Giraffe Stop in Rochford

After many years of amateur, incompetent and unfortunate landlords, crushed by a greedy and unbending national pub chain, this failed village pub has finally closed down. It's now shuttered-up, awaiting redevelopment.

Dear Marston's, I am writing to express my frustration as my previous complaint, submitted almost 3 weeks , has not only gone unacknowledged but remains unresolved. Despite allowing ample time for your team to respond, I have yet to receive any form of acknowledgment or an update on the matter. This lack of communication and resolution is extremely disappointing and has left me feeling disregarded as a customer of over 20 years . I kindly request an immediate response to this issue, as I expect timely action and a satisfactory resolution. Please confirm receipt of this complaint and provide an update on how you plan to address my concerns below is my original complaint Dear Marston's, I am writing to express my utmost disappointment and frustration regarding the treatment my child received recently. On 08/02/25, I was with my child, wife and a group of friends in Ye olde crown in Rayleigh watching the rugby match England V France . We were enjoying the game when, unexpectedly, My wife was abruptly told our 5 year old boy had to leave the premises with only 15 minutes left of the match. When questioned, I was told only he had to leave, you (me) can stay (what am I supposed to do, leave a 5 year old outside while I finish watching the game?) I will admit I did not respond well to being shouted at and I did shout back, what also attributed to my frustration was the response I got when I asked how I could complain. Response being: "I don't know, it's Marstons". I asked if she could find out for me and was told "no, It's Marstons". So, so far there appears to be an issue with duty of care with the poor suggestion that my child could wait outside, a lack of customer service and inability to provide one's employer's contact details to a customer and as to my next point, not aware of the difference between policies & law. I understand that there may be policies in place (myself and my wife have been unable to find these despite searching online - I daren't ask the staff at the pub what they are - or reasons for the decision, but the way in which my child was treated was completely unacceptable. Instead of being approached with respect and provided with an explanation that we would not be able to watch the game in full before it started, he was rudely kicked out without any regard for our experience, our friend's experience or the money we had spent at the pub. As a loyal customer of this pub for over 20 years, I have always appreciated the atmosphere at this establishment. However, this incident has left a sour taste in my mouth and has made me question the level of care and consideration given to customers, especially young patrons. When it advertises itself as a family friendly place. I would also like to bring to your attention a matter of training and development for your staff, as your deputy manager does not understand the difference between company policies and the law. I bring this point to your attention as the confusion between the two, when the deputy manager is telling me it's the law and my child can not be in the premises at this time, which is not accurate, with some simple training so the staff are adequately trained on the difference this situation would have been prevented , I urge you to address this issue promptly and provide a satisfactory explanation for why my child was asked to leave the pub when It was quite clear that we were in to watch the game. I also hope that steps will be taken to ensure that such disrespectful treatment does not happen to any customer in the future. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to hearing back from you soon and hope that we can resolve this issue in a mutually satisfactory manner

Last night was my second visit to The Punch Bowl and on both occasions the meal, service and atmosphere have been bloody amazing. The drive out to the pub itself takes you through some of the more rural parts of Essex. It’s remote enough to make you wonder whether you’ll actually ever arrive but close enough to surrounding towns to make it well worth the visit (just 25 minutes from where we are in Leigh). You’re greeted by the friendliest staff you could hope to meet and are immediately made to feel at home before being taken to your table and looked after the entire time. If cosy, traditional country pub is your vibe you can’t get much better and after a couple of hours sat down with friends, eating amazing food and drinking great wine it’s incredibly hard to leave. It’s worth mentioning that The Punch Bowl do NOT automatically add a service charge to their bills and they also only accept tips in cash so take some with you because you’ll be kicking yourself if you leave without rewarding the service. The waiting staff are out of this world 😊

Wonderful place to be if you looking for a good night out obviously choose Friday is the best.

Well pleased now there's been a refresh of staff!