The Old Walnut Tree in Southend-on-Sea

I attended a wake for a dear friend at The Old Walnut Tree yesterday. I felt compelled to write a review reflecting the outstanding efforts that the manager Dean, his wife, and their team went to, in making our experience so fulfilling. From the moment we arrived Dean ensured that the whole funeral gathering were served drinks swiftly and made comfortable in a designated area. The attention to detail was quiet amazing. The deceased, John Smith, was a daily visitor to the pub and always sat in the same seat and Dean had ensured that the funeral gathering was in this very area. Most notably, Dean and his wife had taken the trouble of framing a lovely photograph of John and installed it on the wall above John's regular seat as a permanent reminder of John. I could tell you about the excellent buffet laid out or the fantastic service received at the bar during the day but my abiding memory will be that Dean and his wife have gone above and beyond to permanently honour not just a loyal customer but also a friend and for that alone they need to be commended wholeheartedly.

Really good value for money very noce and clean. Staff r amazing

Went in for a few drinks and got a portion of chips. Service for bringing food was slow. Drinks service was good.

Quick food and good value for money. Great to watch football.

Great choice of food and nice and open so you don't feel crowded. Friendly staff

Haven’t visited Southend for a while but popped in here to meet an old friend, pub seems nice enough but have just been spanked with a parking ticket for £100 for the privilege! Hopefully someone from the pub can address this for me and I can upgrade my rating to 5 stars as we enjoyed our visit. Look forward to hearing from you walnut tree so we can come to a resolution.

As usual, a pleasant lunch served by cheerful welcoming staff. Our choice of meals were delicious, reasonably priced and promptly delivered, just what l needed, thankyou!

Quiet monday evening. Nicely cooked steak & good service.

Looking for good quality food try this place

Charalena and Adam were brilliant as always

Really great pub, a true 'local' where you can meet up with friends and make new friends. Been coming here for years and got to know the guys that work here. Luke is 100%, great guy! Candice, Charlena & Kylie look after you to, great service and always made to feel welcome. Great for the sports they show too, well done Greene King. Whether it's just a few drinks or a meal it's a nice relaxed atmosphere. Good value, great menu choice and kids offering too, very family friendly. Bonus material! They also host regular entertainment such as live music, karaoke and quiz nights. Give it a go!

Great service as usual, steak was lovely!! Shout out to Candice, Kylie and Luke always lovely to see them behind the bar. Will be back again soon

Great food and very reasonably priced

Not the first time I have been to this pub but always return as the food and service are always first class. Not possible to complain about anything for sure. Served today AGAIN by the delightful Giedre who always welcomes us with a smile and a few nice words. Will be back for sure.

Had a lovely lunch in here today, food was delicious and service was great. Highly recommend and I’m really looking forward to going back!!

We had a lovely lunch served by the wonderful Chantella. Cheeseburger and fries cooked to perfection.

Great service from Charlena always happy and will always put herself out to help customers

Decent pub. Good food and very good prices on beer and alcohol. Definitely visit again. Large beer garden which is perfect for kids that need to run around. Charlena seems very nice and is very helpful also

Waited a long time for the Christmas meal.Veg was undercooked and the cauliflower was just stumps., wasn't enough gravy which was congealed and the roast potatoes were overdone. Stuffing was hard and only one pig in a blanket and the blanket ( bacon) was burnt.

Our fascination for British burgers continues, we decided to give another try at old walnut tree since they had a BOGOF burger deal. We ordered friend chicken burger and it was really amazing. Much better than the experience we had last time. The chicken was nice and crispy and came in soft buns The place has an excellent ambience and the burger was priced at less than a fiver after the deal. Overall a great experience 🤩🤩

A really nice place to visit and the food was really tasty. Our food was ordered by a QR code and was delivered to the table quite soon after. It was a busy evening and noisy so conversation was limited. I would definitely go back there again as I enjoyed my hunters chicken meal and the prices were reasonable and you can use a bluelight card if you have one.

Went here for lunch. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Food was good and reasonably priced.

Food was lovely, well cooked and all came out together (we had a table of 5) I ordered on the app, as the bar was very busy. Service was good. Table wasn't wiped properly and sat down to find a little food still left from the previous people. It got pretty busy whilst we were there, so it was pretty loud and bustling, but this can also be seen as a good thing as clearly a popular pub. No complaints really. I'd certainly go back as they are reasonably priced and food was lovely!

