Gavin Convery

hmm, might have to delay the return until Tuesday, but I think the schools go back then :-(

Gary, How long from the A1 would you reckon? I'm back up to Newcastle next week for Easter and thought I could make a detour....How are your bookings looking for Easter Monday? Edit: Just looked at your winelist...very nice!

Time to bring this back to the top...;-) I went to Le Talbooth for Sunday lunch last weekend. Le Talbooth is part of the Milsom groups of restaurants which includes Milsoms (no!) and the Pier at Harwich. Le Talbooth is in an attractive medieval style building by the banks of a river (not sure which one) not far from the pretty Suffolk village of Dedham. The car park is full of the toys of the nouveau riche (red Rolls-Royce!) and a good proportion of the diners probably come into that category. As I belong to the class of vieux pauvre I am entitled to mock. Friendly Maitre d' greets us at the door and fusses over my two girls (les filles!!) - then we are treated to the old sitting in the lounge while you wait for your drinks and menus and while we prepare the table routine. OK we were a little bit late, but after an hour of waiting we are starting to get twitchy (especially with a 3 year old in tow) - fortunately we despatched les filles outside for a look at the ducks while we waited. Eventually we get to our table, and as I'm bored with all this writing, I'm moving into bullet point mode: - waiting staff are mostly polish and a little amateurish - the bread man missed me out and rushed off before I could remonstrate - excellent winelist furnished by Lay and Wheeler (top essex wine merchant) - Bottle of Vergelegen Vergelegen ordered - not as good as I hoped. I would have preferred some of the excellent Rhones on the list but it was my friend's birthday and his choice. - Starter of duck and foie gras (fresh) salad was good. - Main course of duck (again!) with beetroot 'confit' and jasmine jus was ok, not very exciting. - Dessert of Vanilla cheesecake (poor and solid) and rhubarb sorbet (excellent) - Bottle of Klein Constantia Vin de Constance was excellent and unusual. - All the SA wines are imported by the restaurant. Overall this was an average experience not particularly cheap £28.50 - other than the winelist there was a lack of interest all round. The loudmouth geezer in the red Rolls-Royce loved it though... Just a quick note on my favourite Fish restaurant - the West Mersea Oyster Cafe. Friends down from London who eat at Ollies and the Sea Cow in SE London agreed that this was much better - "I can't see that you could get better Fish and Chips than this" Fabulous. I've found out where the Company Shed is now (just down the road from the above) so I'll hopefully report back soon on that.

Andy, do you have any further details on the Lindsay House. I was always a big fan against the general tide on this board some time ago. What is Corrigan's involvement these days?

Scott, absolutely agree about the cheese board - one of the best I've ever had. Winelist is expensive but unbelievably comprehensive

Hallie - my suggestion was the Greenhouse which is in Mayfair...not far from Le Gavroche. Hits the buttons for feeling grown-up and youngish at the same time. Service is very friendly but not always 100%

Rian, thanks for the info...sounds like you experience was disappointing. I plan to go soon so I'll let you know. If you like cheese then you should go to the Greenhouse - one of the best kept cheese trolleys I have had the pleasure to taste from...

Greenhouse or Pied a Terre - both quite intimate. Fabulous winelist at the Greenhouse and inventive food at both. Gavroche is a little stuffy but luxurious in the old style - food can be sometimes surprisingly hit and miss. Sketch can be wonderful but I had two divergent experiences there. I've tried to like the Square but always found the service incredibly poor and the food very "haute" but lacking some excitement.

So no-one's been? I was hoping to get there next month but was looking for reports....

Sorry, I moved out to Essex...but at least that thread is going strong As a result I'm concentrating on home-based pleasures such as wine drinking and am often found on: http://www.wine-pages.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=forum;f=1 I plan to visit PaT next month finances willing so I'll be sure to report back....

Welcome on board bakersestates...I would agree that the Mistley Thorne wasn't as good as I hoped. At £15 retail the markup on the Au Bon Climat PN is 2.5...well it's less than London which is what I'm used to. Re the Devere Arms: Maybe £35 is quite a lot but as I only paid £25, for the quality of the cooking I thought it good value. Again the winelist was expensive. I've been to your restaurant and enjoyed it - your winelist is exceptionally generous and an interesting selection - you obviously like wine - Liberty Wine has a good list ;-). As I mentioned somewhere above I had the Isole e Olena Chianti Classico. I would have some small criticisms of the cooking - a one of focus more than anything compared to other gastropubs I've been to (mostly in London - I'm a newbie to the area). Thanks for the recommendations and a link to your website here http://www.thesuninndedham.com/

The website says £35 for the 7 course tasting menu!!

