Drink *

Decor **

Food **

Atmosphere *

Price **

Staff ***

 From the outside The Old Mill looks like a bit of a find. The River Cray runs beneath this converted water mill and, for me, there are few things more relaxing than being near a pretty, flowing river. To get to the car park you must drive past the front of the pub and through a tunnel to the back of the building.A horse stable looks onto the car park and the river runs alongside it. Nothing could be more beautiful. It is just a shame things come crashing down on entering the pub.On a quiet afternoon, loud pop music blasted through half a dozen poor-quality speakers, shattering the tranquillity. Customers have no place to hide from the din. Ale fans have the choice of John Smiths did I say choice there? Sorry, let me rephrase that. For ale fans there is John Smiths the equivalent of serving a Linda McCartney burger to a carnivore. I opted for a pint of Guinness (£2.62) and a Thai Red Curry (£6.95) and found a seat as far from the pool table as possible, looking out on the river at the front. Unfortunately, there are only a couple of small windows looking out onto the wonderful view to the rear. The food, which was merely the chicken curry with no accompaniments, took 40 minutes to arrive, which left me to dwell on the tatty decor. There is a restaurant upstairs which was nearly empty on the afternoon I visited. The Old Mill is owned by Country Carvery and if this chain is not going down the pan fast then this particular pub is definitely a forgotten corner of its empire.