Diners' Choice: Best Service restaurants in Essex

OpenTable

Updated November 05, 2024

Looking for restaurants with the best service in Essex? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favorite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Hasturk

4.8

4.8 (693)

£25 and under

Turkish

Braintree

About the restaurant

Here at Hasturk, we have over 20 years experience in the restaurant industry. We are well versed in good hospitality and serving fresh, handmade food.

We’ve used experiences from our own heritage and traditional food back home to create our menu for the much loved Turkish which is now widely known.

With an array of meat dishes to freshly caught seafood and wide selection of authentic appetisers, you can be assured everything at Hasturk is carefully sourced and deliciously prepared and meets our standards.

Hasturk is a family run, Turkish restaurant with a modern twist. We aim to serve our customers the very best of Turkish cuisine, welcoming everyone in with open arms. We’re ready to offer you a dining experience that you’ll remember!

Top review

Mark

Dined 3 days ago

Great Food and service well worth a Visit! Very enjoyable.

The Punch Bowl

4.8

4.8 (28)

£25 and under

Gastro Pub

Southend-On-Sea

About the restaurant

The Punchbowl is a 17th century gastro pub, located in the heart of rural Essex and the Crouch Valley and the South Essex Salt marshes.

We offer nose-to-tail style menu, with unpretentious dishes that focus on flavour. Everything is made in house - from bread to mayonnaise, and we use local, seasonal and organic ingredients. Our menu changes daily, as the season's best comes in, and always features day boat fish, meat, offal, rare breed steaks and excellent vegetarian cookery.

Our beautiful garden bar has a lawn and york-stone patio looking out across the farmland of Paglesham and the River Crouch. Throughout the summer we offer BBQ dining from our hand-cranked Asado and Rotisserie Grills.

Top review

Jade

Dined 2 days ago

Lovey roast annthe Punchbowlz, on the slightly pricier side but worth it.

Mad Dogs & Englishmen

4.8

4.8 (2781)

£26 to £40

Afternoon Tea

Leigh-On-Sea

About the restaurant

The Parlour Tea Room at Mad Dogs and Englishmen provides a vintage setting to enjoy Afternoon tea. We’ve become renowned for our themed teas which offer an unforgettable experience. Enjoy the eclectic surroundings of this unique venue.
The Botanical Rooms is upstairs and hosts our cocktail bar. Here you can experience Afternoon Tea from Wednesday to Sunday during the day and enjoy the fairy-lit bar on Friday and Saturday evenings. We host live Jazz and soul on some evenings.
The Piano Lounge with it's vintage leather sofas and a mixture of eclectic styled furnishings is situated on the ground floor alongside our Whisky Bar. You can enjoy an Afternoon Tea with Piano accompaniment on Sunday afternoons or sample some of our extensive Whisky cocktails on Friday and Saturday evenings. We have live Jazz performances on selected evenings.
Please ensure you select the correct venue and experience for your visit with us.

Top review

Lynda

Dined 4 days ago

Beautiful decorated venue = staff were very polite very informative and professional = food was lovely very fresh and presentation outstanding

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Experience

Snow White Christmas Weekday £50pp (£15pp deposit)

Experience

The Nutcracker - Weekdays £50pp (£15pp deposit)

Experience

VIP The Nutcracker Weekdays £55pp (£15pp deposit)

Smiths Restaurant Ongar

4.8

4.8 (4776)

£41 and over

Seafood

Ongar

About the restaurant

Priding ourselves on our motto ‘Famous for fish’ Smiths Restaurants is a name that has become synonymous with fine dining and quality, attentive service. Our restaurants are located in Ongar Essex (just off the A414) and Wapping in central London (near Tower Bridge). Both restaurants boast an extensive menu of fresh fish that we offer to cook in a variety of ways to suit every palette. We also offer locally sourced meat dishes to accommodate those who prefer their food terra firma. To compliment the quality of our food we have worked closely with well renowned independent wine merchants to ensure we have a selection of wines that are the perfect accompaniment to every meal. The only problem you may have a Smith’s is being spoilt for choice.

Top review

Ben

Dined 7 days ago

First time here after knowing and hearing about Smiths for a long time. It was a business lunch and my client loves seafood so seemed appropriate. My guest said the halibut was very good and tasted unbelievably fresh. It’s also nice to see a meat/fish restaurant have a comprehensive veg/vegan menu and a bonus was the food was really good. The tempura cauliflower and goan curry were superb and I will 100% be coming back. It was really busy which meant a nice atmosphere and the staff were extremely attentive.

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Popular dish

Brixham Dover Sole

Black Rock Restaurant

4.8

4.8 (704)

£26 to £40

Steak

Clacton-On-Sea

About the restaurant

Embark on a culinary adventure at Black Rock, where we offer a unique dining experience that will tantalize your taste buds. Our menu is a global fusion of flavours, showcasing the best of international cuisine.

