Smugglers Cove in Tendring

It’s such a shame it was my leaving do that my colleagues had booked 20 of us it was very busy told only 1 roast left slow service wrong dinners brought out food really not up to standard 20 people who won’t return and who tell others about their experience !!

We visited as a family service was shocking. Ordered some drinks from a member of staff got told customers drink guiness out of a can wtf. Was shocked when wanted a glass and had to pour it myself other half's drink also had to pour ourselves. Worst of all we had to wait for hour and a half for food was ridiculous evey customer complaining about the wait. Food was ok but certinaly not worth the wait the venue is clearly run by inexperienced teenagers seemily front and back of house. We won't be visiting again that's for sure

What a great night we had. We came with family there was 11 of us in total. The restaurant was super busy and yet the food still arrived piping hot and in a timely manner..all the food was lovely. The staff were all friendly and helpful a special shout out to Liam the manager and Brooke. No complaints throughout. There was a live band. So we stayed for that after and the music was outstanding and the whole atmosphere of the new bar area was so lovely to see. A much needed improvement I'd say and I really look forward to more love music events etc. Thank you to the whole team for a great evening

Well what can I say Start with drinks good selection but red wines not as advertised no merlot no malbec as advertised just a vinegar red house wine with the excuse "we have no input into what they send we just get what they have and the menu is just a guide" beer flat as if glasses had grease on them. Food starters cauliflower wings and onion bhaji too well done virtually burnt. Soup with no flavour. Shortage of sauces on dishes mint dressing stale bread. Mains again lack of detail with half the component missing from prawn salad and no tartar sauce with the scampi. Yes we did complain and they sorted it. Offer of free drinks declined. no refund requested or offered. BUT they have been open for 3 weeks and either they have not been trained properly or the lack of detail is down to inexperienced staff in the kitchen some body should be supervising you would hope. The resturant staff can't be at fault but it has changed for the worse, I can see this just being just another sports bar that you can't have a conversation with the person next door due to the noise and just drink and watch sports. Yes they were relatively busy but I can't see them coping with the summer season on the resturant side judging by the amount of tables that complained and left leaving plates just pecked at. Sorry to say something has to change and if this is the way they are going I do not think it will survive with serving food. Just my opinion I am sure some people have had fantastic experiance. Unfortunately not us. And yes we will not return

Superb food and service. Band playing tonight and they were brilliant. Great evening and lovely atmosphere 😄. Family night out and everyone enjoyed it.

Excellent all round stay.Staff sooooo friendly and helpful,food gr8 value for money as well as very tasty.Room was very comfy as was the huge most comfortable bed ever,great night's sleep.Thank you smugglers for a fantastic experience. Defo see you all:again in the near future.

Cannot rate food as didn’t eat anything

Guests fighting in the night, had to leave at 3 am due to son being very distressed. Messaged hotel but been ignored. Cannot comment on food as ate out

Go about every two weeks, could do with a regular change of menu. Waiting and other staff all very good and pleasant

Went for breakfast at Smugglers cove, staff were very friendly made us welcome and couldn’t do enough. Tea, coffee and juice were unlimited, pastries, fruit, cereal and toast were all included with the cooked breakfast. We could swap items on ordering, the food was cooked to order and excellent. Will definitely be going again.

Lovely staff.clean tidy. Great food

I come here often. Food is nice, not really had a bad meal or service. I do object to paying extra for a little gravy boat ! You should also be told if there's an extra charge if you ask for more. I've never been charged elsewhere for more gravy. Also the tea pot is tiny, doesn't even fill the cup you're given. They only half fill the pot too. The toilets stink of sewer, it is awful. The locks are broken on doors, they need a revamp.

Popped in for something to eat very nice

reception v good and friendly. room was cleaned to a good standard.but seeing as it was a double room with 2 of us checked in i thought we should have had 2 chairs not 1.

Overnight stay and dinner were excellent

Yesterday was the best meal I have had in Smuggler's Cove. The food was hot and tasty- a big improvement on my last visit. The service was great, two very pleasant female members of staff served us and we were made to feel welcome by all the staff. Well done.

Absolutely love this place the staff are always willing to help and go above and beyond thanks guys for such a wonderful experience you provide for me and my partner ❤️

Food was great - everyone said it was lovely. Took a while to get to us, but it was a busy Sunday lunchtime. Annoyingly we spent a good 15 mins adding everything to the app for the app to tell us once we went to pay that half the food items were out of stock. We ended up going to the bar to order to be told that the app was playing up and all our items were in stock. Makes me wish for a waiter to come and take our order like it used to be.

