Shenfield Restaurant Guide

2024 Review: “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”.

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.

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”.

“A favourite restaurant of all time!” – this “very consistent” Essex institution first opened in 1958 and its performance over many years has earnt it a special place in the hearts of its dedicated fan club (which includes Rod Stewart, the Beckhams and other TOWIE notables). “The food is always to a very high standard with the best seafood” – “it can feel very crowded but the fish is always well cooked”.

2024 Review: 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!)

“If you’ve never had a stuffed mussel you haven’t lived!” – Tokyo-born Angelo Sato’s brave Soho venture is ‘dedicated to redefining what fine dining for the next generation looks like’ and has metamorphosed from a relatively simple seller of chicken skewers into a so-now, 13-seat omakase experience that won two Michelin stars in the tyre men’s 2025 awards. It’s one of the most talked-about top-end Japanese experiences in our annual diners’ poll and in close contention as the highest rated. The 16-course menu for £235 per person fuses Japanese and European inspirations for dishes and “service at the bar creates a great interaction with the engaging staff”. “It’s a lovely way to spend an evening eating amazing food and drinking sake”, plus “an eclectic off-piste wine list often from small producers”. “So good is Humble Chicken that you’ll talk about booking again on your way home – even though it is eye-wateringly expensive – and that’s before the second star and refurb that may reduce the covers” (the latter is ongoing over summer 2025, with reopening later in the year).

2022 Review: Open in November 2021 (first announced in 2019) – this latest branch of the excellent Elephant & Castle-based Italian food operation comes complete with a sustainable timber frame and rooftop urban farm. A transformation of Redbridge Town Hall car park, it’s a collaboration with the local council and the Mayor of London as part of Ilford’s new cultural quarter.

2023 Review: “Great atmosphere and something quite different!” – this “warm and welcoming” Buckhurst Hill operation mixes Goan and Portuguese influences. It’s a partnership between Cyris & Pervin Todiwala and the Redman-Schaffer family from Woodford, delivering “great little dishes” (‘petiscos’) and “fantastic Portuguese wines from independent estates”.

“A good local go-to fish restaurant” – this large South Woodford venue is too grand really to be called a chippy, and its wide menu extends to crab, oysters, seafood platters, fish stews and moules alongside fish ’n’ chips (which can be prepared deep fried, poached or grilled).

“This beautifully-converted pub” (“miles from anywhere in the Essex countryside, but easy to reach”) is “part of the wider Galvin Bros empire” and offers guests “a choice between the best versions of pub classics or excellent fine dining”, to be consumed “in the bar or restaurant” – “the weekly changing Bib Gourmand menu is excellent value”, while “very welcoming service encourages return visits”. Top Menu Tip – “the duo of fillet steak and slow-cooked beef is very good”.

“Excellent French bistro cooking at realistic prices” are the prime ingredients of this “great local restaurant on the leafy streets of Wanstead” – “more neighbourhoods need places like this”. Industry legend Max Renzland was a co-founder back in 2011, but the “reliable fare and service with a smile” have carried on since his retirement. Top Tip – “prix fixe is fantastic value”.

A “wonderful restaurant, run by great people for nearly 30 years!” – Cyrus & Pervin Todiwala retain a mega-loyal fan club, who have followed them from their old site in E1 to this new distant unit on the Royal Docks (which they moved to in 2022). The draw is “just the most creative food” – “outstanding” cooking that’s “not Indian as you know it” but “with a Portuguese influence” – all delivered by “the nicest team” in a setting with views over the water. Even those who feel it’s “not a great location, being a long way out of town” say “oh the food! it’s well worth the journey!” Top Menu Tip – “be adventurous, the chutneys are unbelievable, the mains mouthwatering. You must try the Roast Chicken Cafreal Zambeziana and the beetroot and coconut samosa”.

“Fabulous pizza” – “quick, fresh, delicious”, and “impeccably made with original toppings” – makes this London-based group “a Friday night favourite”, with 14 outlets across the capital and counting. Founders Johnnie Tate & Nick Buckland last year secured investment designed to boost their presence to 40 sites over five years.

2023 Review: “Very busy steak-centric restaurant” (part of a chain owned by pub giant Mitchells & Butlers) that is one of the more commented-on destinations in our annual diners’ poll in the poorly served ’burbs to the south east of the metropolis. The food is “reliable”, “without being exceptional” and – notwithstanding some blips regarding service and management generally – this can be a “reasonable” destination in the locale.

2022 Review: “Everything you could wish for in a local”, say fans of this quirky Italian, in a tiny but characterful former guards’ room in the grounds of the old Woolwich Arsenal. “High-quality food is freshly prepared in an amazing setting with friendly, professional staff. A joy!”.

2022 Review: No feedback this year on this distant Chinese restaurant, near Royal Albert Dock DLR. If you are looking to eat in these parts though – while watching the take-offs and landings at nearby London City Airport – it is worth knowing about.

“A gem in rural Essex” – this transformed pub (swishly converted in 2018) caught attention in this year’s survey for its high standards from a large menu of dependable quality surf ’n’ turf: “an excellent concept similar to Smiths of Ongar, with a good value set menu”. (It’s the older sibling of a converted fishmonger’s at 1 Chapel Street, Billericay, which doesn’t attract feedback).

2024 Review: 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”.