http://www.essexrestaurants.com/ 251-1393 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/the-hoop-stock-essex.html Michelle helped us to organise a wonderful 50th birthday party for my husband. We were offered a great selection on the menu, which we pre-ordered as there were 40 of us in the Oak Room. We were able to get in early to add flowers and decorations to what is a beautiful room. The food and service were both excellent that evening, with the team being totally attentive to our needs. Wine was of a good quality at a reasonable price. I could not have asked for more and everyone had a fantastic time. ]]> Mon, 07 May 2012 10:15:39 +0100 38-1243 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/the-bear-inn-stock-essex.html I went to the Bear beginning of September. This was a first time for me, but 2 of the party had been previously. On first impressions it was lovely, quite big. Bar area was over crowded but didn't wait to long to get served. When we was seated we were crammed onto a 4 table and barely had enough room to move our chairs out. The restaurant was overly hot and stuffy and they had no fans or AC. They opened a few windows, but rightly so the people next to them were getting cold. Service was ok but nothing spectacular. When the waitress came over to us to explain the specials we could hardly hear her. One person had scallops that turned up warm but not hot. I had the special of Lamb, green beans and dauphinoise potatoes. When the waitress bought them over, 2 of us had ordered it, 1 well done and 1 med-well done, when they arrived they were both well done to which i told the waitress mine was med-well done but she was not budging or trying to accommodate me. There was barely any lamb and a outer layer of fat that was not needed. 1 member of the family had the steak that was tough and the potato rosti was burnt!! It took them ages to clear the table of dishes and glasses. Because of all these factors I don't think I would be inclined to go back here. Food was average but for the gastro pub prices they charge, it needs to be a lot better!!! ]]> Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:41:09 +0100 251-1239 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/the-hoop-stock-essex.html Took my nan and grandad out to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversairy. Had a fantastic and memorable evening due to the outstanding food. The staff were very helpful and welcoming. You feel very well looked after and cared for. Was particularly pleased that it was easy for myself and two pensioners to share a meal due to the wide variety on the menu. Overall we felt very comfortable here and would definitely recommend and will definitely be returning in the near future. ]]> Wed, 28 Sep 2011 19:39:59 +0100 206-1200 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/greenwoods-hotel-stock-essex.html Mon, 25 Jul 2011 15:33:24 +0100 251-1052 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/the-hoop-stock-essex.html We arranged a party of 12 after a experiencing a delightful test drive meal, what a mistake. The service was a disaster, given that we had pre-ordered the food some drinks arrived before the starters and some after, it was all rushed driven by the kitchen desires. The restaurant was half empty which was a surprise for a Saturday night but we never felt the waiter had time to attend to our needs. The food was generally good despite the service. Finally desert started to be served before all the orders had been taken and no cutlery was provided until the last order was delivered. Which is not clever if you have ice cream. They just were had no idea what was expected. To further compound their mistakes they blamed their inadequacies on the customers! I don't expect any of us will ever return, which is a shame as it would cost nothing to have provided an excellent customer focused experience. ]]> Wed, 11 May 2011 13:06:36 +0100 251-981 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/the-hoop-stock-essex.html Oh when a pub / restaurant gets too big for its shoes ...
As one whom has both drunk and eater here many times, its disappointing to see when i restaurant clearly feels they are so successful they no longer nee care... let me explain:

As one whom frequents The Hoop on a regular basis, and indeed eats there far too often ..... I just want to bring to your attention a situation that arose last night, when once again I choose to eat there.

Having ordered the fish pie at roughly 8.10, I was surprised that it took so long to arrive at 8.50+/- , nonetheless good food is often worth the wait, although I'm sitting there with my fish pie, yet no vegetables as mentioned on the menu.

I'll eat slowly, bound to be here in a minute ..... only when I went to the bother of brining it to the attention of the bar staff was I told sorry it will be with you in a minute - OK no problem we all make mistakes.

My selection of vegetables arrive ...

1 x New potato
2 pieces of broccoli
1 slice of carrot
3.5 Peas - YES 3.5 peas - Was the chief having a laugh or simply taking the PEE ? It must have been all of £0.10 worth of veg

Come on, I'm sure even you will agree that is pathetic, in fact so pathetic its laughable ....

I brought this to the attention of the bar staff thinking I would at least get perhaps a small bowl of peas - nothing not even an apology !

Had it not been for the fact I was so hungry I would have returned the lot and sort a refund.