Very good service for whole family

Lovely pub with great food. We had the carvery which was delicious. Plenty of meat given with lovely veg.

Fantastic value for money and food was good. Not too busy (6pm on a Friday evening). Service good and fast. Only gripe was the stench coming from the toilets. They were actually clean just smelt horrendous which was a real shame because that’s the only thing letting the visit done. We will return, hopefully they sort out the issue

Friendly, helpful staff good food

Not good food was cold terrible gave everyone the 💩 carvery was horrendous cold tasted funny we went for my daughter 21st never again

Great service from the lovely Brooke

Carvery cold chips cold !! Appalling for the money

Food and drinks served quickly and accurately

I am afraid this isn't the first time I have had a problem with service, man behind bar was rude and had dirty hands and fingernails , staff need more training ,food took ages and had to ask where it was ,sorry we put you out by asking for a latte!!!!

Great spot for lunch and a catch up with family. The food was lovely and fast and I had a great time. The mixed grill is a highlight of the menu.

Starter was lovely, I decided to have carvery for a change it was awful meat fatty & rest cold partners food was perfect, dessert was lovely

Went for the carvery, food was absolutely disgusting and cold will give this place a miss next time, should have gone to the Toby

My parents always visit and enjoy it. We find the service good and food choices ok

Staff were very friendly, food was very nice and reasonable priced and the restaurant itself was very tidy.

We were greeted by James who wasn't his usual self, seated at a table. Our waitress was Chelsea. She was her usual busy, bubbly self. Took our drinks order and gave us time to peruse the menu, letting us know what wasn't available. Within a couple of minutes she bought us our drinks and then took our order and asked if we would like extras like garlic bread etc. Our meal came out fairly quickly and have to say it was lovely. Chelsea checked on us throughout our meal and offered us more drinks. She cleared our plates and left us to look at the desserts without pressure. We chose desserts and had coffee as well. We had a very enjoyable night and will definitely be back.

It was really good and the service was lovely from Lisa. It was quick to arrive and everything was in order for us especially getting the bill

We had a 30% off voucher so thought we'd pop in for lunch on the front of the voucher page it shows steak so we both had a steak only to be told at the till we couldn't use it why ? When it shows them like I said I don't understand why we couldn't use it not very happy

I spent my birthday here with family. We were welcomed with a smile and our drinks order was fulfilled rapidly. I ordered a Vegan meal, the choice was adequate and the meal was delicious and very filling. My family enjoyed their meals too. The eating area was clean and the staff were friendly and attentive. I couldn't fault the service in any way.

Lovely food, excellent service with helpful friendly staff. The atmosphere was really nice. We stayed I'm the Marston Inn so had breakfast at The Smugglers Cove aswell. Would definitely visit again and recommend. Very happy thankyou

Visited for drinks over the Christmas period Two times I found the Glasses for my Beer to be dirty… Short Barman was Texting on his phone instead of Serving.. Wont be going back!!!

Terrible experience, food we wanted was not available, pretty much no steaks, and VERY OVERPRICED, would definitely not recommend this place. No notice when you come in to advise of their food shortages, and it was to late to leave once we were all here as it was a 50th anniversary with a number of people, very disappointed will not be returning. STAY AWAY! After speaking with the managers, they confirm it is actually Marston's who tell them they are not allowed to advise what food is not available until the whole party is sat down and ready to order, obviously this makes it more difficult for the party to go somewhere else once comfortable and all people are there. We would have gone somewhere else should we have known the Mega mixed grill was not available as 2 out of the 5 people wanted this. Unfortunately 4 of the party were OAPs so going somewhere else was to much of an inconvenience once we were all settled. No transparency, disgusting attitude towards their customers, or ex customers should I say! Some of the staff were ok, some could have done with taking a happy pill before going to work, if you don't like people perhaps this isn't the job for you. Such a shame as we have been here many times. Not a good experience.. bye Marston's you sneaky beggers 🙋

Staff were polite and the food was quick hot and very well presented. A lovely environment. Will def visit more often. The only thing was when you order double up chips it's only a few extra, def not double the amount.

Hi I'm disabled the team was very perfessional and helpful with me thank you very much

Chose smugglers Cove as there is a good menu as well as carvery. Also not a place children often go like Hungry Horse or Toby carvery. On arriving we looked at the carvery food before sitting at table. Unfortunately as two of us have hearing problems we had to move from the original table. This was done with no fuss or embarrassment. Our young waitress was helpful and knowledgeable. Three of us had carvery and fourth curry which apparently was delicious. An enjoyable and successful evening

Poor selection of veg, dry hard yorkshires, tasteless stuffing and pasty tasting potatoes…we hav3 had very good meals from th3 carvery but this was certainly the worst

Very friendly, warm environment, hot freshly cooked breakfast, great with children.

