The Headley, Great Warley, Brentwood

I had seen some of the reviews of this place online and was a bit suspect as to how it will be. But i can assure you that the place has under gone a change and it has been for the better. I had never been before but what i got was a world away from the reviews that I was reading. The service was great and food was divine. 5 stars

FOR ALL YOU PEOPLE SLATING IT - READ BELOW AND GIVE IT ANOTHER CHANCE IT HAS REALLY CHANGED!!!!

I have now been to the Headley about 4 times in 2 years and it has varied.

Our last visit was last week - August 4th 2010 for a friends birthday - and it was FANTASTIC!!!

I had seen recently banners saying under new management and the signs had all changed to say that it was now The Headley steak house, so thought why not - we like steak!

Well we were not disappointed, they have new menus, simpler and not so fussy.

The prices have been lowered considerably - and yet the food is better! We were welcomed as soon as we arrived, and asked if we would like to sit straight down or have a drink at the bar first, we opted to sit straight down, our drinks order was taken there and then and within a couple of minutes we had our drinks, the menu is on the place mat on the table, so we didnt' wait anytime at all to read it and shortly followed someone took our order - all in all, everything was done at a nice pace, not rushed and not left waiting

I had a traditional prawn cocktail for starter and it was fantastic to not see frozen prawns or ridculous amounts of sauce - it was just right event with brown bread as it is suppose to, my partner had the tempura prawns which he raved about and if he thought he could get a way with ordering another lot of he would, a friend had the chicken wings and also really enjoyed them.

Main course was just as great - i had a steak which I ordered with the Blue cheese sauce, cooked medium rare - and do you know what theat is exactly what I got, with a lovely addition of some grilled tomatoes and very tasty mushrooms!! My partner had the burger which he loved, he said that it was the first home made burger he had come across in ages that was all in proportion to its self, the bun, the patty and the salad all sat nicely together all being the same size, nothing looking like it had shrunk! I can only remember what one of our friends had and that was the chicken which he said was tasy, not dry and all round very pleasant. We order sides to go between us all and the onion rings were delicious and perfectly crunchy - and the celeriac coleslaw yum!!

We didn't have dessert but that was because we had all cleared our plates and I could not think about eating another thing!!

Ther service continued to be good for the rest of our people, we were left alone enough to enhoy our evening and talk, but we also not ignored when we wanted more drinks etc.

Overall a really GOOD meal and the price was so reasonable.

This also do Roast Beef on a Sunday - so I think I am going to have to return for that!!

People please give this place another chance, it certainly seems they have read the reviews and pulled their socks up!!!!

I've been to The Headley a few times (8-10 times) over the last six months. It's a local so I am always keen to support local pubs/restaurants. Almost every time there has been a problem. Today though takes the biscuit. I arrived at 3:30'ish was passed a menu and spend a good 15 minutes browsing it at the bar while my son and I had a drink. The barman was great. I go to order and was then told the menu wasn't available until 5:30. Hmm. You know - if a barman spots someone reading a menu that isn't available - it's polite/useful to say so. OK. My mistake. I hold on and have a drink. 4 other guys come in and are seated and served!! what gives? Anyway. I go off and come back at 5:30. Order a steak (£15'd) and a roast for my son. Steak is medium. Guess what - 15 mins later. Steak turns up. It's rare. I send it back. Son's roast is super ordinary. Nothing special at all. Nothing even tasty, but he's getting stuck in so that's fine. Steak comes back. It's almost as rare IF NOT even more rare than before. I push the whole lot to one side. No one checks if it's OK, no one approached table. Eventually. Manager comes and takes plates. Doesn't wonder why whole plate of feed is left, doesn't ask..

I am £35 pounds better off and feed completely mugged.

Like I said, I've been a few times. Mostly because it's local, secondarily because it's 'family friendly' and I like the big sofas and the relaxed nature of the place. The staff seem to change from one visit to the next. I can't recommend this place at all. Sorry - I wish I could. Super annoyed. DON'T GO unless you are happy with very plain food and bad service. I

stoped in for a sunday dinner food was very poor tasted like reheated left overs and over priced waiting staff ok but over all very poor would not eat there again

I visited here on Saturday 13th Feb 2010 with a party of six. On arrival we were impressed with the decor and ambience of the bar area, we enjoyed a bottle of wine and a few beers. Even though our table was ready we decided to stay in the bar area for 40 minutes as we were very comfortable and relaxed.

Therefore, the evening started well but deteriorated from then on. We were served by an inexperienced member of staff, when asked about a dish on the very limited menu he did not know the answer, when asked if there was another menu, he said yes, but I can only assume who was the head waitress appeared informing us that it was ONLY the Ala Carte menu for Saturday evenings (even though this information was not on the website). I ordered the Chicken which was certainly not value for money, the portion size were extremely small. The side dishes were only enough for 1 person. To be half full you need to order the 3 courses.

Our overall impression of this restaurant was the fact they are attempting to be something they clearly are not. We paid over the odds for an adequate meal and adequate service, the experience was not reflected in the standards expected of an Ala Carte restaurant.

The Headley takes the best of British produce and turns it into amazing meals. 5 star and would recommend to anyone

If you Like to wait an hour after ordering for your first couse and another hour for your main course to find it overcooked when served by disinterested waiting staff, this is the place for you.

Having dined at the Headley in June 2008 i was very impressed by the exceptionally high standard of the food served, so having guests visit over Christmas we decided to return for a similar experience. However this was not the case. I can only assume they have a new Chef because all the food we received was poorly seasoned, my wife's fish dish was bland and flavourless and my pie (which should have been a favourite) was over-salted.

I can only say the saving grace this visit was the service we received which unlike our past experience was a huge improvement.

My family dined at The Headley for the second time last week and found the food to be as usual delicious. The chefs do not however seem to have the support of the waiting staff who can seem inattentive and at times abrupt. Other reviews have said the food is overpriced but the quality of the ingredients is very, very high and it is evident from the taste. Easily as good as Michelin Star standard. Although, I would have liked the dishes to come with sides as i do not like paying extra to complete the components of my meal.

Starters very good, but slightly overpriced, perhaps could simplify.

Wine list is extensive but pricey, an option for house white, red and rose would solve this.

Enjoyed the ambience but felt the service was poor - there is an air of imagined quality - but the service does not seem to match the air of the place. Received no welcome on arrival - twice I have attended and having not booked I felt as though I was treated differently for not booking, this recent occasion I booked, they had no table ready so waited 40 minutes for table and had no welcome. I experienced disjointed service, no seemingly dedicated service, and it saddened me as it appears that the potential is great but the delivery falls short.