Essex, French Restaurant Guide

“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”.

2024 Review: “An unexpected delight in Sudbury” – a “lovely old house” with beams plays host to Stéphane Chapotot and Alain Jacq’s “excellent French eatery”, long a local light (and veggie-friendly too); post-pandemic, it has fused with the formerly separate café, and now serves “very well-sourced and presented” breakfasts and lunches, plus more gastronomic dinners on Fri/Sat.

After working alongside Gary Rhodes and serving as Head Chef at Tom Conran’s Notting Hill venue The Cow, chef James Rix launched this smart Home Counties pub (replete with a large beer garden and heated gazebo) together with wife Bianca in 2004. Its rustic Italian- and French-inspired cuisine attracts reviews ranging from “good quality” to “excellent” – with meat (including Josper-grilled steak) a standout, and starters and desserts that are “not too shabby” either.