East Anglia Restaurant Guide

The name says it all: this purpose-built contemporary restaurant occupies the shell of an old boatyard by the Thames Estuary, and you can gaze out over the river towards Two-Tree Island Nature Reserve from its panoramic glass frontage.

8-13 High Street, Leigh on sea, Essex

This seventeenth-century village pub is tucked away near Buxhall's 'no sails' windmill. Inside, the Crown manages to combines the virtues of a thriving traditional hostelry (open fires, hop-garlanded beams) with the style of an upmarket gastro pub.

Mill Road, Stowmarket, Suffolk

Contemporary comfort, Essex-style, is the theme behind this vibrant, family-friendly restaurant on the banks of the Chelmer & Blackwater navigation.

Wharf Road, Chelmsford, Essex

The big, white, timber-framed building looks just like a traditional market town inn, which is exactly what The Starr at Dunmow used to be.

Market Place, Great Dunmow, Essex

A charming sixteenth-century beamed cottage is the setting for this likeable restaurant, which succeeds in providing 'beautiful food in a beautiful location' deep in the Essex countryside.

Rumbles Cottage, Felsted, Essex

'Thanks for the fun,' sums up the all-round buzz that diners get from this livewire venue; it's is just the ticket for 'a great night out'.

22 - 28 Benfleet Road, Southend on Sea, Essex

Baumann's Brasserie is very easy to find right in the centre of Coggeshall. The original sixteenth-century, half-timbered building was converted into a restaurant in 1986 by world-renowned Peter Langan, of Langan's Brasserie, together with his young French-trained head chef, Mark Baumann.

4-6 Stoneham Street, Coggeshall, Essex

A dream location directly opposite King's College is one of the prime attractions at this recent arrival on the Cambridge scene.

1 Kings Parade, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

Deigned and built in the 1930s by a firm with links to the Sydney Opera House, the Labworth is a striking Grade II-listed building that dominates Canvey Island and provides a marvellous vantage point for uninterrupted views of the Thames estuary.

Furtherwick Road, Canvey Island, Essex

Twinned with the White Hart at Great Yeldham, Masons Restaurant & Bar is a self-styled 'chameleon', changing its complexion and identity from lunch to dinner.

155-157 Ingrave Road, Brentwood, Essex