please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Ember Inns establishment that was very quiet on my Saturday morning visit. This is definitely more of a dining establishment and has plenty of tables. Ales were Sharps Doom Bar, Greene King Abbot, Brakspear Bitter & Adnams Broadside & Ghost Ship. No real cider was available. The pub is in the Corbets Tey area of Upminster. If you catch the bus from Upminster station, make sure you're going the wrong way. I managed to get as far as Upminster Bridge before realising I was going the wrong way and expect to wait up to 20 minutes for another bus!
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Will not be visiting again, Last night I arrived with my girlfriend to find 3 bar staff on duty, one was changing a barrel one was serving while the other was counting bottles of beer " stock take " the girl that was serving had a " I do not want to be here " look on here face and was slow at serving add to this we have 2 men that spent £6 on beer then paid by card which just is a joke she then decides that saying " who is next " is beyond her so she served people that had just walked in first possibly because they are locals and then went to serve one of the locals that was propping up the bar before I walked in..... she made eye contact with me a couple of times so I was not invisible she just chose to serve others first in what is a large bar area.
I stopped going to the railway at Hornchurch after the bar staff decided that they would serve the locals first including saying to one man standing behind me " the usual is it " and handing him a pint over my shoulder. after standing in the huntsman and hounds long enough for my girlfriend to read the menu decide what she wanted to eat then sit waiting wondering where I was we left. and will not return, we usually visit 2-4 times per month and always eat but being served has always been a little frustrating and last night was the final straw. so good luck in serving the locals and the numerous wakes that attend and probably save the pub from going under.
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After visiting nearby crematorium took family here for midweek lunch. Mother partially disabled but access OK. Lavatories up steep steps and corridor.
Pub lunch OK, served in acceptable time but very poor service by two young men. No friendly welcome, no smiles, no thank-you. One mumbled questions and gave impression he resented serving. Suggest a customer care course for staff.
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My local which I rarely visit nowadays as we have been very dissapointed with the food on far too many occasions. Beer and decor ok, but nothing special. I have always felt that if this pub was better run it would do far more trade. It appears to only exist on the back of daytime funeral parties from the nearby crem!
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We know this place as the "pub of death" due to the regular funeral parties during the day which must be a boon to the management as the pub is a bit out of town. The decoration is bland, but then it is also comfortable and clean. The beer (real ale) range is a bit dull and it can be a bit hit and miss. Although the quality has been OK on my last few visits. Like many Ember Inns they seem to love Greene King which is a shame as we now have local breweries in Brentwood and Ilford. As a local my nearest three pubs all seem to be Ember's! I would use the pub more, particularly if I am with wife - mother and other relatives who like comfy seats but the food and ale range needs to be more adventurous.
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I hadnt been in here for many years, since the bad old days untill recently and immediatly spotted by the interior that it was another Ember Inn. Exactly the same fake, 'plastic' interior as Ember Inns nearby it has a bland souless atmosphere, Beer was not overpriced and well kept but the fact that the Adnams was 'off' was not advertised by a bar towel over the pump or swivelling the pump clip. The bar maid who served us looked like she wanted to be somewhere else and we later discovered where, snogging her boyfriend in the outside smoking area. The carbon footprint of this place isnt done any favours by the four electric radiant heaters keeping a mainly empty smoking area warm. The early evening restaurant clientele seemed to be leaving en masse as we arrived, the pub was later largley taken over by loud and boistrous young men. Not a pub I shall be returning to.
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This was a pub that was dying on its feet (no reference to the nearby crem. intended), then the Tescos of pub chains bought it out and have improved its fortunes - at least in the eyes of the accountants.
Had a meal in there which was quite pleasant, typical pub chain fayre. Beers on are the usual pub chain types, play it safe with Old Speckled Hen or whatever.Prices reasonable.
Reading 'anonymous' post about how to treat regulars, Pub chains such as this are probably only interested in families who occasionally pop in for a meal, no money in yer serious drinker, yer see.
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Great Pub, great food, had a really good night.