As promised I went to the Devere Arms in Earls Colne - another attractive North Essex village a few miles north of Coggeshall. As mentioned this has two rosettes in the AA guide for what it's worth - I would say it is worth it or probably more. This is both a restaurant and a hotel done out in a sort of "Country Modern" style. I was a little bemused by the whole "sit down in the lounge while you peruse the menu and nibble on canapes" type thing which I hadn't experienced for a while but a relaxing start to the meal. At least it was until I saw the wine prices - these are London markups e.g. Dr. Loosen basic riesling (£5.99 in sainsburys) for £18.95 and some very expensive basic Burgundys at the £50 mark. Finally found a Castello Volpaia Chianti Classico for £28 - which reminded me of my lunch there last summer. Perusal over, we moved to the restaurant proper which is painted a rather strong red colour but generally had a nice feel to it. Starters duly arrived - Salmon and Squid ballotine with citrus dressing and Red Mullet with Tomato concasse-thing and green beans. Presentation was impressive and the taste also impressed - although the tomato stuff was maybe too strong and too much with the mullet, all elements had a delicious flavour. The ballotine was a little cool but again tasty. Main courses were Gressingham Duck with rosti and vegetable accompaniments - I had the venison. Both were again beautifully presented and the quality of the meat excellent - flavours strong and clear. My wife pronounced her duck as the best she had had in a long time. On to desserts with which we ordered a glass of Willi Opitz beerenauslese. I had Assiette of pineapple with Cardamom pannacotta. This comprised pineapple sorbet, spiced pineapple puree and the pannacotta surrounded by pineapple dice - pannacotta was of the right degree of wobbliness. Other half had Tarte Tatin with vanilla ice-cream - unusual in that it consisted of a whole apple sitting in a pastry 'cup' - tasted delicious. Wine geek note - wine was served in Schott Zwiesel glasses which is better than the usual rubbish though obviously not as good as Riedel. All in all an excellent meal which could not be faulted at the level it was aimed at; although not michelin-star-bothering, this was beautifully presented tasty food. At the current 'bargain' price of £25 for 3 courses instead of £35 this is a good bet if you're in the area monday to thursday http://www.deverearms.com

A useful reference list for BYOB places is here: http://www.wine-pages.com/byoblist.shtml

Not sure if anyone is reading this thread or if there are any Egulleteers in Essex at all...but for the record, here are some views on the Mistley Thorn. Please tell me I'm not alone out here.... Mistley is a small village beyond Manningtree in one of those back of beyond parts of Essex which have a slightly weird feel to them. Even weirder that the only restaurant with a Bib Gourmand in Essex should be here. Mistley Thorn is a recently converted pub/restaurant/hotel close to the Stour river estuary - nicely done out with muted tones. There is an associated cookery school next door run by the Canadian owner Sherri who also runs the restaurant. First impressions of the menu were that it's not going to set the world alight, but the prices were gentle - around £10 for mains. The wine list looked a little expensive. We started with a Tokay Pinot Gris from the Turckheim co-op which was £20 and followed with an Au Bon Climat Pinot for £37.50. I had smoked sprats with horseradish sauce followed by crabcakes. Other starters included mussels cooked with wine,coriander and lemon and a Cashel Blue souffle. Other mains were Duck Confit and Venison with root vegetables. My sprats were whole, so there was a bit of filletting to be done but the flavour was good and the crabcakes were delicious although small and there were only two of them. Nice salad accompaniments tasted as though they were fresh from the garden. The Duck was very tasty but the Venison was pronounced a little tough. I then shared a plate of cheese with my friend - this was excellent - the cheeses nicely matured served with a variety of crackers and slices of apple. Desserts were OK - we split a whisky semifreddo and Sherri's Mum's cheesecake (of the baked variety). With all the trimmings etc the total bill was £130 for 4 adults and 2 children (there was a children's menu but don't remember the details). You are unlikely to be going through Mistley on the way to anywhere (perhaps to Harwich for the ferry) but if you wanted a stop off on the way to Suffolk it is probably about 10 minutes from the A12 and not a bad option. Next week a report on the Devere Arms in Earls Colne (2 AA rosettes but does that mean much??)