Great friends meeting place, plenty of tables inside and out. Nice drinks served by friendly staff. Great selection, my behind burger was delicious and asking to swap chips for a jacket potato was not a problem. Steak and curry dishes all enjoyed by the group. We had an pleasant evening eating and drinking in this establishment.

Lovely slow cooked 7 hour beef with vegetables and gravy lovely serves & great atmosphere. With a really nice toffee cheese cake and ice cream.

Food was excellent and come out quick Very nice food and team work Excellent customer service all staff was friendly dean you have a good team there

Went for every game of the Euros atmosphere was superb loved it apart from the ending of course

Was a good afternoon out. Lunch was nice, good portion size. Would go again.

We went as it opened, so there was a peaceful atmosphere. The food was nice and convenient the mushrooms were lovely - we both had the breakfasts. The lady who served us was lovely, and helpful. There were no GF options so I just removed the hash browns.

Very bad customer service the man that served us was very abrupt and rude and make my family and I feel very uncomfortable should not be working in customer service with this attitude towards customers. We ordered lunch and the all day breakfast that came with toast was told that they had no butter so was given dry toast also we ordered coffees also was told they had no coffee not a good experience

Tables are dirty & sticky, the food was like warm my son's gamon was cremated on the mixed grill. If you want the kofta make sure you ask for the flat bread as well or I it doesn't come with it. Over all Maccas would have been cleaner and better food!!

Visited recently for a family/friendship reunion. I advised it was a good place to eat as lots of seating. The staff were kind enough to let us merge two tables to accommodate 6 people. We all got drinks and ordered food which all came in good time from polite, attentive staff. All meals were enjoyed. I had a double beef BBQ burger thing with chips, a lasagne was ordered along with fish and chips and pie and chips. My partner said the hunters chicken was a bit average and not as good as previous. The men's toilets seemed to have fixed one sink to be able to wash hands now, the other didn't work at all. No hand soap in there as usual. I still bring handgel with me here because I already know, lol. It's a wonder no men seem to mind a lack of basic hygiene. Filthy geezers. However, good times and decent food was had by all. Staff seemed a bit busy and seemed a bit overstretched for monday eve.

I attend the walnut tree today, had excellent service from Adam and Charlena, would like to say it was a pleasant experience. Will be returning again soon.well done to charlena and Adam on excellent customer service. Many thanks mark.

Only came in for some beers and I have had food before and its always good... kylie is amazing and very friendly and approachable... lovely smile and good t chat with... a credit to this place

Always excellent value for money & wonderful hard working staff who are a credit to Dean the landlord. Special mention to Charlena, always friendly & professional. All the staff do their best in this often very busy & popular pub. Food is great, especially the steaks & burgers & Sunday roast is not half bad too! Plenty of choice for children too’

Lovely food and friendly staff especially Charlena nothing is too much trouble alway there to help. Always look forward to our Friday evening visit.

Fantastic atmosphere watching football - good food & great service. Thank u Charlina for sirting out a table with great view & all the team are so friendly & helpful

Very enjoyable comfortable environment

Had a great experience! Food was hot and delicious, shout out to Candice who helped us with making a booking. Will def be back very soon

Been regulars here for a few years but it seems to be being neglected had chicken platter that they had forgotten about 45 min wait when the food came out it was burnt tho the manager did appoligise and sorted it out on another visit ordered roast dinners not only had they run out of turkey pigs in blankets but yorkshire puddings with no substitutes .its sad really as the staff are excellent and friendly

Steak and Ale pie was delicious. The gravy exceptional

Awful, ignored at the bar initially, staff more interested in speaking to each other than serving a new face, prioritising regulars. A particularly passive aggressive bar maid up front put App order on the side and left it there for over 20 minutes. Had to go and enquire, either this was deliberate or just not very good at their job? Don’t waste your hard earned cash here, I can highly recommend The Meadow Lark, polar opposite, staff cannot do enough for you and make you feel welcomed.

Good food, but was a long wait for it to arrive. It didn't seem over crowded, so must have been short staffed. Shame. However, would return as Thursday is BOGOF on classic burgers meals.

