Fuller Street, Essex

Friday 16th June I belong to a small dining club 5 of us came along. We all had a lovely evening, the atmosphere in the 18th century pub was pleasant the food was very tasty! Friendly service.

This has to be the best pub food for miles around here. Cosy atmosphere , quiet to talk and great food and excellent service. We return again and again, so many good things to choose in the menu.

From the minute we walked through the door, albeit a little early, we were very warmly welcomed. The pub was warm and inviting, menu had a lot of wonderful homemade choices and the staff were attentive and amazing. The food was delicious, plates were piled high and there was no chance we would be leaving still hungry. I will be back and would highly recommend this gem of a place that is perfect in every sense.

Visited today for lunch, we had booked a table and glad we had as the place was very busy. We got a warm welcome and fantastic service. The menu, especially the specials board, was varied and a great selection. So great to see a pub/restaurant serving local game. The food was delicious and all freshly produced. Great wine choice and cask ale went down well too. Will definitely be back. Well worth a visit, so glad we got the recommendation.

Fantastic place, Sue and Victor have been running this lovely gastro pub for some time. I run a local hotel, from time to time I take customers here for a thank you for their custom and to get away from it all. Sue, Victor and the staff always look after us, the food and atmosphere are great. Victor is knowledgable about his wine, and stocks some real delicious ones. Fantastic gastro pub which is reasonably priced, I will be back very soon. PS if the bubble and squeak risotto is on the menu order it.

The Square Compasses is a truly lovely place not in any way ruined by a modern makeover as so many pubs have been. It's atmospheric and homely with great food and old fashioned good service. Most importantly, the floor is carpeted, which means that you can have a nice conversation without talking loudly. Other features also contribute to brilliant acoustics that so few places now have. There is no piercingly bright LED lighting that you can see in your peripheral vision. And no grey paint to be seen anywhere.

This was the worst dining experience we've had in a while. We waited for half an hour for our reserved 7:30 table, only to be seated at a cold and dingy table. It took forever for our order to be taken, and when our chicken pie arrived, the new potatoes were rock hard and difficult to cut. They were also tasteless and bland, not even buttered. We requested to see the dessert menu, but it never came, so we decided to just pay the bill and leave. It was a terrible evening, a total waste of £70, and we definitely won't be coming back.

I visited in mid-April after not going for a few months and was delighted to find that the restaurant is just as good as it has always been. For starters, I had the Ale du jour, which may have been Essex Gold, and it was perfect. For the main course, we both had the Hake with a glass of their house white wine from Murcia, which was delicious. The main dish was served with a side of perfectly cooked seasonal vegetables. For dessert, we shared a Poached pear on a biscuit base, which was absolutely delicious. The service was great and the atmosphere was friendly and welcoming, with the comforting sound of people enjoying themselves in the background. The presence of a few dogs in the bar area w...

We have dined at this pub many times before and have always enjoyed good food and service. However, our experience this Sunday was disappointing. It was our first time visiting for Sunday lunch, and it will likely be our last. The pub was extremely busy, with only two waitresses working hard to keep up. It appeared that the kitchen was struggling to keep up with the demand for meals. We waited at least thirty minutes for our starters, followed by another thirty minutes for our main courses. Unfortunately, my main course was quite mediocre and I barely touched it. The desserts were slightly better, but when I requested a glass of dessert wine, I was informed that they were out of it. This was...