The Fox and Raven in Chelmsford

A lovely weekday meal, food was tasty and atmosphere was warm

Had a lovely Sunday lunch, with nice atmosphere and great service from Lily.

Today was my 4th visit to the Fox and Raven, and each time the food has been spot on. Today we were served by Lily, who was really attentive and friendly. Once again, the drinks, food, and puddings were to die for. Definitely my favourite place to come in Chelmsford for a Sunday roast.

Waited an hour and a half for Sea Bass (£21.25) and Chicken Skewer (£18.75) both came out over done and lukewarm, the prawns that came with the Sea Bass came out of a packet and the sauce was cold, chicken that came on the skewer was burnt on one side. Asked for pink gin and lemonade with no ice, it turned up with ice. We will not be going back.

We made a booking online which was accepted, then immediately recieved a notification our booking couldn't be confirmed. Called and couldn't get through to anything other than an automated booking system. So we arrived, found a seat suitable for my disabled mother at one of the many empty tables with no reservation signs, had seated ourselves without a single staff member stopping us or any "please wait to be seated" signage and approached the bar only to be informed they are fully booked and we had to leave our seats. Seemed a nice pub if we could've actually sat down and enjoyed it.

Tracey our server was very polite, friendly and corteous. She ensured that those in our group who had food allergies were helped accordingly. The food itself was good, only gripe was my fish cake was a bit overcooked, but on whole was value for money

Lovely meal with my daughter, Tracey was a really helpful waitress.. thank you!

Great meal and service tonight at the Fox and Raven.Tracey served us and was very friendly and timed everything perfectly between courses. It was a very cold night but warm and welcoming in the resraurant. Thank you.

Had a lovely meal for my daughter's 19th birthday. Amy served us and she was amazing, my 8 year old drew her a picture and Amy displayed in the restaurant which my daughter's night. Food was lovely, service a little slow but it was very busy and it didn't impact our night negatively.

brilliant service from Hannah. and food was amazing

Erica our waitress was Friendly, Helpful and Very Efficient. The food was delicious. We will definately come back to The Fox and Raven.

Took a little while to get our drinks but was extremely busy. The food came quickly just after our drinks and was lovely. Our waitress Tracey was really good kept making sure that we were ok and that we had everything we needed

Great service by Tracey at the Fox and Raven - Lovely roast dinner!

A bit quiet for a Saturday evening but the weather was terrible so people probably stayed at home. Food was very nice and Lily our waitress was lovely, very polite, friendly and helpful without being over the top. They had run out of fillet steak so gave us the chateaubriand instead which was very nice. Overall no complaints, quite happy and will be back.

Disappointing Experiences As regular customers of Vintage Inn pubs, we’ve tried to be understanding despite several unfortunate experiences. However, after today’s visit to our local, Fox and Raven, I feel compelled to share this feedback in the hope of improvement. Our issues began with the Pie of the Day (£14.25) at two different Vintage Inn locations. On both occasions, three of us had to send them back due to minimal filling—just three or four small pieces of chicken with no sauce under the pie lid and one carrot on the side with a dollop of mash. Even the staff couldn’t explain this, apologising and saying the pies had been either overcooked or dried out. After experiencing the same issue with the second, we decided to leave it. We also faced problems with the app during another visit. The staff had limited knowledge of the Vintage Inn app, and they were unable to scan our £10 discount. When they tested the app, they mistakenly used up our other vouchers, which couldn’t be reinstated. We then wrote to Vintage Inn, explaining the issues with the pie dish, the app problems, and our overall experiences. Unfortunately, the response we received was underwhelming, offering only a simple “sorry” without any resolution. During today’s visit, we encountered further disappointment. While we understand the need for price adjustments in the current climate, a 20% increase in the price of bar snacks was accompanied by a 20-30% reduction in portion size. This was disappointing as it was one of the few things on the menu that was good value for money As a former café proprietor, I understand the challenges of balancing costs, but raising prices while reducing portions is neither sustainable nor customer-friendly. For example, the flatbread (priced at £5.25) consisted of just five small triangles—this is not a reasonable for what is essentially bread. We’ve also experienced inconsistent food quality. For instance, I’ve ordered the chicken salad several times, and while it can sometimes be good value with a full chicken breast, other times, it’s mostly lettuce/greens with only a few small strips of chicken. While I understand that stock shortages and staff differences may affect consistency, when paying £16.95 for a salad, such inconsistency is unacceptable. Additionally, the hot drinks today, priced at nearly £4 each, came in 10-ounce cups but were underfilled and not hot. While I don’t fault the staff (as this is likely due to preset portions), it’s disappointing, especially when combined with the other ongoing issues. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to take a photo when the drinks arrived, but they were clearly underfilled and lukewarm. Today’s experience was the last straw. We’ve been loyal customers and understand the challenges of rising costs, but the combination of higher prices, smaller portions, inconsistent quality, and overpriced menu items makes us reluctant to return. This is particularly unfortunate as this is our local pub, but after multiple consecutive poor experiences without resolution, my partner has decided not to return. The one positive we can highlight is the polite and friendly staff at the Chelmsford branch, who do their best despite the circumstances. However, those making decisions at the top need to re-evaluate their approach, as these issues are driving loyal customers away