New review for all you Essex boys! West Mersea is well known for the Company Shed - the no license, bring your own bread and butter seafood shack. I'm still to try it, but instead draw your attention to a nearby contender which has the advantage of a short but decent wine list plus all the accoutrements of a normal restaurant including reservations: The West Mersea Oyster Company on the Coast Road (no number that I could see but you should be able to find it quite easily nestled among the boatyards) Management Summary: Best Fish and Chips I have ever had. Not that I am a particular expert but these were leagues ahead of anything I have had. The batter was made using the local West Mersea ale and was more in the tempura style - very light and crisp and the Cod was as fresh as you like with some definable flavour. Nice chunky chips. Also available are oysters by the half dozen of various sizes - impeccably fresh and sweet. And a creamy clam chowder and various seafood platters and lobster and chips - no desserts other than local goats milk ice cream. Ambience is rustic unspoilt seaside shack and service is friendly. Take away oysters etc also possible. Next week I'll report back on the Mistley Thorn (Essex's only Bib Gourmand)

Also in Dedham, The Sun Inn had great reviews in the nationals but more mixed feedback from the locals (this could be a good or bad thing…). Sorry...I meant the Sun not the Star. The food was good without being up there with the best gastropubs. The wine list was very good - I had an Isole e Olena Chianti Classico for about £20 which given the retail price of about £13 is not bad at all!

Thanks for all the suggestions. After much house-moving pain finally ended up in the pretty village of Coggeshall and although this is a different gastronomic experience from London, there are still delights to be had. The Marks Hall farmer's market once a month usually throws up some delights, like locally made ice-cream from Hadley's farm in Earls Colne and it is so nice to go to your local farm for the Christmas turkey (free range bronze) and New Year goose. Then there is the Food Company in Marks Tey which is a sort of gastronomic supermarket albeit pricey and of course the oysters from Mersea Island and even local wines to boot. I can thoroughly recommend the White Hart - although not perfect, this is a great country restaurant/inn with superb friendly service and quite reasonable prices. The manager treated us to extra desserts (desserts are the highpoint). Also good is the Star at Dedham (very pretty village) but I can't recommend my local Baumann's Brasserie in Coggeshall (apparently where Peter Langan started out) - the food is overdone and unbalanced, however my wife enjoyed her christmas meal out at the White Hart in the village. The Compasses at Pattiswick has been reopened and is very nicely done out - the food seems generally good. Off to Suffolk for my holidays this year so any more recs in the Orford/Aldeburgh/Walberswick/Saxmundham area?

Talking of Tante Claire - the ES property pages said Pierre Koffmann was selling his house to finance the reopening of TC. Any inside news?

Strangely prescient quote from Scott. Any other recent reports since the re-opening?

Happy to see my original thread is still relevant...or should I say NOT happy. Especially as I am trying to plan my Christmas lunch out and things don't seemed to have changed much since my last moan..other than the Greenhouse which I liked a lot and Maze which seems to have conflicting reports although I like the concept. Anyone been to the recently reopened Pied a Terre?

Just back from Tuscany and Vivoli was excellent - my wife had melon and watermelon - the differences between the two were deliciously apparent. Another great gelato place in Castellina-in-Chianti - Antica something or other, sorry can't remember the full name. Just ask any local!

Coming to this one late and although I have not eaten here in several years, in total I ate at Maison Bricourt about 6 times over a period of a few years as well as staying at the small hotel on the cliffs (not Richeux). It is still our favourite restaurant in France and ticks all the boxes for service, ambience, unpretensiousness and of course food. I have had some courses I liked less than others - the classic John Dory with spices for example. But my last meal which took in the full tasting menu was outstanding. A pity the prices have gone up so much. We need to visit again very soon.

Thanks for the suggestions...I'll let you know once I'm up there. In the meantime, a plug for the Compasses in Pattiswick between Braintree and Coggeshall which seemed to be an enjoyable country gastropub with good wine list but it has closed for a major refurbishment due for opening in September.

I'm finally taking the plunge to move out of London and have decided on N. Essex of all places (actually very picturesque and a short commute to the City). However, none of the guides I have seen show much in Essex at all other than the odd pub. Anybody got any recommendations esepcially round Chelmsford/Colchester?