Service very good, food very nice and menu has alot of variety. Good value too. Modern and spacious. Would recommend.

Friendly staff. Comfortable and clean accommodation. Very tasty breakfast and helpful staff. Overall a pleasant stay and we will definitely stay again when visiting family.

Good food friendly staff nice and clean.wheelchair access to all areas.easy parking

Very tasty steak perfectly cooked lovely hot chips and good value steak.and drink 12.95

Was hugely disappointed as it was our first time eating out on Xmas day as we are very new to the area

Great food, staff very friendly our waitress Sam was very helpful and attentive she made our celebration a fab experience

Just had Christmas Day Meal at the Smugglers Cove. Was a truly wonderful day. Brooke our waitress was simply awesome, helpful and amazing. Thank you for the relaxing Christmas Day.

Breakfast with Santa was fantastic, my family of 11 arrived & was seated immediately, food was great, manager & staff were lovely, friendly & efficient, loads for children to do , art, crafts, photos with Santa, elf & gingerbread man, good presents, certificate & reindeer food, will book again next year, thanks to all.

Breakfast with Santa, 2nd year, will book next year as it is a great experience for kids

Excellent food and service as always

Excellent service and very helpful and friendly staff

Food is excellent as always, but the service is shocking. Met at the door by someone who we later found out to be a member of management who looked as though he had been wearing the same clothes all week and was stained with most of the menu. After some time, our order was taken, and the server never visited our table again even after our meals were delivered by someone from the kitchen. A couple of items were missing so I had to go looking for someone who promised to sort it out but no one came back. Paid the bill after having to get the missing items removed and left, not a thank you, sorry, goodbye, nothing

Good food good for children father Christmas ect would go again

Good carvery, happy staff, friendly and helpful staff without being pushy.

Take care when you book hotel. I booked a room In October through Agoda, Web site, the web site was playing up, took about six goes. During the trying, the booking moved on a day. And i booked the wrong day. As soon as I booked it, I noticed. So I phoned hotel to tell them what had happened. But hotels phone number kept cutting off. When I did get through, I told hotel employee and he told me, don’t worry, he would cancel booking and he would refund my money. But that never happened. So I rang again, a few weeks later. And told a lady at hotel my problem again, she told me she would do a refund to me. But no refund received. So be careful please. So Annoyed. Not my fault the booking site was playing up.

very good quality food and excellent value. the place is very clean snd easy parking. the restaurant was busy when we arrived but the lady called chelsea managed to fit us in as table of 2. she was excellent 👍

Needed christmas music on Service was fabulous Food was OK carvery was cold

The customer service was appalling from start to finish. The waitress went home after she gave us our starters and then we had our plates left piled up on our table for the remainder of the night. The chips were rock hard couldn't even put a fork into them. Had to keep walking to the bar to get any kind of service even though there was a waitress just leaning onto the bar all night talking to her colleagues. When we went to pay for the bill they messed up the payment and was charging us 40 pound more then they couldn't understand why when we already worked out the bill prior. I would not recommend this place after our experience here.

It's OK, in every way just don't expect anything special, it's a chain conveyor belt. During our vist I had to send back a beer which was instantly recognised as off and it was changed for something else stright away without question. The service is good. The food again was ok but not worth a mention in dispatches. It was however better than going to McDonald's across the road.

Came here for breakfast while staying at the hotel next door. Staff are the absolute life of this place, so welcoming and friendly. Nice touch with all the Christmas costumes. Special thanks to Brooke who served us, she is a real genuine human being. Also special thanks to the chefs (whose names I have now forgotten) for the best pancakes I have had in a very long time. Highly recommend.

Dissapointing Place seems dirty Carver gave tiny meat helpings and veggies were cold Gravy thin and in general has gone down Since we last ate there .

Not bad food ok staff lovely, and helpful

At least they had real veg this time not frozen. Expensive sharing starter And the tiniest piece of meat at the carvery. Not value for Money at all. Plus they stopped free soft drink refills.

We all had a very pleasant meal and will be coming back soon.

