Armstrong's Restaurant in Tendring

Lovely spot, but food was disgusting. I mean, all I had was a tuna baguette, which was rock hard, and there was hardly any mayonnaise. The tuna didn't taste right, and even the chips were bad. Would be nice to see s Soup of the Day on the menu, but to be fair, it would probably be out of a tin and not homemade. The food is overpriced for what you get. I have been to Clacton in the half term, and each time we think no, we will give them another chance as my husband quite enjoyed his meal, but our daughter and I never do. We won't go again. We will go for a drink but that's it. I'm very disappointed. If I could give 0 stars, I would.

Nice place, every entertaining for children. Bowling was fun and reasonably priced. I only had snacks, which was very over priced

Lovely view and food has always been first rate.

Great food and excellent service Casey was extremely professional and fun , we will definitely go back 👍

We had breakfast at Armstrongs and were saved by Casey, she made us feel welcome and she was attentive, a real service with a smile.

Fantastic food and great service. Come and see Casey, Lilly and the rest of the team for a fantastic dining experience

Worst food I’ve had in a while. Servers looked at me as if they had not been asked a question in their lives. Really sad to see such a nice spot not live up to expectations.

We came here for an 18th birthday celebration. We had to pay £10 per person deposit and was informed that if we wanted to bring our own cake we had to pay £3 per person for the privilege!! The service was about the worst I have ever encountered. There was no interaction from the staff and no personality at all. We waited an eternity for the food to turn up which was surprising as there was hardly anyone in there. At 9 o’clock they started tidying up and closing up around us. We couldn’t have coffee as they had turned the coffee machine off and this was before we had even been given the dessert menus! We were waiting for them to switch the lights off and tell us to lock the door behind us, it was that bad. What a disappointing experience. No effort from the staff at all. They also added on a service charge!! If you’re planning on celebrating a special occasion, may I suggest My Big Fat Greek Taverna. Armstrong’s sucks!

Headed here as our favourite Clacton restaurant closed. I was very happy on the menu as all of the party were catered for. Vegan menu looked good as did main menu and kids meals. We arrived today. Staff looked at us and quickly looked away, it wasn't really clear where to go so we asked at the bar as we were pointed towards a podium. The restaurant itself is very well set out, the view of the sea is lovely and general decor is nice. Although the seats need a good clean as they are velour and very dirty. We had a lovely server who had just joined today who was honestly absolutely lovely. VERY helpful and polite. However the lady training her was painfully rude.. ''Oh she's new, I'm training her sorry'' - The girl did nothing wrong bar mistakingly announcing my food. The person who I found rude took our meal order off the top of her head, she didn't write it down which meant we didn't receive our drinks. Food took an age to come and people who had ordered after us were served way before us. Food is very basic and mainly microwave meals. Our son's pizza although cheap was one of those cheap deep dish pizzas. My vegan chilli was clearly a microwave meal, by no means was it bad but it was very expensive for being just a ping meal. I find it hilarious that this place have the cheek to add a £5 service charge, what service? The only person who was good was the new lass. Come for the view and new girl, if she lasts with the other woman who is berating her... Food is very subpar. Will be going elsewhere next time.

I had the cajun chicken burger which so over spiced it was like a mouth of cajun spices out the jar with no other flavour. Other dinners had roast and beef and bacon burger and reported as very tasty. Good venue with helpful staff but either steer clear of the cajun or ask for it to be lightly spiced.

Have been going there for years, always took my visitors there but no more. Yesterday’s experience was the worst in any restaurant that I have ever had. Miserable server and not at all helpful. Upset my daughter and granddaughter and made me feel embarrassed. I was the only one that could be given a meal and that was a nice pie, cold hard chips and what I suspect was warmed up veg, which was inedible and probably yesterdays left overs. The place has gone to pot. Shame it has a good view.

