The Compasses at Pattiswick

my wife and I went here for a quick lunch after 18 holes of golf at the nearby Essex Golf & Country Club. The quality of the furnishings and decor were excellent. We loved the real solid wood tables. welcoming staff – and a fireplace in the bar area. We had the 3-course set lunch and the choice was limited (but sensible) and the food and value was excellent (Goats cheese salad, vegetable soup, pasta etc.). All in all it was about £40 for a 3 course lunch with coffee and drinks. Nothing to fault here for us. Will go again.

Yesterday was our 49th wedding anniversary and we thought we would eat somewhere special, we had heard about your restaurant so thought we would give it a t ry, how disappointed were we. First we had read on the Internet that the special weekly menu was 2 courses for £7.50 only to be told that it was wrong and the price was not £9.99. We ordered soup to start which was tasteless we then had the mackerel which was stated as fillet of mackerel what we were served was not a fillet more like a half fillet. The only good thing about your restaurant was the staff they were very friendly. We will not be visiting you again nor recommending it to our friends.

I visited this Gastropub today (4/11/12) with some friends who had been here before and highly recommended it. The disappointment started just after we arrived. We had pre-booked a table and got seated after finding someone to help us as there was already 2 groups in front of at the main entrance who had been waiting a while. When we sat down the waitress came over after quite a while and when asked about he menu was totally uninformed. We asked about which beers or lagers were available and she couldn't name one. We ordered the food shortly afterwards and when asked about what the soup of the day was she wen through several sheets of paper from her pocket before she could tell us. The starters came along about 30 minutes after the order along with a bottle if wine which was left unopened. When we asked for the bottle to be opened from judging by her difference in clothing and age from the other staff I would presume was the manager she didn't have a cork screw with her and sent another member of staff back over to do the job. Unfortunately they wasn't sure how to open the bottle so we did it ourselves. The main course turned up roughly over an hour later and can only be described as adequate at best. For the price of a beef roast dinner, 1 Yorkshire Pudding (which was stone cold) 3 roast potatoes (not crispy where they had been kept wam), 1 piece of cauliflower and a couple of other greens was totally overpriced for £15. No one approached us to ask if everything was ok during the meal and after we had finished, it took over 30 minutes to take away our plates and no question was asked why the pork roast dinner wasn't eaten. The pork on the menu said loin but I looked more like belly. We were going to have desert but we had waited so long we didn't have the time. We asked the the bill and for a bet between ourselves we started a stopwatch to see how long it would take to get it after it was requested. 10 minutes later and still of sign it inspire asking twice more. When it did arrive we put the card on the plate and place it at the end of the table in plain site for it to be seen. Another 10 minutes passed before anyone came over to take the payment, which while waiting we looked around at othe tables to notice that none had been cleared from the previous clients. Even after the payment was taken we still wasn't asked if we had enjoyed our meal. For the price of the food the service was terrible although I am not blaming the waiters. They were all very young and obviously untrained even in how to open a bottle and what ales were served. If a restaurant wants to charge the prices they are a lot has to be changed to justify it. I will not be visiting here again as I can get better food and service from a chain bar.

I enjoyed an excellent meal with my family at The Compasses at Pattiswick – having seen that they had just won best gastro pub and best restaurant awards, i was interested to see if they lived up to the accolade, and they certainly did! My wife's Sea Bass was cooked to perfection and my steak, possibly one of the best steaks I have ever eaten! The children -all 4 of them, were looked after brilliantly. Excellent food and exceptional service, we will definitley make the 10 mile journey to revisit very soon!

My family and I really enjoyed our meal at The Compasses, this was our first visit and on arrival my children (aged 2 and 4) were very excited to see a bouncy castle and bouncy slide in the garden. We hadn't realised they were holding a fun day when we booked but it made our meal even more enjoyable and kept the children occupied for hours! The restaurant was very busy but the staff were excellent, we arrived a few minutes early and our table wasn't quite ready so we had a drink in their bar. We were then seated by a very friendly waitress who looked after us throughout our meal. Our food was superb, my husband enjoyed the fish and chips and I had the roast beef – nothing to fault! We are looking forward to our next visit!

visitied as a party of four in november 2009 after recomendations. they appeared surprised to see us even though we had booked some days before . starter course was well presented but extremely bland and tasteless . the main course was ok in the case of fried haddock and chips, however the fillet steak had to be sent back twice as it was overcooked and for two who shared the chateaubriand , it was appallingly presented, cold and the side dish of field mushrooms turned out to be one solitary item lost under a spoon. service was at best sporadic and at times rude to the extent we all felt we were doing the restaurant a favour actually being there. it will be no surprise to hear we were not interested in smpling their dessert menu. a thoroughly dire evening and i can only express my amazement to find they had won awards. soulless , tasteless, pretentious , i cannot strongly enough recommend do not go near the place