1st time to the Oakwood. We popped in for breakfast Sunday morning and I must say it was amazing. The waitress was very attentive and friendly. Lovely greeting when we came in. She gave us some colouring for the little ones to do which was very nice. She couldn’t do more for us. The food was fresh and hot. Look forward to going back and trying dinner. Def recommend

Absolutely amazing family run pub!!! Such a friendly place to eat and drink x the staff can’t do enough for you x food amazing x endless choice of drinks x 100% will go back xxxxx Angie xxxxx

Just had a lovely meal here, staff were very pleasant, felt at ease, nice and clean etc will visit again :)

Warm and inviting. Friendly staff. Good atmosphere. Good for watching football. Completely spoilt by food order. Ordered small plate of scampi. Thought it would come with chips/ fries but smaller portion. But oh no, 6 pieces of scampi, no fries= £6.99. Extortionate in my opinion.

My new regular eat in get away! Me and my daughter fancied a change so we came here last Friday to eat and I got to say, It was one of the best pubs I have been in to eat, the staff were so welcoming and friendly and and food was so fresh. The best part for me is that it was so spacious in there and it wasn't rammed like other pubs so it was so enjoyable we didn't want to leave. The ONLY slight down fall was that there was only ice cream and jelly on kids dessert menu and my child is fussy so she would have preferred a cake like the ones on main menu but it wasn't an issue as the lovely lady offered a nice ice cream with sweets that she could decorate herself. Cant wait to come back, I think it will be an every Friday treat for me and my daughter and my family are looking forward to attending. Thank you for your warm welcome and reasonable prices. Christina

Approximately 24 men had a breakfast together and all of us agree that the food, service and staff were top class. We all HIGHLY RECOMMEND this venue.

We've now visited a few times since lockdown for lunch and never been disappointed. The welcome is always warm. they offer a comprehensive menu. Our most recent visit was last week and the "chicken your way" option is always a good bet. We weren't disappointed. The service was quick and the food was hot and tasty. We''ll be back

Had a family meal of 8 persons last night (Friday) food was excellent served was outstanding by Kerry, she works very hard to make sure your happy with your food and if you need a refill, I would highly recommend anyone going there, and me and my partner will definitely be back. Thank you Oakwood Pub

Friendly & welcoming staff Nice atmosphere Cold drinks Strongly recommended for family time Update 18/09/2021 😁 The same like 3 weeks ago the service & food was excellent !👏👏👏 Kelly it's a real waitres helpful & a real nice presents ! 👌 Easy access from A127 & Rayleigh Rd whit good parking size ! Update 12/12/2021 Like usually tasty food 👍 Kelly does everything to make you feel welcome 👍 Nice Christmas atmosphere 🎄👏 Update 23/01/2022 The same tasty chicken wings 😋👍 Strongly recommended for a nice dinner 👌

Good beer, good food and exceptionally friendly staff, Mia (I think) is a credit to your staff, made us feel like we were dinning at a restaurant in Kensington, but for a fraction of the price! Highly recommend 🍺🍔

My family and I visited the Oakwood yesterday. We had a great time, the food and service was lovely. The staff were welcoming and friendly. We'll definitely be returning. Thank you for a wonderful lunchtime 😀

Not a bad pub. Good offers on food and drink. We went on a football night so quite loud. Quieter once the match finished. Comfortable seating and nice surroundings. Good choice of food and drink. Good place for groups, not so intimate or cosy for couples. Plenty of families in the pub.

Where I chose to have my birthday dinner. Teenagers felt at home. The food was filling and good quality. The staff were attentive. Excellent experience.

I was there for a private function ( a wake) so it was a bit of a different situation from visiting a pub for a drink & food.The buffet that was there looked good.

We had trio of roast for Sunday lunch. Good portion sizes & meat was cooked really well. Very tasty. For what you pay this is definitely better than the carvery chains, plus they bring it your table. If your looking for a deluxe roast this doesn't quite make the mark but for a general nice family Sunday roast then this is a gem. Service was good and atmosphere was pleasant. We would go again.

Hidden in the chase in Rayleigh I havnt been to since using as a boozer in the 1980s .. Pleasant surroundings and lovely food , with a good offer on sunday dinner with 1 2 or 3 courses . Good service. Recommend & will be going again Had a ride up on my lambretta & took advantage of the back drop

Excellent meal and price. Service brisk and efficient. We sat outside, covered seating. Would defo recommend! Food was lovely, staff helpful.

Never had battered sea bass before. Pleasantly surprised. Delicious

Lovely atmosphere, friendly staff and food was gorgeous. Nice to go into a local pub that has so much history too. Great place and will definitely return.

Myself and my family spent a delightful and enjoyable evening at the Lodge for my 60th Birthday earlier this week. Food was good at a reasonable price, and staff were extremely pleasant and helpful. Fully recommended.