We came here for a birthday , before we even arrived they where very rude on the phone when trying to book threatening that if we where late we would loose are booking and our deposit because they are “so busy” there was no one in the whole hour and a half we where there .We then proceeded to order the food which is ridiculously expensive to what it used to be and the food is a very low standard to what it used to be , we where only a group of 10 and the only people in there at the time and 1 persons food was wrong 1 persons chips where raw , and the other persons there was a rapper they nearly chocked on and when we told the waitress she didn’t seem bothered what so ever which is a disgrace as that could have been serious if he could of chocked on this .Then after the bill was given back she made us feel guilty about giving us the one persons deposit back even though we gave them warning because she’s in hospital and we phoned and they said we could get it back she said “we where lucky to get it back as Armstrongs wouldn’t normally give it back” and made us feel bad even though they said it was fine over the phone .then after this awful service and a few eye rolls later and a very bad attitude we then got charged £16 for a service charge and refused the Armstrongs card with no warnings and no apology just saying they stopped it and we arnt able to use it today in a very rude way . Will not be coming back again .

It took so long my order to arrive and it came wrong.

Food was of good standard, big portions, nice presentation, good choice, but a bit pricey incomparrison to other restaurants of similarity. Staff, all looked miserable. No welcome greeting, no smiles, you just got the feeling they couldn't be bothered and didn't enjoy their job! Not the right attitude for anyone working in this industry. Atmosphere, hardly any customers, no background music. Would any of our group return? No! Shame the front of house staff are letting this venue down.

Never again lovely place but food poor very!staff were nice too big a place for clacton looks fancy !no atmosphere won't go back

Service a bit slow, food OK, but menu pricey.

All good, bit dear in price. Also they add service charge without telling you so don't be surprised your total comes to more than you thought

Picture says it all. 2 year old beer that ‘won’t hurt your stomach’

The Food was nice but the server made us felt like she's had enough with everything and everyone.

Very scrimpy with cheese in the omelette and service charge of 10% is a bit extreme.

Had a brunch for my hen do, staff were amazing and kept the drinks flowing perfectly

It was lovely sitting by the window, looking out to the sea. There are no other words better than "brilliant".

Just popped in for a burger before going home. I had a chicken burger. It was horrid, very chewy, to the point that I had to take 2 mouthfuls out of my mouth. When I told the staff, I was offered a replacement but, really didn’t fancy it, also the other 2 people I was eating with would have finished. A refund wasn’t offered. My husband had a spicy bean burger, he ate it but it was very plain and a round burger served in a long roll!! He had to cut the burger in half and put it back in roll then cut the roll in half to eat it. It’s £14 a burger, it was not worth that at all. I won’t be coming back again.

Great service, polite and attentive. Had chicken and ribs... One of the biggest portions I've ever been served and was delicious

Just been for lunch and had an awful experience paid 7.50 for salt and pepper squid only for it to be what looked and tasted like fake squid and then my main came and I was presented with the saddest looking chicken burger which was very unappealing I politely asked them if there was anyway I could take it back, as you can imagine I was very upset as it was nearly £14 pounds for that “burger” but apparently they are all that size The restaurant is clearly budgeting because they produce unpleasant experiences such as this one

We had a party of six friends, some had eaten here before but this was our first time, we had the roast option and it was very nice, food was hot and well cooked and the staff where very attentive, nobody had any problems and we all had a lovely afternoon, we would be very happy to return.

Came for a family meal after bowling on a Friday, was ruined by poor singer thinking he was "it" blasting what I think was supposed to be an attempt at Elvis at maximum volume at 6:30pm. I've seen many karaoke acts better. Unfortunately this ruined the entire experience. His volume was unbearably loud, he sang out of tune and his audio mix was so bassy you couldn't actually understand anything he said. If we hadn't already ordered, we'd have walked out. What a shame it changed the entire atmosphere from a nice friendly environment where you could converse. Within 20 minutes, he cleared the entire restaurant, apart from his 2 friends. On the plus side, the food that we had was quite good, if a little pricey.

