The Fox and Raven in Chelmsford

Had lunch and could not fault anything. Food was lovely, especially the starter, garlic mushrooms. Our server, Diane, was lovely. Very attentive, welcoming and a very friendly smile

Ridiculous booking system. Given up trying.

Lovely evening with friends. Meal was delicious, I even had a pudding! Amy was so friendly and helpful.

Food was good, Amy served us and was very friendly and helpful. I would definately come back. The atmosphere was friendly but quiet, even for a Friday.

Such a good location for us to meet family as easy to reach from the A12. It's an attractive place with a nice atmosphere and attentive staff too. The food is ok.

Lovely modern pub with a cosy traditional feel to it. Attentive and friendly staff and great service. Food and drink is always consistently good too.

So my sister Booked a table for 3pm and we arrived at 2.55pm. We were taken to a table, nice decor and views from the window. However, we appreciate that it was busy, but we waited over an hour for main meal. Twenty past 4 before we had our meals. Felt like we were being ignored, till I went up to the bar and asked where our order was. When it came to paying, all the staff seem to have disappeared. So we went to the bar and basically ignored. Until I said “ can we pay our bill please “ needless to say we didn’t have dessert or order more drinks ! Won’t be rushing back !

We were greeted with friendly staff a nice warm atomsphere from the log fire. Amy was our waitress for our entire meal, she was attentive but not over bearing she kept us informed when our meals were arriving and checked that we were happy with our meals. Food was lovely. Would recommend this restaurant and will certainly be visiting again.

Fantastic Sunday roast for my birthday. Great staff we had Erica serving us she was very friendly and attentive. It's our second visit here and will definitely be back.

We had an amazing experience at The Fox and Raven! The food was absolutely delicious, with each dish prepared to perfection. The staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming, which made the entire visit even more enjoyable. The restaurant was clean, tidy, and well-maintained, creating a pleasant atmosphere for dining. I will definitely be back and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great meal with excellent service!

Looked after by Amy. Such a nice evening

My visit since major building work was completed. Previous visits had proven variable food and service. On this occasion they provided a well judged cost/quality balance. Millie our waitress providing excellent service. We will return to see if this welcome improvement is maintained

We had an amazing experience here thanks to our brilliant server Amy she was lovely and very attentive she made our whole experience

Went for dinner after being recommended since the refurb. Very disappointed. Ordered drinks at the bar. No bitters available. Ordered dinner. Multiple things not available. When the food did arrive it was very average. Asked for a desert menu when finished which never arrived. Gave up and asked for the bill. Spoke to the management and they took one round of drinks off the bill. Had been really looking forward to a lovely dinner but was very disappointed.

Fantastic lunch on 12th Feb , good food and excellent service from Rochelle , who made us welcome.

Had a lovely dinner. Food is great and what a lovely place to eat. Morgan and Callum were amazing and will defo be coming back. Eat here !

Hi 👋 From the moment we walked in we were greeted with a lovely smile. Hannah was our waitress and as usual she was wonderful, I had a drinks voucher which they tried to honour, but sadly the code did not work. The food is always outstanding , extremely tasty and hot. We can honestly say this is the best turkey roast EVER !! Massive thanks to the Chefs, as you never get to say thank you too them. We love the decor , the open fire on a cold day. We can 100% recommend everything at The Fox & Raven . Carry on the amazing work & thank you 😊

Amy was amazing. Such lovely service

The pub decor was very nice and also clean, however the customer service and menu offering was terrible. I booked using the pub's online booking system for a Saturday night selecting the 'Weekend Treat Menu'. Upon arrival we were placed on a table in the middle of the dining area, next to a very loud party of about 10 people but we tried to ignore this as it was a Saturday night. However, after about 30 minutes of attempting conversation, we had to ask the waitress staff if we could move tables as we could not hear ourselves speak. We chose the pub due to the 'Weekend Treat Menu' that was offered on the website (£32.50), however upon ordering, we were only given the A La Carte menus. I asked the waitress for the Set Menu however she looked at me blankly and confused and said that she didn't think they were offering that menu so went to check with her Manager. She came back and confirmed that the menu was not being offered, with no apology or explanation at all. We were very disappointed as this was the main reason we chose the Fox and Raven pub. It seemed that the waitress was completely unaware that the pub even offered a set menu, which makes me wonder if they have ever offered it (despite their website stating they do). The waitress then advised us that various menu items had run out, which ended up being 70% of the menu. I only eat chicken and seafood (in terms of meat/fish), so there was a very limited selection of menu items remaining; there were no olives, no calamari, no flatbread, no pizzas, no chicken curry and various other items. We were very disappointed by this considering it was a Saturday evening and would usually expect a pub to plan ahead and cater sufficiently for Saturday evening demand. The restaurant wasn't even that busy. The service was also extremely slow. The waitress took our drink orders upon being seated, but we had to wait approximately 40 minutes just for our mains to arrive (we did not order starters). Once the food came, the prawn skewer (£18.95) only contained 4 or 5 prawns and was accompanied by a very small handful of boring salad leaves, with a tiny amount of feta over the top. I found this very overpriced for the size and quantity. My friends ordered the pork belly but they said that it was very chewy and fatty. Overall, this pub has a lot of potential due to the location and decor, but sadly the customer service, food offering and pricing was extremely disappointing.

Food was adequate but the service was very slow, we waited 50 mins for our order and it wasn’t very busy. I had the rib eye which wasn’t cooked how I asked and it had a big lump of gristle in it.

