Hazels Meze Bar in Rochford

Attended here one Saturday evening with family. Nicely decorated restaurant and the food was nice, although, yes, the portion size a were on the smaller side, salad doesn’t really cost that much. Service was very slow, only managed 1 round of drinks, no offer of dessert either. Bread was microwaved as it went hard after a few minutes. I asked to pay for gratuity/service by card to which I was told they can’t do it, only restaurant I have ever known that won’t take service/tip by card. I don’t carry cash so couldn’t leave a tip. Which resulted in me getting accosted by a different waiter as we left and abruptly asked if everything was ok, he then rushed over to the table. I can only assume he was aggrieved that we couldn’t leave a cash tip. Not that the service really warranted it. But the passive/aggressive approach is not on. I eat out a lot and always tip via card. I won’t be returning.

Bit worrying when you have booked a table for 8 people, you have received booking confirmation and then a text reminder asking you to confirm you are still coming (which we did) and they still have no record of your booking! We had to show them the booking confirmation. The restaurant lacked atmosphere and the music playing was not typical of a Turkish restaurant. We were not told of the items on the menu that were not available so my brother ordered whitebait for a starter to be told they didn’t have any. We also ordered jalapeño bites and it was only when all the rest of the food arrived apart from these so we asked where they were to be told at that point that they didn’t have any. The icing on the cake was when we were still charged on the bill for them! The starters did not arrive at the same time and bizarrely the hot starters were brought out first. Then we all had to sit and wait whilst our hot starters got cold for the two veggie stick starters to be brought over. Why on earth not bring the cold starters out first?? My husband had a mixed shish and his lamb was terribly chewy with gristle. Plus he found a small piece of bone in his chicken. The staff were not very attentive and we could have easily drunk another 2 rounds of drinks if they had come over and taken our order. So all in all a really disappointing first visit to this restaurant. I won’t be recommending it and I won’t be returning. Hopefully they get their booking system sorted out. Luckily we booked for early evening and they weren’t overly busy otherwise I don’t know what they would have done to fit us in…

We had a fantastic time at Hazels last night, This is the second time I’ve booked a big party celebration here. From the booked and organising to the meal on the day and service was absolutely brilliant x Orhan is the best host and helps you with everything from making sure your wine is kept cold to clearing the table - nothing is too much trouble for them. We needed an extra table as I forgot to add in 3 babies in high chairs and it wasn’t a problem getting us one and setting it up ( there was 24 of us in total) They let me decorate the table with balloons etc and even kept the cake chilled (it’s was a fresh fruit and cream one so needed to go on the fridge) The food came out all together and was delicious and even made plain pasta for my fussy child 🙈 as she doesn’t like sauce x My mum had a lovely night as we all did x We will be back again xx Thank you 😊

We visited here last night with family visiting over from Santa Barbra. We were all so impressed. Fantastic decor, fabulous food and drinks and the service was outstanding. Congratulations to you all and thank you for a wonderful evening. We'll be recommending you and will be returning very soon.

A wonderful lunch today with friends and a very friendly and attentive member of staff called Orhan. Great food and great service. Very impressed 🙂

Very attentive staff, brilliant service, reasonably priced food, the drinks were a little more expensive. Would definitely return!

I have been here a couple of times for lunch. 2 course lunch for £12.50, amazing value. Its really well decorated inside and comfy seats. Service was excellent. I would really recommend this place. Also the cocktails are amazing! I will be back!

The restaurant looks very modern and fancy. The food is good, but the portions are not as big as one would hope, given the price. This is surprising, as there are a number of other Turkish restaurants nearby, who offer better value for money. Also, the waiters to the annoying birthday song-thing, which I personally hate, as it disrupted our conversation several times. It's nice to congratulate someone, sure, but disrupting everyone's dinner is not my cup of tea.

I booked a table for 8 persons. The restaurant was full but table was ready on time. Service was excellent and food very good. The only downside was that the place was noisy, however this could possibly be due to it being full. I would not hesitate in recommending

The food at hazels was delicious. I had the lamb chops which I would recommend . Delicious . Nice porn star martini . The waiter / manager Orhan was really friendly and made us feel welcome. The service was excellent this evening much improved from previous visits . Will be visiting again.