Went there for a meal with family after my nans funeral. Service was quick and very happy with Graham and the teams efficiency. The day went very well and all the family were very happy with the food. Thanks again 👍

We came as a group of 10 for my Mother in Laws 60th birthday, and I must say it was a shambles. Firstly, please let me say, that we have been many times prior to this and have had excellent food and fantastic service, so not sure what has happened. Firstly, my Father in Law had to pay a deposit for 12 of us, which was absolutely fine, however, one of those was for a baby who would not have been eating. Unfortunately the mother and baby were unable to attend due to illness, so we lost £10 of the deposit. I would like to Firstly ask, why was we charged for a baby, who was never going to be eating? Secondly, we asked for a pitcher of beer, and when this was served, we were given 3 (out of 4) of the most dirtiest glasses. The beer from previous drinkers was still in the bottom, hence the staining of brown at the bottom of the glass. This is totally unacceptable, and this could actually cause serious health issues to people drinking from them. The waitress brought the first two starters out, prawn cocktails, and dumped it infront of a person who didn't even order it, and even after we told her who they were for, just left it there.....would you not have picked this up and actually served it to the correct person? We then had the mains served. Out of the 10 orders, were four full racks of ribs. One of these came out as a half. We asked the waitress if this was correct and she said, sorry, she would get the other half out. This came out AFTER the person had finished their dinner, which meant they had to take this away in a take away box. Seemed like there was no urgency to correct the error immediately. The burgers, I am sorry to say, are an actual joke. The burgers themselves looked like the small ones you get from Iceland. But yet, are being charged at nearly £14. Just shocking. The chips, were edible, but burnt. Please think about putting it on a plate (or atleast asking the person eating it what they would prefer) and not a wooden chopping board. A chopping board is for chopping after all...... We then asked for our cake to come out, so we could sing happy birthday and blow the candles out. We got told "yes no problem, but you will be charged £2 per person for eating there" at no point had we mentioned we wanted to eat it there, and had actually already mentioned this prior to handing over the cake. We opted not to have a dessert as we felt quite deflated to be honest. When the bill came out, I asked if the 3 for 2 drinks had been deducted and she said "no, thats only Friday's". I think you need to make that clearer on your menu, as it just states Monday... Tuesday...etc and the Friday's. But your drinks deal just says "Evenings" you need to amend that to specifically say "Friday evenings" as it is in fact false advertisement on your part. The bill came up, minus the £50 deposit (still baffled why you charged £5 for a baby) and to my surprise a £27 service charge. I asked for this to be removed, as I find this quite shocking to put on any bill. A service charge is not a given, it is a discretion by those who are paying. You cannot expect anyone to pay a service charge if they feel the service has not been up to scratch. As I previously stated above, we have been here multiple times before and always had great service and exceptional food. Last night, just was not the same. It is a shame, as we come here for birthdays and we will be thinking twice now, due to the above.

My first visit to Armstrong restaurant. On arrival we were asked if we had booked we tried but we were told not to worry as he could not get his card reader to work as you pay a deposit for booking. So we just turned up the lady at the service desk was in my opinion rude and not happy to see us. Never mind we were shown to a table. The drinks order was taken. The food was ok I had the chicken roast I would have preferred slices of chicken not still on the bone. The service at the table was fine.

Came here for drinks for a friends birthday staff are really rude and very rude to children I will be making a formal complaint tomorrow. Staff need serious customer service training, I went to get some drinks and the waitress didn’t even speak with me spend the whole time talking to another member of staff first time and last time I will be coming in here. No wonder the place is empty !!!

Sunday lunch was appalling served cold but burnt roast potatoes ordered lamb but was given beef although the waitress assured us it was lamb but even the manager could not tell whether it was lamb or beef. Needless to say we will not be going back a waste of £91.00

Great food. Great staff. Nice atmosphere and location for family meal.

We went for Sunday lunch, we thought it was reasonable priced until you realise you have to pay extra for stuffing, cauliflower cheese etc. I had beef and it was so tough, you literally couldn't cut through it. They said the whole beef was fatty so offered me an alternative meat, I had ham and it was disgusting and not what I wanted. The veg could have been cooked slightly longer, especially for the kids. My teacup had a black chip in the bottom and marks on it. If I was in a cafe and paying cafe prices I wouldn't mind. However, you are paying high end prices and expect high end quality. The server was nice an professional.

