I have to say that I've dined at Pietro's a couple of times now. This is because different sets of friends have made the reservation. I believe that it's hard to find a great restaurant in Essex, but I still hold out hope every time a new establishment opens it's doors. The location and building are just right, an old tea room tucked away within the picturesque village of Stock. The food is slightly above average and not particularly good value. (I'll pay anything for top nosh!) It's missing atmosphere and needs to loosen up. It has potential to become a convivial, buzzy restaurant serving homely, tasty italian food, but misses the boat. Go there once as a change from all the other average restaurants nearby, but I don't think you'll rush back.

We had a wonderful evening which started well by being offered a choice of which table we would like to sit at....how often does that happen? The menu was relatively small but had a good variety of dishes. The mussels were cooked to perfection and everything was well presented and made with good quality ingredients. On the night we went they had a live singer (was not aware of this when we booked) which was very pleasant and not obtrusive to our meal in any way. All in all, good food and service, clearly managed by people who care about their customers. Will definitely go back.

Booked by telephone 3 weeks prior to Valentines night only to arrive on the night and find they had no record of our booking. No apologies were given. We were offered a small table in the corner that had not been prepared. We were made to feel like we were lying and had not booked at all. After they speedily made up our table we were asked twice for our drink order. Our food came pretty hastily once ordered although the amuse bouche arrived along with the starters. For a valentine's day meal the food was well put together, tasty and imaginative with generous sized portions. By now the restaurant had filled up and after waiting over 40 minutes for the bill we were charged extra for our coffees which should have been included in the set price. Nice restaurant but very disappointing service. Would recommend anyone wishing to dine here to double check their reservation!

We carried out a visit to the newly refurbished BEAR in Stock this weekend. The owners Richard and Brenda made us very welcome, the atmosphere was just right and the food excellent. This is a great family pub and resturant that I would recommend to anyone.

Tony