Hoop at Stock in Chelmsford

Travelled out from East London for Sunday Lunch with friends. Really impressed. Both food and service were impeccable. Thanks for such a lovely afternoon. Tom

The food was excellent (Sunday roast), and the service exceptionally good. Quite pricey (but guess it is near London), although £5 for a small side of cauliflower cheese is a bit steep. We were sat near the door and it was cold every time someone came in but otherwise great place with good food and superb service.

I had a bring your own bottle meal here where you choose your 3 course meal from a limited selection and bring your own fizz and wine. This gives unbeatable value for money. Not just value for money, though: the service was excellent and the food was very tasty and, even though I say it myself, the wine pairings were fantastic! They provided wine coolers for the white wine and de-corked the bottles for us. All of that plus the atmosphere in the place made for a very pleasant evening out. Will certainly go again!

Beautiful and tastefully decorated old pub. Food is excellent with a wide variety of gastro pub food and snacks. If you enjoy a cocktail over some nouja bread, you won't be disappointed, and it will put you in the right frame of mind for the starters, mains, and dessert. Sea bass, pork belly, and prawn linguini were all excellent. We shared an apple and plum crumble, which was delicious. Portions are ample. Wine starts at £26/bottle and many by the glass. Will definitely go again for a Sunday roast experience.

Visited last night with a group of ladies. Booked to eat and were sitting in the garden area. To be honest, I feel that if you’re going to seat guests to eat outside, they should be advised there will be a live singer outside too. The noise level was unacceptable for people who are there to have dinner, and whilst it was a good performance, we couldn’t hear each other speak so couldn’t really ‘catch up’ as intended, and it’s very uncomfortable to try to sit and eat your dinner with blaring music in your ear. A bit of mood music would be lovely, but I don’t want to pay those prices to eat and not really enjoy it because of something like this. It put me off completely and was not enjoyable. If you’re taking dinner bookings, I’d suggest sticking to the inside restaurant area, or advising of the live singer. Also, one of our party was up all night vomiting the fish she’d had. This being sad, a couple of others had the fish and were fine, so it might’ve just been a bad one. Otherwise, very friendly and kind staff, prompt and excellent service. Other food was very good, not really a justifiable price for a burger in my opinion, but it was nice nonetheless.

My all THYME favourite Sunday Roast. Should be called Beauty and the FEAST… Amazing setting and you’ll never leave hungry! The Arancini is the Rolls RICE of starters, I’ll definitely be ordering it aGRAIN as it’s the RICEST I’ve ever had. I must also mention The other PRAWN star (Cocktail) on the menu- it was SHRIMPly the best! The Roast is POULTRY in motion, a misSTEAK if you don’t order it! The Pork, is kind of a PIG deal! Just like the beef, it was tender, lean, cooked to perfection and a thickly cut. Which is RARE to find around here, I’ve found. The roast potatoes are SPUDtacular, crispy on the outside and super fluffy on the inside. And you can’t CAUL the Cauliflower Cheese anything else but divine. SIP, SIP Hooray on the wine list too, very varied and competitively priced. Don’t DESSERT the Hoop without ordering the Sticky Toffee & Custard- the best I’ve EVER had. Thank you to the staff for PUDDING up with me, you were exceptional. And to the Chef for coming to talk to me- pleased to MEAT you. Your love , passion and knowledge for food is different GRAVY. My favourite 5* Review so far!

