The Jolly Sailor in Maldon

We Stumbled across The Jolly Sailor while on a walk with our Family one sunday while they had a Market on and we loved it ! We had some lovely Bacon Rolls & Teas and a little Browse round the Market ! we will be Back

Came here for lunch in October 24. The pub is in a very nice location near the lock.You can park for free in the pub car park as long as you register your vehicle at the tablet in the bar. The food was very good,the staff were very friendly and there was a nice atmosphere.

Lovely little waterside pub that serves very nice food. On this occasion we just popped in for a coffee after a long dog walk. Have eaten here before and have thoroughly enjoyed it. They serve whitebait too which is my favourite pub snack.

My first visit, with friends, to this popular riverside pub. The menu was typical pub grub which was all well presented and generous. A good choice of ales, lagers and ciders at the bar.

I went there for lunch with my dog. Lovely place, nice and clean.I had a light lunch of fish and chips and mushy peas and a white wine spritzer. Food was lovely and reasonably priced. My dog was given a treat and there was a water bowl outside for him to have a drink. Staff were friendly and helpful.I would go again next time I am in the area.

Lovely pub, nice food, great service. We were a party of 9 and no complaints at all.

We popped in for lunch on a Wednesday, and it was nice to see a good number of people using the pub. It's a really smart and friendly place with nice staff who greeted us at the door. We had a dog with us, and there were plenty of tables in the public bar. The sharing mezze platter and a bowl of chips were perfect for a light lunch, everything was very tasty and decent quality. The chip portion was are good size, so we left happy. The place is Cask Marked for everything, so beer was excellent and very enjoyable. It's a decent pub and our usual go to when walking in Heybridge Basin.

Excellent fish and chips Definitely recommend, reasonable prices

We have been having fish and chips from here for years now and they have always been first class. All through the lock down you could always depend on the quality of the take away fish and chips. Until now. We went on Friday for our usual couple of beers and fish and chips, lovely pints and good service, as usual but when we got home and opened the fish and chips, major disappointment. The chips were perfect. The fish lovely. But the batter was just glop. We had to scrape it off the fish as it hadn't even changed colour. So please can we have the fish done as we have come to expect, Wirth a lovely golden crispy batter, not GLOP.

Lovely food , nice weather, so we sat outside to eat, well worth a visit and I recommend the seafood platter.

Always the go to pub 10 out of 10

A good place to eat tasty food, all in an extremely positive atmosphere.

Visited twice recently, staying on a campsite nearby. The food was excellent & the staff were very attentive, friendly & made us very welcome. Will definitely return to this lovely pub.

Enjoyed the food and staff were charming. I was visiting with my friend on his boat and ate there on the two evenings , spent about £120.00. I asked if they had any spare milk as we’d almost run out and they had a litre bottle , which was about 25% full. The landlady charged us a pound. How sad is that?

Our first visit here, and we loved it. We enjoyed lunch and a drink. The selection of food on offer is excellent. We had the mussels and minted lamb pie from the specials menu, all of which were lovely. The staff were all very friendly and welcoming, the service was great. A highchair was provided for our baby with no problem, and it's good to see that dogs are welcome, too. We look forward to our next visit.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fantastic Pub Experience! The Jolly Sailor Pub is an absolute gem! Our visit to The Jolly Sailor Pub was fantastic, especially as we brought along someone in a wheelchair. We were initially unsure how to access the pub, but we were thrilled to find excellent wheelchair access through the back garden. The staff were incredibly helpful, ensuring everything went smoothly as we got in without any difficulties. The food was delicious, in addition to the great service, they offer free parking at the back of the pub. As a customer, you can simply enter your number plate into the machine inside, and then you can park for free—such a convenient touch that made our experience even better. The staff were super friendly and accommodating, with one lady behind the counter being especially attentive (I regret not catching her name!). She went above and beyond to make sure we had a pleasant visit. Overall, The Jolly Sailor Pub offers great food, a warm and welcoming atmosphere, and excellent accessibility for wheelchair users. With the added bonus of free parking, I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a friendly, accommodating place to dine!

Great fish and chips. Great staff.

Tried to book over-the-phone, put phone down on my call twice then didn't pick up. Visited to book in person, told 'No' in a very abrupt manner. Clearly not bothered about returning custom. Staff seemed slightly embarrassed by the manager/owner's style of customer relations. Shame I won't be returning as the food is reasonable and the bar staff are lovely.