Having brought this to the attention of management via a letter, 3 weeks later and still no response - its such a shame when success goes to ones head and customers are no longer of importance ! ]]> Fri, 01 Oct 2010 12:54:01 +0100 192-873 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/baburchi-restaurant-motel-stock.html Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:15:05 +0100 206-850 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/greenwoods-hotel-stock-essex.html Mon, 17 May 2010 15:17:17 +0100 251-821 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/the-hoop-stock-essex.html I've been to The Hoop several times in the last few years and can only say its improved under the ownership and management of Phil Utz and his wife.

Phil was the chef at The Bear, (we also used to visit there a lot too) and when he moved on from The Hoop there was a marked downturn in menu imagination and food quality. It will be interesting to return to The Bear now that it is under new management, (I certainly won't miss the paper napkins and sauce sachets).

Anyway, back to The Hoop. My wife and I have visited and eaten inside, downstairs - pub lunch arrangement, in the upstairs restaurant for a more formal dinner and several times in the garden.

The menu offers great choice, personally we feel that the prices are fair considering the quality and quantity of the food provided. Food temperature also remains consistent.

Service is prompt, friendly and not overly fussy.
Ambience of the environment is very much to our personal taste, (country pub feel).

I've read the comments about the toilets and am not sure what they relate to. We were at The Hoop for lunch last weekend and the toilets were fully functional and spotlessly clean.

Overall I can't speak highly enough of this establishment, look forward to many future visits and wish them much continued success. ]]> Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:14:22 +0100 251-725 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/the-hoop-stock-essex.html to those whos comments were very poor you must be at the wrong place or in a different world!!!!!

Staff great, food great, all great, only comment is lack of toilets but very tidy and clean once in.

Couldn't feel more welcome and worth every penny!!!!!!

Cant wait to go back, thanks to all staff xxxx ]]> Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:54:54 +0000 251-679 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/the-hoop-stock-essex.html After reading the last review I was slightly worried about our birthday meal booked for last weekend. I almost booked somewhere else. Thank goodness I didn't. We had a great time. The food was delicious, the staff were friendly and welcoming and couldn't do enough for us. There were even comments cards left on the tables for us to report any "issues" we may have had, although we didn't have any!
The parking can be a little scarce but we found a space up the road in the village hall car park.
A lovely time was had by all. Thank you, we will be back. ]]> Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:48:32 +0000 251-678 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/the-hoop-stock-essex.html a little gem in the heart of essex,wonderful,vibrant,exciting,food,my guests thoroughly enjoyed it,be back soon.thank you THE HOOP. ]]> Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:45:16 +0000 251-671 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/the-hoop-stock-essex.html Just had my mums 50th Birthday at the Hoop and all the staff were so great all smiles. Many many thanks what a lovely Room & venue. ]]> Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:26:57 +0000 251-669 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/the-hoop-stock-essex.html Second time at the Hoop just moved to the village and this will be my Local, friendly staff, great food, no music, no fruit machines and the Best & cheapest Adnams! ]]> Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:14:20 +0000 444-573 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/pietros-italian-restaurant-stock.html very nice place clean pleasant nice staff food nicely presented a little tastless but only my firt time would try again as it has a lovely feel about it ]]> Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:06:03 +0100 38-464 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/the-bear-inn-stock-essex.html My first visit to the Bear in Stock and I must say I will return. The food was cooked to perfection, we both started with scollops and bacon with a pea jus, the scallops metled in your mouth and all the flavours combined so well. We then had a rack of lamb, again cooked to perfection which was accompanied by crisp seasonal vegtables. We finished off with sweets which were good. The service was very good with the majority of waitresses giving a smile, ]]> Sat, 04 Apr 2009 22:52:25 +0100 38-427 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/the-bear-inn-stock-essex.html Outstanding, The Bear is now back to being a proper pub with the added bonus of excellent food. ]]> Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:58:16 +0000 444-362 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/pietros-italian-restaurant-stock.html Lovely restaurant with very friendly and helpful staff!
Food was very good but slightly expensive. ]]> Thu, 01 Jan 2009 13:43:53 +0000 192-225 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/baburchi-restaurant-motel-stock.html Tue, 13 May 2008 19:52:03 +0100 38-155 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/the-bear-inn-stock-essex.html 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. ]]> Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:43:19 +0000 38-39 http://www.essexrestaurants.com/stock-venues/stock-restaurants/the-bear-inn-stock-essex.html 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 ]]> Sun, 30 Dec 2007 20:35:17 +0000