The Locomotive in Braintree

A very disappointing visit, despite the efforts of our friendly and accommodating waitress. In the past I've had a few lovely meals and buffets in this venue, but have since moved away. Yesterday met up with my sister and the two of us were very disappointed at the menu choices. We ordered starter and main, only noticing afterwards the huge specials board sitting in the fireplace right next to us. My sister enjoyed her prawn cocktail. My tired looking whitebait was just about OK served on a bed of dry shredded lettuce, no dressing and no dip, just a small wedge of lemon. Mains of scampi and a burger (served without bun as requested) were very mediocre. I had a pud , rhubarb crumble with custard and ice cream, and that was DELICIOUS! I don't recall ever using the loos here on previous visits, but my goodness they are pretty awful and in dire need of upgrading.

Really nice pub.bit old and dated but that adds to character and charm. I went for a wake, the food was plentiful and nice selection(could possibly have a bit more for vegetarians) bar service was excellent

Call in here today for the Works breakfast we all had the big breakfast which is two bacon two sausage beans mushrooms two slices of toast two fried eggs we all had a cup of coffee excellent value for money at 8 pound

Excellent food at a reasonable price

1st time. Just popped in before going to a show. Very friendly and loved it. Can't wait to back and try the food.

Great food. Great service 👏 Nice price

Very nice roast dinner. We've been here twice now. Good old traditional pub not too many about nowadays!

We booked for Sunday lunch and we were overwhelmed by the generous portions, the freashness of the vegetables and the roast beef was as tender as fillet steak. The lamb was succulent and plentiful. Having had a prawn cocktail to start, sadly there was no room for a dessert unfortunately. The restaurant was as clean as a new pin! The prices are very resonable too. We wish that we lived a lot closer. We will definately return.

Quite Saturday night , on no Ale on tap

Very good food and friendly staff, good service 👍

Had lunch here today with a group of 15 adults with mild learning difficulties, as always food was very good and served well In its presentation nothing not to like, all at a very good price. Thank you once again, hope to Be back soon.

Great food warm and friendly 😋 Great breakfast

Nice friendly little pub ideally located for the empire theatre

Love this pub, always great food at a great price

We have eaten at the Locomotive a few timesnow. The food is always delicious, well presented and really well priced. The staff are always welcoming and attentive. Thoroughly recommended.

My first time in the area was greeted by a lovely dog as I walked in, dog-friendly pubs are my thing really old school it's shame other pubs are not like this, bar staff Imogen was very welcoming and friendly and professional prices are great this is my local for the week I'm here.

First visit will be going back nice homely pub 😊

Went here today for lunch before going to the cinema up the road. Food is very good and at a very good price, plenty to choose from and same with drinks on offer. Well worth a visit.

Lovely food Traditional pub atmosphere

When there today as a group of 13 adults with mixed abilities. Staff very helpful and friendly. Food was pre ordered due to the size of our group all arrived together with no mistakes and everyone enjoyed there food. Hats of to the kitchen staff that’s not easy to do when we all had something different. Nice pub with a good selection on offer well worth a visit.

Not as far down the road as the map suggests

Cracking Sunday roasts ✅ - 5*****

Nice little pub, public carpark opposite. It has a small open fire and the food is good. Sunday roast was the best in town in our view. Plenty of veg, good roasties and quality meat. Very nice and traditional and popular with the oldies as great value. Would recommend

Neutral post. Not open yesterday 11/1/22 at 8pm. Looked online says closes at 3, lol. I understand it says due to covid n stuff but when you've been closed for so much time by the government you think you'd want to be open. Went The Bull.

Very nice pub very nice staff Eating area is very nice all round very nice place

Came from Scarborough and pulled up just outside near a parking spot and saw this pub straight away Had breakfast in the morning and it was lovely, great polite staff, fantastic service. Great work can’t say any more just I’m as full as a rolly polly pudden :)

Really friendly, helpful landlady, Gorgeous tasty food

Went here for a quick pint and a burger and chips. It was a fantastic old pub. The staff were extremely friendly and welcoming and felt like a real local old school pub. The burger was really tasty too. If I'm back in the area, I'll definitely stop by for food and drink again.

Nice staff, great pub grub and at a very reasonable price. We shall return.

First impression is of a traditional local boozer. However, the atmosphere is friendly and the guv'nor is very welcoming and humerous. The small bar belies the size of the restaurant which goes all the way round the back. Very extensive menu('s) and the food was good and very reasonably priced.

A small, friendly local pub with character. The draught Ridley’s bitter was excellent, with a range of lagers, keg beers and ciders to cover a wide range of tastes. The lunch time menu includes an all day breakfast ( which was very good) and a range of light bites, etc. a special’s menu for those with a larger appetite. The food is wholesome and good value. As a group of walkers we visit many pubs throughout north Essex and Suffolk, this is a pub our walking group will be visiting again and happy to recommend to others.

The food is fantastic, the service is professional and friendly, the atmosphere is welcoming and relaxed, the prices are low, all in a traditional pub setting with a great range of drinks. Always take visiting family for meals and they're always super impressed, wouldn't go anywhere else in town now.