Lovely welcoming clean pub. Massive garden and cosy seating indoors. Tasty food too

Warm welcome from the staff, reasonably priced drinks, beautiful cod and chips, nice garden to sit in, what more can you ask for?

The Jolly Sailor. After phoning the day before and being told that they don’t let you reserve tables, we went the following day and found several of the best tables reserved? The manager ignored us totally when we asked why this had happened? We then went to the bar to order food and the older woman behind the bar was again rude and really unhelpful. This is not a cheap place to eat and you really don’t mind if the overall experience is a good one. The younger staff were lovely and the food when it arrived, (after being sent back twice for having the wrong items), eventually arrived and was very nice. We would not go again. Disappointed. The Lock cafe next door was friendly and helpful. Would definitely go there again. Good service is important.

Came last week and enjoyed the Moules Marinere so much we came back again! Great food, service and cosy atmosphere! We’ll be back👍

We had a lovely meal with fantastic service from amazing staff. Grant and Sam looked after us so well. Fantastic choice of drinks and super atmosphere

Very friendly and good honest food

A great pub/restaurant by the estuary. Very friendly, attentive staff. Great food and drink. Parking to the rear.

Lovely food, friendly staff, lovely seating area in the garden and spotless toilets. Can't wait to return .

Once again faultless service and an excellent seasonal choice. We ate from the main menu, specials and little sailor children’s menu. All served swiftly and freshly cooked. To entertain the children a bag of tic tac toe was produced which amused the 3 and 6 year olds. The local selection of beers was an added bonus and clean plates said it all…. We will return

Arrived at this pub by random chance during our holiday in Essex. Initially my elder son was put off by a slight hostility at the bar, but the food was great and arrived very quickly. Really enjoyed the scampi and the rest of my party equally enjoyed the food. Pleased that our hound was able to join us, and she was given some free doggie biscuits. Would expect more veggie options but more than happy to come again! The pub has clearly spent a lot of time on the garden and flowers.

Nice pub in great location ,shame our weather isn't as reliable as good outside space

Excellent service excellent food

Great friendly staff and service very helpful food good

Beer excellent. Food excellent. Staff excellent. And not pricey. Recommend.

The jolly Sailor is now our new local as we recently moved into the village.Viki and Samantha have made us feel so welcome. We are gradually working our way through the menu trying different dishes the food is always excellent. Lovely and very reasonably priced food, fantastic atmosphere,all staff are friendly, professional and the pub is always finding ways of hosting different events.Anyone that visits Heybridge Basin should make sure that they pop into the Jolly.

Terrible food, all frozen and even worse service, miserable. Would not go back there again!

We called in as we were in the area and having had a very good meal there before, we felt confident we would have a similar experience. In fact this time the food was even better. Prawn cocktail starters were lovely, The cod and chips was a very decent size and cooked perfectly, the ham egg and chips was also a very adequate portion. The deserts were very moreish with enough variety to choose from without being over whelmed. Staff were polite, efficient and friendly and not in the slightest bit pushy despite the potential busy dinner service time. Very fairly priced and clean and tidy throughout the building. We would not hesitate in returning and hope to do so again soon. Thank you Victoria for our experience at the jolly sailor. And say hello to Eddie the dog for us.

Considering the high price of the food at this restaurant I expected far better service. The staff all seemed miserable despite us arriving early in the day and we overheard several staff members gossiping about customers who were still in the restaurant at the time. The food was nice but did not seem to the quality of which we were paying, and one of our party ordered a vegetarian option which, when it arrived, clearly had bacon mixed in. When asked about it we were told it was vegetarian before later being told that we were right and it was bacon. When it came time to pay there was a very grumpy looking lady at the bar adding tip onto the final bill without even asking us first. Honestly disgraceful and I would recommend anybody looking to eat here look elsewhere. Maldon and Heybridge have so many amazing places to dine out, but this is not one of them.

