Went to Maffias with the family and everyone had wonderful meals. The food was fantastic and the…read morestaff were lovely. The ambiance was also so nice and warm. We will definitely be coming back here again.

If you like choice, good portions and a friendly atmosphere and you don't like big restaurants,…read morethen Maffias is for you. A little out of the way for anyone outside of Clacton but, if you are down for a break and you want a good meal out, you could do a lot worse. The menu is varied and full. All the meats come from local butchers and the vegetables are bought fresh every day. The only downside is, you tend to need to book in advance and they don't open on Monday or Tuesday.

Great service and friendly staff. Recommend a night out or food. Right on the sea front so good…read moreview.

I ordered a meal that came with a non alcoholic drink and my girlfriend ordered a meal that came…read morewith an alcoholic drink. The waitress changed our order around to save us some cash without us even having to ask. My budget was amazing. It came with chips and onion rings and a drink for less than 7 quid! I was very pleased. Also free wifi.

30/08/2008 - Visited this restaurant for the first time last night - and we have lived in Clacton…read morefor 11 years. What a surprise wished we had used it earlier. The Flamingo is laid back and very friendly without being intrusive. The food was out of this world, the steak was done to perfection in the manner requested, and the rack of lamb was heavenly. The vegetables were all hand cut and cooked also to perfection, portions very generous, the added bonus you could actually taste and know what you was eating with each flavour complementing the next,. We are discerning 'foodies' and have already booked again for our next joint day off next month we were that impressed. Highly recommended. P.S. The music was great as well, this is a pub also and it was 70's disco night.

OK, so it's a chain. They are all over the country and that makes them bad right? Wrong! This…read morerestaurant is new to Clacton, following a recent trend for more big names to invest in the area. Not only have they spent money on making the restaurant a pleasant place to be but they seem to have imported their own Italian staff (or at least those that can do a passable Italian accent without resorting to impressions from The Godfather films). The food quality is excellent and you get a wide choice of options including the usual pasta and pizza dishes. During the summer, it will be a lovely place to dine with a large conservatory area looking out to the sea. Well worth a visit if you are in the area.

I'm from the US and my boyfriend is from Clacton so when we come over for the holidays I make sure…read morewe make a trip to Prezzo - one of my favorite places to eat in England

Came for the day trip with family to Clacton, delighted to have found this place, really good food…read moreand service, a really lovely place, with a nice feel, we will be back next time.

From the owner: Black Rock Restaurant is an easygoing dining restaurant. We focus on a trendy steak and grill menu,…read morebut our speciality here at Black Rock is the 'Steak on the stone', a tasty concept from the island of Madeira. We are a great place to eat, excellent atmosphere with great tasting food, and we take pride in delivering exceptional service using the highest quality of local ingredients, the best cuts of steak and a great selection of exciting cocktails.

I went to the Chinese Cottage with my wife and two friends just before Christmas. We were to meet…read moreour friends at 19:20 for a 19:30 meal, when booking the table my wife had been informed that they were very busy due to Christmas party bookings. As my wife and I live in Thorpe we arrived early before our friends expecting to wait for them in the bar area, however we were ushered directly to our seats as one of the party groups were all ready in the bar, we felt uncomfortable being seated at the table without our friends. This however, was the only downside of the evening, the food was excellent, the service was friendly albeit a liittle slow, the deserts were a little on the small side but when we jokingly pointed this out to the staff a free additional desert appeared. I always find chinese menus difficult, not knowing what to choose so I normally go for a set meal which I did on this ocassion, the set meals start from £18 each with a minimum of two ordering. All in all an excellent meal and I would recommend the Chinese Cottage to anyone, try it, you want be dissapointed.

