Pub review | The Boar’s Head, Brentwood

We’re so lucky as in the village we have three pubs. Over the years they’ve all changed and the ones that were good are now less so and vice versa. The Boar’s Head is now part of the Chef & Brewer chain, but on previous occasions, the food has been decent and reasonably priced. On Fridays, there’s a promotion on prosecco/sparkling wine, so mum and I decided to head down and see what the fuss is about.

When the weather is fine, the beer garden is the ideal place to relax. There’s a pond opposite with ducks and the pub is just around the corner from Button Common, where the annual bonfire and fireworks display takes place. Despite the sunshine, we sat inside in the bar area. There is also a restaurant, which seats about 20 people, but I much prefer the bar. It has that traditional and cosy pub feel and even when the bar is full, it’s not overly loud, retaining that intimate feel.

Fizz Friday was the reason we went for dinner – with the cheapest bottle of prosecco priced at £9.99 and £5 off all other bottles. We only shared the one bottle between us, but it was more than enough, especially as we drank the majority before the food arrived. Although we had an ice bucket, it could have been cooler.

To eat, I had the fillet steak (cooked rare). I don’t normally go for steak at pubs because I find they’re pretty sub-standard (or maybe it’s because I’ve been to Hawksmoor, or George’s in Prague), but I was really surprised. The steak was of good quality, was cooked to perfection and was definitely of restaurant standard. The steak was served with a pot of chunky chips and a lovely vegetable medley of red onion, mushrooms and asparagus. The highlight was definitely the buttermilk & peppercorn sauce, which was so creamy and flavoursome and went well with both the steak and chips. I’d definitely order it again.

Mum chose one of the burgers from the summer specials menu (which is no longer running): a large Hereford beef patty with bacon, salad and onion rings. It also came with chunky chips and a beautiful, but unusual, blueberry ketchup. When we go out for food, mum wouldn’t normally order a burger, but she enjoyed this – probably because it made a change.

The service was reasonable, especially given it was a Friday night and fairly busy. I often find the service is better when sitting in the bar as the staff are more attentive as they’re passing through from the restaurant to the bar/kitchen. We’ve been back to the Boar’s Head a couple of times since, but will definitely have to return for Fizz Friday – it made a change from a night in with a takeaway.

Love, Lucy xx

Boar's Head - Billericay Road, Herongate, Brentwood, Essex CM13 3PS

Trip Advisor

Facebook