Great food and service Tracey was amazing tonight

Fantastic service by Amy, a credit to the company :)

We really enjoyed Our lunch the place was lovely we had a lovely table near the fire. The atmosphere was great. The waitresses were very nice although they were a little bit stretched because there was only a couple of them.

Fantastic food, not cheap but very good. Just had to wait forever to get our food. The server was great though. 12.30 til 15 for two courses. Make sure you're not in a hurry.

Friendly welcoming pub. Helpful obliging staff. Great food.

The food was excellent and a good selection. Some staff were more welcoming then others, but in reflection maybe we should have booked, but thought mid week it would be quiet. Next time we will make a reservation, but we would return due to the quality of the food

Lovely meal out with husband. Waitress Tracey was very attentive and helped us with gluten free options

Great pub excellent food pleasant atmosphere lovely staff ten out of ten our waitress Tracey was very attentive and pleasant and added to our Sunday lunch.

The place is really good, the food is delicious and the girl serving us Amy was brilliant. I would highly recommend.

Service good, menu a bit limited but what is there is very good.

Tracey was a legend. Very friendly and helpful and service with a smile

We had a wonderful meal at the Fox and Raven, a delicious meal accompanied by a lovely warm fire perfect for an autumn pick me up. The atmosphere and service were faultless. We were served by the amazing Amy, she was so attentive to all the tables in our area and did so with a smile. She worked her socks off. Someone give that girl a raise!! She made our time here an even better experience. Overall a lovely visit and we will definitely be returning.

The waitress was very helpful, the service was good shame I can't say the same about my meal, I ordered the sea bass which was way over cooked looked nothing like the picture on the website and goodness knows where the prawns were certainly not in my sauce.. I didn't complain at the time as my friend was treating me and didn't want to be rude. Very disappointed.

Never, ever enough people behind the bar

Fantastic food, drinks and service! Thoroughly recommend for a family outing with nice surroundings and close to town. The chocolate brownies for the kids went down particularly well 👍

Headed to the Fox & Raven after disappointing other stops. As usual made to feel welcome when we walked in. Were sat by a window, posed for a picture for the painter outside 😜. Our server, Amy was very helpful. The service and food were great and the music wasn’t too loud. Will always recommend this restaurant.

We had a wonderful time here.Food was so delicious. Service and atmosphere were amazing. We would like to thank Tracey for her hospitality and service. Overall it was a great experience. Thank you

great place for a drink and chat or a meal.

Midweek meal. Good service and food. Hannah was lovely.

Amazing halloumi skewers!!:and the loveliest waitress i have ever met!! She is an asset

Tracey was lovely and so accommodating xx

We had a great meal, fantastic Turkey and Lamb roast! Really lovely pub, well done up! Tracey our waitress was superb, kind and friendly and was very attentive.. thank you for adding to our meal!

We had a lovely meal with great service from Tracey. Would recommend to all people who want a cosy evening with good company

Great time celebrating my sisters 30th. Tracey was our waitress and looked after us! Thank you

A lovely experience with Tracey! She was very catering to our table and provided a lovely service to me and my friend Amy on a sunday evening.

We had a great meal, fantastic Turkey and Lamb roast! Really lovely pub, well done up! Tracey our waitress was superb, kind and friendly and was very attentive.. thank you for adding to our meal!

