Harwich is a quiet small town and the restaurant scene reflects it — a handful of decent pubs, a few fish-and-chip shops, and one or two more ambitious places along the seafront. The local catch — Stour estuary oysters, North Sea fish — is the thing worth ordering.
The Pier at Harwich on the Quay is the best restaurant in town: contemporary British, the dining room looking out over the estuary, and a menu built around what the local boats have landed that morning. The Alma Inn on King's Head Street is the old-town locals' pub with above-average food. For a quick lunch, the small cafés around Ha'penny Pier do good crab sandwiches and chowder.