County Hotel

The privately owned County is handy for the station and centre of town, and as well as catering for the business traveller via its numerous function and meeting rooms, it takes its food seriously. Indeed, The County Kitchen is a destination in itself, with an appealingly light and bright décor - leather seats in cheerful pastel shades, high ceilings and an oak floor - and unfussy cooking based on good produce. Chargrilled calves' liver served on grilled polenta with lemon, olive oil and parmesan brings a bit of Mediterranean sunshine to Essex, and for main course, Ligurian fish stew does the same, or go for chargrilled rib-eye with house fries. There are salads (roast squash with lentils) and pastas (lightly chillied crab linguini) and for dessert, there's steamed treacle sponge pudding with stem ginger ice cream.