County Hotel, Samphire Restaurant

County Hotel, Samphire Restaurant reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

1. C

   Carol

   London6 reviews

   3.0

   Dined on April 7, 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 2

   Enjoyable meal but slightly disappointed with our choice of dessert as this should have been warm. Staff was very attentive and friendly . Hotel exterior is in need of renovation so it looks more presentable.
   

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2. J

   Jacs100

   Essex156 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on August 28, 2020

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Sapphire Restaurant: quiet on arrival by atmosphere livened up later, excellent service, food, wine list, value for money. Impressed!
   

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3. FE

   FrancescaE

   London2 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on May 11, 2019

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Great time here for afternoon tea. Staff were accommodating to our particular eaters and assisted my with little sandwiches and milk for my young boy along with a colouring in pack - food was amazing! Love the cream cheese and mint sandwiches!!
   

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4. IM

   IanM

   Essex3 reviews

   4.0

   Dined on February 14, 2018

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   Food was nice. Service was just poor. They tried but it was like everyone had just started and didn’t have a clue.
   

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5. J

   Jacs100

   Essex156 reviews

   3.0

   Dined on November 1, 2017

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 1

   The food at The County Hotel is great (I had the pan fried salmon with mashed potato which was excellent) but there was absolutely no atmosphere on both occasions I have dined there recently. (Maybe it gets busier later in the evening though).
   

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6. NH

   NicH

   Buckinghamshire3 reviews

   3.0

   Dined on September 10, 2017

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 4

   Nicely refurbished restaurant, excellent menu and wonderful food. The only problem was that on a Sunday lunchtime, with only 50% occupancy the food service was so slow. We were first to arrive at 12 noon and finally paid the bill at 14:30 which even for a 3 course lunch was glacial in pace. Our frustration was mentioned a couple of times to staff but they just blamed the kitchens .
   

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7. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Essex3 reviews

   3.0

   Dined on June 4, 2017

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 3

   Good service, very quiet, good food
   

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8. J

   Jacs100

   Essex156 reviews

   4.0

   Dined on March 17, 2017

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 2

   Samphire at The County Hotel is a great find! Couldn't fault the service (waitress very friendly), food excellent, décor and ambience very relaxing, but there was not much atmosphere on the Friday evening when we went (only a few other guests dining). Highly recommend.
   

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9. b

   bellymo

   Essex5 reviews

   3.0

   Dined on May 22, 2016

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 3

   The hotel dining room is lovely but it was empty, we did get there early for the pre-theatre menu but even so. The choice was good and everyone enjoyed there meal. Apart from the lack of atmosphere my problem was the service, the waiter lent over the ladies to give the men there meals and obviously wasnt aware of silver service. We were told that if we wanted dessert we had to order it with the rest of the order - why? who knows if they want a dessert before having the starter and main and we were the only people in the restaurant! so we just said no. Great location for the Chelmsford Civil, we left our car and just walked up. Brilliant
   

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10. YY

    YumYum

    London3 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on April 5, 2015

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 2

    My wife and I have been to the County Kitchen a few times for their Sunday Carvery. So why, you may ask have I only given the County Kitchen 3 stars and entitled my review as lacks consistency? Well the title does say it all, it isn't that the food and service and surroundings are bad its just that as a complete package it...........lacks consistency. Perhaps I should explain rather than repeating myself Our table was crammed in with others in the small conservatory/veranda area. It felt cramped as we were against a pillar and so close to at least 6 other diners that it felt uncomfortable and unwelcoming, especially as the rest of the restaurant was empty. Moving on to our food. We opted for starters, followed by the carvery. My wife's starter crab & haddock fishcake, with chive hollandaise was presented nicely and according to her "very nice but lacked flavour". Mine was pork belly terrine and chutney my comments mirror those of my wife's. Lacked seasoning and flavour, but looked nice. I echo Greg Wallace's thoughts on Masterchef the other day....."...would rather have something that tastes good rather than a dish that just looks pretty..." Now the carvery you have a choice of at 3 roast meats plus vegetables and if you feeling really hungry there isn't a limit to the number of times you can go back. But for most appetites 1 visit is enough. Being a little greedy I had a couple of slices of port (with yummily crisp crackling) and some beef. The carver described the beef as medium rare (my preference) but it was more like medium to well done so it was a bit tough and chewy (shame as it looked a fantastic joint of beef). That finally put an end to our meal, we paid our bill (£59.95 incl bottle of wine, and starters) and left. I have to say that this hasn't been our experience on other occasions, so perhaps its was just an off day. Will we go back? Probably, but we won't be rushing back. Its not a bad place, it just.....lacks consistency!
    

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