The food was really disappointing for the price. The burgers were very small, my child had a larger portion of food for her kids meal. The meat for the roast was so tough it couldn’t be cut through by some of the party and one of the party chocked on it. The attitude of the servers was pretty bad as well they wouldn’t accept the complaints being made despite a large party of people all telling them the same thing and the tone they were speaking to us in wasn’t very professional. The restaurant itself was beautiful and had a great view of the beach and water. Unfortunately it’s not at all disabled friendly. There is a ramp to access the platform the seating area is on and there is a disabled toilet but you have to tackle 3 steps to access it which was just not possible for the wheelchair user in our party.

My wife and I both throughly enjoyed our meals here, the staff are very polite and professional, the meal we ate was lovely and at a great price. Highly recommended

We went for Sunday lunch. Food was very average for the price and the service was shockingly bad.. Two of the party ordered prawn cocktail with avacado and both contained one tiny piece of avacado (if you haven't got any avacado just say that). We sent a glass back that was dirty and they brought the same glass back saying it was blackcurrant and they couldn't clean it! (almost comical glasses must be on short supply at Armstrongs). After the initial drinks order no one returned to our table to ask if we wanted more drinks and we had to ask for cutlery after having starters. I would not recommend to anyone.

Food wasnt cooked properly all cold meat was tough staff werent much better either when we complained there attitude was we will make you something else but we will have to charge you i wouldnt mind but he was only going to settle for a kids pizza as he was so hungry and fed up with the meal her attitude was we have had no complaints all day well you try cutting into it then she then reheated up one of the roasts again but you guessed the meat was then extra tough the only time they were customer friendly was when we asked them if they would take a photo for us which you have guessed by now they may have to charge us lol well we did get a smile out of them when we came to pay the bill which then we was told to enjoy the rest of your day which i thought well at least i have had my cold dinner and tough meat to feel me up and also may i point out is not very disabled friendly trying to go to the toilet is like an assult cause never mind it is what is

Had Sunday lunch with some relatives. Ambience and service were fine, but, unfortunately, the roast dinner was not particularly hot, and the meat was totally overcooked.

Decent pub type food, helpful and pleasant staff. Quiet when we went, deserves to be busier. Enjoyed the bowling too.

Average mass catering style restaurant in excellent position by pier.

I love Armstrong always try and visit this place when I come to Clacton and food always nice seen Michael Bublé here last year going again this year in November he is very good can't wait

A bit basic but not bad. There are so many menus and options, maybe they're spread a bit too thin but I guess they're trying to cater for everyone. Not great on small details, e.g. the omelette is just plonked on the plate with no garnish or decoration. We were told hash browns had run out so ordered Parmentier potatoes instead (which were a bit under cooked), for which we were told we'd be charged extra, no problem with that but they didn't deduct the price of the unavailable hash browns from the final bill. The girls working there are very attentive and pleasant, working under very hot conditions (apparently the air con had broken down), so thumbs up for them. Altogether not too bad and convenient for the beach.

I first came here a few years and had a couple of nice meals so i thought i would pop in on Saturday 9 September 2023 @ 13:00. The restaurant was empty except for one table. As there were no staff around, nor any indication that we should wait to be seated, we found a seat and sat down. Within a couple of minutes a member of staff appeared and gave what can only be described as the worst restaurant greeting ever: Waitress : " Do you want food!!" Us: " yes please" Waitress : " Next time you come in wait to be seated!!" Us: got up and left immediately Not much to add really but if you're looking for good service and a friendly welcome then try elsewhere.

My friend and I had a lunch at this ‘restaurant’ today and we couldn’t understand why you’d call this a restaurant. The waitress didn’t know what they sold there and seemed like she did not care about the job at al. We ordered steaks and Mediterranean salad, which was supposed to have couscous in it. So, the salad had it indeed, but it wasn’t a salad with couscous it was a couscous with a bit of salad. As for the steaks, the meat was good but it wasn’t cooked properly, it was just a cooked meat, not a steak. The overall experience at this place was rather poor. Overpriced, the food doesn’t meet the restaurant standards, not a really friendly service.