We came for a family Sunday lunch. We were to late for the rib roast it was all sold out. We also had a problem that meals had somehow not been logged ie missing. A first response was that it was a mistake made by the person ordering. We were told at first that those with their missing meals would have to wait as there were numerous tickets in front of them (being a new order). This was sorted out at the bar quickly as a miscommunication. Yet extra items on the bill were missing when the table had already been served. Apologies were not forthcoming till the end of the meal. The men’s were unpleasant due to the pungent urine odour. The women’s toilets had not been checked or cleaned at 15.30 - lots of tissue littering the floor and no soap available. Toilets needed attention/cleaning up. General wear and tear is showing on furniture. Cleanliness is ok but we had a sticky table. I had the traditional beef roast - I am not a fan. I left a lot of it untouched. Not great.

Had a nice dinner don't wait long my friends had starters and dinner waiting for my pudding about 15 minutes in the end I went to the bar asked for my pudding my friends went home people that was after me was having dinners and pudding waited about 10 minutes in the end I told the waitress not to bother with my pudding and walked out

I was very surprised by this place. Have seen it but never been inside, but I was pleasantly surprised. The food is basic pub grub, but for the prices charged, especially the senior meals, it is really good value.

Nice clean pleasant surroundings

Has a gift card to use so as we hadn’t been to the pub since it changed its name ( we will always refer to it as the Horse) thought we’d try lunch. Extensive menu of which we opted for the 2 mains for £12.99. Scampi & Chips and Steak Pie with Mash. Both generous portions. Good service. Traditional pub decoration & seating. Good value

This pub is a gem! Good beer great food! What more can you ask! Very good pricing too. We as a family really like the old walnut tree, in the summer it has a lovely beer garden too and children’s playground… loads of parking too just all around positives!

Have had a few meals in here lovely and very good prices gonna try the Sunday roast hopefully, it’s great on a Thursday for quiz night we have such a laugh Welldone to them for everything they do it’s hard work behind a bar people tend to think it’s easy it’s not looking forward to Thursday xx

Food good, ale selection not too shabby either. However, even by pub loo standards the toilets here are grim, almost too grim to mention but given it's a review, it's best to say. Shame as it brings my overall rating down to just ok, from previously 'i liked it'.

Nice lunch meet up, food good and reasonably priced, plates could have been cleared sooner but apart from that all good. Special offers on too and good size portions.

Brilliant food! And the allergy app was amazing, it was very easy to figure out what i could and couldn’t eat being gluten and lactose intolerant and our server Charlene

Considering our party of 11 had not booked ahead, the manager managed to fit us in an already busy day. (Good Friday). The food was excellent and very good value. Our waitress, Charlina, was extremely efficient and friendly. Very happy & will return.

All of the food was cooked very well and tasted very nice. Very reasonable priced. I personally ordered the mixed grilled XL skillet. The gammon for me was the highlight, it was cooked to perfection and tasted amazing. We were in a group of 11. Food came out near enough at the same time. Service was very good.

This is a pub that has sold it's car park to the car parking dinosaur "europarks", and therefore you will get a parking fine if you don't log in when you arrive. On top of that, the signage is poor - especially at night and if you enter via the entrance at the front. So be aware! I personally (and my friends) will not be giving this pub another visit due to this, and will go to pubs who can provide a proper car park for their customers.

Got over cooked steak not a big deal can get new one! As I come here every week But I got chef who twice tried argue it! Once coming to table saying only half steak over cooked other half not I should except it. Brain dead customer service right there! Turned a weekly customer not want come again.

Great place. Amazing value for money.

We came here as a family of 12. Was seated straight away and ordered through the app. The drinks came out promptly and so did the food. The food was really nice and the service was brilliant. The waitress Charlena couldn’t of done more and made our meal really enjoyable. Would definitely recommend

Some of our starters come out before others and sharlina chased up our order. She was a very lovely lady and made sure we were happy with our food and we had got everything we ordered.Food was lovely as always!

Booked a table for 6.30pm, arrived on time and ordered through the App. Starters arrived in a reasonable time however,,,,, nearly 50 minutes between the starters and the main course. When they arrived the food was lukewarm, the steak (which was ordered 'well done') was pink in the middle and tasteless. The crust on the Steak and Ale pie had been microwaved too long and was like concrete. Puddings were very nice. All in all, a disappointing evening and it will be a while before we think about returning.

Made a booking for Mother’s Day, online, booking had been confirmed, however, the restaurant called to say that they are fully booked. Highly disappointed.