Horrendous cold food & rude assistant manager! Never going to return being shouted at by him from across the room ruined our Christmas ladies lunch , left in tears …

Slow staff.Food unappetising. Would just give this place a miss

We arrived just before 12 noon, our booked time, and both of us ordered carvery. I think we were very close to being first carvery customers of the day. The carvery was most dissapointing. Three joints on show, Gammon, turkey and beef, were tiny and were not what we have come to expect. Quite possibly the previous days remains? Roast potato's and Yorkshire's, also had yesterdays, 'reheated' all over them. Very sad. The young lady who served us, however was a delight, very pleasant and cheerful.

Found the staff nice and friendly and food good

Served by Sam, what a delightful, friendly lady, made me feel very welcome, she was very efficient, and couldn't do enough for me and all the other customers there. Sam and all the staff today were lovely. Thank you.

Midweek dinner with my family. Apart from my wife’s carvery being slightly cold, the rest of the food was nice. Daughter had the burger kids meal, I had the gammon. Pint of lemonade is £3.90

Amazing food and amazing service. Sam was our waitress and she was very attentive and nothing was too much trouble. The food was hot, fresh and delicious and would recommend 100. %

Excellent service Liam is a brilliant manager nice food all ok Sam the waitress was very good and attentive would go again

Nice food,pleasant staff and prices are great 👍

We met up with family and friend. had a lovely catch-up, lots of chatting, and Sam our waitress was so friendly and attentive. nothing was to much trouble and everything was done with a smile. Thank you Sam for making our evening special.

Friday evening meal with friends. It was busy but staff were attentive and had drinks served quickly. Starters were nice and had a little wait for our mains, but staff kept us updated. Premises are nice and clean. Food was nice and good value for money. Menu choices have definitely improved. We would definitely return.

Food is always lovely / all staff helpful it's a lovely place to go for all occasions I always recommend this place to all my family and friends

Food was delish x we had the festive burger !!! And my friend had jam sponge and custard

Food was great, service was first class and friendly

Food,service, and staff were excellent. However the furniture was very shabby. There were scratches all over the table and holes in the upholstery of the chairs.

I apologise for the food rating as I didn't actually have food on my last visit but by the smell of it and everyone's happy faces I would say it was really good. The staff are amazing, extremely friendly and remember exactly what you are drinking even though it was a busy dinner service. I will definitely be coming back soon

A certain member of staff needs retraining regarding Customer Care. Front of House was his main role. I’m polite and friendly even tho my job is as an undertaker. This person was totally the opposite.

Staff helpful. Lisa waitress worked really hard

Great food, servers were amazing. Greeters need to learn how to smile! Comfortable and plenty of parking space.

Great food and service. They cater well for gluten free allergues too which is excellent.

Delightful. Food good staff friendly

We had a small family gathering for my father in law's wake here. Part of the inn was kindly reserved for us. Really lovely atmosphere. Felt private but not isolated. The food buffet was simple but of a great standard. Staff were exceptionally kind, courteous and respectful. I know that my mother in law, sister in law, husband appreciated all you did. It brought comfort to what was of course a difficult time. Thank you.

Waited 45 mins for order. Dirty smelly glasses. Odd chairs and table was in a state of damage and I cannot accept the damaged table should have been in use in the restaurant.

Food is great as is the service one critical issue is sometimes you are put in the non waitress area and it becomes a different experience

Not a bad place but the service and food are not very good the carvery was very basic and some of the food was not very warm.

We seem to go here more and more, can't really fault the food for the price, staff are always very pleasant, great

We had not booked for a Sunday carvery and thought we'd take our chances (rooky mistake) The front of house staff were brilliant finding us a table and settling us in the food was amazing massive burgers and lovely carvery roast. Can't fault it.

Very welcoming & quick to take our order. We all had a regular carvery which had a good choice of meats & vegetables. The only problem was the beef was not as tender as it normally is. A bit disappointed with that but overall a pleasant experience.

You must visit and see for yourself k

We both had the carvery but because there was not many people in the restaurant,the carvery wasn't hot like it normally is, it was just lukewarm and there wasn't much choice of vegetables,but apart from that everything else was ok.

We had visited before. And decided to visit again because we had a 30% discount voucher. As it was busy a member of staff advised us to use the QR code to order our food. Nobody told us there was no way to use the voucher on line so no discount.

The fish and chips were excellent. Not so the carvery. I asked for turkey and gammon, a regular size plate. The turkey and gammon joints were flat and a carved slice was difficult ,the gammon had a lot of fat round it and the turkey was one very small slice. The vegetables had sat on the pass, hence the carrots were hard skinned but ok when cut in half. The winter veg mix was dry, no liquid at all and much of it was stuck on the bottom of the dish. Not the usual choice of veg,