It is important to remember that for every bad review there are probably lots of satisfied customers. These reviews are the comments of individual visitors to Information Britain and have not been authenticated by us. They should not be taken as the views of Crawbar Ltd - publishers of this web site.

Reviews of Du Cane Arms, Great Braxted

Best rates for a Local Hotel

Review by alan draper on 21st September, 2012

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Worst eating experience for a long while. Arrived at booked time of 6.30H and chose one of the 3 local beers available. Undrinkable! As it turned out so were the other 2! Bar staff advised that all beers were OK at 1200H so had to have a cider instead. The princliple appeared to be, serve the beer and let the punter decide if it is OK Bread board was ordered with olive oil and balsamic dip. Never seen such a small bowl and what made it worse was that the kichen had made no effort to amalgamate the oil and the balsamic so to get to the basamic the bread not only had to be small but it had to go through 25mm of oil to reach the layer of balsamic on the bottom. Starter of Confit of Duck was fine. Other starter was potted shrimp and crab main. Potted it was not! It was lukewarm soup. Neither good to look at nor eat. Representation made to waitress but no response from kitchen. After 10 minutes we called it a day and left. Advised bar staff that we did not intend to pay for anything except the bottle of wine and the cider. Accepted without question by kichen and no apology. Only comment made by bar staff was that the chef was busy. Given that there was only 6 diners including us for the period we were there, it puts a whole new meaning on " busy"

Date visited: 20/09/2012

Review by mr.J.Jopling on 25th November, 2011

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This establishment is a "Jeckyl and Hyde" place to me. Some days very good indeed, others slapdash, inefficient, and sadly lacking in professionalism. On our last lunchtime visit service was so slow and sloppy, that I wondered if I was in the right place. Everything took an age, and young unsupervised teenage girls were the only staff in sight, and the meal itself was below standard. My wife and I used to be regular visitors, but we have now found alternative places, who understand how to run their business.

Date visited: Late October 2011

Review by Amanda on 22nd October, 2011

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What to say marinated olives weren't marinated mushroom dish needed serious seasoning and again did not meet description bowls were chipped and main course just got worse menu reads beautifully shame food didn't match worst meal I've had in a long time

Date visited: 18/10/11

Review by Brian Maddox on 29th September, 2011

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Thought i would post a review for The Ducane after the amazing meal we enjoyed this Saturday, rarely nowadays it seems you come away from a place satisfied and have that glow of benefiting from good food and no nonsense value well this is the place there were 8 of us and we choose from all the menus offered a la carte, specials and one of us plumped for the verbal special of Orford skate. All courses great we were diving into each others dishes and i have to say great flavours wonderful presentation and some of the loveliest serving staff i have experienced, friendly, helpful, informed and efficient from taking the booking we asked for a birthday plate no charge and no problem the dessert in question arrived with a sparkler and a chorus of happy birthday, these little touches takes the good to the superb we were extremely pleased with everything including the final bill.Keep it up!!

Date visited: 10th September 2011

Review by Martin Horseman on 29th September, 2011

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Wonderful place in all areas food superb, service friendly and efficient, wine list interesting and well balanced, super location and very rural close to the A12 but a job to find, best pint i have had in years locally brewed in Maldon.Great value you pay much more in other eateries for much less, good portion sizes and desserts are fantastic and all home made. Well worth a detour practically Michelin standard of food, check out the gardens and the art gallery. Booking essential as we found out to our cost first time round. Good banter at the bar and friendly manager.

Date visited: 23rd September 2011

Review by Terry Patterson on 10th August, 2011

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Essex has a great place to eat but boy you need a tom tom, after driving through little country roads finally we reach the Ducane heard about it was recommended to try it eventually found it and it was well worth the drive, tiny tables in an airy restaurant with super gardens bombarded by masses of super duper food, local suppliers are worshipped here and no surprise the very best steak i have had for a while and enough to satisfy my meat cravings, talented chef no doubt and packed to the rafters obviously i have been slow to get board but we will be back and now we have directions. Keep up the great work not at all surprised your the best restaurant in Essex.

Date visited: 21st July 2011

Review by David Marsh on 18th May, 2011

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Super food super staff very attentive servers young but efficient, very slick service of excellent food we will be back. Keep up the good work.

Date visited: May 2011

Review by Colin Margot on 18th May, 2011

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Humble pub but beautiful interior which is matched by the zippy girls out front and backed up by super super food which will not break the bank, drinks a bit pricey but worth the cost, 8 of us all 3 courses £225 for food not bad at all. really deserve their awards but why not show them off. We will be back Mrs Plastow we thought it was great and everyone cares that we met during our visit. See you soon all.

Date visited: May 2011

Review by Jenny on 27th March, 2011

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What a splendid place to eat, food was great the service too. A delightful restaurant to enjoy a leisurely meal with helpful staff- how do they do it for the price-incredable value!