We have eaten at the Chinese Cottage for many years but over time it has become poor value for…read moremoney with high prices, and the general level of cleanliness and decor has been completely neglected. The food is still quite good but if you like to eat late then you will be unlucky as we have been advised when trying to book a table for say 9pm that the Chef wants to go home by 10.00. The toilets are quite unacceptable, the gents has a very low pressure of water at the basin which results in a trickle of cold (no Hot) water barely enough to wash your hands, and the floor is more like going for a paddle! This I have experienced on more than one occasion. I addressed my concerns to the female manager, she responded with being too busy and not enough staff to clean. I tried to continue my conversation with her and she turned her back on me refusing to discuss the lack of basin water, let alone no hot running water or soap! Clearly there is a lack of proper management /front of house This restaurant is a heath hazard, it needs some investment in a complete makeover inside and outside, I don't even want to think about what the customer doesn't see in the kitchens etc! We will not be eating here again any time soon.

This review starts with a story that may well be apocryphal but it certainly got me to venture into…read morethis restaurant. It seems that, in some distant year, the restaurant was full and the guests were enjoying the excellent cuisine when one decided that his food wasn't quite to his liking. Now, the exact details of his complaint have been lost through time but the rection of the owner/chef has not. Apparantly, so incensed was he by the complaint and apparent affront to his culinary abilities that he stormed out of the kitchen and into the dining area and started throwing tea towels at the hapless diner. Sadly, I cannot confirm or deny the facts and have only been witness to a few raised voices from the kitchen but, as this is an Italian restaurant, I would expect no less. The food - which is the main point of this review - is absolutely superb. Pricey in these recessionary times but, if you want a special treat, take the plunge!

Celebrated husbands 60th birthday on Sunday. The communication has been fantastic in arranging…read moredecorations as a surprise for Adie. The whole family had a wonderful time. The service provided by Katie was awesome, all food arrived hot and delicious. Atmosphere was great. Everyone had a fantastic time. Can't recommend highly enough. Thank you Hayley & Katie for making our visit Love Helen and Adie xxx p.s. we'll be back xxx

If you ever find yourself in Clacton On Sea and need a really good hearty meal in a nice atmosphere…read morethat isn't a Wetherspoons pub then I really recommend this place. I passed it many times before we ventured in and to be honest we thought it would be a bit of a dive but we ventured it and it is welcoming, a fun twenties diner style vibe, good cocktails and a very full menu, including various and when I say various I mean more than 3 VEGETARIAN options. A miracle!! The menu travels through England, Italy, Mexico and America and represents really warming and well done food. The staff are happy and serve quickly and the cost is not too pricey at all. So take a trip to Clacton, play games in the arcade, ride rides on the pier and then have a great dinner in Charnallies!! xyz

Based in the small village of Thorpe-Le-Soken, is the recently revamped Rose & Crown restaurant…read more Under new management, the service and quality of food totally won me over. I was sincerely greeted as soon as I entered and sat in the cosy bar area, arranged with soft furnishings, and sampled one of the real ales on tap whilst enjoying the ambience. Soon after I ventured into the restaurant area. I have never sampled a steak and ale pie with this much meat in; succulent meaty chunks of beef, with not a hint of fat or gristle. And finished with a perfectly browned filo pastry topping. Add to this to the thick cut chips - fluffy and crispy with the perfect amount of seasoning, and the well chosen selection of seasonal vegetables, bursting with flavour and a hint of crispness. The icing on the cake has to be the service. One can always sense when staff are passionate about service and the lady that served me (Kerry I believe), was no exception. If you're ever in Weeley, Thorpe or Clacton, treat yourself to an experience at the Rose & Crown.

Whatever you do, don't go looking for this place. Not only is it tucked away in the middle of the…read moretown, it is actually above some of the amusement arcades in Clacton. This should not put you off the food however. The selection is your typical Chinese takeaway fayre but, and I feel this is the test of a good chinese, it is hot on arrival and it still tastes good the next morning! Yes, I know that is not the greatest start to a day but some chinese takeaways I have had over the years - and there are a lot - have had to go straight into the bin in the morning. I mean, let's face it, who orders 'just enough' chinese takeaway?? There is always a load left so, if you are going to spend on all that food, the least you can expect is that it will be reasonably edible in the morning!

Looks a bit run down from the outside but don't let that fool you, food was absolutely lovely, I…read morewill be going there in a few weeks can't wait for it.