Restaurant that started out as coffee van named the best in Essex

An Essex eatery that specialises in brunch and small plates in the evening has been named the best restaurant in Essex. Fête Grays Yard has won the award for the best restaurant in the county in the latest Muddy Stilettos Awards.

Each year lifestyle brand Muddy Stilettos picks a range of finalists in numerous categories then calls for votes to pick the winners. This year there were 27 categories across the county including best book shop, best day spa and more.

In the restaurant category this year, the finalists included the great businesses Olio At The Chequers in Wickham Bishops, Pig & Whistle Restaurant in Chelmsford, Ranfield’s Brasserie in Coggeshall, and The Onley in Stisted, but it was Fête that won the crown.

Fête started out as a coffee van in 2019 with Chef Tobias Godfrey and his partner Laura Day teaming up to offer portable dishes and great coffee. The pandemic hit shortly after they started and they were furloughed from their regular restaurant jobs.

This left them to serve socially distanced coffee to the people of Chelmsford throughout the lockdowns, gathering a group of loya; customers. In Autumn of 2021 they set up a temporary pop up shop in the city gathering more fans who were delighted when they opened a permanent restaurant in March 2022.

They are now based in the ex-Laura Ashley store opposite Nando's. It has been transformed into a 70 seater restaurant, an upstairs events space and is fuelled by 35 strong workforce.

They have become known for their delicious Nutella Cornflake French Toast among other drool-worthy brunch dishes, and the small plate menus they serve up in the evenings. The evening menu changes regularly with Tobias showing off his flair for curating dishes.

Posting about the award win on Instagram, Fête said: "It's been a good day at the office for team Fête. Thank you to everyone that voted for us and a big shout out to our Fête family who make our little corner of Chelmsford as great as it can be.

"Thanks for supporting local - you've made our hardworking gang very proud indeed. Time for a glass of fizz in the sunshine I think."

Fête is based at 10-13 Grays Brewery Yard in Chelmsford. It is open from 9am to 5pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays , 9am to 11pm on Thursdays and 9am to 12am on Fridays and Saturdays.

References

1. ^{^} The Chelmsford brunch restaurant dubbed 'the best place to eat in Essex' (www.essexlive.news)