The Crown Stoke-by-nayland

Crown

➤ Stoke-by-Nayland CO6 4SE, CO6 4QT, Colchester, United Kingdom

Carta • Steak • Hotels • British • Vegetarian

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"Following a long journey to Stoke by Nayland, we found this quaint pub in the village and decided to go for lunch here. This country pub features everything you could want with a log fire near the entrance, a nice bar with plenty of variety and it has its own wine “cellar” type room! My partner and I decided to grab a bite to eat, ordering the flat ironed steak, accompanied with steak cut chips, garlic mushrooms and a garlic sauce, and I ordered the steak and mushroom pie, accompanied with freshly steamed veg and a dollop of mash. Both plates arrived promptly and the food on both plates was superb, tasted fresh and locally sourced. The added bonus was the chef singing I’m a believer in the background, not the best version I’ve heard but none the less a valiant attempt and great to hear the staff in good spirits during the current situation. Overall my partner and I thoroughly enjoyed our lunch and the atmosphere in the pub, we’d definitely recommend and we may pop in before we leave!"

The Angel Inn

➤ Polstead St, Stoke-by-Nayland, Colchester, England, CO6 4SA, United Kingdom

Carta • Vegan • Italian • British • Catering

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"We stumbled upon The Angel by chance, and we were so impressed that we've returned many times since. Since you can't make reservations in advance, I've found that arriving early or with some extra time before your meal is a good strategy. The warm and inviting atmosphere hits you as soon as you walk in, which is probably why we came back after our first visit. The menu offers such a wide variety of options that it can be challenging to decide what to order this time and what to save for our next visit! So far, I've been completely satisfied with the food, and I hope that continues for a long time."

The Lakes

➤ Keepers Lane, Leavenheath, CO6 4PZ, Babergh, United Kingdom

Carta • Full • Steak • Lunch • British

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"Usually my wife is the one who fills up the comment cards, feedback forms and writes few words on tripadvisor of the place. Usually we are a very happy, cheerful and satisfied customer most of the times. But after this dinner at the Lakes Restaurant I had a feeling I have to write a review by myself. As I am an Italian person I love food (to eat and also to cook) enjoying wine, sweets and coffee too... So I have to say if someone is really passionate about to have a good dinner this place is not the right choice. Bar is lovely, bit outdated but does the job. We discovered on arrival the bar person was already half drunk speaking and laughing even more loud than the guests! And there was a young guy in blue vest, white shirt was kind of annoying too who could not stop saying to every single person around him he is very busy has to look after a big function but till we left the bar after our aperitif he was still hanging around and chatting to his co-workers. Not a problem at all, I thought someone else will looking after his guests... Lakes restaurant looks nice, good atmosphere but the problems are just started here... Sat down, got menus in hand bread arrives in few minutes, before we even opened the menu and had a look... Nice quick service, bread sliced, slightly warm, looks fresh and tasty! Lets choose some wines, then order some food. Wine arrives by a very professional waiter, Hugo. he looks smart, friendly, helpful and knows how to serve wine in a professional way. Well done! After this we had a look on the menu and realised the choices on the menu are very poor not seasonal and overpriced but as we are already here lets eat something! Starter takes ages to come, really disappointing, tasteless food, wilted salad and supermarket part baked baguettes croutons, and just doesn`t look appetising. Finger prints on the plates everywhere. Main course coming after a long wait too looks like a pub-grub, lukewarm, lots of gravy (I guess made from gravy cubes) very far from 2 rosette standard, very amateur presentation. But at least plate warmer was working as my wife`s plate was extremely hot, but not the dish, eh! Very disappointing food £14 apparently home made burger, must be kidding, please tell me which part of the dish was home made. I had the same somewhere else in a simple pub just few days ago when I went for a quick meeting with my colleagues and had a meal with just for £7 included a pint. We got offered to see the dessert menu but I was really sceptical to see the choices as I thought they must be the same quality as the previous courses or even just simply bought in from a local bakery so we said no to the waiter. Luckily he was trying to convince us to try some so as we were still pretty hungry so we accepted the challenge. I have to say that was the best choice of the night as they were so delicious and they looked amazing Vanilla brulee and Boxford farm cheesecake. The dinner was really disappointing, never thought food can be this bad at Stoke by Nayland, don`t think we would like to come back ever again or might be just for some wine and some sweet treats or might be just for the spa treatments. Food experience 0/5 but giving 5/5 for desserts so that makes 2/5 in overall Service 1/5 for the funny welcome at the bar plus the food runner had no idea what is going on but 5/5 for Hugo the Spanish waiter so that is 3/5 in total. Price 2/5 as the quality is not matching with the price. We still left some tip and did not complain on the night to anyone as they were major problems not just a little mistake which can be solved right away with a free coffee or a 10 off the bill. We don`t want to receive any free meal or our money back after this review and if management are still happy with everything just please ignore my opinion."

Hare And Hounds

➤ Harrow Street, Leavenheath I-CO6 4PW, United Kingdom

Carta • Pub • British • Austrian • European

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"I visited this pub on a Friday afternoon with a friend. We received a warm welcome from both the bar staff and the friendly locals chatting nearby. They offered a selection of three ales, a couple of lagers, and a cider on tap, along with the usual assortment of crisps. The beer garden had several tables and a few huts where we could sit and enjoy our drinks. It’s a great spot to relax and catch up with friends. Price per person: £1–10."

Anchor Inn

➤ Court StreetEssex CO6 4JL, Nayland, United Kingdom

Carta • Pub • Steak • British • Bar-lounge

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"We went for a 60th birthday Sunday lunch and while staying at a local farm for the weekend and we were rather disappointed. We had already called to pre-book as we have 2 dogs and an 18month old. We were shown to a small table where we really struggled to find somewhere for the dogs to lay and then had to wedge the highchair in too! The staff made no effort to apologise for the space or see if we had enough room. Just told us we may need to shove in a bit more if she needed the table behind us. We usually find pubs put us in a little area or nook if we pre-book so we feel much less awkward! We then all had roast at £24pp which came up very fast! Great news for us as we had the little one with us but it turned out it was probably because it had been sat there for ages. Potatoes and Yorkshires were so hard to cut as they had been sat there for so long and the meat was chewy! I had an espresso martini which was also quite bitter and very average (I’d rather have had wine) and we had a dirty water glass that we had to ask to be changed. The desserts were ok and the cookie dough was actually very nice although it was £10 a go! Due to the nature of the building our table was on a slant and the chairs were all wobbly on the tiled floor which made the whole meal quite uncomfortable. The waitress was very friendly and gave us good service but we were disappointed that we had chosen her for our lunch and won’t be going back!"