Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

A favourite watering hole in the ancient town of Coggeshall, renowned for its Great Barn, The White Hart has a reputation for doing things properly, be it a wedding, banquet or just morning coffee.

The modern European menu is sufficiently flexible and relies on fresh local produce and such dishes as Colchester oysters on a bed of rock salt and lamb with apple mint mash, pancetta wrapped beans and jus vinaigrette may have a European influence but retain their integrity well. For desserts, chocolate tart with pistachio mascarpone and steamed treacle pudding with cinnamon and clotted cream may impress.

A well-connected wine list draws heavily on Italy and there is a wonderful selection by the glass. The really interesting feature of the whole place is how Italian cooking and hotel management can slot in so comfortably with English antiquity and tradition within a service situation, to provide a first class service.

Just when you thought celebrity chefs owned high-end, deluxe dining spots, Mark Baumann steps in like a whiff of fresh air. Scuttling between TV shoots and cooking for the patrons in his brasserie at Stoneham Street is no mean feat; here's one person with copious amounts of passion for promoting the bountiful produce that Essex has on offer.

The menu explores brasserie territory with starters of apple, cider and smoky bacon salad, langoustine tempura, and basil egg mayonnaise with Bayonne ham crackling and avocado oil. In between congratulate yourself with a glass of Kir Royale sorbet or Trou Normand. The strength of main courses lie in the variety on offer here, from star anise braised pig cheeks and seared rib eye of beef, to fillet of venison Wellington and pomegranate marinated Devon duck.

Lemongrass and lavender honey bring a textural thrill to an otherwise straightforward pannacotta or get boozy with a British trifle with cranberry and milk chocolate cookie.