Maldon
The Kings Head

The Kings Head

High Street, Maldon, United Kingdom

Fish • Steak • Coffee • Ice Cream


"Not long moved to the area. The Kings Head is in the next village. Had friends visiting so thought we’d book a table as it was a Saturday night. We drove into the village from the direction that we got to the car park first without driving past the pub, It was a bit difficult to navigate how to get inside. As there are a collection of barns and what looks like a disused dirty conservatory. There are no entry signs. We were just going to walk back to the car park entrance to enter from the street when we saw a member of staff. She told us to walk through the conservatory then through the restaurant and she would meet us a the bar. We were given a table in the window which had a lovely view but had a huge tv to the side of it which was really distracting. We ordered drinks at the bar and then went to collect menus as none on the table. We picked two different menus that had similar items on but presented very differently. The menu is not easy to read as it’s a huge choice all crammed onto one side of A4 paper. I’m Dyslexic which for me layout not being starters then a list, mains then a list and deserts then a list is really confusing. The layout is kind of newspaper style. Our order was taken and our starters arrived. The young lady serving us was very nice, smiley and relaxed. One of my friends is rather particular about certain things like minimal water being served from a closed bottle with an empty glass not being poured from a hose into the glass and delivered to the table. The young lady was very good at dealing with her. Even though she could not resolve the issue as the pub didn’t have any bottles of minimal water. My starter was kicking chicken wings which were delicious and melted off the bone. My main was beer battered haddock with chunky chips and a side portion of beer battered onion rings. Again delicious. I didn’t eat it all as the portions are a good size. I wanted to save room for dessert. I had the apple crumble with custard. Again delicious. I had a great evening and really enjoyed my food. I’ll definitely be going back again. Next time I will be mindful of who I’m taking as it’s not a brasserie type establishment that I thought it was."

Il Camino

Il Camino

162-164 High St, Maldon CM9 5BX, United Kingdom

Cafés • Pizza • Mexican • Italian


"I took my mum here for dinner on a very rare evening out. We chose this restaurant because of the reviews left here. Unfortunately we were so underwhelmed and disappointed. The negative experience started as we walked in the restaurant to be met with a strong musky, stale smell that was very unpleasant. The decor was in dire need of a touch up and the area was grubby. The window we were looking at had a long, filthy curtain that was pulled to one side up the wall with a dirty extension lead running under it. We were given bread as we sat down that was stale and we were unable to eat it. We both chose the pork in red wine jus and asked for it to be cooked so there was no pink in it but was also tender. When our server told the chef we heard him complain about this request. It is entirely possible to cook pork well but retain the flavour and soft texture. Unfortunately the pork was chewy and the red wine jus had not been reduced enough and so smelled and tasted of red wine. The vegetables had not been seasoned, just partially boiled and so the carrots were nearly raw. All in all it was a very disappointing experience. We were both shocked at the quality of food and the cleanliness and upkeep of the restaurant itself as the reviews we read were positive and the food prices per dish were not cheap. The food was over priced. To top all this off a 10% service charge was automatically added to the final bill, I can understand this for a large group of people but is not appropriate for just two people. Really sorry to say that we would not return."

Tollesbury Marina Cruising Club

Tollesbury Marina Cruising Club

Woodrolfe Road, Maldon, United Kingdom

Cafe • Cakes • British • Breakfast


"Its actually shocking that this campsite promises so much, offers so little and gets away with it.Firstly, the cost is £34 per night. Compared to a site nearby, offering beautifully manicured lawns, heated bathrooms, wifi throughout and a 24 hour warden on site, all with a similar cost, I thought Tollesbury would offer similar options.On their ukcampsite listing Tollesbury offers the following Wifi Disabled friendly Sea views. Recycling optionsNone of this is true. Wifi is only provided at the restaurant which is nowhere near the campsite The campsite is not disabled friendly. The toilets and showers are a very long walk away, in the restaurant and can only be accessed by climbing several stairs. The rules of the campsite also specify that cars should not be parked on the site, only in the carpark next door, again, a long walk The campsite isnt near the sea, it isnt even near water. It has a view across a boat/car park and some ugly solar panels. The campsite doesnt offer recycling bins as advertised, the only bin on the campsite is for ash. The nearest bins are in the boat/car park which is a very long walk awayIn addition to what is listed above the campsite also does not have hot water or washing up facilities. It has 1 water tap which the entire site uses to wash their dishes, their teeth and themselves. It's just a field, with 1 tap, some electric pitches, overlooking solar panels and access to toilets/showers in a nearby restaurant. You need to walk though customers eating in the restaurant to get to the toilets and showersOne of the main issues I have with this campsite is the toilet/shower facilities. Not only are they too far to walk to and accessed only by stairs, they are used by too many people. I purposely chose this campsite knowing it was small, only 15 pitches so that the risk of spread of coronavirus is minimal. Instead the showers and toilets are used by the campsite, the boats in the boat yard, the restaurant and all the boats in the marina.The site is also difficult to find, there are no signs and we had to ask several people before we knew where to go for the harbour master and campsite and toilets/showersWe couldn't find a water/chemical waste area. I dread to know where it all goesI have rang the owners several times to discuss my issues and have left a few voicemails, but they have not responded."

Pavilion

Pavilion

The Street, CM9 4LT, Maldon, United Kingdom

Full • Pizza • Steak • Lunch


"We come to Maldon fairly regularly and occasionally stay over. The New Pavilion is was one of our favourite go to restaurants. We arrived at 7:30, as booked, and were very happy to see the front restaurant full except for our table for two. We ordered drinks at the bar and sat at our table. Maybe we should have been more aware of the situation when, after about 15 minutes, we had to tell the staff we were now ready to order. The young waitress was very apologetic and we said it was no problem, not her fault as she was doing two jobs waitressing and covering the bar as the barman had literally disappeared and was occasionally seen serving an old meal. Now we were waiting. 40 minutes? During this time we noticed a number of people shaking their heads at the staff. People walking out after questioning the service and the delay. The poor waitress, we could literally hear her in the back room crying. When our starters came we cancelled our main courses. My wife said my baked Camembert looked like a crème brûlée. I did eat it though and pay for it. I was not going to put the waitress through any more stress. I spoke to the barman as we were leaving and he seemed very surprised that I mentioned the overload of work the waitress was doing covering both jobs. He never said what he was doing during his absence. I did say that as he was obviously not the owner it was probably not his fault as well. All the tables in our corner agreed with what I told the bar manager and we’re about to leave without food. I will be very interested to see the owners reply and any excuse he comes up with. There’s no excuse. Get more staff. Hopefully the waitress has walked across the road to a top restaurant that treat their staff better. She was brilliant and deserved better treatment."