Despite being told good reviews from others, this in fact was not true for my experience. When booking the table with the pub, the staff who answered the phone were rude and very rushed. I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt knowing it was a busy place. Sadly my experience on the day was similar, was greeted by staff who didn’t seem to care and was just pointed to where we were supposed to be seated. Despite portions and food being generally nice, my vegetarian family member was given bacon in her order that was clearly not supposed to have bacon, as advertised on menu as a vegetarian option. Staff then told her she was wrong and was given the right order. We resorted to showing another staff member that the order clearly had bacon in. No formal apology given. The food is quite highly priced so rounding to a total of significance anyway but to then be without consent a 10% charge was added to each bill. As we left my family member sadly had to be witness to the staff gossiping about us within the restaurant and other customers. Absolutely disgusting! There are many lovely restaurants in maldon and Heybridge I would much rather have chosen and regret not doing so.

Excellent food, I gave it 4 stars because the swede was cut like carrots and not mashed. Fantastic staff, lovely atmosphere 😀

Our first time visiting this lovely old pub. Staff were really friendly and welcoming. Food was served promptly and was really good.

Friendly service and nice atmosphere.

I stopped by with my folks for a sunny Sunday lunch on one of the tables out front, and while still perfectly polite, the staff seemed a bit stressed. My nut roast was decent enough, but it leaned heavily on a generous dousing of gravy for moisture and taste. I really enjoyed the roast potatoes and Yorkshire, but the overall dish just lacked the flavour to rate it any higher.

Long wait for food and hardly edible once it did arrive . Fish was swimming in water under the batter that was very brown outside and undercooked inside . Spoke to staff who declared fish was fresh ! Quite clearly was frozen and did not offer any reduction in price of meal although we clearly stated it was not acceptable . Would not recommend this place to eat

Very nice, good food, service very friendly will certainly go back. Well done.

Parked in pub car park went in to buy a drink signed car in on screen brought a drink bar person offered me my drink in bottle or glass I chose bottle took it outside and sat on bench as I was waiting for my husband to join me lady came walking round past me with her dog spoke to someone who answered she said no that lady to my back didn’t even have the politeness to approach me to my face told me I couldn’t park in the carpark I said do you have to eat here then of which we probably would have when my husband arrived told her I have purchased a drink of which she replied I’m sorry took my money quick enough I left but certainly did not feel welcome bar lady was nice though chose this pub because my sister worked there years ago for a long time and have used it before, now i’ll choose somewhere else 🫤

The owner is very rude gave my child a weird Death Stare just for picking up a bag of crisps.the food was undercooked and they have the worst service possible traveled 10 hours for a terrible experience. Wouldn’t recommend

Hadn't booked on a Satursay and it was fully booked so the sun was out so had our scrumptious fish and chops outside... very good.

I really enjoyed my moules mariniere, would thoroughly recommend this restaurant.

I used it for the first time with my Cycling group and we are happy to return with more members in tow.

Great place good food friendly service clean 👌 as a whistle, yes definitely got my vote 🗳 👍

Received a warm welcome as we entered. The food was fantastic and the service was spot on. Thank.you. Tim.

Great location we has a lovely Sunday roast here good value lovely pub and it has a carpark

Lovely place, great food, friendly staff. Dog-friendly. Def recommend this place 😍

Really well looked after by staff in a lovely clean pub. Ignore the pub nearby with river views and come to this one!

Delicious food,they were busy but managed to squeeze us in for a quick meal. Would definitely visit again

Have visited the jolly sailor on several occasions and have to say I’m surprised they have any locals due to the landlady’s attitude!! She just sits there with a miserable face on and doesn’t make you feel welcome at all. The lady on the bar was lovely not sure of her name Also food wasn’t great

Came here for a family pre Christmas lunch. Lovely pub in a great location. Enjoyed my lunch of moules mariniere followed cherry pie. Worth a visit!

I have been craving having muscles again for some time, and this place hit the nail on the head. The only reason for taking a star off, was the quarter lemon left at the bottom in the sauce. I would of preffered the lemon on the side, so I could add as much or as little as I wanted to my liking. Now! I was pretty hungry so I ate my food quite rapidly and probably not in the most lady like way. So I managed to uncover the lemon quite quickly, so it didn't completely take over the sauces flavour although it still made it more sour than I would of liked. Had I been a slower eater I think it may have ruined the sauce completely. I also came over the pips that had come out of the lemon so that wasn't nice either, no one enjoys eating lemon pips. Would I go and have it again? Yes I would and I would just ask for the lemon to be on the side. As for my main I had sausages and mash which I've also been having a hankering for too. It was delicious and filling and safe to say by end I was officially in a food comma. I went with a friend on a Friday evening after a sunset stroll my dogs. One of my dogs is reactive and nervous of dogs. So we were placed around a corner and managed to get in and out without any issues. For whatever reason the staff chose to put is in the corner, I appreciate being set out of sight, as it kept mine calm and enabled me to reinforce this whilst not irritating other people. It's a snug little pub, the staff are nice and the locals that go in were more than happy to give my dogs some attention. It's always a fear of mine, although they are well behaved, the reactivity of one of them may cause eateries to turn me away. My dogs were settled and went to sleep, my friend and I enjoyed our meal. The pub has such a snug and warmth to it, I don't find you get in all places. It's placed in fantastic location, easy to find and get to and reasonably priced for a nice meal.