Our signature "Steak on the Stone" is a must-try, allowing you to customize your steak to your desired level of doneness. This innovative cooking method ensures a truly personalized and flavourful experience.

Beyond our exceptional steaks, our menu features a diverse range of dishes to satisfy every craving. From succulent seafood to hearty vegetarian options, there's something for everyone to enjoy. Our commitment to using only the freshest, locally sourced ingredients guarantees exceptional quality and taste in every bite.

Top review

Kay

Dined 5 days ago

Good friendly service food was lovely nice attitude

Carluccio's - Fenwick Colchester

4.7

4.7 (396)

£26 to £40

Italian

Colchester

About the restaurant

Here at Carluccio's, we’ve always been true to our Italian heritage and what food really means to us. The best ingredients, from the best regions, cooked with love.

Top review

Grace

Dined on Nov 23, 2024

Cannot fault the staff, food and service at Carluccios - Incredibly accommodating for a large table of 13 for our daughter's 8th Birthday. We pre-ordered and it was seamless from start to finish. Massive thanks to Keni for all of his efforts regarding dietary requirements too! We will be back.

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Experience

Christmas Menu (Groups 6+ guests)

STARK

4.8

4.8 (40)

£41 and over

Modern European

Colchester

About the restaurant

Stark is located in East Mersea, Essex and is owned and run by Ben and Sophie Crittenden, who opened their first site in Broadstairs back in December 2016 with the aim of securing a better work/life balance and enabling Ben to enjoy more time with their three young children, Ivy, Rosa and Arlo. Before relocating to Mersea Island, Stark was the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Thanet and one of five in the whole of Kent.

At Stark, only one, set tasting menu is served with no options or alternatives available. Because of this, Stark is unable to cater for any allergies or dietary requirements, for any reason as all guests eat the exact same meal each night. Ben creates a menu from high quality, seasonal ingredients, using his creativity and passion to create delicious food and provide a unique and exciting eating experience for customers.

Stark is a very intimate, relaxed restaurant, whose only demand of you is that you sit back, trust us with your dinner and enjoy the experience.

Top review

Julia

Dined on Nov 23, 2024

What a lovely place. Delicious food. Would come again.

The Old Siege House Bar & Brasserie

4.6

4.6 (326)

£26 to £40

European

Colchester

About the restaurant

The Historical Old Siege House in Colchester is the ideal venue for a small intimate meal or a large family get together ! Owned and run by Husband and wife team since 2014 it has a warm atmosphere and relaxed vibe.
We can provide extensive menus depending on your events, ranging from Afternoon teas to Hog roasts.
Our main menu changes seasonally and we also run a set lunch menu which is great value and changes every two weeks.
The restaurant can accomodate up to 160 covers inside and a further 50 outside so you will not be cramped for space. We have a private dining room for hire and a large bar and lounge area where you can enjoy some lovely made to order cocktails or a chilled bottle of wine.
Live music and events are regularly held and details will be posted on our various social media outlets.
We are proud holders of an elite 5 star food hygiene award for 3 consecutive 5 star visits in a row from the local council and pride ourselves on our hygiene levels.

Top review

Amy

Dined 3 days ago

Lovely place - very quiet on a Saturday afternoon so not much atmosphere, but the tapas lunch menu was excellent.

Caesar@Dolphin

4.7

4.7 (237)

£26 to £40

European

Braintree

About the restaurant

A traditional restaurant complete with low ceilings, beams, real fires and a cosy bar still frequented by the locals, it’s the pride of place pizza oven that makes Caesar @ Dolphin stand out from many village inns. That and the seasonal menu of big-flavoured dishes underpinned by strong technical skill

Top review

Daniel

Dined on Nov 16, 2024

Great food and great staff had a really good evening

Lot Bar & Restaurant

4.7

4.7 (1352)

£26 to £40

Contemporary European

Brentwood

About the restaurant

Lot Bar and Restaurant is a family run business offering freshly prepared food from 8am until 10pm daily. Whether you are looking for an informal breakfast or light lunch with friends or a 3 course celebration dinner in the evening or simply a drink in the bar after work, we have the best to offer locally.
We at Lot Bar and Restaurant take pride the quality of our ingredients, the high standard of presentation and excellent service. A seasonally changing breakfast and lunch menu offers everything you could want from a kitchen and our evening A la carte menu includes restaurant favourites as well as daily changing specials. On Sunday afternoons we offer the best Roast available. Our wine list, available from 11am, is curated by us to include the faithful, the unusual and the interesting.

Top review

Karen

Dined 6 days ago

I have visited about 7 times now and it never disappoints. The food is always excellent. I have had a range of pasta and fish and desert and its all been delicious every time. Compliments to the chef! The staff are very friendly. I went with a group of friends on a Saturday for lunch and it was quite noisy but we still had a fab time. Looking forward to going back.

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Popular dish

Paella

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