The Chophouse

Welcome to The Chophouse Braintree. Join us for exceptional food and attentive service in a truly remarkable setting.

A Chophouse is more than just a restaurant or pub; it’s a British Institution dating back to the late 17th century.

Chophouses were exclusive places where businessmen conducted their affairs, with hearty platefuls of food, usually grilled, washed down with fine wines or well-kept local beers.

This traditional style of cooking was maintained in chophouses until the late 19th century. At this point, with the world growing smaller, influences from overseas began to bring exciting new styles of cooking and cuisine to British shores. Restaurants evolved and chophouses lost their popularity…

It isn’t until the 1800’s that our story truly begins. Originally operated as a home for ‘wayward women’, and later as a haberdashery, our building first served as an eating establishment in 1982. In the years that followed, she played host to many owners, each with their own unique vision.

She became The Chophouse Braintree in 2015. By embracing the peculiarity and beauty of the building, as well as taking advantage of the exceptional local produce on offer, we have been able to take the essence of the chophouse and give it new life.

We believe in delivering great food, exceptional wines, and warm, attentive customer service. Our building, with all she has seen and experienced, is the perfect setting in which this can be achieved. By creating a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere in which to dine, our aim is to combine traditional chophouse values with contemporary, flavoursome foods, to create more than just a meal.

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At The Chophouse Braintree we prefer to describe our food style, rather than label it. We find the term ‘Fine Dining’ restrictive and, although keen on clean, intricate presentation, are hesitant to place our food in that bracket. Instead, our focus is on the quality of the produce we source, and the flavour of the dishes we serve. We cook with love and look to make our food accessible and enjoyable.

As fans of classic cooking, we do not shy away from the use of cream, butter, and alcohol in our food. We just make sure it is well balanced and impeccably seasoned. The beauty of serving dishes created completely in-house is that we can cater to the requirements of the diner, and can recommend dishes we know meet dietary requirements.

Rather than separating front and back of house, we consider ourselves a full-service team. We often see chefs venturing into the restaurant to truly understand a customer’s needs.

We value seasonality and adapt our menu every 6 – 8 weeks. This reflects our passion for locally produced ingredients, and helps us to continually challenge our chefs and excite our diners. 100% of our meat is sourced within a 30-mile radius, and we regularly visit our suppliers to ensure both quality and ethics are maintained. In short, we care about what we serve, and where it has come from. We believe this reflects in the quality and seasonality of our menus.