Made a booking for Mother’s Day, online, booking had been confirmed, however, the restaurant called to say that they are fully booked. Highly disappointed.

Booked a family dinner for mother's day. Then at 9.30pm get a text to cancel as they overbooked. Why take the booking if they were already booked

Wowowowowoowowowoowowowowowoowoowowowowowowowo Don’t get pubs like this anymore the perfect place to unwind after a hard the staff my gosh just outstanding what a place what a man DEAN single handily has saved essex

Love coming here everything is spot on. Dean the manager is great and so is the team. Can’t wait for the euros. Food is great the 9oz ribeye always cooked to perfection and Madri always tastes great.

It is a generic pub. Wide selection of generic drinks but mainly lager on tap. Place was clean and warm. The place is very large and the emptiness of some areas of the pub made it lose atmosphere. The area that had people seemed to mainly have some interesting characters that wanted to wanted to sell me drugs of differing varieties. Outside some teenagers were smoking hash. The food seemed to be mainly burgers and chips. In summary it seemed a typical Southend generic pub

Good pub grub for a reasonable price. Nice local pub, regular here :-)

Too loud, kitchen closes early.

First time in there found it good prices food was good to we liked it I will be going back good value for money ⚘

The food was reasonable, two of us ordered mac'n'cheese, when they finally arrived they looked totally different one looked like it had been dropped and scraped back and was a mess. The other looked nice and smooth with a slightly browned cheese hoping, I did send the messy one back. They were delicious. They seemed busy and we waited around an hour for food, I heard another table ask how much longer

Not been here for some time,well since the name change/refurb, Food was nice and well priced,staff were friendly and attentive,will definitely be back soon

Visiting family and decided to go here Food was excellent. Definitely visit again . Will reccomend it to my friends if they are visiting Southend

The pub is fine, nice staff, good food and friendly service. Their car park is managed by Euro Car Parks. Do not park in their car park without registering your number plate or could get a £170 fine.

Absolutely beautiful Roast Dinner...enjoyed every minute we were there.

Food was good hot and frash good service staff were realy good good selection on the menue will visit again

You can play darts and pool/snooker here over 18. Very nice food especially the curly fries and burgers. Can watch football, snooker, darts and golf here when it is on. Good seating arrangements and good area.

13 of us booked for Christmas Day lunch. All of us was very impressed with the food, staff and atmosphere.. Food was lovely, you couldn’t fault the portion sizes. Turkey, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, cauliflower cheese, carrots, Brussels, parsnips and a large Yorkshire pudding. Table was decorated lovely with crackers, streamers and party poppers. I must say Christmas lunch was well worth the money. Thank you.

We had a fabulous Christmas day Lunch, food was amazing and so much of it. Staff were welcoming and it had a lovely atmosphere.

Had a superb Christmas dinner here today. The food was excellent (and lots of it!) and all the staff were great. Thanks to all for a brilliant time, and especially to manager Dean for my amazing surprise gift!

My starter of prawn cocktail was tasty but the portion was very small, burger and chips was good, the chocolate, orange cake was disappointing, it was very cold, which spoiled the taste. I also as a group, we all received our food at different times.

Three of us had booked for a 2 course pre Christmas festive lunch. Our table was beautifully prepared with table centre, festive napkins and Christmas crackers. Starters of cauliflower cheese croquet and prawn cocktail were very tasty. But WOW, when our main course arrived it looked wonderful, and was served on lovely hot plates (with a reminder from the server about minding the heat!) We had very generous portions of turkey, wonderfully crispy roasties and parsnips, with cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and brussel sprouts, all cooked perfectly with a lovely Yorkshire pud and gravy. We all agreed that it was one of the very best roast meals we'd ever had, and just to note that we have between us 232 years of tasting experience! Thank you Old Waltnut Tree.

