Mersea Island’s The White Hart Inn to reopen

The Essex pub has been acquired by Piers Baker, the owner of the The Sun Inn, in nearby Dedham and Church Street Tavern in Colchester. 

The West Mersea venue is currently undergoing a partial rebuild and major refurbishment to transform it into ‘a tasteful, contemporary and eye-catching venue’ that will cater ‘for everything from a casual pint to a special dinner’.

There will be light and welcoming bar and dining room with a vaulted ceiling and open kitchen, a cosy oak-panelled lounge with an open fire, outdoor seating in the terraced garden and six individually designed ensuite bedrooms, some with sea views.

The regularly changing menu will be a mix of casual bar food along with a restaurant menu using local ingredients. There will be roasts on Sunday and options for kids.

On the bar, there’ll be real ale, craft lagers and cider, plenty of non-alcoholic options and a wine list similar to the award-winning lists at the sister venues.

The turmoil of the Covid-19 pandemic, with subsequent trials and tribulations of lockdowns, reopenings, restrictions and more lockdowns, made it impossible to look too far ahead," says Baker.

"But when local businessman Lee Tyler, landlord of the White Hart Inn, approached me and was keen to work with Baker Hospitality on the basis of our reputation and local networks, I could immediately see the opportunity the site offered."

"The White Hart Inn has huge potential and ticks all the boxes we were looking for in a third site: a beautiful location close to the sea, a village feel on the high street opposite the church green, and a great island community.”