Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum

Image posted by Quinno _
Submitted on Friday, 1st November 2024
With picture contributions to 5437 other pubs
View all this pub's pictures (30 more images)
Detail Pages
The Orange Tree, Chelmsford
Chelmsford
CM2 0AS
Served areas

Reviews of The Orange Tree (Average Rating: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Quinno _ left this review about The Orange Tree
Fairly simple alehouse, black white and wood, though some of it has succumbed to the cancer of the grey paintbrush. Of note are the circle of pump clips on the ceiling, though it appears a lot of décor mentioned in previous reviews has now gone – new licensees. Darts and TV football available. If there was a second room available I didn’t spot it. Six ales on over seven pumps, my Harvey's Mild was possibly a bit of aspirator (I’ve had it fresher in Harveys pubs, anyway) but just ended-up as GBG par (NBSS 3).
On 6th November 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5552 recommendations about 5533 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Orange Tree
Two room backstreet pub that is the local CAMRA branch's Pub of the Year. You enter into what appears more of a drinkers' bar. A corridor takes you past the kitchen and toilets to a second room, which is favoured for dining.
Beers and ciders are listed on blackboards. Mighty Oak Oscar Wilde is the regular ale. Guests were Mighty Oak Maldon Gold, Brentwood Gold & Lumberjack, Colchester Ambassador, Chelmsford Blueshack Port Jackson, Dartmoor Best & Skinner's Betty Stogs. Ciders were Weston's Old Rosie & Rosie's Pig, Thatcher's Cheddar Valley & Cornwall Cider Company Lyonesse, Apple Slayer & Mango, Lime & Ginger Cider. In addition, there appeared to be a selection of German beers, forming part of an Oktoberfest beer festival.
There are many pumpclips lining the walls. A cosy and friendly pub that is well worth a visit.
On 13th October 2020
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3040 recommendations about 3038 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Orange Tree
Another of Chelmsford’s excellent back street boozers, this one has a nice two bar set up with each room having a very different feel to it. The left hand side of the pub is the public bar – a bare boarded room with a fairly standard bar counter in the rear right corner. The room has been filled with standard furniture – simple tables and chairs opposite the bar and decent banquettes in the open space to the left supplemented with a few upturned barrels for vertical drinkers to rest their pint on. There is a small fireplace on one wall, hidden behind a blackboard that has been propped up on the hearth, and the walls are decorated with lot of rugby themed photos and posters for rugby themed beers. I spotted a dartboard to the rear left next to some eye-catching Charington and Belhaven mirrors and there was a TV screen on showing live cricket. A corridor lined with framed rugby shirts and other such memorabilia runs behind the bar, past the toilets, to the right hand room – a smart lounge bar with plush red carpet, a nice plaster fireplace and lots more standard seating which looked ideal for anyone wanting to eat. There was also a TV screen in this room, but it remained turned off. The locals were very welcoming and I was quickly wrapped up in conversation about the cricket and the evening’s big McGregor vs Mayweather fight.
The landlord apparently used to run the nearby Queens Head before defecting here and it seems that a passion for well kept real ale has followed him over. On handpull we had Dark Star Hophead, Plain Sheep Dip and IPA, St Peter’s Old Style Porter, Oakham Bishop’s Farewell and Mighty Oak Oscar Wilde Mild. I’ve always been a big fan of Plain Ales beers, so I opted for the Sheep Dip, served up by a friendly barmaid and in outstanding condition.
I found this an incredibly friendly and welcoming pub with comfortable surrounds and some really excellent beer. I thought this was the sort of pub I could easily imagine losing a great many hours in and was sorely tempted to stay on and try out a few more beers, but the call of the crawl dragged me away. A great little pub and a good place to centre a crawl of the local backstreet pubs around.
On 6th November 2017
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3350 recommendations about 3350 pubs]
View more reviews of The Orange Tree (7)
Pubs Galore is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
- Official site of the Orange Tree, includes real ale list - www.the-ot.com
- Facebook - The Orange Tree, Chelmsford
- Twitter - The Orange Tree
- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Orange Tree - whatpub.com
Ingatestone, 6.11 miles, 1 hr 58 min walk (show)
Hatfield Peverel, 7.2 miles, 2 hr 19 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- Beer Festivals : Yes - Late May Bank Holiday Weekend and Oktoberfest. - last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- Beer Garden : Yes last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- CAMRA Discount : No last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- Car Park : Yes last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- Child Friendly : Yes last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- Darts : Yes last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- Function Room : Yes last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- Jukebox : No last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- Karaoke : No last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- Live TV Sports : Yes last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- Micropub : No last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- Pinball : No last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- Pool Table : No last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- Real Cider : Yes last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _
- Wheelchair Access : Yes last updated 06 November 2017 by Pub SignMan
- WiFi : Yes last updated 06 November 2024 by Quinno _