The Best Community gathering place in Hornchurch

“As you maybe aware I’m a big foodie who loves dining out in the finest of restaurants. But when it comes to choosing wine we either go for the countries that we know or we leave it to the recommendations of the sommeliers. So with this in mind we wanted to broaden our horizons let’s say by learning more about wine in general ie taste , smell , tannins , acidity etc. with the additional knowledge of knowing what wine wine is good value for money and which style of wine goes with which style of food. So we gave it some thought and approached our good friend and drinks expert Alison Taffs at the Hop Inn Hornchurch our local micro pub to see what she thought and because it was only going to be the two of us if it would be worth her while. But after a little chat we discussed a budget so it would make her time and effort worthwhile. We gave her a couple of weeks to put together a format and gather some wines to taste and talk about. This led us to sunday when our tasting would take place. We arrived at the Hop Inn and our table was laid out in the corner. You could see straight away that Alison had put a lot of effort into this to which we were very grateful. She had laid out tasting note sheets , an iPad screen displaying various information and a list of the six wines we would be tasting. She decided that we should keep the discussion to european wines and in particular Portugal , France , Austria & Germany. Her knowledge was incredible as she guided us through the different stages of tasting wine. This begins with appearance which will include the colour. This is followed by smell , condition , intensity and the character. Then it’s time to taste to find out if the wine is sweet or dry as well as how much acidity , length , body and tannins. To finish you would decide what type of food you would match the wine with. We followed this by talking about pricing and what wines from specific regions when you look at a wine list are good value for money. This information really was invaluable and will certainly help us in the future. We’d personally like to thank Alison for a fabulous wine tasting afternoon. To listen to her knowledge and passion really was a pleasure and we definitely got more out of this than we first thought. I would highly recommend if your interested in wine to arrange a session yourselves whether your a couple like us or a larger group you will certainly benefit from her vast experience in the industry. We’re certainly looking forward to booking another session with her soon”

“I tried the lunch menu for the first time today and everything i tried was lovely! I also had a desert of banana fritters which are the best i have ever tasted! Amazing food and service, can't wait to return!”

“Love this café, very friendly staff since the change in management, very easy to communicate. Delicious and clean food, totally recommend :)”

“At last a refill store in Havering. Having spent the last 5 years trekking into Hackney to avoid plastic waste its great to have somewhere local to go.”

“Just popped in to collect a parcel. Staff are friendly”

“Wonderful place to order from, I have ordered from there quite a few times. From the website, app or calling them up old school and the food arrives on time and hot like it fresh from my oven! I have had one mistake in the past, I had the wrong side delivered, like all things they can't be perfect every time. Even still one quick and painless phone call and my correct side was sent out and arrived in like 10 minutes! Special thanks to Shane who served my order masterfully and I'm pretty sure ended up dealing with my problem so professionally and quickly. Because of him, I doubt I'll ever go elsewhere.”