Came in today for a ladies who lunch date. 3 of us regular ladies who like dining out, all in our 70s. Skate wing was ordered by one of our party and she loved it. I ordered fish and chips which was adequate but I don't think justified a £20 price tag. But my other friend ordered a pork loin (without the sauce). I knew when it arrived she's wasn't going to like it. It looked dry as old boots and because of the speed it came from the kitchen it had to be pre cooked. She tried it but it wasn't eatable so she'd told there waitress, who took it back to the kitchen. A young lady came out and told me friend that it was dry because she asked not to have the sauce on it. She also said the kitchen staff had all tried it and they all thought it was fine. Now I don't expect 3 senior ladies, one of whom was married to a chef, to be told how a pork loin should be cooked. She spoke down to us, insinuating we didn't know what we were talking about and my friend was offered no apology. however she did offer to replace it with something else. So my friend had the skate as instead. We had finished our meals by the time her second choice came out, but by then the lunch was spoiled and she didn't enjoy her meal. We were so looking forward to this visit as we had been recommended, but due to the attitude of this staff member, and only for that reason, we will not be returning. The rest of the food was fine, desserts were lovely. The front of house staff were lovely and attentive. It's a bit pricey, but it's in a stunning village. £134.00 for 2 courses and 2 wines and 2 coffees. This included a12% discretionary service charge, which we would have removed had it not been for the other staff being very nice. A lovely lunch spoilt by one member of staffs attitude to a complaint. SHAME 😞

Really lovely village pub and a great place to meet for lunch with friends! The service was perfect and our meal was delicious - we would highly recommend the burrata with truffle!

Make sure you leave room for dessert! The food was amazing. The fish and chips was a highlight for me.

We ordered a portion of vegan pasta and a portion of vegan burger. I couldn't eat the pasta, which was claimed to be vegan, because it smelled like butter, so my friend and I swapped our dishes. The vegan burger was the worst burger I've ever had in my life, I could only eat half of it. We paid £53 for meals and two alcoholic drinks. It was an unnecessary expense. I never recommend it for vegans

Staff were friendly and attentive and helpful 👍👍

the great reviews are fully deserved - really excellent food, good service, and a lovely setting.

I would highly recommend the pub for food, service was great staff were very friendly and helpful. Food was fantastic and at a good price. I would say it's the best around the area. My partner ordered the lobster and I had the pasta.. my starter was the arancini and it was delicious... Thanks for a wonderful evening

my first time and definitely not my last. Food was incredible. big thumbs 👍

What an amazing place. Great service, food out of this world and everyone made the atmosphere friendly and welcoming. I would just travel from Kent just to eat here.

Always a great vibe. Good quality food and excellent service.

Lovely food, atmosphere and service. Couldn’t fault!

Every visit lives up to the hype! The food is always brilliant.

Regular visitor. Had yet another lovely meal here. Highly recommend the skate! Thank you team Hoop 😊

Excellent lunch in a very popular gastropub. Service great. Only thing that let it down were the toilets! Ladies didn't have hand towels and hand dryer didn't seem to be working! Shame.

We ate for my birthday and had a great time. We run a competitor in some respects but always admire the guys here. On learning it was my birthday, hence the day off, they did a nice touch for my dessert. Nice to see local restaurants/gastro pubs still keeping the standards given all the challenges right now. We will for sure keep recommending this place to our residents.

Unbelievably good food! Highly recommend

Great food and great staff. Really nice place

Had an exceptional meal for Valentines evening, everything was perfect. This restaurant is one if not the best in Essex imo

What an amazing pub, the food was exceptional.

I can't say too much it's just amazing, the food and service was perfect. Thank you very much!

Great pub, great food and great service! We will be back again!

Had dinner here last night, food was absolutely fabulous. Highly recommend the bolognese Arancini it was superb! We also tried the classic toad in the hole which was also very good ✌️ We will return 😊

Hi,not the cheapest but one of the best ,take you dog there welcome and the atmosphere is fantastic.

Excellent food and quality, fresh cooked ingredients. Attentive but not fussy staff. They have got the mix between beautiful country pub, drinking and good quality dining just right. It's perfect for just a drink but outstanding for food. A good selection of ales and beers too served at the right temperature. I don't give five stars lightly. They clearly put a lot of effort into their pub.

Beautiful food and absolutely amazing staff. I dropped my phone down a radiator, it got stuck, a waitress spent at least 20 minutes trying to recover it, making numerous trips to find different tools to get it out and eventually succeeded! Food was delicious, fillet cooked medium rare to perfection. Very quaint restaurant, with wonderful appeal and a nice atmosphere. Only criticism I could make is offering more sauce options with steak. Will definitely return!

