Fête Grays Yard — Restaurant in Chelmsford

What a delight, what a glorious surprise! Upon entering, a man was exiting the establishment with a look of enraptured pleasure and transcendent joy on his face, this piqued my curiosity, could this stylish eatery be that good? The answer is a resounding yes, more than a yes, this place has everything absolutely everything right. There were plenty of customers, some sat outside in the sunshine, and many enjoying the air-conditioning inside, none of whom were looking for service or in any way seemed anything but relaxed and thoroughly enjoying themselves. The serving staff glided around the space keeping a vigilant eye on the customers without ever being intrusive, and before you knew it, your table water was refreshed or napkins appeared just when you needed them. No table was forgotten, the staff were genuinely first class. The menu was eye wateringly well constructed, with food combinations that spoke of respect to the ingredients and without an ounce of pretentiousness. Everything on that menu had been thought through with a master's skill and insight into excellent food. I was so surprised to see a menu that had excitement, and every dish sounded appealing. With the sound of expertly made cocktails being shaken in the background, and the passionate conversation of other diners, our food and drinks arrived, wow, I was blown away, presentation and execution of the dishes far surpassed expectation, and the flavours actually made me close my eyes in sheer delight. I had the slow cooked, pulled beef rib benedict, and I can safely say that you could taste everything, not a flavour was lost or hidden. I was delighted at the portion size because the food was an almost indescribable joy, and upon finishing, I most certainly felt that my monies had been spent on possibly the very best brunch I had ever eaten, I was replete and awed by the dedication to excellence that had gone into my meal. The Kitchen Staff moved with the grace and harmony of a perfectly choreographed ballet, each member of the team knew precisely what they were a part of, and goodness did it show, no raised voices, no collisions, just a team trained with the precision of a beautiful Swiss watch. I asked my wife if 'Fete' was some kind of chain restaurant, and she replied that to her knowledge this wonderful place was independent, with this my heart swelled, making me so proud to live in such a city where such quality can be found. Forget going anywhere else. Leave the chain eateries to fade into nothingness. Fete is a shining example of what can be achieved, with love, knowledge, and passion.

Luke Goold. 35 years experience in the food...

We had high hopes walking into this restaurant after hearing so much buzz, but, sadly, our experience didn’t come close to what was promised.

We ordered the club sandwich, expecting something special. Instead, we were served cold chicken, literally cold, as if it had just come out of the fridge. It threw off the entire sandwich and made it hard to enjoy.

Next up were the sausages, which looked decent on the plate but were surprisingly bland. No seasoning, no real flavour, just a disappointing bite. Potatoes were burnt. Not crispy or caramelized, just overdone to the point of bitterness. Flat bread looked undercooked and very oily, we didn't even want to taste it.

Between the cold chicken, flavourless sausages, and burnt sides, we ended up not finishing our meals. We left, still hungry, and a bit annoyed. Based on our visit, the hype just doesn’t add up. We won’t be back.

Edit: The owner responded to our review, saying we should’ve raised our concerns while dining. But in our opinion, food shouldn’t be served in such a poor state to begin with, especially not at these prices. Charging nearly £20 for a sandwich that wasn’t even heated is unacceptable. If it’s meant to be served cold, that should be clearly stated on the menu.

Not every guest wants to discuss their disappointment in the middle of a meal or in front of other diners. That responsibility shouldn’t fall on the customer, it’s the kitchen’s job to ensure basic standards are met. Serving ice cold chicken, undercooked flatbread, and burnt potatoes is not only disappointing, it reflects a lack of care from the kitchen. As a matter of fact, we did mention the cold chicken to the young male server. He said he would think this is how it was served and just walked away. He didn't bother looking into this and ignored...

My review for lunch is 5 stars, dinner 3 so I have averaged it out.

Came for lunch, had one of the best chicken burgers I have ever eaten. My party of four had lovely dishes and everyone was raving about it as we left. Good amount of food, reasonably priced and exceptionally well cooked.

Having had the lunch menu I had to come back and have dinner. The menu was completely different, which was a shame but not that uncommon. We had to ask the server for assistance as the menu was a little confusing. She said sure its like 'tapas', everything was 'small plates' and she recommended 5-6 small plates (at around 13-17 pounds a plate) for my party of two. As we began picking the options, we really struggled to find dishes that would complement each other.

What we ended up with was a mixed bag of flavours. Each dish in isolation was delicious and well cooked, but it just didn't work together. At first I considered maybe we had just ordered really badly, but we basically ordered most of the options on offer. The roast chicken for example was basically a tiny roast dinner, after eating fried eggs and spiced meats and duck... The server did say that the bread was very popular, and I wish we had ordered it as we left the place absolutely starving. The portion sizes were laughable. For two adults we had a couple of mouthfuls of each plate.

Staff were lovely, the venue is nice and the food incredibly well presented and cooked. given the rave reviews maybe I'm just a heathen who doesn't understand this high brow concept of eating gravy with my egg fried rice, or maybe this place is more for the gram than your tummy (at least...