Vibrant bar atmosphere in Hornchurch

“I treated a friend to a nando s lunch for his birthday. We were served by Nimali who was really helpful in explaining the menu , the sides available and the heat options. She recommended buying a platter which was better value for money. The food was hot and well cooked and we both really enjoyed our meal. We finished off with a desert each. Looking forward to returning”

“Very conveniently situated right in the middle of Hornchurch High Street. Very pleasant inside, very welcoming and the music system is not too intrusive. Nice. Would recommend the steak & ale pie with either chips or side salad. Very pleasant and helpful staff. I would say that Hornchurch town is blessed to have this traditional pub right on its doorstep and right next to Sainsburys. ROD UK.”

“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”

“The Drill opened its doors again today and I just popped over for a couple of drinks and a meal, both of which were excellent! I can't wait to sample the whole menu in the future. The new and old staff were super friendly and the manager Wayne was very welcoming and was clearly running a well oiled machine. Their social distancing measures seemed to be working well and it felt like a safe environment to relax in. Being a pub garden fan though I was most impressed with their refurbished garden - outstanding! See you again soon!”

“Just had a very enjoyable meal at the ardleigh. Jacob the barman could not have been more helpful with our granddaughter who has nut and egg allergies. Food was excellent real value for money. Well done all the ardleigh staff and chef.”

“We have just had a lovely lunch at The Harrow, food and service was excellent as was the coffee. The staff are friendly and looked after us really well, as it was lunch time it was a bit quieter than the evenings but suited us nicely.”