Wings were over done with hardly any jack danels glaze, the steak was cooked to my preference but had to add a fair bit of seasoning myself even though the menu said would be seasoned well, and tables weren't being cleared fast enough that desserts came and plates were still left on our table so I had to clear it myself apart from that the amotspere was polite well lit and had a cosy feel

We’ve eaten here several times, nice atmosphere, staff are efficient, friendly and helpful, so we decided to go here for an early Christmas meal. The table was nicely done, table runner, crackers etc., one of us had prawn cocktail, three had soup all of which was lovely. The vegetarian roast was apparently nice and had a gravy boat with it. The roast was less than mediocre, two very thin slices of Turkey that tasted of plastic, veg was raw, Yorkshire pudding was ok, stuffing was over cooked, no cranberry sauce, and a couple of tablespoons of tasteless watery gravy. Most of it was left. We all had rum and raisin sticky toffee pudding with custard, it was inedible, we couldn’t get a spoon through it, in fact we even tried with a knife and fork but it was solid. We made our feelings known, but the chef didn’t come out, nor were were offered any kind of discount. I wouldn’t recommend it.

Had a excellent and polite waitress sharline was so helpful for my daughters 20th birthday meal there was a lot of us and she still had a smile and was great to us all thank you so much will definitely eat there again .

My dad visited with one of his friends, he asked a member of staff (young lady) if it was waitress service to which she replied no it isn't but you could order at the bar or use the app to which said waitress said 'mind you you'll probably struggle with the app'. I find the highly unprofessional and showing lack of empathy to the elder guests. Going forward maybe help can be offered to elder guests and not to be spoken to like that. My dad was quite shocked how he was spoken to. He definitely won't be returning anytime soon

I didnt eat but the service and decor was superb. Will definitely be back to try the food soon

My husband and I went in for dinner, on the off chance - got a table immediately! The staff were very friendly and the food was amazing. We both had steak as our mains, then for dessert one Chocolate Trio Bar and one Epic Choctastic Sundae DELICIOUS!

We pre booked 2 tables so 12 went to celebrate 2 of our daughters birthdays, it wasn't overly busy so sat down after ordering our food, all ordered at same time so we could all sit and enjoy our meal together. The food was coming out in dribs and drabs some people even finished before other people had even received their meal, asked staff several times about where our meal was, my husband and I both ordered fish and chips and when we received it it look lovely, golden crispy batter and absolutely raw inside, I have never complained about a meal ever but this was proper raw anyway we asked nicely for a replacement and 15 mins later we got fish and chips only this time the batter was very dark brown and overcooked so I gave up, I felt sorry for the waiters and waitresses as this was not their fault, the children wanted desserts but this wasn't happening as it took so long for the food to come out I wasn't prepared to do this all over again.I have always enjoyed going out for a meal but this time was not one I want to repeat in a hurry.

Fantastic food as always. Love my local

The food was really nice except the wait at the bar whilst they served their favorite customers before us waited 15 minutes to be told quite aggressively that the desserts were out, serious staff meeting needed because we won't come back which is a shame because food was good value

Frist time there, lovely people lovely food 😍

Great pub, even better prices, and warm friendly welcome. Suspect my pint came from the bottom of the barrel, but it happens to someone every barrel, bit like Russian Roulette, and this was my turn. Would be churlish to let it change my opinion of the place.

Myself and my friend visited the walnut tree for a meal and drink this evening we was served by Luke who was very nice and polite gave us another option off lager as they did not sell Budweiser he offered us a small taste of another lager which was very nice of him to do, food was amazing and service was good too

Been loads of times. Good prices, good food 👌 no problems from me 🤟🏻

Very disappointed from group of ladies out for lunch one member unable to get zero alcohol wine only offered zero lager no smirrnof vodka ordered four meals two served had to wait for other two. garden area to side of building broken tables and chairs unkept tables under large tree birds mess the interior is shabby .will not be visiting again

Really lovely and helpful staff,, the people really enjoyed the food Just want a huge Thank you to all staff especially the woman for being so accommodating for our group

Great food great atmosphere. Clean and has lots of space.

Came in for a spot of lunch on a Sunday. We called ahead to book but was told no need. It was too hot to sit comfortably outside, but we managed to secure a table inside by the window with a nice breeze. We ordered a sharing platter which was absolutely delightful! We also got a jug of Pina colada which was very tasty. Would 100% recommend eating here!

This local is fortunately dog friendly so we headed down for the opening game of the premier league season. Started on beer but it wasn’t great so husband and I shared a bottle of wine which was much better. Had a slight run in with a rude customer at the bar who is lucky my husband isn’t as volatile as I’d imagine some of the locals can be, but disappointed that a customer can call another customer the C Bomb out of nowhere and still get served as opposed to ejected. But still. Good value, staff friendly, venue quite clean.