Anchor

We visited for lunch, when the staff were under severe pressure owing to some having gone sick. However, service remained on the ball and very friendly despite this. Their oysters come from the Company Shed at West Mersea and my partner said they were gorgeous. I had a beautiful twice baked cheddar and caramelised onion souffle, full of flavour. Whilst there is a lot of emphasis on the food, the bar was busy with people just having a drink and they were made just as welcome.

Superb. Spent a couple of nights here recently and cannot fault. Room was lovely, food excellent and the service warm and freindly. My compliments to the owners and their staff.

The welcome here was average but the food was dreadful. We had the two specials of the day - rabbit with pasta, and pigeon. The rabbit was tough and the pigeon raw. When I complained that the pigeon was impossible to cut into, the chef was very defensive and said it was cooked properly. He jointed it and gave me a sharper (steak) knife. This made no difference - I still couldn't get through the skin to the meat . I enjoy rare meat, but this was uncooked - once jointed, I could see congealed blood near the bone. We complained again and were compensated for our drinks only - about £4 (both meals came to around £28). There was no apology, just a 'thanks for letting us know'. I left with both my stomach and my wallet feeling empty.

The terrace here must be one of the nicest places for lunch on a sunny day anywhere in Suffolk. Service is notably friendly, knowledgeable and well organised, even when busy. Oysters were enormous and spanking fresh, sardines well grilled and served with a lovely, light herb mayonnaise. Their home baked bread is very good, particularly the brown with seeds. Their Adnams beer is well kept and like quite a few places locally, they have Aspalls cider on tap. If you don't initially spot the beer or cider you want just ask, as the inside bar has some taps/pumps that are not visible at first glance. The day we were there, they were having a BBQ which was proving very popular and certainly looked and smelt good.