Harwich Restaurant Guide

This small mid-Victorian hotel on the historic Harwich waterfront, overlooking the twin estuaries of the Stour and Orwell, wins solid ratings for its seafood-focused restaurant. It is part of the regional Milsoms’ group (flagship: The Talbooth at Dedham).

In a very comfortable 18th-century coaching inn, set in the “quaint village of Mistley”, California-bred Sherri Singleton’s neighbourhood restaurant (with rooms, plus a kitchen shop and cookery school) has long been of note for its “great seafood”, which includes “wonderful” grilled options, year-round Mersea oysters and bargain moules-frites nights on Thursdays. One caveat: owing to all the above (plus its great-value set meals and River Stour views) it “gets busy, so you must book”.

2021 Review: “Quirky, quaint and stylish, with excellent food” – Julien & Karine Jourdain took over this antique Belgian gunboat in October 2018 from the Crépy family, and it’s “one of the best Ipswich has to offer”. Permanently moored in the marina, near the city-centre, its modern European menu options vary by the day.

Foo Trong’s traditional family-run Chinese restaurant with a long menu featuring all the classics is an Ipswich landmark after 27 years’ service – “you feel they are so pleased to see you, and they make sure you’re well looked after”.

“Gastropub? More like a fine-dining experience” say fans of this “prize-winning” and “dog- friendly” Brit-alian venue (est. 2015), which secured top honours on Estrella Damm’s Top 50 UK Gastropubs list for the second time in 2024. For all the headlines, it continues to attract cynics who feel it’s “vastly overhyped”, “not as good as it was” or who note “ever-increasing prices”. Still, all who report rate the cooking as “good” or better. Top TIp – there’s no doubting that the ‘Be Unruly’ “tasting menu on Thursday is exceptional value” (£49 per person for five courses, as per the usual £75).

“Locally sourced food cooked to perfection” and a “charming welcome” reward visitors to Constable Country who are lured by the distinctive yellow facade of this 15th-century coaching inn, owned and operated for 22 years by Piers Baker. The “great menu”, which takes most of its cues from Italian cuisine, makes this “a place to while away the afternoon” over a long lunch.

“Old fashioned, with understated service and great ambience” – this impressive Grade I listed property dates from 1440 and was once the HQ to 1970s TV chef Robert Carrier, who restored it in the early 1970s. There’s a wide range of à la carte, tasting and afternoon tea menus, all in a traditional mould and all at relatively affordable prices.

This attractive hotel in Constable Country is “a very pleasant place to eat”, owing to its terraced gardens and “good basic bistro food” (“plus it’s always open”, which doesn’t hurt). Service is not always a highpoint though, and can be “slow”.

“The setting is beautiful” – “especially outside in the summer months” – at this famous half-timbered destination, which has been a restaurant since 1925 and is a major favourite in the area for special occasions thanks to its marvellous beamed interior and heavenly location in Constable Country. Even those who acknowledge these strengths, though, note that “the food varies in quality and does disappoint” as results are “only average and very overpriced”. Also, “service can go downhill, especially when there is a large wedding going on… but it is lovely…”

Having switched hands from ‘Hotel Inspector’ Ruth Watson to six-strong group ‘The Hotel Folk’, there are “impressively high standards across the board in this charming Suffolk spot”; “fish is a strong point” of the operation, which is also reputed for its “relaxed ambience with a silver demographic”. “The interesting Orford Castle is close by” and can be glimpsed when dining al-fresco.

“The menu doesn‘t change much at this venerable restaurant” and “over the years the school dining room feel is just the same” too, but, hey, “if it ain’t broke don‘t fix it” – and this veteran from the Pinney family definitely ain’t broke. On the menu, “fish, either fresh or smoked in their own smokery” and then “simply cooked – perfect”. “After lunch, wander down to their shop on the quay to stock up on oysters, various smoked fish and meats, their own pâtés and more goodies”.