Essex, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: “A short drive from Chelmsford” in “the heart of Essex” – this “highly recommended” inn is large enough to host weddings and conferences, with a spacious Victorian-style conservatory for dining that has a “real vibrant buzz”, along with “decent good-value food and very friendly service”.

In a village a short drive outside Chelmsford, this converted sixteenth-century pub has fine countryside views and provides a traditionally comfortable destination, complete with linen tablecloths, candles and cut glass. It wins good all-round feedback (if not a huge volume of reviews) and its modern brasserie fare (with steak, beef Wellington and cote de boeuf to share a highlight) helps it regularly feature in Essex food awards. (Owners Brendan Curran & Justin Mullender are also known for the quality of their put-downs on Tripadvisor!)

2023 Review: “A good-to-find culinary outpost in an area with few interesting eating spots” – this “welcoming” gastropub is well worth remembering: “a steady hand in the kitchen meets good ingredients, and if food and wine both tread a relatively safe path, it’s no less enjoyable for that”.

2022 Review: Darren Bennett’s stalwart, serving up creative modern British cooking (including a well-regarded afternoon tea) “continues to be reliable in all respects”, whether you stop to take advantage of the set menus or its popular side act as a wedding and events venue.

“In the heart of Essex, this fabulous fish restaurant” (est. 2010, and revolving around the “plush conversion of an old pub”) “offers amazing dishes and attentive service in a truly beautiful setting”. “It can be fun watching the TOWIE types amongst fellow diners”, but if that loses its appeal, divert your eyes to the “pleasant views from the terrace on a sunny day”.

2021 Review: “In the heart of Walthamstow Village”, this “great neighbourhood spot” – a Spar supermarket with kitchen attached – wins praise for its “quality” cooking (“the 2019 Harden’s description of pub-type grub underplays its standard and originality”). “Very relaxed and welcoming for young children”, the venture’s best-known innovation is bacon jam, which you can buy by the jar in various flavours. Other branches have opened in Hackney and, most recently, Hammersmith (somewhat better-served areas, so these respective branches are somewhat less of a local lifeline).

2022 Review: Jamie Oliver’s parents Trevor & Sally retired from this sixteenth-century village gastropub after 44 years in November 2020, so it has recently changed hands: it’s now a part of the 12-strong Chestnut group of pubs. The Olivers always ran the Cricketers well, but regulars say “(even in the tepee) the food is possibly up a notch”.

“Locals and visitors” beat a path to this “lovely pub with top-notch food” from chef James Rix and his wife Bianca, who have transformed it into an “Interesting and exceptionally busy venue” over the past 20 years. Top Menu Tip – “dessert on a whole different level: Paris Brest, choux pastry, praline cream, hot chocolate sauce & toasted nuts of exceptional taste and quality”.

Focused on sustainability (and to a certain extent on veganism), John Lawson’s small spot has won attention (including a recent visit with a TV crew and Michel Roux) for his “amazing” cooking, served in a tasting menu on Friday and Saturday evenings (with lunch service also available on those days and Thursday). One local fan approves “many delicious meals eaten here”.

In July 2024, Ben & Sophie Crittenden re-located their award-winning (including, last year, Harden‘s Top 100) venture from Thanet in Kent to this new site over 100 miles away on the Essex coast. It occupies the wooden clapboard premises of what was previously ‘Seafood at Dawn’ and is bigger than the 12-seater they’ve left behind. The six-course tasting menu format is broadly unchanged, with the menu provided at £90 per person (with a wine flight available at £55 per person). No feedback as yet, but we’ve taken a punt and maintained the excellent ratings that they held in Kent – reports please!

2023 Review: This “delightful old village pub/restaurant” earns consistently strong ratings for its locally sourced and well cooked meals, which appeal to “locals and walkers alike”.

Sawdust floors and shelves of wine for sale add to the atmosphere of this ‘Wine Merchant & Dining Rooms’ – a Dickensian-style space that’s been a linchpin of the town’s eateries since 1976. It continues to win consistent support for its traditional fare, and is well-suited to business lunches.

2023 Review: In the heart of Constable Country, this gastropub with rooms is “a busy venue with a good atmosphere and friendly service”. Foodwise, it’s praised for cooking that’s “outstanding” at the “very reasonable price”; and wine lovers are well-catered for too, with 250 bins (they also run their own merchants).

A 500-year-old country inn set in gorgeous Suffolk countryside provides a stunning backdrop to a meal at this ambitious property, which has been owned by Richard Sunderland & Sarah Broadbent since 2022. But if “after spending millions the place is very nice”, the odd report also has reservations: the traditional (and sensibly priced) French-inflected cuisine is well-rated by one repeat-visitor, but another feels that: “they seem to be chasing a Michelin Star, but are trying to run before they can walk”.

This “lovely old Essex pub” with a white wooden facade serves food that is “well above average for pub grub” – and its popularity means it “gets overcrowded and noisy” at times. Originally three weavers’ cottages from 1460, the building was converted two centuries later using beams salvaged from naval vessels docked at Tilbury. Top Menu Tip – “the skate wing is delicious”.