Date visited: 13th March 2011

Review by Mrs Plastow on 11th March, 2011

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Food excellent.Young staff really let this restaurant down they just do not care. We complained about waiting so long did not apologise their attitude stinks. Will not be back

Review by Charles Baddow on 2nd March, 2011

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Talking with friends a few days ago who had visited the Ducane for a charity event and were very impressed they lived locally but had never heard of the place a well kept secret no doubt, visited with my family a large table which is sometimes difficult to book but we arrived and the place is a little off the beaten track but we were really surprised,its not cheap but its not outrageous we had drinks in front of the bar good choice of ales and mine was dangerously good, its true the staff are young but we were sat and had ordered before we realised, ask for the reserve list, i am no expert but i felt there were some real bargains, the food arrived and you think this is what a meal out should be like, starters delivered quickly but what we liked was the complimentary nibbles, a nice touch that something free while you wait, any way pretty starters but not at the expense of taste, then the main:beef great, gravy great, hollandaise unusual but great, roasties crisp, parsnips sweet, veg lots, cauli cheese plenty, extra yorkies without asking the food just kept on coming we were stuffed, dessert was offered and taken after a break, Lou Lou whoever you are send your B&B to Waitrose and make a fortune.10/10

Date visited: 18the Feb 2011

Review by Jane on 12th January, 2011

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We thoroughly enjoyed our evening at the Ducane, the food was delicious and the service faultless, yes, we had to wait but then it was worth every minute. This place do have young front of house staff but they are willing and smiling. We accept that the staffing costs are prohibitive these days and with such lovely food we accept there is a price to pay; so reviewers loosen up don't criticise and accept some of the shortfalls to keep the Ducane operating so we can enjoy! Thank you

Date visited: 31st Dec 2010

Review by Mel Gozzett (party name Atkinson) on 12th December, 2010

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Awful service I've never experienced such awful service in my life. Only 4 staff with an average age of 16 with no customer skills. Food very nice plus presented well. Really really dissapointed. Need to seriously invest in more staff & more experienced staff as your front of house is dreadful. Plus cobwebs everywhere. Your front of house seriously lets your profits & your kitchen down.

Date visited: 11/12/10

Review by dave on 6th August, 2010

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The best place around by far super food super staff. Got to be the best foodie venue we have visited recently the set lunch menu was unbelievably good value and surprisingly good we always look at a bargain suspiciously now a days set menu normally means what's going bad and how can I pass it on not here though fresh light and delicious. We would recommend The Ducane to anybody looking for an excellent night of food and wine.

Date visited: 4th August 2010

Review by Mark Davis on 26th July, 2010

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What a place where has it been hiding, better than the Lion better than The Blue Strawberry and the run down wreck that is The Crowded house though not so crowded any more as I understand. The Ducane makes a good replacement with a touch of real class excellent food and that is all of it big portions if that is your thing but really really good, reserve wine list offers some treats and as for the service, young, pretty and efficient second visit remembered our names and where we came from, good attention to detail. Owner chef must be the best combo excellent look about the place and clean, will keep coming back.

Date visited: 24th June 2010

Review by Scott Whitehead on 17th May, 2010

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We fancied a change from our usual restaurants, and wanted some thing original, tasty and fresh. A quick search on Google and we found theducane.co.uk and read the details and booked online. Dining out at the Du Cane in Great Braxted was a real pleasure, the menu a mix of innovative presentations and traditional food; we found it hard to choose what we wanted, which to my mind is the sign of a good menu! It’s a lovely place with roaring fires in the winter, a large well stocked bar and a beautiful décor. The gardens are lovely, and the staff all so helpful. The food really was lovely, local ingredients all combined to make the best meals we have had in a long time. The Du Cane is our favourite restaurant in England, we are very lucky its only 30 minutes from us. So often with country village bars and restaurants they are hard to find, but this was easy – right on the Tiptree Road, it has a red telephone box in its lawn. To start I had the Gressingham duck with plum and raspberries, which was served on a sheet of styled glass. Maggie had a trio of salmon – including gravelax in tea, which was lovely. We both had the 8 hour slow roasted pork belly with cabbage and redcurrants, it just melted in our mouths. For desert Maggie had the cheeseboard, the best cheeseboard we have seen in this country, with lots of fruit and quince jelly. We never see quince anymore, it’s just a word to lay in scrabble, great to see it back on the menu in a restaurant we know. Sam and her team did a great job of looking after us and everyone. And thank you for the bowl of ice cream for Emily – her first taste of ice cream! The main attraction though is the food – so much is local produce, and its clear Chef Jonathon doesn’t just treat this as a gimmick and is passionate about cooking interesting and diverse dishes with a range of local ingredients. If you are looking for a restaurant that does quality food right, then I would recommend The Du Cane in Great Braxted any time. We recommend The Du Cane to our friends and now to you through this site. The DU Cane is at Tiptree Road, Gt. Braxted, Essex, CM8 3EJ Telephone 01621 891 697 Email eat@theducane.co.uk Website and Online bookings www.theducane.co.uk

Date visited: 11th April 2010

Review by Francis on 12th May, 2010

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A lovely atmosphere with pleasant friendly service. The food was great roast beef delicious and superb sweets, they have locally produced ingredients which are served well presenting dishes that excite we shall certainly visit again. The Ducane must be visited to see what can be offered, it would be wise to book as it was very busy.

Date visited: 10thMay2010

Review by Surina Somal on 10th July, 2008

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This pub has recently changed hands and is looking much more fresh and modern after the refurb. The staff were friendly and welcoming and we all left with a warm glow despite the miserable weather outside. The food was delicious with an eclectic mix of ingredients, blending modern cuisine with some traditional favourites. A firm winner with us and we'll definitely be going back.

Date visited: June 2008

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