Review: The White Hart Inn, Mersea Island

A sophisticated new addition to the rustic charms of Mersea Island’s food scene, The White Hart Inn is an eye-catching pub/restaurant located just minutes from the Essex coast.

It’s somewhere for a casual pint, an easy lunch or special celebratory dinner - and if you can’t bear to leave, there are six guest rooms to stay overnight, too. Mersea is famous for its oysters and, as you’d expect, fish features heavily on the seasonally-focused menu; think seafood straight from the water, fruit and vegetables grown on the island and slow-grown and rare breed meat from farms throughout East Anglia. For a casual lunch for two, we’d recommend the seafood platter – a feast of fresh, cured and smoked seafood with warm bread and butter. The menu changes frequently, but expect tempting dishes like starters of celeriac and cuttlefish ‘risotto’ served with pickled fennel, or seafood croquettes with a vibrant watercress velouté.

Mains are hearty but similarly sophisticated: delicate lemon sole served with an umami-rich nori and mussel sauce and a perfectly tender rare breed beef fillet, served with cottage pie and confit mushrooms on the side. The thoughtfully-chosen wine list is a real highlight too, with a host of eclectic and lesser-known tipples available by the carafe. whitehartinnmersea.co.uk