Amy was a brilliant waitress! Very helpful and lovely, only downside was being sat next to a very loud group who were shouting throughout our meal

Considerate and friendly service from Amy. Great food and good atmosphere

Not a bad pub to come to, not really good either. Food was ok, drinks were as expected and price was fair for all. It wasn't busy when I came, weekday evening so service was quick, albeit a bit unfriendly. No vibe when I came either but might be different other times of the day. Plenty of parking too.

Food was great service was too slow

Morgan was a lovely host. Food was great and was well priced.

Food ok, I think my chicken burger had been under the lamp for a while as it was a bit solid. But the chicken itself was lovely. Hannah our waitress was very hard working!

Nicest old country pub. Hannah our server was fantastic, a sharp eye and a smile. Thank you for a great experience. Food was middle of the road but deserts were better.

Great food, Hannah was a great server!

Went there today had a really nice meal great service from Hannah lovely atmosphere and decor would thoroughly recommend

Great food at a fair price, staff are very friendly

We had a voucher so went for dinner but would still go without the voucher. The food was delicious and our waitress Amy was very friendly and attentive.

Amy was our waitress and was very chatty and attentive. Had a lovely evening! Even helped pick out mains which were great.

Amy was our waitress and was really chatty and attentive. Had a lovely evening.

I have visited several times since the re-opening, always with friends. We have all been impressed with the new decor, the menu and the food.

Another lovely visit! Our waitress Amy is always recommending dishes to try, hasn’t let us down yet <3

Its always a pleasure visiting with my friends and dog. Theyre very warm and welcoming.

Nice food but nothing adventurous on the menu

Booked a table for four , on boxing day as had friends from America over , on arrival service was slow too be seen to table , then whilst being seated no welcoming really , also drinks took a long time too come ,, then as we had booked the 3 course we where asked what we would like ,, then only too find out had sold out , of what we all wanted as starters , which was very disappointing so then decided to order the mains ,, which came and presentation of the plate looked like it had just been thrown on there ,, also friends plate was missing things ,, also the ambient temperature in there was not warm ,, and friends left there jackets on ,,, after eating main was asked which desserts would like ,, then again only too find out that had sold out of the desserts our table would have liked to order , so had to skip desserts same as the starters ,,, so only had the main mess , I know it’s Christmas and it’s busy ,,, but it didn’t look busy this evening,, staff where tired and miserable really ,, i then asked to pay the bill ,, in which I was discounted a amount ,,, but really should not have payed ,,, for any of it due too completely spoiling our Boxing Day festivities,, Seriously it was like something out of carry on film ,,, I have never seen or been in such a complete mess ,,, I wouldn’t recommend myself ,,,, I don’t have massive high standards,, but tonight was beyond a joke , AND THIS IS WHAT YOU COME BACK AS A REPLY BELOW !!!!!!!! Apologies, understaff , that’s not any help too me ,,, I don’t need too be told this ,, I had too pay to experience it for a evening ,,,, Also the worst thing I heard was a random staff member I spoke too said ,,,,, I WOULDNT EAT HERE MYSELF , AND MANAGEMENT HAVE NOT A CLUE ,, and I find your feedback reply to my review absolutely disgusting really ,,, should not have paid for any of it really ,,, still have receipt ,, I don’t think that I will be returning really as once was enough,,

My server was Rochelle She made me and my family very welcome and was very friendly the whole meal

Varied menu, excellent service,delicious food

We had the festive menu. 2 of our party had the hand carved turkey. The vegetables was bendy and chewy the potatoes were so rubbery they could not be cut. It was like the food was reheated from the previous day. Certainly a very poor roast. One of our party had the steak and that was lovely All in all the service was lovely, setting lovely but the food was far below par letting down a special occasion.

We had a large group booked in for the Christmas Menu, where we had pre-ordered our food. It took an hour for our starters to arrive and another 45 minutes for the mains. Another table who arrived after us got their starters and mains before we even had starters. One of the starters was given as the mushrooms - turned out to be scallops (just as well there wasn't an allergy!). 6 of the 11 main meals were missing something which was described as included. If we wanted anything, we had to chase a member of staff down, rather than being checked on (drinks, cutlery). The food (once correct) was lovely, let down by the poor service. We were not rude and didn't make any demands, yet when we said we were not paying the service charge, we were blamed for creating till issues, then all the staff ignored us as we left. For an industry which relies on customers business, there needs to be a big change here in the attitude of staff.

we had a lovely meal for my boyfriends birthday this evening, Amy was so lovely and we couldn’t of asked for more.

Recently visited for my birthday, had a lovely meal & Amy was amazing. Would highly recommend.

Went today with friends. We were served by Molly and Morgan who were very efficient and nothing was too much trouble. Everything went very smoothly and we all had a lovely meal

Really nice atmosphere friendly staff excellent food

Relaxed atmosphere. Nicely laid out and decorated, lovely to have a working open fire. Waitress was lovely, friendly and knowledgeable and just the right amount of attentiveness.

Food was nice, generous portions and catered well for me as a vegan. We were a large pre-booked group, long waits between courses and no one checked if we needed drinks but staff helpful when bringing out food. Got coffees off the bill.

Great cosy environment with plenty of room for large groups. Friendly staff and our waitress was excellent. Steak was decent but only served with four cherry Tom's, a sauce and a small chips. Pate, just the same as the standard supermarket everyday, small portion. Cheesecake nice and big enough. Marked down because at £49 for crimbo festive set meal, one drink and service charge the price is way too high. Starter would have had less han £1 of ingredients in it.

Great pub and a great atmosphere

Clean smart and comfortable seating. Heating far too high, but staff friendly and attentive. Would recommend booking as popular lunchtime choice. Lunch for four well received and good portion sizes.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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 :)

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.

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.

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

Friendly welcoming pub. Helpful obliging staff. Great 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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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 👍

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

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.

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

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!

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

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

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.

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

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

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.