Blue Strawberry Bistro, Hatfield Peverel

when I booked I was told that the table would be let go if I was late by more than a certain amount of time and that I would be charged per head also. However when I brought my guests here we were invited to wait for our table until such time as it suited them as it was not ready for us when we arrived at the time for which it had been booked. Very heavy handed way of doing things and as I have visited before and never been late it seemed as if my custom was not appreciated or remembered! Big-headed egos in charge I think

We are regulars at the Blue Strawberry. Staff are so helpful and professional. Food is delicious and there is so much choice especially for a vegetarian. Meat eaters have a huge range too!

I have been with large groups and as a couple and have been very pleased each time.

Highly recommend it.

The car park is small but there's plenty of space across the road in the free car park.

Heard so many good things about this restaurant so couldn't wait to book a table. I was surprised how disappointed I felt with the whole place.

The worst part was when I asked the barman for a glass of lemonade at the bar, and he proceeded to pour me a glass straight from a bottle. One that looked like it had been bashed around and was half empty and cost me £2.50!

If you want to impress your guests make their first impressions count!

Visited in December for my birthday with my other half. On arrival we were left to wait in the bar/cloakroom area for 10 mins before being told what was going on with our table. The restaurant was very busy but we should have been told that all their bookings were running late rather than leave us standing in a crowded entrance not knowing what was going on.

When we were seated we were pleased with the food that we ate, the chefs are clearly some of the better ones in the area. The main problem was the stuffy atmosphere and narcky waiting staff. This seems to be a common theme in reviews and we found it no different. It's not that staff are won't help, but that they don't seem particularly willing or happy to and at times come across sarcastic and arrogant which is a real atmosphere killer. This restaurant needs to understand that their are plenty of places to get good food in the Chelmsford area now (Grahams, Blue Bridge, Alma etc) so they cannot rely solely on their food, which was admittedly very tasty, and should get some friendlier staff!

I visited the blue strawberry for the first time for my mums 60th birthday, and thought that the food was lovely, and the service pleasent, it is a bit on the small side though, and dont think you should have to pay to reserve a table, but a lovely setting and would suggest to anyone to try the blue strawberry.

I have eaten here twice and both times it has been great. The staff were very friendly and attentive (but not in an intrusive way).

The 2nd time I visited was for a birthday treat, and was on a Monday, was busy and all the tables were full, but the service was spot on.

We have been here for work, a party of 12, and they were very professional. There were no complaints about the food, and were willing to change a couple of the menu items of people who didn't want something on the dish.

We are going to book our Christmas meal here.

I had a celebration dinner and chose to book this restaurant as had heard excellent things. However, when I called well in advance of the meal date to make reservations the staff were very snotty and made me feel they were doing me a favour by allowing me to book and eat there! They were unaccomodating and unhelpful in my view. As a direct result of their attitude I decided not to make the reservation. I went to another quality restaurant who I felt actually appreciated my custom. Avoid unless you like being patronised!

We ate here midweek and immediately felt that their midweek offer of 2 courses for £19.95 was not exactly a bargain, especially when a starter of oriental spring roll (single!) carried a £2 supplement, The seafood tower was just Ok, crispy pork belly was chewy and fatty and the seafood fricasee had such an overpowering sauce that you could taste nothing else. Veg were boiled and uninspiring.

Service very ordinary and uninterested.

10% service charge added insult to injury so probably won't bother going there again.

Yum! The Blue Strawberry gets better with each visit. Suitable for family lunch or dinner with friends.

Saturday night at the Blue Strawberry was a complete disaster - our first and last visit. On arrival we (husband and I) stood hanging around at the bar for about 10 minutes before anyone greeted us. When they did, they couldn't find the booking in our surname but instead said the bookings were in first names - the "waiter" was quite rude to my husband as if he should have told him his first name. They took us to a dark table located at the back of the restaurant next to a large air conditioning unit so we asked to be moved straight away. We were then moved to a small conservatory-type area that was next to an outdoor area that was packed with screaming babies and noisy children - akin to a certain chain pub but with London prices. Food was shockingly bad. Starters passable - for main my husband had steak that was served with crisps - yes, crisps - not chips - crisps! I had duck breast that was too tough to cut let alone eat. I told the waiter it was tough but that I did not want a replacement - we couldn't wait to leave. They did remove the duck from the bill and said that they had had other complaints and had changed suppliers but you really think that a chef would know if a piece of meat/game/poultry etc was edible or not.

Not one waiter poured any wine for us during the whole meal (bottle of wine arived at our table already opened).

On top of all that we had to listen to Phil Collins and other hideous music that was being piped through speakers that were located everywhere.

We were back home by 8.30pm - it had taken me longer to get ready to go out than the time we spent at the restaurant.

How on earth anybody would think that place is of a high standard just beggars belief. We will not be returning.