Shoeburyness Restaurant Guide

2024 Review: Sawdust floors and shelves of wine for sale add to the atmosphere of this ‘Wine Merchant & Dining Rooms’ – a Dickensian-style space that’s been a linchpin of the town’s eateries since 1976. It continues to win consistent support for its traditional fare, and is well-suited to business lunches.

John Lawson’s ‘no menu’ outfit (there’s always a meat course and a fish course, with veggie alternatives) “has moved away from a vegan format to a healthy-living offering” – meaning gluten-free and dairy-free, “so you don’t come away bloated and filled to the gills with butter and salt”. Everything is locally sourced and super-fresh, resulting in “superbly put-together meals that change regularly”: Michel Roux is a big fan.

2024 Review: This Grade II listed Georgian pub near Oare Marshes Nature Reserve is “a lovely spot on a warm day to sit and enjoy lovely grub on the outdoor terraces” – “while it does not outshine its near neighbour The Sportsman, it’s cosy, well run, with excellent food and great service – all without having to book weeks in advance and much easier on the wallet”. It has seen “a resurgence in the standard of cooking under new management” – experienced ex-Londoners Tom Gravett & Renny Peret.

A “seriously dramatic room” plays host to meals in the restored 1873 pump house at Chatham’s historic dockyard on the Medway, which has been converted into a distillery and restaurant by Bob Russell and his sons Matthew & Stephen. Top Menu Tip – “amazing roasts on Sundays”.

“As always the food at the Sportsman is stellar” but as always it is the fact that it’s “served in a relaxed environment” which “makes a visit unforgettable” to Stephen Harris’s “splendid” hostelry which “has been modernised but still has the ambience of a pub”: a “diner’s delight” situated “by the Thames Estuary on an ancient saltmarsh and true to its location”. But while “the atmosphere is informal, the cuisine is totally serious”, “to the highest of standards” and at very “fair prices”. “The wine list, carefully chosen by the host, is classic, eclectic and great value too”, so, not unsurprisingly, it “gets very booked up” and is nowadays one of the top-10 most commented-on venues outside London in our annual diners’ poll. The normal menu is a five-courser, nowadays for £85 per person, although there is a three-course mid-week lunch for £55 per person served Tuesday-Thursday. Not sure you have sufficient appetite? – “the ideal thing to do is take a good walk along the beach beforehand to get the appetite brimming with anticipation!” Top Menu Tip – “Local fish is obviously a must” – “served flavoured with seaweed butter or caviar” – as are the “Whitstable oysters or marsh-fed lamb presented with flair”. “Fruit and vegetables often come from the pub’s own garden”.