please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I love this wonderful old pub - excellent beer from local breweries and great huffers. It's just a shame about the sometimes unenthusiastic service.
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I went here on my Birthday and cycled the 90 minute journey each way, having previously been with the wife and children in the car a couple of weeks earlier. It really is a pub in the middle of nowhere - which may account in some way for it being so good, otherwise it simply wouldn't survive.
Beer was again excellent and on the previous visit we had the Huffers which were tasty and very filling. I did sit and listen to some of the locals and the reviewer who commented on the swivel-eyes loons at the next table must just have been unlucky (it happens in the best of pubs sometimes). We didn't have any grumble with the service when we ate here and the staff (and one of the locals I spoke with) were friendly but I do wish they'd sort out the website as the times given for food are misleading (so call them first is my advice).
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Superb out of the way pub with those wonderful Bishop Nick beers. Had a couple of pints of Heresy, clean crisp and on point. Another of the all those all too are pubs with a tap room. Gorgeous setting. Going to try there Hopstock beer festival next year. Have to agree with another reviewer, service was pretty slow. And have to say the fella behind the bar was a lot friendlier to his regulars than too new faces like myself. Still, these are small gripes in the scheme of things. A wonderful traditional pub with beers to match.
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This is a great little pub. A classic timeless country gem. Only thing is I wish they still had those great jokes on the website. They were SO funny. The guy who runs the place is called Rave and he knows just about everything there is to know about drains. Fascinating to talk to. The food they serve are 'huffers'. They probably call them that because sandwiches and baguettes are hard to spell. Still good though :-)
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Good traditional pub with pleasant garden. Shame about the staff. After ordering food a grumpy man came and asked me what I had ordered as my order has "disappeared". I repeated the order. He then returned and said no wonder he couldn't find the order as he hadn't taken it - it was taken by the boss. (He somehow managed to make me feel as if that was my fault..............)
I then went to the bar (no customers waiting) with the empty dog bowl and politely asked for some water which I was given grudgingly with the remark "There's a tap in the toilet". When the grumpy man brought our food I thanked him. It is customary, I believe, for the server to say "enjoy your food" or something similar. Instead we received an abrupt "Have you paid?" Would prefer to drink where the staff can manage a smile and make their customers feel welcome.
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This is a nice enough pub and I do recommend the huffers. My visit was spoiled, however by the hour long dribble of racist moaning from the table of swivel-eyed middle-aged right wing maniacs next to me. While I would not normally suggest this reflects badly on the management, the selection of sub Jim Davidson gags helpfully provided on the website, do give a useful pointer to the mindset of the regulars.
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Still excellent. Hard to fault, although the service can be slow when busy. Had an excellent pint of Farmer's Spiced Plum Ale and a Huffer. Now one of my favourite pubs.
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Excellent country pub, quite remote, some narrow roads. It is now a freehouse and has usually 3 or 4 different beers (bitter) on, Adnams Bitter plus guests normally local micro breweries (Mighty Oak, Farmers), in good condition, you can see the barrels in the cellar through the window in the bar, and the beer straight from the barrel, no handpumps here. My only slight negative comment is the beers are all similar, ie. 3.7-4 ABV, I would like to see a bit variety, like a dark beer in winter. Huffers are good and large.
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Fantastic pub with great atmosphere and excellent, reasonably-priced East-Anglian ales straight from the cask. The Huffers are great too. Don't miss. 10/10
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Great, traditional, old fashioned country pub. It's not been gastro-ised or mucked about with and retains the charm and charactor now sadly being lost elsewhere. The huffers (huge bap style bread buns) come in a variety of fillings are perhaps more of a novelty than truely memorable dishes, but go down well if you've a good hunger on and the beer is well kept and interesting.
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It is worth going out of your way to visit The Compasses. It is a very welcoming pub, offering just the right amount of old-school charm, without being kitsch or trying too hard. The beer is outstanding, and the indomitable huffers served are quite a sight, particularly after a long traipse around the surrounding footpaths (the pub's grub is all produced with very local meat and veg). It is dog-, child- and bicycle-friendly, with plenty of parking and a large garden.
I heartily recommend the place.
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Having briefly been a Green King house after the takeover of Ridleys, The Compasses is now back in the ownership of a member of the Ridley family and no longer appears to be tied to Green King. They have replaced the GK with a rotating group of guest ales and real ciders. The ale is still poured directly from the barrels kept in the cellar at the back of the bar.
On recent visits I have knocked back many pints of this perfect antidote to modern life. The whole ambience of the place, the coal fire, the benches and tables laid out around the bar, the calm and friendly locals, immediately washes away all the cares and concerns and makes you appreciate that wherever there is still good beer and a little oasis of calm to be had, there's nothing that life can't throw at you.
If only I still lived out that way I would be there more, but for now it has to be only the occasional visit. Don't go, you'll ruin it.10/10
Jay28 - 18 Dec 2008 16:45 |
The Compasses recently won the Chelmsford&Mid Essex Camra's award for the most improved pub in their area.
The real ales on offer can vary but usually on are an Adnams beer,One from Mighty Oak,and a ever changing third beer usually from another Essex brewery,A real Cider and Perry are also usually available.
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A traditional pub in a tranquil setting. The pub itself has a flagstone floor, a half cellar and a traditional shelf system on the back wall and an open fire. It feels like stepping back to the sixties when you go inside. The beer is first rate, and the Huffers, as quaint Essex tradition are very good if you're really hungry. A good departure from the contrived Wetherspoons chain pubs.
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Terrific. Proper unspoilt picturesque pub serving ale straight from the cask. Ale quaffers should definitely make a detour to visit this place.
Jay28 - 26 Mar 2008 16:59 |
The pub is now a genuine free house after GK sold it,
A real unspoilt gem of a pub.
3 or 4 very good quality real ales,
Which are still served by gravity from the cellar.
And it still serves those LARGE HUFFERS!.
Its well worth the effort trying to find this pub.
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The Compasses certainly provides refuge for dinosaurs. The seating is arse-punishingly basic, mobile phones are banned and service slow - definitely a throw-back. The Hartford End Brewery down the road has now shut.
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Excellent real ales.Large beer garden.
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It's like stepping back in time 60 years! (Except a pint doesn't cost 3d)There are no taps or pumps on the bar. Instead, the bar-staff step into a back-room and draw the ale straight from the barrel. At least thats what I believe happens in that back room; the pub is only 1/2 mile from the excellent Ridleys, Hartford End Brewery, so there might even be a direct pipeline between them.
Also, the filled huffer rolls are fantastic; the size of your plate!
And the whole place is set in a beautiful location.
No more clues. you'll have to find it yourself!
Keith - 4 Mar 2006 12:30 |