A true local pub, lively and good beer.

This is a superb eating place with home-cooked food and plenty of it served on hot plates. The prices are very reasonable - a large main for £7.50 - tell me where else you can find this! Mick the barman is a gem and always makes you welcome. We shall soon have our Christmas lunch here and know that it will be fantastic, just like last year. If you have not yet been here you have not lived!!

Nice pub but very cold. Time light the fire

Good evening with love entertainment, great time and good people.

Excellent Sunday lunch.good service, good atmosphere.will certainly go again

Sunday lunches are great and good value. Nice, well located pub with a decent choice of beers.

Great Sunday lunch and good selection of beers.

Meals very good desserts great.

Great place to eat , proper pub food

A lovely meal, well cooked and servedvery professionally. I hace never had cause to complain here.

Had a lovely Sunday Roast today. Food was delicious and staff very efficient and friendly.

Googled restaurants near my parents for Fathers Day lunch and this came up with 4.5 out of 5. Very disappointing. The menu was very confusing, breakfast items jumbled up with burgers, sandwiches and other stuff, so unclear what we could order. There had been a special board outside but this wasn't indicated at the table so we had to ask for it. Tow of us had haddock and chips - it was just a frozen battered haddock from a supermarket!!!! My dad had curry which tasted suspiciously like some curry sauce granules I used to have in the cupboard and was the same texture as instant sauce. There was a big selection of desserts listed but as we anticipated they would be bought-in and microwaved with a packet of instant custard we gave it a miss! I would not go back and cant recommend this on the food we had.

This is a very nice characteristic pub a couple of things that need improving but did well for serving for a get together after funeral with many people and served some quite nice food..👍

Very friendly local, very clean good beer nice helpful landlord. ., not a youngsters pub i would say.. .. this was my first visit and only had a couple of ales this time, but i will go back and have a meal as i understand the food is very good.

Good food. Lovely atmosphere. Great local pub.

Nice place to spend the day and chilling

I went there with three friends for Sunday lunch, it was really good, & our waitress was very helpful. Would go back again.

Warm, friendly atmosphere. Just one real ale on offer though, when I visited.

We've eaten here several times with a group of friends and recently had a Christmas lunch. The variety and quality was excellent and we would have no hesitation in going again.

Out with 'the girls' last night. Excellent meal prompt service and we had a lovely time. The staff are always pleasant and the chefs are happy to accommodate dietary requirements if you let them know in advance. Their Christmas menu is quite varied and very reasonably priced. If you want 'masterchef' 'type food then you probably wouldn't choose here but i expect they could do it if you asked.

Excellent grown up night out but also so very lovely to my children (under fives) Always pleasant and friendly.... a great at atmosphere. Superb restaurant, speedy service with a smile and excellent produce... Our family kinda like this place!

Had a meal before football. It was good pub food, a bit expensive for quality I found. Drinks a reasonable price. Overall a good pub. 4/5 Stars

Bit of a spit and sawdust pub very small and not very clean think I'll give this one a miss in the future

I had a great meal here last night ... It was a group outing of about 20 plus people...the tables were all set out beautifully and the service was excellent such nice people the staff.... And the food was amazing .... My Steak Bernaise was cooked to perfection and the home made liver Patè was really tasty all in all a great meal :-)

Great service, very cheap and food is lovely

Really friendly, lovely staff and a great place to be.

Nice place to hang out with friends enjoy karaoke and supposedly good food, friendly staff nice atmosphere, also good prices.

We visited the Locomotive pub for a meal to celebrate a friends birthday, it was a nice meal and we enjoyed it, a good choice, we wish they cleared away plates and bowls a lot quicker instead of still having them on the table for a while.

Very good food, lots of choices, l

Best pub, food amazing, great atmosphere, great live music.bar staff 5*

Good wine, good beer, great simple food, warm and welcoming. Excellent prices all round, we've been there twice to date, and we are planning an evening meal there very soon. On a very cold and snowy day, there were two roaring coal fires, a lovely mix of elderly and young people, lovely 'English Pub' atmosphere, parking directly over the road.....absolutely love the place......

We went to Sunday lunch.I have never seen so much food we could not eat all it but the quality was superb and the waiter was very efficient and friendly. Will be going back for more

Returned here for lunch after moving away 4 years ago. The pub itself is shabby and a bit run down, but the food is always excellent, flavourful and beautifully cooked. I have eaten here several times over lunch, dinner and at special event buffets with friends and family and everyone has always been impressed with the food. Excellent value.

A good old fashioned pub Who do the best coked breakfast in town!!

Amazing pub, great food, great drink and fabulous entertainment! Highly recommend for a fantastic night out

What a lovely welcoming pub great food great landlords great entertainment made to feel extremely welcome landlords been there 25 yrs says it all

Great welcome on arrival. Good Christmas atmosphere. Good choice of menu. Food excellent. Food was hot and served on hot plates. Plenty of vegetables.