Quick and friendly service. Lovely sea view. Felt bright, spacious and clean. Cocktails were very tasty.

Was recommended by friends and wanted to show our friends around Clacton was a lovely day wanted to sit outside there were no umbrellas provided and for security reasons our friends had to turn the caps around which then provided there face no cover from the sun, understand the security reasons but a bit over the top intend to stay longer

We went here during the air show for some drinks and some food, 2 children and 4 Adults, the restaurant inside was empty, we was told we could only stay if we all ordered a minimum of £20 each! I don’t know who they think they are, it’s a restaurant in Clacton not a top class one in london… i wont be going back

Very nice. Not too busy when we went. Food was great. Good selection of beers.

This Is the second time eating here in the last 1year but sadly I have to say myself and my family will not be going again with food that was not good and it taking over an hour to eat and the cost was so high the hamburger was so small and the fish was not fresh and the staff didn't care about us we had a child with us and ask for a drink for him not was crazy we ask for a small glass we got a large one if I could give O i WOULD have

Great location, food was Amazing we were a hen party (Carol from Clacton (Milton Keynes) 😂 and the party of 8. We had lots of special requirements and the gentleman who served us (sorry we didn’t get your name!) was absolutely fantastic, nothing was too much trouble and we hope you are appreciated as you made us feel so welcome! The restaurant is extremely clean and beautiful!

Went too Armstrong's Restaurant for my 78th birthday on the 3rd July 2023, read the reviews and felt quite confident going has I am Celiac, ordered two breakfasts for myself and my wife, one normal and one Gluten free, we started eating, when my so called gluton free toast arrived, the toast looked to good to be true, so asked again and told again gluten free, my wifes toast arrived later and I new at once there had been a mistake, so stopped half way through our meal before heading home, before we left my wife complained, and the manager was informed, and we were offered a fifty percent reduction on the bill which we excepted, we arrive home just after 1pm, and by 4pm I was having the usual symptoms and was violently ill, so not a good day, but don't let this put you off going to Armstrong's, but if you have an eating disorder please be aware.

Beautiful setting Friendly and efficient staff and one of the best sunday lunches you'll ever have! Chef it was faultlessThank you

What a lovely venue for a Sunday lunch !! Great food, great service in a wonderful setting with live music.This was a treat for my dad on Father's day so myself, my mum and wife all went as none of us had been before and could not fault a thing ! The staff were all so nice and friendly and nothing was too much trouble.10/10 and thanks so much for a really nice experience.

Friendly service and generous portions with a lovely view of the pier and sea. fish and chips were made with fresh cod. What more can you wish for?

Food quality needs improvement.

Polite friendly service food is nice

Lovely meal with a lovely view. James was very helpful ⭐️

Good choice and great quality food. Service is always good. I highly rate this place

Party of 4 for lunch. Clean but wobbly table, chairs could do with a dry clean. Overpriced food which was not at all memorable and under delivered on service. At one time this used to be a great place to grab a breakfast/lunch but sadly gone down hill, will not be returning.

Great location by the beach. Very polite and pleasant staff. Nice place to eat while the children have plenty to do. Recommend a visit if you are in town.

Not a full menu on a Sunday service was good lots of stairs nice views of pier and beach

Amazing bottomless brunch £35. Food and cocktails for 2 hours great service amazing price. Food and drinks.

Lovely spacious place with great views of the sea, often with gentle live music to accompany the good food. Well ran with nice staff.

We were given a table by the window so we had a lovely view of the sea and pier by night, I couldn’t eat anything off the evening menu so they kindly made me something off the day menu. The coffee was nice and strong and the cheesecake was divine. If the evening menu had any non spicy non tomato based veggie options they would have got 5 stars.

