The best restaurants in East of England

What a hidden gem !! A wonderful little restaurant, the staff were lovely, attentive and nothing was too much trouble. The choice of food would cater for almost everyone - we both opted for curry which was excellent As for the puddings - the bread and butter pudding & crème brulee were our choices - highly recommended. Lee was polite / friendly answered all our questions. We would definitely recommend this restaurant - 10/10

Gorgeous little place. Had a vegan breakfast and big breakfast. Portions were generous and the food was hot. My soya hot chocolate was also really warm which is hard to achieve without the milk curdling! The granary bread was just beautiful and melted in your mouth. Service was fantastic. Would absolutely go back.

Another fantastic meal at Malaya , the service and food were amazing as always, have recently come back from Bali and the food at Malaya is so much better 😋

The best pizza around, no doubt!

We had the best chocolate cake ever! And it came with story, as the rest of our meal. Friendly owner and quite an experience having the whole place to ourselves including listening to our own playlist.

Great new cafe, excellent cup of tea and a panini, was recommended by a colleague and I will definitely return when next in Kessingland. 10/10

Amazing food and service. Everything went really well. Chicken tikka dansak top notch. All our party said their food was delicious. Spotlessly clean, friendly and welcoming.

Monday Evening around 6pm Advertised as open lights were on but when we went in we were told that they were open to hotel guests only 😞

Really friendly service and beautiful cakes.

If you like Mexican and Tex Mex food this place is a must. Beautifully spiced, fresh ingredients and some innovative twists. You won't be disappointed.

Great service as always the service is always good and the Vegan menu is really good We have searched Southend for other places and not found anywhere as good

This is a venue that I have enjoyed visiting and being involved with, however the service during my last visit was shocking. I got a completely different meal that was ordered. The meals were not what was listed or lacking. And as you will see by the attached pictures, out tables were not cleared until asked to. Very disappointed. And also had issues with booking via the website as it started all timings were not available, what has happened to this place???

This is a very special hotel indeed. Kept, by its exuberant owner, in 1920’s style in homage to Agatha Christie who used to stay there. Full of old pictures and bits and bobs. Our bedroom ( medium size) was very comfortable with fun roll top bath but has modern amenities as well. But was next to the kitchen extractor fan which was noisy until 11 pm All the staff, mainly young people, were outstandingly helpful and polite. Nothing was too much trouble and it was the type of service I haven’t seen for many years. Well done. It is also highly popular , and full the nights we were there. Largely I suspect because of the combined dinner, bed and breakfast offerings. At very good value for money. The food was generally delicious and fresh. Duck, halibut, sea trout and the local crab and lobsters were outstanding but the “locally caught king prawns which, like the lobster, were landed today “ were obviously frozen as were tasteless and they ( king prawns) don’t live in UK waters. That was the only disappointment on the menu, which I wouldn’t have mentioned except they had been really hyped up by the enthusiastic person I assume was the owner. Good well chosen wine list and fine cocktails The reason I haven’t given five stars is with the regimented way guests eat. Severe set 25 minute table timings for breakfast and dinner. I do understand that the kitchen needs to be paced to cook such good food to order, but the timings on offer were not good for many of the customers. By the time we arrived to check in at 3pm after a long drive we had to settle for a 6.30 supper and 9.15 breakfast. The next day breakfast wasn’t available until 9.30 … hopeless for anyone who works or has to leave earlier.. and I overheard two couples saying their 6.30pm slot was far too early for dinner , but that was all that was left because the best table times had already been given to people from outside who had booked in for a meal. You are asked to go to the bar half an hour before your meal where you receive some underwhelming amuse bouche and are expected to buy a drink whilst perusing the menu. This is to help the chef timings but also allows for tables to be turned over and reset. The last day we were there the small bar was over crowded and we had to wait an hour to be shown our table. Service was then very slow. I just couldn’t eat rich food at 9pm having waited by then two and a half hours. So because I prefer more personalised service and eating at a time that suits my stomach, and I like to be sat at my table and not held in a “ holding pen” this is not an experience I personally wish to experience again. Having said that I realise that this hotel really does suit many of its guests, who really loved it. So it’s only my own opinion and I suspect I’m in a very small minority

Stayed at the Kensington Hotel further up the. Road, which was awful experience. Absolutely not a 3* hotel more like 1/2* needs a complete update & food was very poor quality. Walked down to the Furzedown Hotel the staff were very welcoming even though we were not residents at the hotel. We looked at the menu whilst having a drink & it looked so good we decided to try it. The food did not disappoint in-fact it was was excellent so good we went back the following evening. Well done to the Furzedown hotel for having such an excellent chef. 5* reviews from us!!!

Unbelievable pizza and steak. Couldn’t recommend it more. I had garlic bread, steak and truffle fries. The dough is so fresh. 10/10