The best restaurants serving Spanish food in East of England

Celebrated a 50th birthday and we couldn’t haven’t been looked after any better by Sarah. We were a group of 13 and she kept us all fed and watered, and the restaurant provided a nice cake at the end. Cocktails were lovely, Tapas was very good, I especially enjoyed the meatballs and ham croquettes but others had their own favourites. A memorable night!

A fascinating evening in the coolest place around. Live music, people having fun...it's been too long.

We happened up on El Chigre Tapas Restaurant in Chelmsford, a) because we love good authentic tapas, b) didn’t want a heavy meal and c) we’re a bit bored with central cities being dominated by soulless chains. El Chigre is a one-off, family owned traditional Spanish tapas bar. The family hails from Asturias in the north of Spain and the cooking tells that story. Simple, elegant and delicious tapas. We ordered cod-loin stuffed roasted red peppers, fried aubergine fingers drizzled with honey, hand made ham croquetas, gambas cooked in garlic, calamares with aioli and sliced chorizo cooked in white wine. It was all rich in flavour, authentic, and simply delicious. Washed down with a white Rioja, this was a treat. They’ve been here a number of years but we’re thrilled to have found them. If you give them a few days notice, they’ll even prepare traditional suckling pig, garlic roasted lamb shoulder and other traditional dishes. Having sampled the tapas as a measure of the restaurant, next time we’ll try their paella and see how that measures up. Excellent food, reasonably priced, great family service. Muy bien.

Was having a lovely night until i got pushed and racially abused by a lad who was younger than my child. The door men overhead a conversion later and asked what happened and once I explained they said the people would definitely be barred. That made me feel like I was a valued customer and the staff were genuinely concerned

Enjoyed tapas and wine in the sun in the outdoor seating area. Great lunchtime deal on the tapas for two of us, and including a bottle of wine the bill was under £70.

Came here for a bite to eat before the theatre, what great little tapas place. Excellent food and lovely staff, will definitely come back.