The Muddy Duck in Maldon

Nice place for a beer if the weather is ok. We had lunch and honestly, it is not a place to eat

Lovely little pub by the river. Good choice of beers, food looked good, good atmosphere, lovely bar staff.

Friendly staff nice place, definitely worth giving it a try, other customers were friendly too.

My wife and I visited the Muddy duck twice over a weekend trip to Maldon. The first night we ate from their Thai menu, and were disappointed to find that all of the food came in cardboard takeaway containers and had obviously all been microwaved. This was evident from the consistent and universally understood *dinging* sound coming from the kitchen. The price of the food far exceeded what you would expect from a glorified microwaved meal deal. The food itself was also dry and tough to chew. On our second visit, we had attempted to enjoy a few pints from the bar, and whilst the selection of beers and ciders isn’t ‘vast’, there is a fair amount of variety for such a small bar. The staff however, clearly need some additional support or training, as it took an absolute age to get a decent pint poured, meaning being third in a queue could take almost twenty minutes to get to the front of the queue. Overall, would not recommend coming here, unless you’re really passionate about microwaved foods and queuing. I’m not a massive fan of the ‘Wetherspoon’ chain, but the Wetherspoons in town (about 5-10min walk) offers a far superior selection of drinks and you’d probably have a better experience that will cost you less.

lovely historic building having recently undergone extensive renovation - spotlessly clean and expertly decorated - good food, great service from friendly and personable staff and fantastic outside seating area next to the river. Limited parking at rear but nearby retail park offers three hours for free which is just a few minutes walk away. Thai menu of an evening which I’m looking forward to trying next time I’m in Maldon.

Just popped in for a beer as staying in hotel locally. Sitting next to the river in the sun very pleasant

Nice quiet good place and very good prices with friendly staff

We went for a drink to sit in the sun on the river bank and thought we would try out the bbq hut food unfortunately they didn’t have a healthy option on the menu and I was on a strict diet but the guys went above and beyond to make me a heathy no carb option which was really kind of them And it was delicious Thank you so much most places wouldn’t have made something not on the menu real good service 10/10

Not impressed by service. Food was ok. No atmosphere

Just went in for pre drinks fare price nice little place

Popped in here as it looked really lovely and it was a lovely day! The menu online differed to what they had in which was a little disappointing as was hoping for the pie of the day. We opted for the chicken burger and "upgraded" our fries. Well, the meal and the upgrade was completely overpriced for the quality - a cheap burger bun, with a bit of Birds Eye chicken and a mixed leaf salad inside. My smashed burger fries was just some mince, and my partner's katsu chicken fries were chip shop curry sauce with more chicken on the fries than there was in the burger! Not impressed at all with the food!! Staff were friendly and the atmosphere was really nice so would pop in for drinks but never again for food!

Very good day food /music outside seating in sun beside river was best ever

What a wonderful and local feel pub. We went here for goodbye drinks with a colleague and friend who left our place of work. Some of us had food and said it was good. The bar staff were lovely, professional, and knew their stuff. Had a great couple of hours there and would recommend a visit.

Had a lovely pint of Guinness at this lovely Riverside pub. The outside area is lovely though this time it was too cold to sit out. Inside was warm and set out for dining. Menu looked good. Had to move away from background Music 🎶 to try and the quieter part of pub so as to converse.

First time we've been since it has been re-furbished. Lovely pub now - Service was excellent Went for the £19-50p 2 course Sunday Lunch. Great value, food really tasty - except - It needed to be warmer! It wasn't stone cold - but not as hot as I like it - and that included the Dessert of Apple Crumble with custard.

We arrived here and service was so friendly felt like we were fiends for years will certainly go back .

We turned up at 1pm, the restaurant area was empty my party were the only people there, nobody was sat outside either, we were not given a main menu, we were given a snack menu despite being in the main restaurant area, we were then asked to do half the staff’s job for them when we were asked to right down our own order with a pad and pen and hand it in at the bar, by 2 o’clock with no sign of any food we asked what was happening as other people were now sitting outside being served their food, we were told that the chef had only just been given our order, so disappointing as I had high hopes for a nice meal for my mum for Mother’s Day, I will not be going back to this establishment, when we asked what was happening with the order and the chef came out from the kitchen and was more then confrontational, we were the aggrieved party and felt like we were wrong for asking where our food was after waiting for an hour, I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone, we had a child with us as well and we were just completely forgotten about, I found it so unprofessional and we were badly let down, terrible terrible experience.

Brilliant old fashioned pub and I mean that in a complementary sense great value for money..

Lovely location. Nicely decorated, cozy interior

Landlady was vile and aggressive to customers. Underage drinkers running around. Sick in the toilets. Not a nice experience

Warm & friendly ,perfect atmosphere & a great little Christmas market

Not a good experience this time plastic ham hard eggs and the two meals came 10 minutes apart .unacceptable this was today 20/12/23

Sunday lunch was great, food and beer was lovely! The service was wonderful and a young waitress named Maddie was friendly funny and really attentive. Would highly recommend both for food and the staff, 10/10 would eat again.

