Lakeside's popular Miller and Carter appears to now be partially underwater after the floating restaurant started sinking.
Customers were left stunned when the Miller and Carter restaurant at Lakeside Shopping Centre in Grays started to submerge into the lake.
One onlooker described it as "going down like the Titanic".
The popular steakhouse started to lean precariously on the morning of December 23 and was closed and evacuated.
John Bridge's photo of the restaurant now partially underwater
Bosses of the chain confirmed it will be closed until further notice due to “structural issues”.
They also contacted guests to inform them of the unforeseeable incident and issued refunds "as quickly as possible".
Howard Oldstein, the Lakeside director, told the BBC that around half a dozen staff were preparing to open for lunch when water started to “ingress”.
He added how the boat had appeared to stop sinking on Christmas Eve and was now sitting on the water at about a 30 per cent decline.
Photos from Echo camera club member John Bridge now show the restaurant partially underwater after the incident.
A spokesman for Miller and Carter Lakeside told the Echo on the morning of the incident: “We are aware of the situation at our lakeside restaurant.
"Regrettably, due to the scale of damage we were forced to close immediately.
“Our priority is our guests, and our teams are working hard to contact everyone who holds a booking with us to inform them of the unforeseeable incident and issue refunds as quickly as possible.”
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