The best restaurants in Wickham Bishops and Woodham Maldon East of England

Always great food and super friendly service. Prices reasonable and we were well looked after. Can’t wait to try the new Coggeshall branch soon…

The food is very good here. Always fresh and tasty. The deserts are my favourite here. All home made. Have to book in advance as it is very busy. Very old pub with it's own parking for about 10 vehicles in a country setting.

A lovely little pub off the beaten track. A nice welcome from the landlady and a superbly kept pint of Abbot Ale. Lots of cat memorabilia around the old wooden beamed pub. A great find!

Discovered this pub by chance a week ago when walking a local circular hike in the area. We called to see if they had a table and unfortunately they were fully booked. At the end of the hike we popped in for a drink. The pub is geared up for food mostly on Sundays, but the team were so accommodating and welcomed us to sit at the bar. The atmosphere was lovely - very traditional country pub vibes - with the staff knowing most customers by name. The team were so kind and accomodating, they even managed to squeeze us in for a Sunday Roast which we were so grateful for after our hike. Food was delicious, service was great and everyone was so friendly! We will be back!

Just back from an excellent lunch after a lovely 6 mile walk starting and ending at The Queen Vic. Wonderful hospitality and the food was really good - very generous portions too.

7 of us descended on this building for lunch and were warmly greeted by our lovely waitress, who made us feel very welcome. Tables were repositioned & cleaned , chairs moved, menus provided and adequate time allowed for us to settle and make our choices. 5 adults & 2 children all with various requests ranging from ham egg & chips, sandwiches, scrambled eggs on toast and jacket potatoes. We all thoroughly enjoyed our food, and the cups of tea's & coffee's. Prices were fair and we all said we would return.

We all had an excellent time at the Hurdlemakers Arms, tucking into roast dinners, we each had different, beef, lamb, pork and turkey , and they definitely don’t skimp on the portions of meat. We had a great selection of vegeatables ( of which the leftovers we had boxed up to bring home) All our plates were emptied, it was all so beautifully cooked and presented.Our partners had starters of homemade soup , and homemade pate, both of which were extremely tasty, but having visited before we girls skipped the starters to allow room for the amazing roast. We finished with coffees as no room left for desserts. Nettie and Gary and the gang have great hospitality qualities, and obviously take pride in the food they serve, which is evident as a roomful of happy diners. Would definitely recommend for anyone to dine out, and we will certainly be coming back for the Christmas themed dinner as soon as we can arrange a date.

Review of The Hurdlemakers Arms, Post Office Road, Woodham Mortimer, Maldon, CM9 6ST What a delightful evening meal in this ‘pub under the hill’ as-it-were out there in the back blocks of rural Essex. Inside the pub there’s a photo on the wall showing three kids in their late 19th C. clothes lined up in front of the entrance to the cottage that became the entrance to the pub. How old is the building? I didn’t think to ask … >200 years? There were five of us, three of whom had eaten at the Hurldemakers Arms for the first-time last year – and came away with a highly favourable impression – quality/foods, meals, service, prices and convenience. (Convenience, perhaps, comes from living in a neighbouring village – distances are short.) They’d encouraged us to return with them this second time … and our experience was much the same. If you’re looking for that quintessential English village pub with good food/services in the middle of nowhere – this is the place to go. We’d arrived ahead of our booking for 18.30 h that evening. The fence between the pub and Post Office Road was festooned with small England flags, and there was parking for half-dozen cars where the pub jutted out into the road. The main car park, however, is around the back which is where we parked. One of our group was unable to walk well and we took the convenient short path from the car park to the entrance. Enter the pub and there’s that delightful rural pub image of low ceilings and black beams/white walls everywhere - a sense of being underground. The bar is to one side and immediately in front of you. We had been allocated a table in the corner and adjacent to the window – to the right as you enter and a few metres from the bar. From the window you could look out to seating areas in the garden/grounds and, further away, a children’s playground. There was also a mid-size white marquee with tables/chairs inside and presumably for a private function. Our lounge/bar/dining area was all but empty, but this was likely to change during the next hour or so.* It was to our advantage to have arrived early – mine host was prompt to hand out menus and request our drinks order. Check out the reviews (32 of them since 2018) and you’ll note criticism/complaints for slow delivery of meals – sometimes harsh critique - wherein issues of kitchen capacity had cropped up. (Nettie’s chalk board in the pub contained a message requesting patience when the restaurant begins to fill.) First come – first served and there was no delay this time - the meals were delivered together 20-30 minutes after ordering. They were hot, delightful to look at and … wait for it … LARGE. In a sea of chips/salad my battered cod stretched from one side of the plate to the other. It was typical of a size that the pair of us normally share. Side dishes of peas and cauliflower were piled high. Other meals – skate, roast-of-the-day, etc. – were more one-person-size. No issue, however, the meals were delicious – setting the table for that England win later in the evening. Talking with mine-host after the meal, she said that we could have ordered smaller meals. Next time then. We paid £96.50 for our meal – five mains with a couple of dolce and drinks. So, good value at <£20/each. Check out the ‘in the middle’ menu where mains are within the range £16- £20; add an additional £5 if you’re after a steak. Good value too. In summary then, a fine table in an attractive restaurant with prompt services and delicious foods. Good value. And, in passing, what’s a hurdle? It’s a portable/lightweight fence section typically 1.80x0.90 m2 for sheep (and larger for cattle). Woven from split hazel/willow, hurdles were widely used in rural England from Medieval times through to the introduction of modern fencing materials from the 19th C on. Peter Steele 26 September 2024 *England was due to play The Netherlands in the semi-finals of the UEFA Euro 2024 (soccer for the ill-informed) in Dortmund 20.00 h UK time 10July24. We figured to be in, eat, out and return home to catch the start. There was a large TV set up inside the pub for those planning to watch the match over a pint or two with their mates/families. The match … was a bit of a ho-hum, then a cliff hanger until 90 minutes - with that winning goal from Ollie Watkins. Amazing.

I ordered Rogan Josh which was very Oily and greasy. Wife ordered Biryani mild spice. Biryani turned out to be very very hot despite that we ordered mild. The meal was 60% left. Raised this with the staff. Was ignored. When it was bill time, this got questioned. Nothing was offered in the way of reducing or voiding that dish. It had 2no pints of Orange and Lemonade….£7 Each!!!!!!!! We will not be going back there again. Beware people you’re food will be oily and disgusting and you will get ripped to shreds on the drinks. £66 for the two of us…. Never again

Food was excellent staff were brilliant helpful and attentive place was very clean, definitely worth a visit for a lovely meal