Wetherspoons

Absolutely dreadful. It was freezing cold in there and I never feel the cold normally. Our food came out very quickly and the staff were very efficient. Unfortunately, my chicken was so dried out and hard I couldn’t even get my knife through it. I tried to carry on but eventually had to say something. The young lady was very apologetic and came back with another piece of chicken that had been microwaved. Along with the cheapest possible brand of peas that were like bullets, it actually put me off food. It upset my stomach.

We visited here Saturday afternoon for lunch and a few drinks. The food and service was good. Bit messy in parts but generally ok.

What a shame that Essex's county town should have such a poor example of a Wetherspoons. On our most recent visit the pub was once again packed but understaffed, leading to long waits and filthy tables. After only one of our 2 beers turned up (after 30 minutes) we had to ask ourselves about the other one only to find out that it, and apparently every other cask beer in the place, was off and this during a beer festival! It's far from the first time we have had problems with advertised beers not being available here. The whole place is loud, echoing chamber too and not somewhere to pick for a relaxing pint. 2 stars instead of one because the food was OK and every member of staff we dealt with was doing their best under trying circumstances.

I am perplexed as to why this Wetherspoons has been put under the category Quick Bites . Let me tell you that there is absolutely nothing quick about this place. When we ordered our 3 meals and 3 soft drinks today (from our sticky table that had not been cleared of its previous occupant 's plates) it said on the app that there was a 22 minute wait for food and 15 for drinks. That 's fine, we were happy with that. However... in reality the food came after 55 minutes and the drinks after 58. Three soft drinks, 58 minutes!!!!! We did ask where our order was after 40 minutes and was told that they were going as fast as they could! Pardon me for being so unreasonable! I realise there may be staff shortages or other reasons for food delay but I do think the app should reflect the true wait time, not one plucked from thin air. Give people a chance to decide whether they want to wait that long but definitely don 't make them wait nearly an hour for 3 cokes! The food when it arrived was good pub grub and good value. Would have got more than 2 stars if it were judged on that alone.

Went to ivory peg today. Ordered two pizzas. After 45 min ask if pizzas would be much longer. Another waiter said sorry we have run out pizza dough. Asked what you like instead. The bar person who look are order said that's £4 something, he said he sent someone to are table and no one was there. We didn't leave the table. I asked to see manager, he said he was and to get out time was about 2 15