please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Still a 10! For me to mark so highly, a pub needs to do everything it offers well... It doesn't matter whether it's a spit and sawdust boozer or posh nosh venue, so long as it's does what it says on the can. This pub does; Roaring fire, helpful staff, friendly locals, nice menu, a landlady who obviously knows her stuff and of course, great beer. This time Woodefords Tinsel Toes and Wherry, along with an Adnams and another special called Sweet 2016. Don't know why score is as low, as it is certainly recommended.
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Still excellent... I wouldn't change much from my last post. Beers this time were Adnams Southwold Bitter, Greene King Abbot and a really good blonde beer;
No Man's Land from the Colchester Brewery.
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Totally agree with RarinRob...(ZioMalia must be on a wind up) This place is amazing! I don't often give 10's (it's all a bit strictly come dancing!), but The Whalebone get's 10.
The building is lovely, the interior old world with a roaring fire when we visited just before Christmas, but with modern twists... The attention to detail in everything is great. The food is top notch, and reasonably priced. Even though catering for the dining market, pub had a good mix of eaters / drinkers. Beers on offer were Adnams Shingle Shells & Broadside along with a guest called Stour Gold. Even the dogs in front of the fire were contented! Highly recommended.
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Popped in here in Sunday with friends who live nearby. What a wonderful place. Very nicely furnished, lots of nice beers on offer, nicely maintained beer garden, pleasant staff and delicious food. Couldn't really fault it, which makes me wonder if the review below is genuine. Also find it hard to understand why this pub has such a low score. Highly recommended based on my visit.
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I have been there last weekend and i hate it!! The owner horrible !! Me and my family didnt feel there very welcome!! We have been pushed to eat quicker. On top of that she over charge me by thinking i will dont spot it!!! Horrible times. Would not recomment. The beer taste auwful. Could be from not cleaning the pipes or simply the beer is expired! Avoid that is my edvaise. Only positive feedback will be for a food!! Only chefs i think holding this place!!! Every one from my family did enjoy meals we have order.
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Great pub; the staff know what beers and food is available without looking at the boards and the service was efficient and friendly. It is well kept and very clean inside.
I have eaten there twice now and the food is spot on and home cooked. Four of us ate there this week and the bill including a few drinks each came to �90.00 which is a fair price.
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Always get such a lovely reception when you go there.
Staff are A class and food is fab value for money.
Pub is very pretty too.
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Visited this week for a meal with my wife and had a lovely evening the young girl behind the bar was very polite and there was a range of 4 guest beers to choose from I had Adnams bitter which was very good. The food was excellent with a good wine list to choose from. This is a lovely village pub well worth a visit we will be going back.
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I was incredibly disappointed with this pub, never have I encountered such rude staff, especially the manager there at the time of our visit. If you are looking for a good pub and quality food, I would strongly recommend The Langenhoe Lion in the next village which was our second point of call after leaving this place quickly.
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Visited for the first time at the weekend as we are househunting in the area. Sadly disappointed on several levels. First and foremost the attitude of the owners made us feel most unwelcome - a shame as the girl serving at the bar was enthusiastic and tried to be helpful.
We were overcharged for both our food and drinks - my girlfriend was charged more for a plate of vegetables and two yorkshire puddings than I was for sausage, black pudding and mash which is absurd. Upon questioning this we were told that vegetables are more expensive than meat!
It's a great shame as the pub is very attractive, is in a lovely spot and I would have liked to have made it my local. I find it astounding in this day and age, with pubs closing all over the place, that this attitude can prevail.
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I revisted last week for a quick half - still no different and my pint was, well, odd. This isn't a pub - it's a restaurent with a booze licence.
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Went with a pal a couple of weeks ago. Weather was very warm and the view really is lovely from the garden. Beer was awful. One pint almost 'off', the other full of bits - didn't look ready. Got our food order wrong and paid �5-50 for a sanwich - you gotta be kidding !
Shame.
Definitely a 'gastro' pub. But i reckon it doesn't deserve to be called a pub.