Great value and very friendly 👍

The food.is awesome, the staff are awesome and the atmosphere is awesome. Great.luttle pub. 👍

Been here before as it's the nearest pub/restaurant to our home only 5 minutes walk away, very friendly and sociable staff, food was freshly prepared and cooked and was faultless, vegetables came out on a seperate lidded stainless steel dish which sat on a candle heated hot plate on our table, never seen this before at an eatery very nice touch which meant you could take a small portion at a time if you wish and remainder will remain hot. Very Good sevice and food was very good value for what they charge and the menu quite extensive, catering for everyone's needs and I can't recommend the locomotive enough for a couple or a large group of you, just make sure you book a table before arriving.

I have been here quite a few times for lunch and evening meal also breakfast. The quality of the food is superb. Freshly made food. A good selection to choose from. Reasonable prices.

Local pub with really delicious food

Thank you Mo and all the staff of the Locomotive pub

La locomotora parece bastante simple desde el exterior, pero tiene una joya de restaurante dentro. Mi esposa y yo recientemente tuvimos el almuerzo de domingo y sería difícil mejorar lo que teníamos. Nuestro asado era abundante y tuvimos una maravillosa selección de verduras. No tuvimos que esperar mucho y toda la comida estaba caliente. Los postres eran principalmente buena comida inglesa tradicional y en porciones generosas. Mi felicitación al personal en una comida de lo más agradable, que también era muy buena relación calidad-precio. Volveremos.

Mi hijo y yo visitamos aquí esta mañana para el desayuno,

Las comidas pub son increíbles y de primera calidad. Nunca tuve una queja cuando comiendo allí, y el personal encantador.

Mi marido y yo hemos vivido en Halstead por 2 años y este era el único lugar que aún tenía que visitar para la cena. Desde el exterior se parece más a un pub rinkers", sin embargo, si vas a la parte de atrás hasta el restaurante es bastante agradable. El paté era bastante sencilla, sin embargo el bistec Diane era realmente delicioso, mucho mejor que platos similares en restaurantes italianos mucho más caros. El chef nos prepararon puré a petición y estaba crujiente y experimentado, no me puedo quejar los platos principales en todo y sin duda volveremos de nuevo. Usted siempre sabe que es un buen plato cuando puedes probar un mes!

Fuimos allí para una comida de 3 platos de Navidad @ £19,50 . Para empezar el paté era una masa fabricados con cometí barata con algún valor pan frío pre-rositas de supermercado y ensalada no comestible. La principal estaba destinado a ser un 12 horas lento carne cocinada plato (bastante difícil de desastre! ), sin embargo, parecía ser más como casta colega se calentó; la selección de verduras consistía de zanahorias o coles de Bruselas, siendo una Navidad comida yo esperaba para algunos asado patatas. Postre no hay nada mejor con una enfermizo de pastel de chocolate en líquido blanco. En general, la comida era un timo completa y mucho peor que los establecimientos de la cadena, tales como Weatherpoons. Me hubiera gustado haber tomado algunas fotos de los platos ya que realmente tenía que ser vistas para ser creídas.

The best full English breakfast I have eaten for a long while served in the domestic simplicity of an old world public house with excellent public car parking facilities opposite. We visited on what must have been the coldest day of the year and a blazing fire was in the grate of what I can only refer to as the "Snug". Nothing was too much trouble for the staff who made us thoroughly welcome. Not many places like this left. You should visit before they vanish for ever.

I don't visit 'The Locomotive' very often, yet I don't know why. It doesn't look like much from the street but once inside it has a certain old world charm and warmth. The menu is extensive and surprisingly good. My most recent visit was with a large funeral party and the meal was served as a cold buffet, but that was just right and satisfied every taste. There were assorted sandwiches, savoury pastries, salmon, sausages and cold cuts followed by cakes and old-fashioned trifles. Since it is a pub, all drinks are available, including tea and coffee.

We have eaten here several times and never had a bad meal. Every time it is superb, beautifully fresh and extremely well cooked. Yesterday we sampled the soup for the first time and it was just lovely. The flavours are superb and the amount of vegetables in it is incredible. Be warned though, this soup is filling so could easily be a meal on its own!! Portion sizes here are very large, so bring an appetite to match! Value for money is probably the best in Halstead and the surrounding areas. We eat out several times a week, but specifically go to the Locomotive when we are in the area as the taste, quality, and value for money are exceptional. Highly recommended indeed.

Generous portions for a typical pub lunch. I have previously had an evening meal here which was selected from a good choice of menu. The sizzlers are a specialty.

This is the second time that we have been to The Locomotive. This time we had the mid week roast dinner which was plentiful, well cooked & very good value.Ok the food is a basic pub grub but it really can’t be faulted and the service is excellent too.The pub is small (but perfectly formed) and so at busier times it might be worth reserving a table, but is well worth the visit for large portions of well cooked food.

If you are looking for well cooked food using fresh ingredients then this is the place to go. The food is amazing, and the price is jaw dropping in a good way. The landlord is welcoming and considerate and there is a good selection of beers and lagers. The Locomotive is a true hidden gem and well worth a visit. We are amazed how such quality (and quantity!!) can be served for such a reasonable price. For us it is hard to choose between the beef and the lamb, they are absolutely wonderful - and plentiful. There is a massive car park opposite so parking isn't an issue - well worth a visit.