had better food for much less 5 pound for a pint of shandy is too dear i think food was ok but would not go again

Lovely family lunch for 10 of us on a Sunday. Very accommodating for the kids and everyone really enjoyed their Sunday roast. Service from Angelina and Sam was 10/10 and we will definitely be back⭐️

The staff said they was full when nobody was in the restaurant then she sat us in the corner on a tiny table when there was a full restaurant of tables to sit on what was empty but she insisted they was booked, we asked to move and it seemed to be a big problem we eat the dinner and one group of 6 showed up we was really disatisfied

I love The Jolly Sailor, especially their delicious crab sandwiches. However, my enjoyment of my sandwich was spoilt today. Halfway through eating it the owner shouted over to us "just to let you know crab sandwiches weren't on the menu that crab was for my lunch". No she wasn't joking, she was deadly serious. I cannot believe the proprietor would speak to her customers like that.

Had been for a walk along the Navigation and called in for a late Sunday lunch. Able to accommodate a table for 4. Drinks arrived quickly and food order taken. Food took quite a while to arrive. Fish and chips was huge but my 13 yo managed to finish it. Chicken burger and chips enjoyed by my 16yo. 2 of us had beef roast. Good selection of veg but most if it was only luke warm. Beef was a little chewy and didn't have much flavour. Roast potatoes were great though. Paid extra for cauliflower cheese which was enough to share between 2 and was really tasty. Apple crumble and custard was OK. Custard only luke warm and apple was a tad watery. Steam pudding was good according to my 16 yo. 13 yo had chocolate cheesecake and struggled to finish it.

Nice location,food was great and well priced

We arrived here as a result of a postcode error, aiming for the Jolly Sailor on the Hythe, Maldon, but we were glad to visit. The food was delicious and the staff friendly and helpful. One of the best crab sandwiches I have ever had! Afterwards we had a lovely walk across the attractive lock to the stunning estuary beyond and along the banks.

Lovely friendly local pub superb location Delicious and tasty food and reasonably priced will visit again

Very friendly staff, efficient service. Really nice food at good prices. Nice area for a walk and to stop off for a drink and some food. Will definitely return!

Very good , always is , great service 👍

Lovely place. Friendly staff. Great choice of beer. Brilliant views.

Great for a pint (if you can get served) but don't bother eating there. Very average for dishes that are pricey.

Myself and my husband visited The Jolly Sailor as we had never visited Heybridge Basin which is where this place is situated. We are so glad that we chose here to eat ! We were shown to our table which i would imagine at certain times would need booking as it gets very busy. Its such a nice plate to eat, big scrubbed wooden tables, tartan seats, a lovely fireplace with lanterns and local artwork on the walls which can be purchased. The lady serving us was lovely and welcoming. I chose cod, chips and mushy peas and husband chose Aberdeen Angus burger with chips. Well my portion was huge ! The cod was one of the best i have ever tasted and not one bone. It was perfect. And the chips were delicious too as was the mushy peas. I tried some of my husbands burger and it was delicious ! Think i will have it next time we are down that way. We left feeling full up to the brim and very pleased at finding this little gem of a pub that serves top class food.

Great pit stop on the way walking around the sea wall

Food was excellent as usual. We have visited in the past and been struck by the friendly waitress service in the back courtyard. On our last visit we had to order at the bar with our table number and pay upfront, which is no big deal. Apparently all garden orders are not a full waitress service now. There was a massive bottle neck at the entrance to the pub because of this. Saturday night and only one person taking orders for drinks and food? No one checked to see if we were happy with our food. Only to take our plates away. No attempt at asking if we wanted any further food or drinks, having said that it was obviously up to us to return to the bar area to obtain menus and purchase further drinks. Can’t help feeling that they are missing a trick in sales terms. Although the seafood platter and mussels very excellent we left disappointed, compared with previous visits.