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Traditional pub in a picturesque location. Once inside though you can see that it is a more modern designed gastro pub. Modern leather look backed chairs at well decorated tables were ready for diners. You can tell there is a woman�s touch here in the decoration. Food choices are on the black board type tiles to the left of the bar. The wine choices are written on the same wall further up. In rural locations I guess this is the only way to make a decent living from a pub. There were three hand pumped ales when I visited. I obviously was not paying much attention as I would have demanded to know why my requested beer was not poured from the hand pump with said clip on it. The time passed without me making a comment so I had to drink it. This is one of my pet hates as you just don't know where your beer was poured from. Mmm, I reckon the recent glowing BITE comments are from the owners. Only one pub reviewed and both comments made when the pub was closed, both within a day of each other.
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Stunning pub in a stunning location offering stunning food at reasonable prices. I visted The Whalebone Inn following a write up in the local rag as one of the best places to visit outside of Colchester and I wasn't certainly wasn't dissappointed. The pub is cosy and elegantly quirky with a style that is totally unique to the area. The menu for all you foodies out there is fresh, seasonal, local and cooked to perfection. Great wine/beer & service completes this venue as a thoroughly enjoyable place to kick back and enjoy. I can highly reccommend this place to everyone!!!
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My wife and I went to this pub on Sunday 27 Oct 08 and it was full. It has a recent Caske Marque plaque outside proving their beer is good and so is their food. My wife loved the ambience and the staff were excellent. Forget about the earlier bad comments some people have given as they are unfounded. I strongly suggest a visit which will prove how nice it is and advise booking first especially at weekends. the steak is first class!
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Ate here once - never again. Butchers fly in my mussle starter - no apology and they charged me for it! Very toffee nosed and love to let guests wait over the locals. Naughty.
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3 Real Ales on offer - Piddle in The Pub (Wyre Valley), not to my taste. Woodforde's Wherry - beer was "tired" at best. Adnams Bitter - My Local is an Adnams tied house and as such I tend to avoid their beers elsewhere. However, I should have known better! The Adnams here was perfectly drinkable.
The staff were friendly enough BUT the "Locals First" culture still seems to exist. That really needs to be sorted to encourage return visits.
Prices about �2.80/�2.90 a pint. Expensive IMO for a Free House but it's in a nice location with lovely views from the large beer garden.
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Have to say the last time I went back (around christmas) I happened to notice the "locals" priority serving policy that needs to be addressed if they want to keep hold of people - first impressions and all that. Food was ok, but did have to wait a while. Gone down from an 8/10 (see my last review below) to a 5/10 in my opinion. Try harder.
anonymous - 6 Aug 2007 17:20 |
I can't stress enough how bad the service is here. After a recent visit with some friends for a spot of lunch, we all came away fuming. Our lunches all took two hours or more to come out, and in the end a friend and I decided to just get a refund. At the time of doing so, another elderly couple came to the bar to complain they had been waiting 1hr 55mins for their lunch, and another two people came from the beer garden and asked for refunds.
The manager appears to be a bit of a 'Tim nice but dim' character, who was extremely rude from the off, ignoring my friends and I, to serve all of his obvious friends and regulars first, even though we had been at the bar far longer.
True, the scenery is lovely in the beer garden, and if you are just dropping by for a swift pint, it's OK, but don't order food and don't expect any level of friendly or efficient service.
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Was not impressed with this pub at all. No-one seemed to have time for me and the drinks were overpriced.
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I stumbled accross The Whalebone purely by accident - it's out of the way in a quiet spot which is beautiful. I have been back on several occasions - a good place to take freinds. The food is excellent (never had a bad meal there) and prices are surprisingly favorable! The staff are freindly and the service is excellent (they work hard!). The atmosphere is relaxed and you feel immediately comfortable being made welcome by both the staff and the locals which says a lot for a pub. If you like good food somewhere different then it's a must to try.
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Visited for Sunday Lunch and can only say that the food was of excellent quality and presentation and the service friendly, down to earth and pitched at exactly the right level. There were no Ferraris in the car park and the other customers seemed to be a mixed bunch of couples, families and friends. The setting is very pleasant and the food is not too expensive. Didn't try the beer so can't comment and couldn't find any evidence of "ponsy" (I think this was meant to be poncey) food. Recommended.
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Many years ago this used to be a proper pub, Now it's all hooray Henrys drinking their poorly kept grossly overpriced beer and ponsy food.
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This is a small rural pub situated in lovely grounds. The food is excellent. This pub attracts peolple with money and if you are like me and don't have a Ferrari to display in the car park then you had better park around the corner to save the intimidation.
Carly - 20 Jun 2003 17:09 |
