inedible as was seen on other plates being served all fish way overcooked👎 Looking at the bill £119.75 with no deserts or alcohol you can see why we don’t get out much when a Reg coke costs £4.10 is taking the P. Yes I know this is a business paying staff and overheads but paying these prices which is not A La Carte food is way below standard and unfortunately will take a much higher standard to get me back into a Chef & Brewer. To finish off the meal half way through a table of eight sat down with two screaming kids out of control not being Chef & Brewers fault. Now you can see why a Tesco £12.00 meal deal INCLUDING a bottle of Merlot is our cup or tea. If we of had a bottle of wine and a beer with deserts this would of been close to £180.00👎🙈 Happy eating “Victor Meldrew”

Always a good service. Friendly staff, good food. Always a smile and great advice . Cumberland sausage and mash great . Pie fantastic, trio of chicken lovely

Came here after the refurb, lovely looking pub massive beer garden, lots of extra tables have been added inside. Was served by Josh as helpful as always

We had such a wonderful time! Everyone was incredibly welcoming, and we felt right at home. A big thank you to Jon and Milena for going above and beyond to make our stay so enjoyable—and for always keeping our drinks topped up! Will definitely be coming back :)

Natalie was extremely helpful and provided excellent service. The food was very rich and the portions were very generous.

Firstly let me say what a superb refurbishement of this delightful pub inside and out. The quality of the decor is within keeping of the age of the pub making the ambiance relaxing and inviting. Congratulations to all involved A great enthusiastic team continue to serve you with tasty sumptuous dishes. Jonathon goes beyond the call of duty to ensure your stay is comfortable and nothing is too much trouble. He’s a credit to the Horse and Groom See you Mother’s Day 💐

Very pleasing atmosphere on entry and a warm welcome was received from a staff member and showed us to our table. The service was great throughout and the food was impeccable. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

We had Sunday lunch at horse and groom . Excellent food and service . We were served promptly on arrival . Dishes and drinks arrived promptly. The Sunday lunch was very nice . Would especially commend Marketa who took care of us very well . Many thanks . We have been coming to horse and groom regularly in past 15 years and very happy to do so

First time ever to a Burns night. Nice atmosphere great food. Pheasant,haggis, venison with the best gravy. Panacotta with blueberries and ice cream. Nikola our waitress was great. Jamie the manager too.

Great Food. Good atmosphere. Fantastic pub. Genuinely best food I have had in a while highly recommend. Overall very good

Went to please my girlfriend and her family would rather of stayed home and played Fortnite. But good food good atmosphere lovely staff.

Our waitress Melina was excellent and very attentive nothing was too much trouble and the food was great would definitely recommend

This place needs a major uplift...it's a lovely pub and used to be ace but is now suffering from frayed carpets, knackered furniture and very poor Sunday dinners...the veg was inedible! Only savings grace was the lovely staff!

Fantastic service and decent price , served by Marketa . Lady was very enthusiastic and we had very interesting conversation during our meal. Highly recommended .

Excellent food and server. Waitress friendly and cheerful. Food was very good with good selection of dishes. Apple tart excellent

Arrived in a big group and Marketa managed to seat us all together, her professionalism and kindness was second to none, some of the group have dietary requirements which were met to a great standard and Marketa went above and beyond assisting us with this and through our stay. She was always smiling, polite and was great with the children. We will certainly be coming back through the winter and hopefully she will be serving us again. Thoroughly enjoyable experience that was above standard. Thank you Marketa

A lovely pub with a nice atmosphere - even when we visited midweek. Our server Karen was very attentive and helpful. Even better that we were able to bring our dog along!

This is ideally located with easy access. The food was really beautiful and everyone enjoyed what they had ordered. We all had starters and mains, with some having a desert as well because it was all so tasty. It was a pleasant surprise to go for a chain restaurant and not just be fed adequate food, they really have upped the bar. Service was excellent as well Karen looked after us and was very friendly and helpful. Well done Horse and groom for giving us a great experience.

great service , excellent food . & the care & attention from Karen was brilliant , certainly made it a day to remember for us & our family from australia to remember, many thanks.

From walking in door we where greated warmly and shown to a table. The friendliness of all the staff and the ambience made us feel right at home. We were looked after by Milena. Who was very helpful and attentive when we needed her. We had drinks while looking at the menu and were not rushed to order. We went for the slow roasted beef Sunday roast with side of cauliflower cheese and pigs in blankets and the hake dish. Followed by mini desert selection and strawberry and elderflower Sunday. I've got to say the roast was exceptional. The homemade Yorkshire was delicious. The beef fell off the bone, and it's got to be the best pub Sunday roast I've ever had. Apparently, the fish dish was delicious as well. We really did not need dessert as we felt full, but we did anyway, and they were superb as well. We will definitely be back. If you like an old fashion traditional style pub with excellent service and standards I can't recommend enough. The chef and kitchen staff deserve a thank you as well as front of house . The other us point where the toilets spotlessly clean and smelled fresh which is always a good sign for the care the staff go to.

We had Christmas dinner here today and it was absolutely lovely I would recommend it. Our food was all perfect and the service from Milena was great nothing was too much trouble. My little dog was made more than welcome. The pub looked lovely with its festive trees and lights. We will definitely return again without hesitation.

We took my Mum here for lunch on a lovely Summer's day so sat outside. The car park was full but there were plenty of tables available. We were served promptly by a couple of different friendly waitresses and our food was served in good time, and all of our different meals were fresh, hot and nicely presented. The only gripe we all had is the comfort of the chairs. They are nice large chairs, but boy, were they uncomfortable on the derriere! My partner and I both have plenty of cushioning of our own but even we found it quite uncomfortable. We would go there again, as there were a few other dishes we would like to try, but, or butt!! either sit inside, or take a cushion!

Our friends and us had a terrific lunch at this pub food and service was excellent with plenty of banter with staff Maria & Josh. We will return soon for more.