This could be a really nice restaurant. The staff here are lovely, so very friendly. And the decor is very nice. However they need to rethink their set menu. Not a bad price at £12.50 for 2 courses but.......... The size of the portion of the calamari starter - 2 calamari rings!!! Really? The veggie option is pasta - who wants pasta in a turkish restaurant?? I mentioned the pasta issue to the manager who agreed that this probably wasn't the best option. Would I come back? Only if they changed the veggie option for the set menu

Basing my review on being a vegetarian, the dishes just ARNT there. There is 1 vegetarian meal on offer and a drew starters. Not good enough. Greek food doesn’t have to be full of meat. Based on that, I would t return as Bogaz up the road has more variety on the menu and is also cheaper. I find Hazels to be very very overpriced, I had carrots and hummus to start and had to buy these separately from each other and paid nearly £10 which is outrageous. You would only really be able to go here for a special occasion and not somewhere you’d visit regularly throughout the year. Pros: beautifully designed restaurant, with table set ups looking expensive, a nice amount of lighting for an evening setting also. Im sure this restaurant would be great for meat eaters. A nice addition: it was a birthday on another table and the management team turned off all the lights and all staff and all restaurant goers started singing happy birthday to them which is a great fun element.

This is a real gem in Rayleigh. Really love the food, not only well cooked and great flavours but also healthy. Lunchtime deal is excellent and well worth a try. Will be going back.

Went with a friend on a Thursday evening, staff were very friendly and accommodating. The decor is lovely and bar stocked with huge variety of drinks! The bread and dips were lovely, very fresh, also really nice vine leaves to start and we had salmon and seabass for mains and both were delicious! Huge portions and nice sides & sauces. Desserts were also really good, initially was given the wrong one but in no time they changed it for me. We had a really good experience here and it was busy and popular the night we went, would definitely come back again!

Went to Hazels on Wednesday with my family for a birthday (a group of 10 of us) From start to finish I couldn’t fault a thing! The decor is stunning! The staff were very accommodating and very friendly. Our waiter was Tony. He was brilliant! The food! Well done chefs! No one could fault a thing. The portion sizes were huge! The food had so much flavour and was so fresh! They have a great selection of cocktails and other drinks. The cocktails were amazing! And the glass my cucumber cooler came in was so pretty. I’ll be telling all my friends! Once again thank you for a lovely evening. We will definitely be back! 10/10

Amazing food, service was exceptional, special shout-out to Tony. Will definitely be returning, if you love Turkish food and great service, I would definitely recommend Hazels in Rayleigh. 10 of us in our party and we all said we will definitely go there again.

Having missed lunch, we arrived unsure of what to expect and cost. They do a 2 course lunch from 12 noon to 4pm for £12:50 and as it was 3:45, our hopes were not high. However, we were welcomed, seated and assured that the deal...

Hazels was lovely. Friendly staff that gave advice on the menu & could not have done more for my little boy. Children’s meal deal before 6pm is really worth a look. Our meal was lovely & portions really big (maybe sharing if you want a...

Thank you yeliz and Tony for a brilliant evening meal ,service was spot on the food was sooo good , everyone in the group was delighted with the quality provided we will definitely going back and special thanks to Orhan who was extra attentive. Thanks...

After reading the reviews I was unsure about this place but from the moment we walked in Tony made us feel very welcome took extra time to cater for one of our guest who had a gluten intolerance and served to outstanding expectation I would...

Booked in advance with confirmation from their own online booking tool then on the day they send you a text saying its cancelled as the booking system books tables that are not there, yeah right of course that's how it works, my guess is bigger...

New local restaurant? You have to try it and support it. We were seated and waited three quarters of an hour before we received a menu or had been asked about drinks. Upon complaining, a waiter explained that they were short staffed... but that didn't...

Visited last night 23/11/2021. I had to write a review about this restaurant, as when a family member booked it for a meal, I looked at the reviews and I was put off of going. But I was pleasantly surprised. We were a party of...

First time here and will not be back. Went with a group of friends and we had to wait nearly an hour to even get the attention of staff to order our drinks. Our food was average and had to ask for bread and dips....

I have been to Hazels a few times for lunch, the food is unbelivable, the staff are very helpful and deliver a brilliant service. the seats are very comfortable and it has a relaxed atmosphere. 2 starters 2 mains, 2 soft drinks £33 our bellys...

I went here last night with two friends. The food had good flavour, but the portions were poor. Was a packed Saturday night and the customer service was shocking. No sight of complimentary warm pitta and dip which you get with other Turkish restaurants.

Nice decor, first time here. Not the best value for money, other better Turkish restaurants in the area. 25% more expensive and felt conned over the drinks , both on tap beers not working , however, you can have our overpriced bottle beers, these you...

