Witham Restaurant Guide

You “can’t go wrong” at this stalwart off the A12, where a rendered timbered façade gives way to a conservatory and covered patio. For over two decades it has been turning out traditional and consistent cuisine and, as ever, “the Beef Wellington is the pick of the menu”.

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”.

“The Galvins’ rural outpost” – on home turf for the Essex-born-and-bred chef brothers – is much commented-on: a “great gastropub deep in the countryside”, where it’s “an oasis in an area with very little in the way of good eating”. The “smartly decorated” fourteenth-century venue is “well worth the trip” for its “consistently excellent food”, “special atmosphere” and “lovely views over an extensive garden”.

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!)

“No frills” it may be (you must “BYO wine and bread”), but the “great seafood” – including the “freshest platters around”, plus hot options – at this very “quirky establishment” (basically a clapboard shack) mean that a visit is “always great fun”.

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”.

Press the green light for service, and then “eat until you can eat no more” – the “simple but effective” formula at this bottomless Neapolitan pizza joint, also with a Colchester spin-off; the “deliciously thin” pies support “fantastic food combinations” (but perhaps best to “go for lunch so that you have the rest of the day to digest all of the offerings!”).

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”.

This “lovely local restaurant” with a “cool London vibe in a hard-to-find location off the High Street” showcases chef-patron Paul Wendholt’s “just fantastic” modern British cooking. It’s a “tiny place”, so “sitting at the bar overlooking the open kitchen is really interactive”. The venue changed its name and direction two years ago – “I loved when it was Grain, and I’m so glad the new name and menu live up to expectations”.