The King William IV, Essex *

The King William IV has been around for quite some time, and some fo you may recognise it from the likes of The Only Way Is Essex, but it’s had a lovely refurbishment complete with roaring log fires, a unique dining room and comfy armchairs to give it that country pub feel.

We dined in the bar area which was a little noisy as the bar was packed, but we still had a really great night. I just think next time we dine there I’d like to be in the restaurant are towards the back so we can chat a little easier.

So the food…

To start I went with the Scallop’s of the Day. It was served with a warm pepper and onion salad which I never would of thought of myself, but it was awesome.

Mike, as ever, had the Pan-fried tiger prawns with garlic & parsley butter or sweet chilli & ginger sauce, which he loved and did get a little messy with.

For the mains, I had a battle with my head and my heart. My heart wanted the Wagyu beef burger, but my sensible head wanted the King prawn, crab & chorizo linguine with white wine, tomatoes, garlic & chilli. I think you’ll be surprised by what won…

Yes, the pasta won! I went weight loss sensible. It was so good and I’m really glad I tried it as burgers are so easy to get right but this isn’t.

Mike went for the Steak, ale & portobello mushroom pie with mashed potato, heritage carrots and seasonal greens. The pastry was amazing, I did have a little taste!

For desert I was recommended the Melting golden chocolate bomb with caramel ice cream, chocolate popping candy and hot devon cream toffee sauce, which was so cool. I did get mega full and didn’t manage to finish it all which is unlike me!

Mike went in for a huge slab of Baked new york style cheesecake with British blackcurrant curd, which he managed to finish!

Our wine of choice was the Tokomaru Bay; a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand which is a light, slightly spicy and gently perfumed with peaches and lemons. This is an n easy-drinking, light and fresh style with lots of crisp fruit. Sophisticated and intense aromas of passion fruit, ripe tropical fruit and a zesty finish.

We also tried the Umbrele, Sauvignon Blanc from Romania. Somewhere we had never tried a wine from before! It was awesome! It was bursting with zesty, citrus character with hints of exotic fruit.

Our service was a little too slow for our liking but watching the staff we could tell they were short staffed as they never seemed to stop, and having spoken to the manager he confirmed this.  We didn’t let this get to us though as all of the waiting staff were great and we had a really lovely evening.