Harden's says
Having first opened in 2016, Ben Crittenden and his wife Sophie moved their award-winning prix-fixe restaurant from Broadstairs to Essex in the first half of 2024.
Harden's survey result
Summary
Ben & Sophie Crittenden’s tiny 12-seater “is a unique example of how a small, focused team can delight the diner”, with “superb cooking” and “terrific” six-course tasting menus that “never disappoint”. The couple opened the restaurant eight years ago so they could spend more family time with their three children; they closed their nearby tapas bar Dos at Christmas 2022 in the face of escalating costs.
Summary
“Not your usual restaurant but a labour of love” – Ben & Sophie Crittenden opened their minuscule 10-seater venue in a former sandwich shop in 2016, achieving rave reviews for Ben’s seasonal 6-course tasting menus of “truly wonderful food, cooked in a tiny open-plan kitchen”.
Summary
“Ben (Chatterton) is an unassuming genius”, say fans of his and wife Sophie’s minuscule ex-sandwich shop, which revolves around a seasonal six-course tasting menu (£65); “to get such awesome food out of such a small kitchen is truly amazing”.
Summary
“Utterly triumphant” food “which surprises and delights” again inspires only adulation for Ben & Sophie Crittenden’s tiny converted sandwich shop. “It’s a privilege to see a chef working on the pass on his own – a real feat!” – and with “one person front of house and ten covers”, the overall impression given by this “small, stylish and sexy venue”, which only serves a no-choice tasting menu, is “phenomenal”. Now three years old, it was blessed with a star by the Michelin man in October 2019.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Stark?
East Road, East Mersea, CO5 8TQ
Restaurant details
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £0.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £0.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £0.00 |
| Service | 10.00% |
East Road, East Mersea, CO5 8TQ
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | CLOSED |
| Wednesday | 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Thursday | 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Friday | 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Saturday | 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Sunday | CLOSED |
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