Had a Sunday dinner which was fantastic all homemade the meat (lamb) and chicken 10 out of 10, we had the most adorable waitress Maddie who couldn’t do enough , the whole staff were brilliant, great service, food lovely experience

Sunday lunch. Lovely good foods Service a bit haphazard but my young server was the best attentive funny and professional maddy was the best part of my dining experience. Chef made a fantastic dinner

Right by the river, what more could you ask for. Drink, food, and river. Hope you enjoy. Highly recommend.

Great atmosphere, dog friendly, good service, beautiful log fire, what's not to like.

Went in for a Sunday fry up, food quality ok, just a bit too greasy for my liking.

Admittedly we arrived when first open on Sunday, when the bar staff hadn’t yet arrived however the beef burrito and lasagne were very disappointing. The Yorkshire pudding and beef of the burrito were fine but the gravy ruined it and I couldn’t finish mine. As for the lasagne it was majority cheese. Beautiful setting but improvement needed.

Enjoyed a light lunch and a pint on a nice sunny day

amazing service! my husband and I were greeted by a charming young lad, who offered us a dog water bowl for our dog, he then brought us over our food and asked if we required anything else which is not that common in pubs nowadays. This was Saturday 16th October, we watched as he went around and collected glasses and took food out to customers whilst smiling and chatting away to us and other customers. It is employees like this that make this place amazing 😌. The Muddy Duck is family friendly and animal friendly! Much Appreciated!

Great place to chat with your dog, by the river fantastic food and service

Nice outside space but the food needs improving. Also they put cheap ketchup in the Heinz bottles… ❌

Great place great location lovely staff

Lovely place along the river banks Music drink food what more could u want

Lovely pub after the refurbishment. Great situation overlooking the River Blackwater.

Sunday lunch was very tasty with perfect cooked vegetables. Only criticism was there was too much gravy on my plate. Would prefer to add this myself. But didn't deter me finishing the roast pork.

Bar area tiny. Needs to be twice the size. Great pub, especially in the summer.

The new owners have completely transformed this pub for the better! Great food with an even better view. A very relaxing place to be in the afternoon. It’s great that they change it up with street food trucks some evenings too with live music 👌

Great atmosphere really good pub

Very nice pub. Great outdoor setting. Lovely beers on tap

So disappointed lunches weren't served mid week

Great pint, lovely friendly service

Fabulous place to visit now thanks to the new owners. The food is great. I had the Sunday roast this time and really enjoyed it. The lamb was delicious and my friends enjoyed their pork and beef. The staff are always very welcoming and efficient. Thanks to all for making this place a pleasure to come to.

We had been there before, it was a Sunday when it was quite busy and the Sunday roast was nice. Not today. We arrived at 3 the kitchen closes at four, it wasn’t that busy ( I have worked in hospitality for 27 years) the food was cold, the bed that came on the side were ok, not piping hot , but they only put a tiny bit of broccoli the rest was beans and cabbage, the potatoes that had been cooked at the beginning of the shift were burnt, the meat was not edible, we ended up giving it to the dogs from the table next door. I am not one for complaining but that was literally throwing money in the bin, they just apologised and nothing else. No we didn’t want to take the food back to be reheated on a microwave (I don’t do microwaves, personal choice) and judging by the way it came up was pointless to have a new plate. At least you arrive early when the kitchen opens my advice, don’t bother.

Hot and noisy but the cold drinks and service was OK-just wish they'd turn the music off!

This pub is my Aunty Sheena’s local and the food was absolutely amazing. My husband and I shared the burger and the chicken burger. Both were so delicious (with the chicken burger slightly more special) and the chips were fabulous. I’d go just to eat a plate of chips! Great drinks and lovely, sunny spot by the river — nice landscaping with the cherry laurel and lavender in planters.

Delicious food that’s reasonably priced! A great environment to relax in. Very happy to see!

The new managers have made a number of improvements, all of which now make a visit to this pub (formerly the Sunny Sailor), much more welcoming and enjoyable. All the staff are friendly, and the food is great. “The best onion rings I have ever tasted” quoted a friend. Dog friendly, plenty of seating outdoors and inside, and live music on occasion. Plus has the sun all day until sunset. So different now , well done to the new managers for getting it right.

Simple yet significant improvements since new ownership have already made this pub much more welcoming. It’s a lovely venue by the riverside, with sun all day long until sunset. Indoors, new tables and both bar areas now open, plus a new food menu make this a go-to pub.

First time visit today since new name and thoroughly enjoyed the beer and bbq food - very friendly atmosphere - looking forward to making it our regular stop now on our walk from Beeliegh Lock - Recommended 👍😋🍺🍔👏