Fantastic, food was fine and the service is good

Only thing going for this place is location. Better off popping into the Lock or the Queens

Had lunch here recently and wasn't disappointed. Very friendly staff. Good menu to choose from. Food freshly cooked and well presented. Good portion size and value. Another place to return to. September 2023 stopped here just for drinks having previously visited for a meal.. Was shocked when charged £19 for 2 large glasses of white wine. I know pubs need to make a profit but that to me seems a bit extreme. For an extra £1.88p I could have had 2 full bottles of wine at Wetherspoons. Little wonder pubs are closing when prices like this are being charged.

Great for chilling outside with ice 🧊 cool 😎 cider on a hot day. Didn't try the food.

Great pub in great location. We will be back :)

Very helpful staff. Went with my mum who has to use a walker, they couldn't have been more accommodating.

We came along to an amazing Event this Sunday with The Soul brothers and was absolutely fantastic! Great music ! Great Food and amazing Service ! We love coming to The jolly sailor

Very nice food, great service, happy staff, location could not have been better will go again.

Great friendly pub by the water. Food was lovely, nice selection of beers. Pudding was my favourite part of the meal. Staff are amazing, even gave me advice on where to walk to take photos as they saw I had a camera. Will be returning soon.

Aussie cow with the big belly and face like it’s been hit by a train was barking orders at the staff in a way that no employee should ever have to put up with then she was rude to me and my girlfriend and even gave us orders so we left. Fully ruined my Sunday afternoon.

The place was lovely and picturesque and the food was fantastic!Only downside was the amount of wasps need more wasp traps around,but our visit was lovely and the staff were so accommodating when we needed to move to a different table.Will definitely visit again.

Nice meal Nice place to eat will come again

I'm a reasonably regular customer and I enjoy going here with my family. The food is good and the service is also very good. On my last visit, I was most upset that upon advising the bar staff that my Lager was not good that one of the young ladies advised me that the Lager was meant to be cloudy and was fine. She is a kid, I'm a regular lager drinker!! She declined to taste the drink. This left a sour taste in my mouth! I was not requesting a refund simply giving advice. I ordered an alternative lager which was fine.

Great location, lovely outdoor area great food

Charming place, very calming atmosphere. Right next to the sea wall. Perfect place for a meal, then, afterwards, a stroll along the sea wall, watching the boats.

Great little pub with good pub grub. Probably worth booking as it was fairly busy.

We turned up with out a booking and made the effort to find us a table . The service was excellent and my beer battered fish and chips was lush. Thanks for a lovely meal.

Really good atmosphere , the food was excellent and the service was too. Keep it up.

First time there very impressed with everything and it is pet friendly which was a bonus

Food wasn't up to much had to send the dessert back very bland and just came out of the microwave and cold inside the cherry pie food is too expensive for what your dished up very disappointed

I've visited twice on my own recently as I was working in the area. On both occasions I was greeted in a very friendly and welcoming manner. The lunch was very tasty and the service very good. Will definitely return to this lovely pub in a gorgeous setting

What a difference to go somewhere where the customers service and experience is clearly at the heart of this restaurant. We loved it here. Thank you to all the FoH staff and the kitchen too! Wake up everyone else 🙏👍

Lovely freshly cooked food. Had a really nice afternoon here with friends. I'd advise booking as its popular and dog friendly too.

Fantastic food. Very busy so recommend booking.

We had a lovely lunch here today. Good service, food plentiful. Only improvement id say is play music as everyones conversations can be heard. Will be back

Ate at the Jolly Sailor the other evening, ordered the scampi and chips and it was dreadful. The chips were hard and dry, the scampi undercooked and watery. The waitress didn't even ask when collecting our plates whether everything was OK, I assume she realised it wasn't as all our plates were returned mostly uneaten. Very disappointing experience, so won't be returning.

Had a lively lunch today. The best mussels I have had for a long time . The staff were friendly and I was pleased that they could provide gluten free chips and a lovely roll. Despite it being very busy and there being 6 if us, the food arrived very quickly . I am planning a return visit very soon.

Fish and chips are very good, friendly welcoming staff, very nice lunch we had.