The best restaurants in Althorne Maldon East of England

The bistro does the best Sunday roast. It was superb. Dessert was all made on premises. The service was fantastic. Warm and welcoming. Couldn’t fault it. Will definitely be coming back.

What a lovely little find! We were going to go elsewhere, but Essex Highways decided to close off most of the roads out of the Dengie on the same day and roads out were chaos! We actually live in a nearby village and had seen the signs to Manor House, but had never been. Relaxing decor, wonderful welcome and service. Food was great (recommend the smoked salmon bagel) and didn’t have to wait long. Lovely friendly lasses working there, homemade cakes and bread pudding , clean and welcoming….What’s not to like?

Just had wonderful cappuccino and amazing coffee and walnut cake , this place is so so much better than anywhere else locally , a good selection of food and a friendly atmosphere . Highly recommended , pay them a visit and have cake

Lovely pub. Great service. Food is well priced and tasty.

Once again lovely food with excellent choice and very reasonably priced. The service also could not be better. Well done

Had a Christmass meal with friends at this local pub. Staff very welcoming and food very good. The Christmas menu caters for most needs. We all enjoyed our meals

Excellent service, although small menu covered everything, did have a specials board nothing on there, but we went mid week. All meals freshly prepared and fresh. I did ask for extras which although not on the menu they accommodated. Fantastic food Good atmosphere, has facility for restaurant to be separated from bar area, hope this is done at busy times. Fantastic thank you

Great breakfast. Huge portions !! Nice selections of drinks. Very pleasant place to eat and great for young children. Priced accordingly

Absolutely amazing food. First time visiting after reading the reviews here and we wasn't disappointed. We will definitely be returning. Had the ham, egg and chips and is definitely up there with the best we've ever had. Highly recommend.

I have only had a couple of takeaways, but when I collect the restaurant always have a very nice atmosphere and the staff are friendly. From a food perspective for me the portions are not very generous, and there is not as much meat in the portion as other local Indian restaurants. So if they sorted that I would maybe buy from there more.

Had a hard time finding anything appealing to order, and I'm pretty open-minded with food. Too many mayo-based sauces of all kinds. The server did help ensure I didn't get any of said eggy sauces on a dish, so she was 5-stars. That was balanced out by the bartender who let me just stand there before, during, and after ordering my drinks. It's one of those places where the bartenders either can't or don't make any effort to track the order of customers approaching the bar. She also didn't tell me anything when she gave me my mixed drink but not my water--so I stood there for another 10 minutes only to find that she forgot it (and wasn't just busy and getting around to it). People in customer service: tell your customers what you are doing. Don't just do without confirming you heard your customer, or without saying something brief to wrap up the interaction. Idk, it's a pet peeve of mine when people in customer service don't say anything after you order your drink, or after they give you your order. My socially competent and emotionally intelligent self is left waiting, being polite and presuming the benefit of the doubt that you are actually doing something to help me.

2nd review - Feb 23, 2025 Wonderful experience again. The landlord is so friendly and welcoming- taking care of the bar guests and restaurant guests with equal high standards. I had made a comment in my previous post that the sport on TV was a little distracting - imagine my surprise and delight to find a fireplace image 🔥 burning instead of the sport. It looked great and apparently was prompted by my feedback- wow! A business owner who listens and responds. I really appreciate the 15 minute interval bookings for lunch. The food is fresh, service speedy and friendly and there is no sense of rush or overcrowding. We were a little late for our booking, but we were accommodated without any bother. I think everyone from Latchingdon needs to support this pub - they are working so hard to give a lovely experience. Thank you for our super Sunday roast again today ♥️🌟✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️ First post: I didn't use the rooms so can't comment AND (more importantly) there is no overall rating for food - which was 6 stars ✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️ Having lived my early life in Mayland - one might assume I know the Red Lion ... I don't ... it was my first (but NOT last visit). Sunday Lunch - I called around 12:30 to ask if they were serving and if I should book. The VERY pleasant man on the phone checked if we could be accommodated by the chef and invited us. I asked if they welcome dogs 🐕- YES (on a lead). We arrived and I was surprised how big the car park is and how easy it was to park - mum is very wobbly on her legs, so it was great to be able to park right by the gate. The rear garden is very secure - which in the summer would make it nice for families - fenced and gated. We were welcomed immediately and taken to a nice table in the corner, close to a radiator with a big space for my dog and her bed. They closed off the area for us with a gate (but I left her on the lead as we had been requested. The food menu was lovely - not an overwhelming choice (sometimes places offer too much choice). It's a clever idea to offer Subday roast with a single, double or treble meat selection! The roast potatoes were so crispy, veggies were fresh and perfectly cooked. We had extra gravy and additional sauces were offered. Mum (who is quite selective) said "Ooh this is better than the Star at Steeple (which in fairness is also good) - but her unprompted comment is worth mentioning The man who I think I'd the owner served us drinks, checked on us and had a quick chat. I think it was the chef who served the food - which came out quickly and piping hot. She also came and checked on us. Special note - sausage for the dog was appreciated 👏 The price was reasonable- £33 for 2 roast dinners, 2 drinks and a dog sausage. They take cash 💸 💰 🤑 - appreciated that. The only thing I would request is that the huge TV showing football is switched off (I have no idea if it's linked to the others) - the flickering was disturbing and it doesn't add to the atmosphere (sorry football lovers 😐)! Thank you Red Lion - fantastic Sunday lunch and hospitality- I wish you continued success. We will be back another week 🎊🙏

Popped in for a cuppa having ridden past so many times and thought how lovely it looked. Inside, spotlessly clean and lovely American Diner decor. Really nicely done! So glad we stopped here. Owner very friendly, made us welcome. We'll worth a visit and I will defo return for something to eat next time! Geoff Grove

After Booking a Table for 2 a week before the planned Sunday Lunch. Our booking was eventually found in the book, we were shown to a table, by a very good member of staff. Unfortunately 30 mins later just after placing our Roast Dinners order, were told to leave by a very rude lady accusing us of just walking in and sitting at a reserved table. The staff were very good, the very rude manager refused to checked her facts before asking us to leave. We wont be back.

Good customer service and good food. Prawn toast slightly overdone, wasn't keen. But everything else tasted Good. Ready within 10 mins.