Attended for the first time with a party of 9. After being seated it took a long time for the waitress to arrive to take our drinks order which didn't get off to the best of starts. Was served the breads and dips, in which...

Went on a hen do, so they catered for over 30 of us. Food was lovely and service excellent. Really pleased ! Would recommend, portions were great rally generous too!

I Had lunch here yesterday. Brilliant service, tasty food and very reasonable. The burger was delicious, my lunch guest had the Adana kofta which was amazing. Two course £12.50. Worth every penny!

My wife and her friend came here last night for dinner.My wife had the meat moussaka and said it was tasteless and very bland,no taste at all,needs seasoning big time.Her friend had the chicken beyti and said it was really dry.Both said the mains was...

Do not visit! Told 5 ladies a cab was waiting outside so that they could close. No cab, no help! Left us stranded in the rain

Just popped in for lunch as they had 2 coarses for £12.50... Never been since it was Ask! Wow what a difference inside inviting stylish decor.. Comfy chairs too... Staff were attentive and welcoming... Food was outstanding and delicious... Presentation was lovely. Lattes were hot...

Even though table booked and confirmed it was obvious that they had overbooked everyone. Dumped on a dirty table and left for 25 minutes with no menu, no one Eve came to ask if we wanted a drink. Awful and would not return even if...

Lovely food. Staff were all very friendly. Made fuss of birthday girl. Great atmosphere. Will definitely go back again.

Lovely family dinner. We visited on a Friday evening and the restaurant was full and buzzing. There was a singer who was fabulous and made it a very fun evening. Service was good and food was great. Portions are very large so ended up taking...

Table for four we all had the two course set lunch. Good choice of menu and very good value. The service was excellent, the food well cooked and very nicely presented. We all had different deserts and thoroughly enjoyed them. Complimentary bread, olives and dips...

Visited Hazel meze grill with a friend following its recent opening. Was very excited to try it, but was very disappointed with my experience. Such a shame as the food was quite nice, however the service wasn’t good at all and the restaurant had a...

Second visit in a week,Monday and Friday , food great both times, lunchtime special good value , both waitresses we had each time were so friendly and welcoming , today I noticed a bad atmosphere within the restaurant and a bad attitude from two waiters...

First time visiting yesterday evening. Good atmosphere. Really lovely food and cocktails. I would like to see the service improve going forward. When we were seated we was never asked if we wanted any drinks and waited 15 minutes before we had to flag someone...

Lovely ambiance and fabulous deal £12.50 for starter and main! Service was swift efficient and helpful. Often checking if we were happy and food was great. Efes beer available lots of choice in drinks and food. I will return.

Excellent family meal really helpful staff food was excellent kids meals were plentiful overall the food was well presented and totally value for money definitely going back

Food is quiet nice - decor is really nice. Service - terrible!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were a large table there for 3 hours (most of the time the only table) and each time had to ask for drinks. Never once were we offered without asking. We had...

This my first visit and I won't be back. We had to wait 45 minutes for a drink, when our food eventually came it was very average. At the end of the meal we ordered Irish coffees which we had to wait 30 minutes for...

Our first visit since it opened and overall, it was ok. The restaurant is nicely decorated and the chairs were extremely comfortable. The tables did seem too close together though. When it was time to leave, it was difficult to find a pathway out without...

The staff were friendly and helpful and once we sat down and started chatting you notice how loud the venue is, there is a difference between atmosphere and having to shout to the people across the table. The drinks and food was lovely and arrived...

Impromptu dinner for two after such a poor time at Rudloe Arms last week. Totally opposite ! Booking was simple and efficient. Welcomed at the door to a comfortable and ambient setting, and shown to a couples table. The guide suggested he join two tables...

The food is ok, nothing out of the world. You will get the same meal in the many other Turkish restaurants in Rayleigh. The ambience is ok and the service adequate. The reason this place gets a terrible review for me, is the fact that...

First off the food and drinks were great! However, the service was pretty appalling. We arrived and it took a good 45 minutes to get our first drink. We eventually had our order taken. Then our mains arrived before our starters. We weren’t given much...

We booked for 8pm sitting. It took 20 minutes to get a menu and then 30 minutes before our drink arrived. We didn’t get our starters for over 1 hour and the mains came 1.5 hours after sitting down. Basically they had 3 waiters covering...

It was a nice place, nothing too exciting to offer here - I think there are other venues that offer a better experience. The food was nice and the bill reasonable, but not somewhere I would go back to.