Colchester's restaurant scene runs from solid old-fashioned high-street operations to a handful of newer independents around the Mercury Theatre, Crouch Street, and the Dutch Quarter. The Hythe — Colchester's old riverside port to the south-east — has a small cluster of pubs and seafood places worth the walk in good weather. Look out for native Colchester oysters from the nearby Pyefleet beds, in season from September to April.