Stark

The menu at Stark is a matter of trusting the chef – a no-choice, no-alternatives, six-course affair that changes whenever ingredients dictate and whenever Ben Crittenden sees fit. That’s fair enough, given that this little restaurant in a roadside building on a quiet road on Mersea Island is essentially a four-hander: Ben cooks while his wife, Sophie, looks after guests with easy warmth.

The Crittendens landed in Essex in summer 2024, and fans of the original Stark in Broadstairs will recognise the cocooning dark-painted walls and the bold steampunk art. They’ll also recognise Ben’s thrilling cooking. Duck liver parfait on a puck of confit duck and thin gingerbread, is a luxurious menu fixture, an accompanying fruit purée switching with the seasons between orange, smoked apple and cherries, perhaps. The fish course might be halibut, poached to pearly perfection in butter with dots of freshening cucumber and turnip, commas of ditsy brown shrimps, and seaweed sauce. It’s gentle, restrained, classical. To follow, there might be shoulder of Scottish shh’annu lamb – a method of rearing on grass rather than a breed – with a robust potato-lamb dumpling showered in truffle, matched with a silky, cherry-red Minervois from the optional five-glass wine pairing. Next up, a sensational piece of wagyu rump, perfectly pink and topped with a bright salsa verde. Beetroot, blackcurrant and green peppercorns make the dish sing with sharp, sweet, sour flavours; it’s a masterclass in balance.

Ditto the artichoke ice cream, a knockout crossover that’s savoury, but also tangy with goat’s curd, and sweet with honey granola and hazelnut cake. Dulce de leche cake with coffee syrup will seduce the sweet-toothed, though a fabulously bitter dark chocolate sorbet and a dome of aerated mascarpone are welcome counterpoints. Trust the chef? You bet.