Michelin Guide: Food Leigh-on-Sea by Essex chef John Lawson

Found on the Thames Estuary, Leigh’s maritime history dates back to the 16th century when it became a ship building hub and prosperous port.

While sole, herring, whelks and thornback ray are fished from Leigh waters, the town is known for its cockles.

The restaurant's menu is led by health and wellbeing (Image: Food Leigh on Sea)

If you’re looking for a seafood meal, there are plenty of options, including the authentic cockle sheds along the shoreline.

However, if you’re looking for a Michelin-grade meal, head to Food Leigh-on-Sea.

One of the 10 Michelin Guide recommended restaurants in Essex, Food Leigh-on-Sea was created by chef John Lawson who set the restaurant up following a Grade 2 brain tumour diagnosis in 2015.

During Lawson’s recovery, the chef, who has done time in Gordon Ramsay’s kitchens, looked at the food he ate, nutrition, and how what you eat can aide wellbeing and brain health.

The restaurant was founded by chef John Lawson after a cancer diagnosis led him to scrutinise food's relationship to brain health (Image: Food Leigh on Sea)

And so Leigh-on-Sea was born, a restaurant that strives to put healthy, nutritional meals on your plate that are also delicious, which has caught the eye of top chefs including Raymond Blanc OBE, Michel Roux Jr (Le Gavroche, The Langham Hotel), Robin Gill (The Zebra Riding School, Maria G’s) and Ollie Dabbous (Hide).

At Food, the menu is based on available produce – what fish has been caught that day and what fruit and vegetables are in season. Produce is sourced as local as possible, including foraged herbs and fruit.

Head Chef Liam Lingwood leads the kitchen to prepare gluten and refined sugar free menu of small plates during the week, a tasting menu for Friday and Saturday evening and a three-course Sunday lunch, which you can make bottomless with organic wine.

Michelin Guide praised the restaurant for its “surprise” tasting menus, and “creative, eye-catching dishes” (Image: Food Leigh on Sea)

Michelin Guide praised the restaurant for its “surprise” tasting menus, and “creative, eye-catching dishes”, and the restaurant’s many plant-based options and catering for vegans with ease.

The guide also described the venue as a “narrow restaurant with a rustic look” that has a “cosy vibe” thanks to the “friendly, engaging manner in which it’s run”.  

The restaurant also supports the Brain Tumour Research Charity, with the staff donating a percentage of their tips to the charity each month.

Find the restaurant at 92 Leigh Road, Leigh-on-Sea, Southend-on-Sea SS9 1BU and visit foodleighonsea.com