Restaurants in Essex

Infused with the culinary methodology of Italian and Greek cuisine, Bellagio Pizzeria's menu of pizza, pasta, and sandwiches is expertly culled from fresh ingredients. Served with dip-worthy blue cheese dressing and crunchy celery, buffalo wing appetizers whet the appetite with their savory piquancy, and bubbly 2-liter sodas cleanse the palate for impending pizza slices. At 18-inches across, pies are capable of spanning most scale models of the Grand Canyon, and come freshly baked with your choice of two toppings from Bellagio Pizzeria's stockpile that includes imported ham, ricotta cheese, steak, and shrimp. As today's Groupon is valid for dine-in, carryout, or delivery, hunger havers can transform nearly any locale into an impromptu pizza party, be it at home, at the office, or on the witness stand.

Though 200 domestic bottles, craft beers, and imports reside on the drink menu at Hop Heads Ale House, the bar’s draft selections are some of its most popular brews. With a rotating selection of kegs on 11 taps, servers encourage guests sample bright and foamy brews culled mostly from small-batch breweries. To accentuate the flavors of each pint, the kitchen crew at Hop Heads crafts pub specialties such as rib-eye-cheesesteak sandwiches and chicken wings smothered in one of eight sauces. Wraps come stuffed with the likes of seared ahi tuna or veggies, and fresh soups are tapped fresh from local soup trees. The bar also runs a daily happy hour from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. each day, in addition to nightly specials and live music every Friday and Saturday night.

Fusing good eats and colorful blown glass, The Glass Grill’s creative setting offers a menu of American bar fare next door to a fully equipped hot-glass studio. Before shifting through a spread of salads, sandwiches, and soup, dig into an appetizer of crab dip served one of four ways—brimming from a bread bowl, smothered over a pretzel, blanketing a plate of fries, or stuffed into a trio of potato skins disguised as Maine lobster ($10). For a taste-bud-toasting entree, the 5 Alarm Inferno buries an 8-ounce, Angus-beef burger beneath cherry peppers, jalapenos, pepperjack cheese, and buffalo sauce ($7+). The Chicken Chesapeake crowns two grilled chicken breasts with crab dip, imperial sauce, and cheddar cheese guarded by a moat of mashed potatoes patrolled by a battalion of mixed vegetables ($15).

With its sand-colored walls, crisp white pillars, and indoor waterfall, The Seasoned Mariner’s interior mimics the calm surroundings the waterfront that sits right outside. Perched along Bear Creek, the restaurant keeps its doors open year-round to capsize hunger with surf such as steamed crabs and seafood platters and turf including burgers and steaks. The creekside decor that surrounds those dishes swells into an elevated dining room, too, where floor-to-ceiling windows afford views of the water and sailboats playing Marco Polo. During warmer months, diners may also take their meals on a pier surrounded by palm trees and exotic flowers.

Squire's Italian Restaurant dishes out an eclectic menu of heaping, hearty pizzas and pastas under the watchful eyes of Bob and Lorenzo Romiti, who took up the mantle after their parents built the restaurant more than half a century ago. Gratify growling bellies with a comforting bowl of cream of crab soup ($6) or a plate of steamed mussels in a white-wine and garlic sauce ($8.25) before indulging in Squire's homemade lasagna ($10.25) or imported tortellini, which melts local cheeses with its flawless pronunciation and thin mustache ($8.75). A children's menu featuring an assortment of pastas served with tomato sauce ensures overstuffed offspring ($6.25–$7.95), while carnivorous comfort-seekers can dig their knives into a land and sea platter, which find a quintet of shrimp landlocked on a 6-ounce island of New York strip ($21.95). Squire's menu also boasts a formidable selection of wines, cocktails, and beers, as well as a modest collection of aperitifs, which ease pleased palates into a state of pacified slumber ($4.25–$8.50).

Nearly 40 years ago, Greek immigrant Demetrios "Jimmy" Minadakis helped build Jimmy's Famous Seafood with his bare hands, and the business has remained in his hardworking family ever since. With fresh seafood flown in daily and a menu listing more than 80 tasty plates, there is hardly a shelled, gilled, or exoskeleton-clad creature from the great puddle that Jimmy's doesn't offer. The restaurant specializes in crab and crab-infused dishes, such as the crab cake platter ($14.95), crab-stuffed jumbo shrimp ($21.95), and Alaskan snow crab legs ($18.95). Other mouth-watering mollusks include oysters on the half shell ($9.95) and littleneck clams shucked to order ($6.95 for 12). Fans of land mammals can use their teeth to applaud an impressive array of red meats, like bacon-wrapped filet mignon ($19.95) or lamb chops ($24.95) served with traditional Greek accoutrements, such as phyllo bread, Tzatziki sauce, and a moustache bib.