Very friendly Landlord & Lady. I will be going back.
anonymous - 18 Aug 2007 23:25 |
very very very bad service. meals came out 20mins between them so people eating on there own and was finsished by the time the next person got there!.. also my brothers main came before my starter. when complained manager was very rude and basicly said it wasnt there fault.. who fault was it then? mine? no even so much as a "sorry" would never go there again and wouldnt recommend it.
anonymous - 27 Jul 2007 13:25 |
was in here sunday , first time visited in a few months, now a totally non smoking pub ,but there is a covered area out the back which is the designated smoking area , typical ember inns pub , which arent bad in general , was in here till closing time and to be honest it wasnt all that bad .
the beer was good (fosters and adnams) and the prices werent too crippling , the staff were friendly and efficent , this pub is the face of things to come on july the 1st , gota say quite impressed will be visiting again when up that part of upminster
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OK. All you people whoe want a real pub go to east london and get one that the breweries haven't pimped yet, otherwise leave the huntsman alone, its pastel shades and leather chairs are seemingly the uniform future of the pub industry so give it a break - a lack of brass knick knacks on the walls and an open fire does NOT make a bad pub, and if it does, well, find yourself some decent mates.
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Stopped using it after last Christmas Eve after it apparently became the first Ember Inn I'd ever been to at Christmas to be (allegedly) "ticket only". I certainly saw no mention of tickets at any point in the weeks prior and I'd been going in there three or four times a week for the previous two years. Have not set foot in it since. There's a message there somewhere about how not to treat loyal regulars...
anonymous - 25 Aug 2006 13:49 |
OK big pub, The service could be better though. Its got the potential to be a right good boozer. Food is ok when it arrives but they took ages to clear away the plates. I have stood at the bar and there hasnt always been staff there to serve and this was when it was quiet.
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Poor service at the weekends.
Often get "run out food" on Sundays (happened on three consecutive Sundays)although they say we sreve food between noon anNine PM
How can a pub run out of food - It is a joke, either it is mis managed or they do not care about their long term customers and are all about making a quick profit.
Have stopped using it as it is so ludicrous.
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After reading all of the other comments I was shocked. I have been to the Huntsman many time over the past year or so and have found the staff to be super friendly and helpful. I have eaten there 3 or 4 times without any problems, sometimes waited a while because of it being busy but other than that the service was excellent. I would definately reccommend this pub to anyone who wants to enjoy a good meal in a friendly location.
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been here a few times for food with mixed results , like the ember inns brand for the open log fires and laid back atmosphere , and the range of beers isnt bad but was in here yesterday for a quick drink (had the wagon outside so only had a coke) my oppo had a pint of something which tasted awful he complained and got a bottle in place of , not a patch on the old days think this must be the exception to the ember inns pubs as the rest ive been to are reasonably good.
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Went on a sunday afternoon which was not busy, decided to grab some late lunch only to be left waiting! AN hour later we asked what had happened to our food and was told they had lost our food order! We wasn't offered much in the way of apology accept a refund for our food!
Unfortunately my previous visit there had resulted in potato skins which were frozen in the middle, when we got the waitress to replace them she returned with the same starter which had just been nuked in the microwave!
I should have known better.
Definately one to miss!
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Before the refurb it was a nice pub for food and drinks, now it is bad.
We went there once for a meal to celebrate my brothers birthday and the staff were utterly incompetant.
The manager had gone on a skiing holiday and left the pub in the hands of trainees and agency staff.
Most of what we ordered was not in stock and in the end i had to settle for a plate of Chips (which never arrived).
The rest of my family ordered their food and we began an hours wait for half cooked and re-heated food.
In defence of the assistant manager, most of his staff had walked out ahlfway through our wait and he alone was struggling to manage the bar. We did get a free round of drinks and our money back as we left and got a chinese instead.
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Decent, though not as good as before the refurbishment, back when the legend Dave manned the bar. Beware of annoying kids whose parents abandon them on the sofas while they go and get langered.
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