Chelmsford 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!)

“Pub grub done the Galvin way” is to be found in the chef brothers’ home county at their “beautiful pub, restaurant and garden, set in stunning countryside” (if “in the arse end of nowhere”, according to a day tripper from South Woodford). “The cooking here is very good with something of a European vibe (with pub standards to fall back on if you choose to dine in the bar rather than the more formal restaurant setting)”. “The staff always make you feel welcome, and the landlady, Katie, is particularly charming”. Top Tip – “an unusual highlight is Christmas Day lunch, which is well thought-out and nicely cooked (Chateaubriand or halibut if you hate turkey!)”.

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”.

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”.

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.

“Who needs Pizza Express” when you’ve got this bottomless Neapolitan pie joint – a “great concept” (since exported to Colchester) where you press the button for service and “pizza slices keep coming round” in a form of culinary roulette; since no two slices are the same, “you get to sample loads of exciting flavour combinations” that “one would not ordinarily put on a whole pie” (“the sweet chilli chicken with honey is a favourite!”).

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”.