The Mighty Oak Tap Room in Maldon

Great restaurant for lunches.. varied menu of traditional meals.. really good value.

Absolutely lovely Sunday roast with a proper gluten free option with all works! Was fab to have a gluten free Yorkshire and proper gravy. Felt like a proper home cooked lunch

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.

Called in for a quick pint after work.

We turned up on 12 motorcycles this morning which was probably not very helpful. We almost filled the seating capacity. We were welcomed and the service was spot on. The food arrived faster than I expected and the quality was excellent. A proper decent cafe with the bonus of an excellent range of baked goods, cakes etc. Not one of those fluffed-up and overpriced places you tend to find nowadays. Will definitely be visiting again but we will give the owners a heads up before turning up mob-handed.