This outlying Essex island has been a popular holiday destination since Roman times. Now it’s a perfect spot if you want a quick seaside jaunt out of London, but want to avoid the crowded beaches of nearby Southend. It’s easiest by car, although you can take a train to Colchester, where it’s a half-hour bus journey out to the island. Make sure you’re aware of tide times, as the island’s cut off twice a day.
The White Hart
1 High St, West Mersea, Colchester CO5 8QD
The White Hart Inn took over a pub that had been closed for almost a decade and relaunched it as a pub with rooms. The menu here is modern British (using lots of local produce), there's a fantastic drinks list and the pub garden out the back is lovely too. If you want to stay over, there are six bedrooms to choose from and they do a fantastic breakfast. It's a hugely successful makeover.
Seafood at Dawn
Coast Rd, West Mersea, Colchester CO5 8LS
Recommended to us by multiple Mersea locals, this seafood restaurant is on the same stretch of coastline road as The Dukes and Company Shed. It’s a locally-run business with a menu fixated on what’s being landed and grown in the area. Obviously the oysters are good, but we’d urge you to make sure the loaded seafood chips are among your orders. Loaded with garlic prawns and calamari along with seafood sauce and garlic mayo they’re bloody marvellous.
The Company Shed
Where: 129 Coast Road, West Mersea, Colchester CO5 8PA
Certainly Mersea’s most well-known foodie destination - this no-frills space is an old oyster shed which serves up local seafood. It gets booked up well in advance, so if you are planning a trip to Mersea and want to eat here, this should be the first place you book.
Richard Haward's Oysters
129 Coast Road, West Mersea, Essex CO5 8PA
We were extremely lucky enough to get a rare boat trip out to view the oyster beds in Mersea from eighth-generation oyster farmer Tom Haward. His family has an astonishing back story, having cultivated oysters in the estuary here since the 1700s. Nowadays they're probably best known for their stall in Borough Market where they sell their wild rock oysters (the only ones in the UK) to thousands of tourists each year. If you're headed to Mersea, you can pre-order boxes of oysters to pick up from their oyster shed on the coast road. Plans for more boat trips are in the offing over the next year or so. Keep an eye on their Insta for more details.
The Dukes Seafood
Coast Rd, West Mersea, Colchester CO5 8NA
This fish and shellfish shack sells seafood to go, but also has a large covered terrace with perhaps the best view over the estuary in this part of West Mersea. It’s definitely the place to go if the weather is good. We spotted grilled cab with a samphire butter and bacon and scallops in a bun on their menu as we went past.
Stark
East Rd, Colchester CO5 8TQ
Originally based in Broadstairs, this Michelin-starred restaurant has now relocated to Mersea where Grace Dent called it “a lesson in simplicity”. It’s a cosy space - around 20 covers - serving up a six-course tasting menu that changes regularly.
Mersea Island Fish Bar
37 High St, West Mersea, Colchester CO5 8QA
This fish and chip arm of the West Mersea Oyster Bar is still open and doing business. We loved our scampi and chips on a visit a few years back, and they also do seafood platters to take down to the beach too.
See also: Unique Fish Bar & Kebab - we had an unbelievably good cod and chips here this summer and (whisper it) it might even be better than the main fish bar.
Also worth knowing about:
Mersea Vineyard
Rewsalls Lane, Colchester CO5 8SX
If you want to stay super local with what you’re drinking on the island, you’ll be wanting a bottle from Mersea’s only vineyard. They produce a variety of white wines you can buy in the shop, and there’s also a decent-sized cafe serving homemade cakes, and B&B facilities here too.
Bonner’s Barn
Bonners Barn, The Strood, Colchester CO5 7QL
Just before you get onto The Strood causeway, which leads on to Mersea is where you’ll find this well stocked farm shop which is worth hitting up if you’re doing self-catering on the island, or for picking up local produce to take home to London with you. There’s also a separate seafood stall out in the car park.
Danbury Ridge
OK, so this award-winning vineyard isn’t actually on Mersea, but it’s just 20 miles away. We were lucky enough to be given a guided tasting of their wines when we stayed at The White Hart from the estate’s resident Master of Wine and vital Viti-Vini consultant John Atkinson. And, quite frankly, they blew our minds. When he told us that Danbury’s Chardonnay had been rated third best in the world at this year’s London Wine Fair beating the likes of Bâtard-Montrachet 2022 which goes for five times the price we weren’t one bit surprised. Their Solstice, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are all on the wine list at the inn.
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