Diners' Choice: Good for special occasions restaurants in Essex

OpenTable

Updated June 05, 2025

Looking for the best special occasion restaurants 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!

Smiths Restaurant Ongar

4.8

4.8 (5166)

£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

Kelly

Dined 5 days ago

Amazing service and helpful, food was amazing really experience.

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Black Rock Restaurant

4.8

4.8 (724)

£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

David

Dined 6 days ago

Very welcoming. Best steak we’ve had in a long time.

Mad Dogs & Englishmen

4.8

4.8 (2977)

£41 and over

Afternoon Tea

Leigh-On-Sea

About the restaurant

Here at Mad Dogs & Englishmen we have become renowned for our themed Afternoon Tea’s and wonderful cocktails. Enjoy the eclectic surroundings of this unique venue. We offer an immersive experience, a feast for the eyes and the taste buds! 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. The Botanical Rooms is upstairs and hosts our cocktail bar and also hosts our themed afternoon teas.

EVENTS

THE PARLOUR TEAROOM seatings at 12, 2.30 & 5 pm

Running 17/1/25 - 04/5/2025 - DIAMOND OF THE SEASON
Including Mothers Day 29th & 30th March
Running 10/5/25 - 13/7/2025 - GREASE

THE BOTANICAL ROOMS (upstairs) seatings at 12.30 & 3pm

Running 17/1/25 - 27/04/2025 - SNOW WHITE
Including Mothers Day 29th & 30th March
Running 03/5/25 - 13/7/2025 - The Circle of Life

Please ensure you select the correct time, venue and event when booking.

Top review

Zena

Dined 5 days ago

Lovely experience with delicious food and very pleasant wait staff. Thank you.

STARK

4.8

4.8 (79)

£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

Subrata

Dined 5 days ago

Beautiful crafted food served with much attention to detail. Each dish carefully thought out and curated with love.

Afternoon Tea at The Fancy Fox Patisserie

4.8

4.8 (169)

£26 to £40

Afternoon Tea

Leigh-On-Sea

About the restaurant

The Fancy Fox Patisserie is a beautiful tea room and cake boutique in Broadway West, Leigh-on-sea serving delicious seasonal Afternoon tea, Artisan cakes, Speciality coffee and various other sweet and savoury delights.
We serve lunch Daily. This includes a variety of sandwiches, baguettes and home made quiche. Lunch is served on a walk in basis so pop along and enjoy.
Vegan, gluten free and dairy free afternoon tea is available. (Please note any Dietary requirements and preferences including if a Child afternoon tea is required must be written in your special requests box when booking and a minimum of 24hrs before your visit.)

Fancy A tipple don't worry we've got you covered from prosecco to cocktails chilled to perfection there's something for everyone at The Fancy Fox. With our beautiful flower installations it's the perfect place to chill and chat with a glass of wine.

Top review

Alan

Dined on Jun 7, 2025

Very friendly staff and great food / drinks Quick service too. Highly recommend

The House by Hilly Gant

4.7

4.7 (1283)

£41 and over

British

Braintree

About the restaurant

We've been serving the people of Braintree and beyond since 2015 and in that time have humbly become ‘one of Essex’s best restaurants.’ We have received recognition from the AA, having been awarded an AA Rosette for ‘culinary excellence’ for five consecutive years, and then in 2023 we received our second rosette, putting the restaurant amongst the top 10 restaurants in Essex. Our food is of course one of our main focuses, but we don’t just stop there. Attentive, relaxed and friendly service is as important as the food and our objective is to make your visit an enjoyably memorable one. Our exceptional wine supplier, Peter Watts Wines (based up the road in Coggeshall) allows us to offer you delicious wines of an exceptional quality. Then add some cocktails, jazz, personality, creativity, a few hidden quirks and we like to think this all culminates to create a truly wonderful experience. Life is about memories; we want to be part of your best ones.

Top review

Nicola

Dined 7 days ago

First time visitors tonight and pleasantly surprised. All 4 of us shared chateau Briand which was cooked medium rare and superbly tender. We probably made the school boy error of not ordering extra veg as we lacked some greenery but other than that it was very good. It’s nice to see a chef that knows how to rest a decent cut of meat properly. All washed down with a couple of bottles of St’emlion red I’m sure we will return soon

Hasturk

4.7

4.7 (731)

£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

Zinzan

Dined 2 days ago

Really good food, great selection of drinks and wine - went for the Malbec would highly recommended. Very attentious and the waiters are all very accommodating. Food was speedy and was accompanied with on the house bread and dips. Will be coming back in the future, 10/10

The Eyna

4.7

4.7 (959)

£26 to £40

Turkish

Basildon

About the restaurant

The Eyna is a new, refreshing, traditional Turkish cuisine coming to the heart of Basildon. With a open-plan dining experience, open kitchen & central bar, we're sure this will be your perfect location for all types of events or casual dining.

Top review

Laura

Dined 4 days ago

We had the best time here, great atmosphere, a little noisy but that was because people were enjoying themselves, food was fantastic, staff happy and helpful, bar staff were lovely too. Loved the fact we could have a dance after, will definately be back!

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Côte Brasserie - Chelmsford

4.6

4.6 (73)

£25 and under

French

Chelmsford

About the restaurant

Cote is inspired by the brasseries of Paris, serving authentic French dishes all day in our classically designed restaurants. We are committed to producing authentic French classics, freshly cooked to order, from the highest quality sourced ingredients.

Top review

Judith

Dined on Apr 16, 2025

Delicious food and excellent service. A relaxed and calm atmosphere.

Alec's Restaurant

4.5

4.5 (109)

£41 and over

Seafood

Brentwood

About the restaurant

Alec’s Restaurant opened in 2010 and has established itself as one of Essex’s leading fish Restaurants. Alec’s prides itself on quality ingredients and exceptional service.
Unwind with a premium bottle of wine or signature cocktail in the comfortable lounge before taking a seat in the elegant main dining room, which can accommodate 120 guests.
Roaring fires in the winter and a delightful outdoor dining area in the summer, only enhance the elegant building.
The menu at Alec’s Restaurant is traditionally British and sets out to provide simple, quality fresh food. Although predominantly a seafood restaurant serving the finest fish and shellfish, mouth-watering meat dishes add to this impressive menu.
We are proud to follow the MSC code of conduct for sustainably sourced seafood. Plus, all seafood and fish are wild and ‘day boat caught’ from across Britain.
Please note that this restaurant operates a strict policy of no children under 12 years, and a smart casual dress code.

Top review

Bruno

Dined on May 27, 2025

Another faultless lunch, the food, champagne, and wine were all delicious! The halibut is the highlight for me, and it looks like the wild seabass for my guests, although the bakewell tart was a delight for my guests. As for the Montaudon champagne, it was fresh, floral, yeasty, with fine bubbles and red berry fruits, most probably to do with the blend. 👌

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