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The House by Hilly Gant, Braintree, Essex

The House by Hilly Gant

4.7
4.7
1210 Reviews
£41 and over
British

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 7 times today
  • Good for special occasions
  • Charming
  • Neighborhood gem
We've been serving the people of Braintree and beyond since 2015 and in that time have humbly become ‘one of Essex’s best restaurants.’ We have received recognition from the AA, having been awarded an AA Rosette for ‘culinary excellence’ for five consecutive years, and then in 2023 we received our second rosette, putting the restaurant amongst the top 10 restaurants in Essex. Our food is of course one of our main focuses, but we don’t just stop there. Attentive, relaxed and friendly service is as important as the food and our objective is to make your visit an enjoyably memorable one. Our exceptional wine supplier, Peter Watts Wines (based up the road in Coggeshall) allows us to offer you delicious wines of an exceptional quality. Then add some cocktails, jazz, personality, creativity, a few hidden quirks and we like to think this all culminates to create a truly wonderful experience. Life is about memories; we want to be part of your best ones.

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Price
    £41 and over
  • Cuisines
    British
  • Hours of operation
    Lunch Fri, Sat 12:00 pm–2:00 pm Sun 12:00 pm–4:45 pm Dinner Tue–Fri 6:00 pm–9:00 pm Sat 5:45 pm–9:15 pm
  • Phone number
    01376 345615
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Smart Casual
  • Executive chef
    Sam McGee
  • Neighborhood
    Braintree
  • Parking details
    None
  • Additional
    Beer, Cocktails, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Vegan, Wine

What 1,210 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.7
4.7 based on recent ratings
  • 4.7Food
  • 4.6Service
  • 4.6Ambience
  • 4.5Value

NoiseEnergetic

Loved For

  • Essex

    Great for brunch

  • Essex

    Good for business meals

  • Essex

    Innovative

  • Essex

    Gluten-free-friendly

  • Essex

    Healthy

  • Essex

    Neighborhood gem

  • Essex

    Great for fine wines

  • Essex

    Romantic

  • Essex

    Vegetarian-friendly

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
The House by Hilly Gant offers an enchanting dining experience in Braintree, highlighted by "amazing food" and "fantastic" service. Guests rave about the "beautiful venue" and "lovely ambience," making it perfect for special occasions. Despite a few service hiccups, most patrons find the meals "absolutely delicious" and consistently recommend this charming spot.

1,210 Reviews
  1. Valerie

    London

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    I went with my two daughters , we all thought the food was excellent , my daughters had the vegetarian dish which they said was superb , I had the skate wing which was delicious . The starter of onion and goats cheese tart was gorgeous

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  2. Shaun

    Essex

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 5 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Never had a bad meal and the service is amazing!!!!!

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  3. Samantha

    London

    2 reviews

    4.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 5 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 3
    Absolutely fabulous food. Lovely atmosphere, perfect table position. However, service from staff was sadly lacking, not very attentive or available so made the dining experience disappointing.

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  4. nick

    Vancouver

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on December 21, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    Absolutely loved the menu, fantastic starters and mains. My favourite local restaurant !

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  5. Juliet

    Cornwall

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on December 21, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Couldn’t fault one thing! Our round table for 6 upstairs was a great location in the restaurant and we didn’t feel cramped or too close to other diners. Lovely welcome from all the staff and our waitress was very friendly and attentive. We weren’t rushed at any time during the evening. Lovely food and drinks menu and we were all very happy with our choices. All the dishes beautifully presented and delicious.

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  6. Miles

    Essex

    16 reviews

    5.0

    16 reviews

    Dined on December 19, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    From the friendly welcome, to the smoothly executed payment we had a lovely evening. Two empty plates after our tasty starters, then we both chose a seasonal main course, which was well cooked and presented. Followed by cheese & biscuits, which was a nice way to finish after the hearty main course. Nice wine and beer to accompany our food, plus attentive and timely service from the team on duty. We shall be back in the new year….Cheers

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  7. Michelle

    Kent

    3 reviews

    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on December 14, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Excellent food with Excellent food. We did the bottomless brunch. Our glasses were never empty. I highly recommend and would definitely be going again.

