The Victory At Mersea

Good place to visit with lots of outdoor seating for the better weather. Play area for the younger kids. Reasonable disabled access, although entrance via fire door on patio has a small step. One star reduced as is on the higher side of prices but probably no different than a lot of pub prices these days. I find the food is excellent and plentiful. Staff are always friendly and helpful. Can get busy in summer months.

My second visit to The Victory, this time with the wife and doggy. We only ate on the pub and haven't stayed in the hotel. It was a glorious summer's day after a wet fortnight so I thought it would be very busy even on a Wednesday during the school summer holidays but fortunately it was only moderately busy. The Victory is on the western shore of Mersea Island so away from all the holiday parks and campsites which means the clientele tends to be nicer. This was borne out by the fact that the kids playing on the impressive, big playground structures in the garden area were playing nicely and not being brats. We sat outside at one of the many bench tables and had lunch. I went for the usual fish and chips and my wife had the Squid starter and sticky toffee pudding with ice cream for desert. The food was excellent, the fish was clearly freshly cooked to order rather than being one of a batch being kept warm. The fish was tasty and moist and the batter crisp and crunchy. The chips and peas were spot on. My wife thoroughly enjoyed her food and desert and being a bit of a seafood fiend knows her way around that fayre and said it was lovely. One thing to point out is that you order at the bar and they bring your food to you but it is cooked fresh to order and they do it properly and not rushed so we were happy to sit in the sun and sip our drinks while we waited the 30 minutes for our first dishes to come out and told them when we were ready for the desert. If you fast food or food done fast this isht the place for you. Relax, enjoy the ambience and relish the food.

We went here for a lunchtime meal, having heard that it was in a good spot with lovely views. The location is pleasant, but it's difficult to see the river once inside, although there are glimpses, if you sit in the right spot. The staff were pleasant, although there was some confusion over which tables to deliver food to. There's not much parking space, as half of the frontage is taken up with outdoor seating, although in better weather, I'm sure it'll be nice to sit outside. The food was OK, but I was disappointed because what I ordered wasn't what I thought I'd ordered - my fault entirely, can't blame the chef for that. Note to self : chicken scallopini is a deep-fried breaded chicken, not a lovely Italian dish of chicken in a cream and mushroom sauce 🙄