Chelmsford was not on my list of dining destinations. Until my daughter found herself at University near the city this September. Visits to see her for a drink and a bite to eat were in order so I needed to do some research.

Finding suitable pubs was not a problem as there are plenty of quality places in the centre of town. So far the Orange Tree and Brewhouse & Kitchen have been quality venues. But restaurants has been a different matter.

It had been problematic. Until I read about Fête, located in one of the old Grays Brewery buildings, which enjoyed a pretty good review in The Guardian that is. We were not disappointed. It was a place that was comfortable, professional, and had great food at reasonable prices.

It’s a small plates kind of place. But please don’t hold that against it because the four plates we ordered were all excellent and with olives to kick things off and a desert to share, they all contributed to a perfect combo and involved sufficient food for the two of us.

The hits of the meal were the Pink Fur Potatoes that came with olive salsa and fried capers. This was just as good as those I’d recently enjoyed at Motorino in London. Whenever I see these on the menu again then I’m all in. Forget French fries and triple-cooked chips. Equally tasty was the prawn toast that was so vastly superior to any I’d had at any Chinese restaurants in my 50 years of eating out.

A couple of cocktails, a glass of English wine, and a schooner of port complete with plenty of laughs made for a lovely evening. I’ll be returning to see my daughter of course and highly likely we’ll be back to Fête.

This is the latest in the ‘Fathers & Daughters Dine’ series. This is the previous piece.

Glynn Davis, editor, Retail Insider