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  8. Angela

    Essex

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined on December 12, 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 3
    Food was lovely, front of house/waitress not so...wasn't prepared to offer us the Xmas menu at first, even after booking 2 weeks previously, claimed hadn't seen the note until 10 mins before our booking! plus total lack of service and offering drinks etc
    The House by Hilly GantResponded on December 17, 2024
    Hi Angela! Sorry to hear you didn’t have the greatest experience with us on this occasion - however in fairness.. our Christmas Party menu does specifically state that it’s preorder only. You needed to have contacted us directly to reserve and state your menu choices prior to your booking (this is because certain dishes don’t run alongside our A La Carte menu, so the kitchen need to make sure they have everything prepped!.. However we honoured the set menu for you anyway (luckily we had everything in-house!) so I feel this review is slightly unfair.. it’s also not the waitresses’ fault for following company policy - they’re just doing their job :) I apologise again and hope you will give us another try in the future. Kind regards, Harry. Restaurant Manager

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  9. joan

    Northampton

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on December 12, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    First time there, for lunch. Very pleased with attentive but relaxed service and atmosphere. Will go again.

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  10. Emma

    Essex

    1 review

    2.0

    1 review

    Dined on December 7, 2024

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 1
    We've dined at the house every Christmas time for 3 years now as a special treat. It has always been exceptional food and food service. Last night however, I was ready to leave shortly after arriving. We were seated against a window wall in a busy walkway on a table that could barely fit one person let alone two, I was right beside a hot radiator and my husband directly under a hanging lamp that skimmed his head. Once we ordered a bottle of wine there was nowhere to put the bucket without knocking it so my husband asked for a stand but the waitress looked bemused and said no sorry. We then ordered our starter and the waitress said I'll put that through later once you order your mains otherwise it'll take forever - which in itself is a terrible way to put it - we should have been told it was busy and would we like to order our mains now too. Our starter came out within seconds and as soon as we finished our mains arrived, as we were sharing the Chateaubriand our individual plates took up the whole table and they barely squeezed the meal in beside my husband's plate as it hung over the edge! To top it off once we had finished we were offered desert menus and told btw they need our table in 30 minutes for turn over. WOW ABSOLUTELY terrible. I felt like they didn't want us there, stuck on a pathetic tiny children's table right in the way of busy staff and then kicked out to make more money from someone else! The food is great but we won't be coming back again!!
    The House by Hilly GantResponded on December 10, 2024
    Sorry to hear you didn't have the best experience with us last week! However I would like to mention that you booked your table for 6:30pm on a busy Saturday night in mid-December. Of course we require your table back after 2 hours, this is simply industry standard. If you would like your table longer, I suggest booking after 8pm. Yes, the waitress serving you did mention that we would need your table back in 30 minutes' time - we do this to try & give plenty of notice, as we absolutely wouldn't want to ask anyone to vacate their table abruptly, with short notice. ..also, our tables are all the same size across the wholerestaurant (apart from the tables of 4, of course!) For anyone reading this review, I urge you to come and try us out for yourselves :) - Harry. Restaurant Manager

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FAQs

The House by Hilly Gant is rated 4.7 stars by 1210 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 7 times today
Google Map for The House by Hilly Gant

34 New Street, Braintree, Essex CM7 1ES

Additional information

  • Neighborhood
    Braintree
  • Hours of operation
    Lunch Fri, Sat 12:00 pm–2:00 pm Sun 12:00 pm–4:45 pm Dinner Tue–Fri 6:00 pm–9:00 pm Sat 5:45 pm–9:15 pm
  • Price
    £41 and over
  • Cuisines
    British
  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Dress code
    Smart Casual
  • Parking details
    None
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Sam McGee
  • Additional
    Beer, Cocktails, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Vegan, Wine
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Ads
  • Cookie Preferences
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