Restaurants

When one of the country’s most respected oyster wholesalers opens its own restaurant, you’d expect oysters to be taken seriously. And you’d be right. On the night we visited, the blackboard listed natives from West Mersea and the Duchy of Cornwall, and Pacifics from Colchester, Maldon, and Carlingford Lough in Ireland, as well as French spéciales de claires. A mixed platter turned out to be the highlight of a mixed evening. This is an attractive venue, with its wooden counter, exposed bricks and line-up of blackboards. Our night got off to a fine start with a basket of crusty bread, half-pint of good prawns, and lightly smoked salmon. We were less taken by a sludgy beef, Guinness and oyster pie – basically a casserole with pastry lid. Our waiter, none-too-thrilled with a request for tap water, became harder and harder to flag down as the night went on, as the raucous Friday-night crowd started to resemble William Hogarth’s 18th-century engravings of hard-drinking City men. Some things never change.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009