The food, toad in the hole and sausages with mash was fantastic , awesome , delicious. The amount of veg was abysmal. One sliver of carrot and 1 stem of broccoli just didn't cut the mustard for 2 adults. The service although friendly was a bit slow. The drinks, 2 x cocktails on special, took 25 minutes for 2 members of the party of 4. So for the price paid, these things were a let down. We had a good night all in all, but not 100% satisfied especially considering the prices. @Michelle, the date was the 23rd Under the name Maya. no idea how to reply to your reply so I hope you get this.

Our first (but certainly not last) visit to the Hoop yesterday was to celebrate my birthday. Amazing food, a friendly team behind the bar and welcoming to our little dog. Can’t wait to return to try the Toad in Hoop! Thoroughly recommend.

Lovely meal there today But always good there

We recently rented The Hoop as the venue for our wedding reception. The food, service and team were all fantastic from start to finish. We were able to design a special menu with the chef based on dishes they've served in the past and present. Many of our group who disliked oysters couldn't stop raving about the amazing oyster and caviar canapé. To sum it up, we were told it was the best wedding food some of our guests have ever had.

Lovely, quiant place with delicious food. I have been several times and have never been disappointed. I had the burger which was amazing, the burger sauce was amazing!

We moved to the area 6 months ago and have been to the hoop four times already! Without fail the food, service and atmosphere is wonderful and a 5* experience every time. Would recommend to anyone!

Fantastic meal and atmosphere was amazing. Staff were lovely Definitely go back

I had not visited the hoop for a long time and I was pleasantly surprised. The parking hasn’t changed it’s either on the road or at the hall car park which is free and a sub 5 minute walk. The food was absolutely delicious, actually nicer than a Michelin 2 star I recently visited in London. Downstairs felt cozy and buzzy as it’s right next to the bar but upstairs was equally as nice and very well decorated. Service was helpful and timely, the ladies were knowledgeable on the dishes and timing was spot on when to ask if anything was needed. Food and drink was priced fairly - not cheap not expensive. Will revisit - Thank you!

Excellent pub and great food.I had the pie and mash which was excellent. The only problem is the parking as you need to park in the road as near to the pub as you can get. That said the staff were really polite and helpful and the food arrived soon after ordering.

Sunday Lunch with friends…excellent would certainly recommend the hoop to anyone

I was disappointed with the food; I ordered Prawn Cocktail and Toad in the Hole, which were good but lacked any vegetables, which I would expect, especially given the price. Moreover, our table was served by six different people, which is unusual. The restaurant's once-credible reputation seems to be declining. We also witnessed some frustrations on other tables due to the length of time it took to receive their food. I suggest making the upstairs area more formal; during my visit, the staff moved tables around three times. I won't be returning.

Amazing food! Great service! No complaints

Hottest day of the year Superb food and great service Nice to celebrate a special occasion. Thank You

The food was excellent all round very tasty and prepared well,the food looked amazing and the customer service was excellent,I would recommend the Hoop as a good place to eat ,well done.

Went for lunch on Saturday, was advised only seats were in garden. Unfortunately, it was the worse dinning experience ever and even worse customer care and service!! There was an open bin next to outdoor bar and our food and ourselves were swarmed with wasps. I took two bites from my burger and ate a few chips. My friend only ate a third of her pasta dish. When we complained the waiter said he could seat us indoors!! Obviously didn't want to eat the food due to wasps having been all over it. When he spoke to his manager we were told wasps are nature and wouldn't replace the food or refund. We paid £53.00 for food we didn't eat! I suggest they put a lid in the bin!!!!