The crab cake was exceptional, well presented and tasted delicious. One of the best cakes I’ve had for a long time. The fish n chips was a bit disappointing. Chips were perfect. The fish batter was so crunchy, 😊 the downside was the small bit of fish. I would’ve happily paid more for a bigger portion. Overall. I was satisfied. Service was excellent.

Great food and great service as usual from Hannah and the team. The quality of the food and service never disappoints! Would recommend to everyone who just wants a tasty dinner and good service

We went on Sunday for a family roast, the food was lovely and our waitress Amy was really lovely, kept us up to date on how long the food would be and was really helpful and friendly

Recent refurbishment has uplifted this characterful restaurant, which looks great inside and out. Our fifth visit.

Excellent food, service and ambiance. We will return!

Great service and excellent food. They checked if my husband was happy to have slightly pink beef. Huge portion and didn't even need dinner!

Amy was absolutely brilliant, so attentive.

Visited for a Sunday roast with our family, food was great and our server Tracey was very attentive and friendly.

Went Christmas shopping in Chelmsford, found this lovely pub and had a lovely experience food was lovely.

We had a great time at the Fox & Raven. Our roast was brilliant - the atmosphere was good. Amy our server was fantastic - thank you so much!

Excellent range of food on the menu. So nice to see different options to the usual ones. The food was incredibly delicious and such a decent price. Staff were also lovely and the decor and ambiance were lovely too. Already arranging to come back again and I have already recommended.

Thank you Amy for a great service and delicious food!

Excellent roast dinner on a Sunday and service from Millie was first class

Highly recommend the breakfasts here ! Excellent quality good service and nice cosy atmosphere.

Really nice atmosphere friendly staff excellent food

Great service and great food. Amy was our waitress and she was very friendly and efficient. We will definitely be coming back thank you ☺️

Place is nice and clean and the staff are friendly but the food wad not very good unfortunately.. had higher expectations

Lovely staff, friendly and welcoming and excellent food. Great selection. Nice atmosphere

Waiting for a drink the bar took ages. Order food and it took nearly an hour. People where in the restaurant Waiting longer than us. Will never return again.. Make sure you eat before you come here

Had a lovely time here with my friends. I had the chicken burger it was really tasty and my friends had the chicken parmigiana which looked lovely. I could not fault anything. Service was top tier from Amy and amber. They are a great asset to the fox and raven team.

Came in on the off chance, I'm so happy I did. Lovely food and the service was spot on. Sorry I didn't get her name. Keep up the good work here guys.

Had such a lovely time at Fox and Raven. Amy definitely made the experience with her kind nature and was extremely helpful :)

Fantastic food and service. Tracey was very attentive and ensured we had a fantastic evening. Also very helpful with my allergy.

Arguably the best pub in Chelmsford. A hidden gem.

Food was mediocre, definitely will not be returning and we usually leave a tip but we had already spent over £100. On the plus side the waitress was very friendly and professional and I requested sitting somewhere quiet and we had a lovely table and atmosphere. It’s such a shame the facade of the building didn’t match the food that was provided. Maybe it was just a bad day like we all get now and again.

Nice food and Amy! really friendly and good service.

Good food & beer, set in realy nice surroundings staff very friendly will certainly be back. Dog friendly too.

The Atmosphere of the country pub was very wholesome and cozy! As we sat down, we were greeted by a lovely waiter who took our drinks order and then our food order. We heard that the Sunday Trio was worth trying however, we were soon informed that it had run out. We then tried to order something else and it was a lot of back and forth from the waiter and the kitchen to find out what was available! We waited around an hour until our food was served, which was a little disheartening but sitting and talking with good company made the wait speed up. The food looked great when it arrived; I ended up having the burger and fries, but unfortunately, the fries tasted very stale and starchy, which may be a sign of some fries that have been sitting a little. The burger was nice and also the slow cooked brisket, but for the value I would argue that there are other burgers in chelmsford that can tick that appetite/ quality box but also for a good value. I did enjoy the dinner and ambience of the pub but I wouldn't recommend revisiting based on the cost to quality ratio of the food.

Very pleasant service setting and food. Average prices . food is decent quality. Typical gastro pub.

food and service was excellent if the weathers good there’s plenty of space outside in the gardens or terrace equally as nice inside for a cozy drink and meal plus it’s dog friendly 👍

Came here for breakfast and it was delicious! Plenty of choice and amazing service, would definitely recommend!