The staff all had the Xmas spirit, the food was not the hottest and maybe eggs and sausages could have been cooked a bit more but that was maybe personal. Some items missing off hubbies plate but when mentioned was immediately within seconds rectified. Some xmas music would have been nice. Our grandson who is only 2 had the best time and was kept entertained by the child friendly team. The wonderful staff got us in first as our other nanny had to fly back to Spain. We will be booking again next year, so thank you all very much and have a lovely Christmas

Lovely pub, unfortunately, on our visit the food came up cold/luke warm so we had to get a refund on our meals. The manager was really efficient and to apologise gave us free drinks for the inconvenience. I do feel that this was due to the fact it was over Easter weekend, and it was very busy. I would go back there, though to try, on a quieter day.

Improve everything! I don't think I have ever had a meal out this bad. There was 7 of us and not 1 of us enjoyed our dinner. Even the chips was under cooked. The food was absolutely awful

This was a pleasant find. A lovely setting and very friendly staff. Food came out quickly by a smiley lady. Shame that the lamb kofte weren't available. Seems to be an Ember Inn problem. Lots of space and lots of tables to choose where to sit. Love that there are two parts. One seemed loud and busy and the other quieter. Would definitely recommend this pub.

This is a poor review because The Rayleigh Lodge had a limited menu due to some of the more popular meals being unavailable. The area of the restaurant where we were seated was really rather cold. The radiators were warm and couldn't cope with cold evening.The food was only warm, not hot! The staff were doing their best and working really hard but overall not a great experience. I shall not be going back on a cold evening again.

The food was lovely perfectly cooked but took a while to come out but it was very busy and very noisy but will definitely be going back in the week this time. Also there's plenty of parking and the kids menu was good

Well . When we arrived we were told that our booking was for just for the usual Lunch menu which I disagreed with as I booked the festive menu as it was a works Xmas lunch, and was asked to pay £30 deposit too, so having to order off the normal lunch menu, we was then advised there was no sirloin steak or half chicken available. The staff were Not very attentive at all. When our meals arrived a lot Of the chips people had looked like they had been cooked over and over again and were hard. We were all just disappointed and just paid and left. Very disappointed .

Food and service was great. Massive portions and good prices.

My husband and I went there last night for our Wedding Anniversary dinner. We both ordered Prawns and monkfish with tagliatelle. Delicious combination of flavours😋. We were very welcomed and great hosts. The staff are amazingly friendly, helpful and professional. Everything is incredibly clear. Great selection of music 🎶 A definitely return.

La Romantica has been in Rayleigh since 1969. As such it serves classic italian restaurant food, with all the usual cuts and sauces you expect: veal, bistecca, pasta, pizza etc. The Sunday roast is worth the trip, and the two course fixed menu is great value. It's a little dark inside and a little cramped but this adds to the atmosphere. A real cornerstone of Rayleigh high street.

Had an amazing waiter who made our experience the best it could possibly be, even letting us borrow some spear glasses to read the menu! Food was delicious and good portions. They even blasted happy birthday through the speakers and put a candle in our dessert for our birthday celebration. Couldn't recommend more, will be returning!

By far the best Italian in Rayleigh, not just the food but the atmosphere too. Well worth a visit.

Awesome visit. First time. Just googled local Italian and went. So so glad that we did. Party of six. Starters and mains. All dishes as good or better than we've ever had in any other place. We're all vegetarians. Chef was happy to alter some dishes to suit. Leaving town. So no chance to go again soon. But would if I could.

Very enjoyable food and service I had the skate and vegetables my wife the full Sunday roast.

Wow, what an incredible Sunday roast. Marco was so accommodating and attentive. The food was superb we could not have faulted it. The service and the food made an incredible Sunday family evening! Thank you so much. I can’t wait to be back again soon!

Amazing food , lovely atmosphere and the service was brilliant .

Spur of the moment dinner out but what a great place to have gone! Family friendly atmosphere with beautiful tasting food. Service was faultless and would happily come back here again.

The food was ok, we had to ask to place our order as we sat for ages waiting to be served, the place was very busy so I can understand why we was having to wait. Because the restaurant was packed and tables very close together it was very noisy, we had gone with friends for a catchup but unfortunately we couldn't hear each other. I can't complain about the food or the staffs friendliness just the length of time it took to take our order and how noisy it was. Lovely for celebrations but no good for a catchup.