Gorgeous, atmospheric old pub with an excellent chef! My partner and I had lunch here on a sunny Saturday with my parents to celebrate a birthday. First time we’d been, but I’d heard great things. We were super impressed. Waiting staff who couldn’t do enough to help ( and plenty of them so you never had to hunt around for someone, despite them being really busy), lovely wine list with lots but the glass, great selection of beers on tap, and a really lovely balanced menu - if you want to push the boat out for some something fancy then you can, or you can stick to the great selection of pub classics. I had the king prawns, which I can highly recommend. We’re just back from a holiday in the Med and these prawns were better than any I had out there! My dad had the toad in the hole, which was spectacular! I could go on. Can’t rate this place highly enough. We ate indoors but the garden looked lovely especially if you’ve got kids with you.

I adore this place, one of the best places in the village!

Popped in for a pizza as we live 5 minutes walk away. Extremely busy as always. Couldn’t get a table and was told when we mistakenly thought one of the three tables that was vacant was free to get away from the table as someone is sitting there in seconds. We had to order takeaway pizzas and while they was being cooked we had a beer then another. After 30 minutes the pizzas were done all in all 45 minutes and the tables was still empty. The waitress was not friendly nor professional in her job didn’t advise us didn’t offer any other service to us. After leaving I went back as I forgot my phone only to see the same waitress greeting and hugging two friends her were placed at the table we was told to get off. Luckily they are so busy they can pick & choose the pizza was average my shandy was 90% lemonade disappointing! It’s a shame that an establishment can not take credible feedback and has to resort to lying and insulting a customer. At no time did we refuse to leave the table the young girl that came to us and said that she would see if the table was free. She didn’t return but the older lady did who was rude as much as you deny this. You took this review as an attack and came back with a staff meeting reviewing CCTV which you seem to have a camera set on every table I take it that includes sound. I don’t think I would like such intrusion while have a pub lunch with friends.

Fantastic food and great staff, atmosphere. Great as a dog friendly restaurant especially for our Boxer Pru.

Excellent food and service! Very good pub food indeed 👍 would go more frequently, however it’s very popular and gets booked quickly. Stand out dish for me is the nduja bread off the nibbles section. Also the cauliflower cheese is a superb!! Mmm 😋

The best pub restaurant in Essex.The Hoop is by far the best pub / restaurant in Essex in our opinion. We have been numerous times and it never fails to disappoint. Michelle and all of her staff are fantastic. We have eaten great food here but todays was an absolute stand out. We had the prawns from the specials menu and wow what a dish. 4 huge Argentinian Prawns in garlic butter cooked to perfection. With skinny fries, bread and a crisp salad. Service amazing as always. Absolutely fantastic. Thanks guys. See you soon.

A lovely meal with family - service just right - enough attention, not too much. Sat and enjoyed meal and company until chefs went home!

Lovely little pub with fantastic food and wonderful staff. Always a favourite

Hoop beer event Sunday 28th May. Great day, beer good, pizza amazing, singer brilliant.

The food quality is decent, yet some dishes had small portions. Service efficient with pleasant friendly staff. Prices for both dishes and drinks pricey. Disappointing as 3 out of 4 in our group chose The Hoop for one particular dish, that other reviewers had recommended. Sadly after a 35 mile drive it wasn't available blaming delivery issues.

A faultless place to enjoy a Sunday roast and have a few drinks. I've been back time and again. The village of Stock is beautiful and a great place for a quick dog walk as well.

Lovely authentic country pub. Great beer great food.

One of the best pubs in Essex. Great atmosphere, lovely food, pretty reasonable price, and Stock is such a beautiful little town.

Really enjoyed my meal here last night, everything was delicious! I’m not usually a pie lover but thought the pie was absolutely amazing. Mark was our waiter was so lovely too!

I don’t normally leave reviews but the food was outstanding

Fantastic food, great service, I'd highly recommend without any hesitation.

Very nice roast and fish and chips. Dessert was pretty amazing.

Excellent food and service, our favourite place to eat. Highly recommended

Absolutely cracking food, lovely cosy restaurant with open fire too. Very busy but nice and peaceful, could have a proper conversation without having to shout which was such a pleasant change.