Service was brilliant, food and drinks were timely and enjoyable. Bartender was really funny and welcoming. 5 stars 🌟

Good food and good service from Hannah

Popped in on a Saturday lunchtime (the pub was relatively quiet), ordered the”Signature Skewers”, which took a little over 35 minutes to arrive. The food was nice and the waitress was apologetic, but previous experiences have also been long wait times too so be prepared!

Great menu and food. Lovely place with beautiful decor.

Met a friend for lunch around 12-10pm. Only two customers in front of us but only one person taking food orders and serving drinks so took about 10 minutes to get a drink. Found a table outside and both ordered hot beef brisket sandwiches as it sounded really good. A few people that arrived after us got served before we did as it took around 40 minutes to arrive. When it came it was really disappointing the fries were very over cooked and the top slices of bread were almost toasted where they must have sat under a heat lamp for ages,. If it was supposed to be toasted the bottom slices of bread were not. The beef in the sandwich was also very dry. We asked for replacement fries which came exactly the same dark colour and over cooked.. Sad to say it’s got plenty of seating outside so nice for a drink when the weathers good but we won’t eat there again.

Needs more staff the queue at the bar was ridiculous at one point there was no one behind the bar at all. 15 minute wait

Very disappointed, popped in for dinner with our infant daughter, simple order of two burgers and chips. Drinks came out after a while but no food appeared in over an hour so we asked for a refund and left hungry. Staff were courteous and no problem to refund but not good enough 😕

Met a friend for lunch, we had booked a table, that turned out not to be necessary, plenty of tables. Our table was as right by the till and the entrance to that part of the restaurant. We had plenty to talk about, so didn't really notice the service to start with. The girls were all polite and friendly. Food took a while, but was really good. Enjoyed it. Dessert menu arrived, I chose coffee, my friend ordered the mini frighteningly waiting for it. Slow service really let the place down.

Great food just a bit expensive. Great for a special meal out. Will go again

We hadn't been to The Fox & Raven for a year due to previous terribly bad service and long waits so thought we would give it another try. We are glad we did. It was a busy time despite it being a Wednesday lunchtime but we were seated immediately and served by the lovely Diane who was very smiley, friendly and professional. We received our drinks and food within half an hour. The fish and chips were very tasty, however for the almost £18 charge there needs to be more chips. When my meal was delivered it only looked like fish on the plate, the very few chips were hidden by the fish. The pub is beautiful and was refurbished very well. We will return!

Good pub food..good atmosphere.good friendly staff. Went in late just for a drink after theatre visit. felt welcom

Lovely place, amazing food, very, very nice service. Highly recommended!

Staff were really lovely and the food was amazing. We were given enough time to decide from the menu. There was a really great choice. Our waitress was lovely and friendly. I definitely recommend and will be coming back. Thank you!

As always never, never enough staff behind the bar. Just one poor person who had to serve drinks AND take food orders. He did his best but the service was painfully slow. Not acceptable.

Went for the cinema night, lovely service, Thanks to morgan for such a lush night 💖💖

Came here for the grease movie night! It was great! Team were lovely, there was a girl wearing a pink ladies jacket! What a lovely touch!

Came here with my partner for the Grease night! It was great! Morgan, Katie and the rest of the team did a great job! We will be coming back for the next event they do!

Lovely evening with my family here tonight, we had the signature burger, pizza and chicken burger. Tasty delicious! We will be returning again soon!

Had a wonderful time watching grease at the out door cinema. Food was amazing and the staff super friendly will definitely return .

Lovely cinema night with the girls , food was amazing . Katie and Morgan our waitresses were so lovely!

the grease night was amazing! the food and service was incredible and had a great atmosphere!!! defo recommend xx

We went there on Monday 19th August, we noticed most of the wine glasses on the table were dirty, my girl friend ordered the fish cakes, that night she got really sick, food poisoning from them. As we have to fly out the next day, it wasn't good for us. I don't recommend this place

Went for a lovely roast dinner and some drinks, amazing outdoor sitting area staff are amazing. Definitely recommend xxx

Great meal and amazing staff 👏👏👏

Food was disgusting and service was ultra slow

Millie, our waitress, was fantastic. The food was great and we had a great time

Very welcoming, friendly service with a good menu and well cooked food. Thank you Amy for looking after us!

Food was excellent and Katie our waitress was fantastic 😊