Fantastic restaurant .. lovely staff and brilliant food They didn't bring the mains up straight away after the starters gave us a breather Will be going back 👍

We booked a table at La Romantica Restaurant in Rayleigh High Street for our Christmas day dinner. Obviously with the popularity of this restaurant we had to book several months in advance. On entering the restaurant we were greeted with that lovely Italian warmth and hospitality, a certain something special, that only the very best restaurants seem to be able to achieve. We were shown to our table and offered drinks. Considering the fact that every table was taken, it didnt feel over occupied or claustrophobic. The food we ordered and it's arrival was amazingly quick, boiling hot and the flavour was so good I can't even put it into words. Portion sizes are extremely generous. We don't consider ourselves as food experts, but honestly the flavours in this restaurant really are magnificent, even simple vegetables seem to taste a 100 times better. There was no rushing us to order our desserts or coffees and baring in mind that all the staff were working on Christmas day, they all seemed happy, attentive and looked like they actually enjoyed what they were doing. I genuinely can't praise this place, it's staff and the chef's high enough. Thanks to all the staff, the Chefs etc for a really wonderful Christmas experience, we will definitely be back soon. I'd give this place a rating of 10 if I could but I can only give it 5 stars but it's honestly worth more. Please see my pictures, thanks for reading 🙂 👍 🇮🇹

This was our 1st visit to La Romantica for our wedding anniversary & didn't fail to disappoint the food was filling & freshly home cooked. Service was great & attentive. It was like visited my Nonna's house, very traditional & authentic

Food is so delicious. Love the food here so much. The staff are attentive, efficient and friendly

Great DJs and a good atmosphere 👍

Excellent service

We visited here for dinner last Saturday evening. It was extremely busy so I appreciate that the service may have been affected from its normal flow because of this. We were served by a lady called Sam, and giving an honest review, we did feel like we were kept waiting for quite a lot of our visit. We were waiting ten minutes just to order drinks, then we were sped through the salad cart selection in about 30 seconds which felt a bit ridiculous, then the mains didn’t show for a further 45 minutes, and after our dinner plates were cleared, she didn’t come back for another 20 minutes to ask about desserts. The visit was unfortunately not without fault, either my dinner being served with the wrong sides and the desserts being wrong also. The food was slightly disappointing - having eaten at Harvester’s all over the UK, we kinda knew what to expect quality-wise, and this particular visit wasn’t really up to scratch. The food was okay at best, the service left a lot to be desired, and the overall experience was mediocre. I would return because I can appreciate half of the problems we had were likely due to the higher amount of customers dining that evening, but I’d only visit on a quieter day outside of peak times.

Usual reliable food and fayre, still got the same salad bar and free rolls that the kids seemed to love more than the mains! Enjoyed my half roast chicken but could have done with a few more chips!

Salad bar was quite small and repeated on both sides so not a lot of options. Meal was alright, typical Harvester, nothing extraordinary. Service was friendly but quite slow, sat with our empty plates in front of us for a while, only taken when given dessert menus which we also had to ask for.

Felix a young man that served us was lovely. Very polite & friendly. All the food was good but we was disappointed in the apple pie. The pastry was bland & soggy. It had obviously been heated up & not fresh. Bit shocked on prices going up. Not sure when as we hadn't been in a while. Also there was no heating where we sat at the back. They had to put a little heater you plug in near us. So definitely need to invest in that.

Staff were friendly and attentive when we arrived. Food was good and as ordered. Salad bar is prepared for you upon your choice with your server. Refill soft drinks are done by the staff. Only had the one though, would normally have a top up and guess could of asked.

Staff were fantastic. Helpful, polite and welcoming. Good Cod & Chips and free unlimited self-serve salad.

We had Christmas dinner at the harvester at Rayleigh and it was amazing! Great food choices for all including the kids menu…All food was hot and fresh, and all the staff were very friendly and in the festive spirit! Nothing was too much trouble for them, everyone seemed calm considering it was busy. We would definitely go back for Christmas dinner and recommend people for next year.

Best family meal experience in a while. Front of house was friendly. Sam was our waitress again very friendly, welcoming. Food was delicious and was we'll paced, was not rushed at all, well enjoyed by all. I was amazed how quite and peaceful it was given its mother's day. Everyone was we'll spaced out and obviously timings were well planned. Would definitely return. Thank you ☺️

This harvester has always been hit and miss to be honest, but tonight it was inedible. Peas and corn were dried out, sides arrived 15 mins after the meal was “eaten” and steak was black on the outside it was so overcooked. Disgusting, honestly vile. Manager refunded our meals so we didn’t pay for them, which I would have refused anyway. Chef needs a serious talking to if this is his level culinary skill. Staff were so nice, chef useless and couldn’t give a s@it by the way badly cooked food was thrown on the plate.

Love the salad Bar here, it's the best and so glad to see it has returned as haven't been in since Covid. Took a long time to get served and equal.long time to get my food but the food was excellent, bar staff were quick with drinks and it was clean and warm and plenty of parking and can sit outside if weather is good. Recommended

We were seated straight away. Our waitress was very kind and polite. Food came quickly especially for the children and was tasty. White Prosecco was spot on. I had requested not to be seated in a booth and that was taken into consideration.