Delicious food, lovely staff and fantastic place. Just can't recommend it enough! Just look at this food!

Excellent food Best Sunday roast can't wait to revist

Have just been for mother day. I just want to say how lovely it was. As always the food was outstanding but the service was wonderful and at the end of the evening each mother was given a hyacinth to take home. Such a thoughtful gesture! Wouldn’t recommend this to anyone enough on a special evening such as Mother’s Day. We had to pre-order our food which wasn’t an issue as we all wanted a roast. My daughter who is vegetarian had a lovey meal.

Would highly recommend visiting exerlant service and friendly staff. Would definitely go here again.

Lovely gastro pub in the middle of Stock. Food really lovely, of good quality & not too expensive. Parking on the road near the pub is dreadful but there is free parking close by

Visited here on Saturday evening. A lovely pub, with traditional English food. The service was good, and the food tasty. The only reason for 4 stars is that a bit on the expensive side for a pub dinner. E.g. the rib eye steak £48. I’m sure it’s good, but prices may be a bit too much for a local pub. Will return, especially in the summer as they have a nice beer garden.

I thought the food and service was average.

More of a restaurant than a pub. Serves great food, friendly staff, decoration/furniture not really in keeping with the character of the pub.

Lovely food , staff & atmosphere

Amazing food, warm and cosy atmosphere. Lovely experience!

Lovely staff and fabulous food. Such a lovely atmosphere we didn't want to leave

Lovely old English pub. Great food.

I just love an 'olde worlde' pub and it's only 20 minutes from where I live. This venue ticks almost all the boxes. I just love the range of real ale on offer, a good beer says a lot for any pub. Eating is good with some very nice dishes at affordable prices. Well worth a visit.

Stunning little pub. The staff were amazing, very welcoming and attentive. The food was beautiful. Home cooked food.

Hidden gem 💎 ✨️ what a beautiful country pub. I cannot even begin to describe how amazing the food was, everything handmade by husband and wife. I have eaten in michelin star restaurants however the food here was far better! I was advised the food would be great and I knew it would, but this was far more than I expected. I am looking forward to my next visit to The Hoop.

Myself and partner went to the hoop for our anniversary meal, could not have been more pleased with the food, service and dining. I had a mushroom and truffle risotto which was just incredible, and my partner had the fish and chips which was a greatly sized portion and was precise in every little detail.

Incredible service and attention to detail. Ambience is top rate. Amazing pie mash liquor meal A firm favorite

A transit stop for us on the way to the airport. What a delight. My cod was perfect

Nice pub with great food but was absolutely freezing inside even with fires lit. Friendly staff worth a visit

a beautiful building, welcoming and great service. Poor vegetarian options, but great food. An enjoyable evening, Dan

A gem. Again not mega expensive but not cheap. Beers and wines are excellent and you must try thre scallops. Divine.

Always a warm welcome. The food is of such a high standard. Love the fish here, cooked perfectly. Great choice of wines, including local wines. Good local beers.

Gorgeous old pub with lovely beer garden. Lovely atmosphere. Wish I stayed for the quiz night!

Excellent food and attentive service

Beautiful pub/restaurant in the centre of this pretty Essex village. Very popular for Sunday lunch serving a selection of delicious roasts with all the trimmings. Service was very friendly, helpful and prompt but not intrusive. Parking is tight but there is a free car park just around the corner. Can thoroughly recommend.

Went in memory of Dads birthday. Everything was lovely. Was Dad's favourite meal out 💖

Lovely food, varied menu good place to eat.

Really great food and service. Lovely building and nice big garden.

Lovely food and great staff. Beautiful village

Delicious food, beautiful old pub, nice staff

Great pub good food and atmosphere will be visiting again soon

Great food, great location. Need to book though.

Excellent place 👌 food 5 star staff 5 star definitely worth a visit

Birthday lunch lovely food good service

Delicious 3 course meal for a really reasonable price. Staff were lovely and attentive - will be back to try the roast!