1 Miller & Carter – Basildon, Colchester and Leigh-on-Sea.

Why not treat dad to a well-cooked steak washed down with a nice glass of wine? There are plenty of places serving good quality meat dishes but Miller & Carter have carved themselves out quite a niche by making it their main focus.

millerandcarter.co.uk

2 Essex County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford.

If your dad is a sports fan, you could treat him dinner and a live event. The Cloud FM County Ground will host a raft of Vitality Blast matches featuring the Essex Eagles and a host of opponents from different counties throughout the summer. Prices start at £99.

essexcricket.org.uk/hospitality

3 The Royal Hotel – Southend.

Forget sandwiches, it’s all about the “manwiches” when you pull up an elegant chair at this historic hotel’s Gentlemen’s Afternoon Tea. The hotel started catering for more manly taste-buds a few years ago with its unique afternoon tea created especially for gents and since then it’s become a big a popular attraction. Women and children are welcome too of course. £22 each.

royalhotelsouthend.com

4 Chelmsford City Racecourse

Odds are dads will love a slap-up dinner at the venue’s Fairwood Restaurant and Lounge. The restaurant is on the ground floor along the final furlong of the race course’s home straight and and leads onto a private terrace where you’ll get unrivalled views of watching your winning horse come home (fingers crossed)!

chelmsfordcityracecourse.com

5 L’Oliveta restaurant, Summerhill Garden Centre – A127 near Basildon.

This elegant restaurant is always buzzing with diners. Not only is it a laid-back place to take dad for brunch, lunch or an afternoon treat, it’s situated within an extensive garden centre which any outdoor lover will be overjoyed to explore. After ordering a hearty Italian dish, a British classic or a savoury snack in the L’Oliveta restaurant you can wander around the garden centre.A relaxed day out for the easy-going dad for sure.

www.summerhillgardencentre.co.uk lolivet