The Cats in Maldon

Can never fault them. Always friendly and always consistent with their food. And I've tried a handful of different things from their menu. If you haven't tried their new menu, you have to try their smoothies. Their mango smoothie tastes like summer and is my new addiction.I often get their stuff to take away and am never disappointed

Called in for a quick pint after work.

I had agreed to meet some other parents for a drink at the Bell pub before school pick up. I unexpectedly had my 4 year old son with me as he was feeling overwhelmed from his school nativity. As I entered, I politely asked if he was okay to be in the pub to which I was greeted with an unfriendly 'yes' and immediately made to feel unwelcome. So much so, that I didn't feel comfortable getting a drink. My son was a bit dysregulated but by no means was he misbehaving, and when he laughed out loud, he was told to 'shhh' by the barlady. Other groups were making more noise than he was, he simply laughed a little enthusiastically. This upset him further (as well as myself and the party I was with) so we decided to leave. In total I think I was there 10-15 minutes. As we got up to leave, the staff were huddled together at the bar with unwelcoming expressions. I found it really upsetting that my son was treated this way. He's only 4, he has cancer and he was just a little overwhelmed and tired from attending school. I have read previous comments about the pub being cliquey and unfriendly to 'outsiders' and I definitely felt that on this occasion. This is not somewhere I would feel happy to return to and it's not somewhere I will be recommending to others. Especially those with young children.

When visiting Maldon, we always come here for the Apple Crumble waffle!

Just back from an excellent lunch after a lovely 6 mile walk starting and ending at The Queen Vic. Wonderful hospitality and the food was really good - very generous portions too.