Baumann's Brasserie, Coggeshall, Essex

I read some negative comments about this restaurant so was a bit worried when we went. However I have to say we had a fantastic time. The service was polite and prompt the whole way through. The waiter gave us the chance to ask questions about the food and was very helpful. I also organised for the local florist to drop off some flowers for my wife and they were there on the table when we arrived.

The food wasn't piled on, but thats posh food for you and at the end of the meal I felt like I had eaten just the right amount - not over full like when I eat some places. It tasted absolutely glorious, everything was just right.

I would definitely go to this restaurant again but its one to save for special occasions unless you are quite well off! In summary brilliant service, brilliant environment and brilliant food.

I still don't know what went wrong at Baumann's Brasserie. We were a party of 10. The evening started well; we were warmly welcomed, seated, had drinks and starters followed by a very enjoyable main meal. All of my party commented on how good the food was. Then it all went wrong at about 10pm. It proved almost impossible to get served a further bottle of wine, even after two additional promptings and a wait of some 20 minutes. Then to cap that, we ordered desert which simply didn't materialise and there were no service staff about to query the situation. After another 15 minutes, I went to the bar and complained, asked for the bill and was met with an unhelpful attitude. My bill for 10 people was substantial, so I was exceedingly annoyed with what I encountered from the only member of staff I could find. It was a hugely disappointing end to what started as a very good evening. I have subsequently complained via email to the owner. I really hope it is resolved, because I would like to go back and sample the food again, but as it stands I would find it hard to recommend this restaurant to anyone.

When we arrived they had no booking for us, after 5 or 6 mins of checking the reservations book and walking back and forth we were given a table. We assumed it was ours as the manager walked past it he pointed at it and walked on. The service was hurried, the starters were ok quality wise although no butter to go on bread with the Smoked Salmon and one of the hot starters was only just warm. The main courses were all good, but the side order of vegetables again were just warm.

Would I go back again?

Not until the manager and staff are replaced.

Saturday evening together with 2 friends we set out into the wilds of North Essex, a bit of a gourmet desert (as in Gobi, not fudge sundae!) and if I'm honest, to see what Baumann's Brasserie in the sleepy but pretty market town of Coggeshall had to offer. This is what we found.

Food:

The menu was interesting, with a good selection of starters and main courses. Pricing seemed a touch expensive with starters ranging from £6-10 and main courses from £14-20, OK if the quality is there.

Unfortunately however it was a bit hit and miss. My wife had the Asian Duck salad starter, the duck was very fatty and the salad limited and a little bland. However my bacon and leek tart was tasty and well presented and our friends enjoyed their dressed crab.

For main course two of us chose the fillet of beef (£19) and two the sea-bass (also £19). Both of us having the beef ordered it medium-rare, unfortunately it turned up thoroughly well done. To be fair when we complained the plates were taken back straight away and the waiter apologised. Also we did not have to wait too long for fresh meals to arrive, albeit that the steaks were noticeably smaller. However it was disappointing to say the least that a restaurant charging relatively high prices couldn't even cook a steak correctly.

The sea bass was apparently very nice, and well cooked, however the fillets were very small.

Desserts were tasty and attractively presented (the Creme Brulee I can vouch for personally).

2/5 (2 out of 5)

Wine:

The wine list was a bit limited, 15-20 of each red and white ranging from £12 - 40 a bottle, with a definite tilt towards new world. However we chose well (luckily!) with the 2000 Haut Gravet St. Emilion proving an excellent match for the steaks, and at £32 on the list (about £20 retail) actually pretty good value.

With dessert we ordered a glass of dessert wine (£4) and a glass of port (£3) which arrived in something not much bigger than a thimble (I'm not joking). Worse, mine was only half full. I just thought this was a mistake (we had been served these by a junior member of staff), but no, although they topped my glass up to the full extent of its thimble-sized quota they assured us that this was their standard measure.

3/5

Service:

Oh dear. This started well, with our food and drinks orders taken quickly and our starter arriving within 30 mins of us sitting down but I'm afraid it all went down hill from there. Main courses and desserts were slow in arriving and we had to ask for the bill 3 times. Perhaps worst of all, when we were asked "if everything was ok" at the end of the meal we mentioned the slowness of the service, the steak and dessert wine debacles. I suppose we thought since they had asked, they might actually be interested, or at least they would listen. But no, the waiter did not apologise or even appear to listen - he was more interested in trying to give me a lesson in all things wine (didn't really appreciate this as this is one subject I do know a little bit about!)

0/5

Atmosphere/Ambiance:

The restaurant was busy and pleasantly decorated, if a little noisy. The tables were very closely packed, but overall a pleasant enough environment to spend an evening in.

However the state of the communal toilets left a lot to be desired (dirty floor, no soap), particularly by the end of the evening. The ladies in our party in particular were less than impressed.

2/5

Overall:

7/20

Not worth the money (£190 - without tip)! I'm afraid, we certainly won't be going back for a while.