Very nice place to go, you will not be disappointed

Very lucky if what you asked for was actually available even though we booked in advance for large group portions were extremely small I can now understand why we were the only people there never again the only thing was the service I cannot fault our waitress

Absolutely rubbish we booked for 15 people for 87th birthday meal we were told most of the things on menu were not available even though it was only 7pm very small portions I would never visit this place again and strongly advise against any one I know going to this place

I live locally and Armstrongs is always a favourite to stop in and have some food. Their breakfast is spot on and they offer a great selection on the evening menu. The live entertainment is great quality and the staff are friendly too

The Restaurant was cold had to ask if heating could be put on. No dessert on the children's menu. Had to pay £7.50 for an Adult one for the child. Service wasn't worth the mandatory 'Service charge' on the bill.

Very pleasant meal and very good service. Very relaxing.

Even though only about 4 other customers in the whole cafe, were told that we would have to squash in a corner table for 2 people and leave after half an hour before lunch time as we only wanted tea and cake. I explained that my mum was in a large wheel chair and there were 3 of us!!!!! Waitress (may have actually been the manager) would not budge. Visited before and had the same scenario, only for no other customers to turn up for the lunch time rush and there we are shoved in a corner!!!!! What a way to run a business, despite being rude and unacomodating to a person with disabilities, if nothing else you would think they would want to make some money. The running of this place really needs looking at. (Computer says no) :)!!!!!!!!

Was ok, great sea views. Probably better in the summer.

Visited here with work colleagues for a Christmas Dinner. The festive decorations were plentiful, if a little OTT. However the food was diabolical. The brie parcels were dry, hard and miserable portion. The roast beef was dry and the vegetables were so hard the skid off the plate when you tried to put a fork into them. I'm a fan of al dente but these were raw. The roasties were shrivelled and dry too. Saving grace were the Yorkshires which were OK. So on to dessert - opted for Xmas pudding. This was OK but again, a tiny portion. This was an event we were all looking forward to but nobody enjoyed their meal. The restaurant wasn't busy - only 2 other tables - but the service was very erratic and the food wasn't hot either. We won't be returning!

Second year running for work Xmas party - absolutely brilliant night in every respect!!

Always good. Bit pricey. Slow bar service, but you can't beat its situation. I do recommend

Not too bad ha e alot yo deal with

Just had Coffee's, not food. Service excellent & friendly greeting on arrival. Atmosphere was very pleasant with nice music in the background

Saturday evening a group of ladies enjoyed a lovely meal at Armstrongs. Food was brought out promptly and tasted delicious. Staff were very accommodating even offering us free shots!! Thank you all for a lovely evening.

Good for lager drinkers ,only one bitter offered . Small to medium portions but very tasty .October update ...not many people there but food took so so long to arrive . I would have liked something simple but the menu changes in the evening . Nothing on this menu was for me .I'm rating this on the evening meals .2 stars for service as the long wait was not the waitress fault . They looked as puzzled as us . At one point we was going to walk out . Be a long time befor I return .

Food was great. The service was super!

Wow ! What an absolutely amazing hidden gem in Clacton ….. great food, lovely staff and live music …. Here for Sunday lunch and cannot believe it’s half full ….. our waitress Katie was very helpful and attentive - the roast lamb was really good and the desserts great - 10/10

The service was outstandin from the girl on the bar an the man serving food well done

Great place for all the family. Resturant bowling snooker and more . Lovely cocktails 🍸

Always great service and a beautiful atmosphere

Lunch of battered halloumi and chips with a visiting friend. A cheeky espresso martini. Food was yummy and the cocktail was the best I've had 😀👍🍹

We had my sons 40th here on 10th Sep 7adults 6 children, age between 18months & 11yrs, service was fantastic & food presentation excellent, had a really great evening, thank you

Absolutely disgusting the way my 18 year old autistic grandson was treated yesterday. We were a party of 9, wanting to get a lunchtime meal, my grandson only eats McDonald's, he was holding his meal in his hand when we walked in, we all sat down only to be told he wasn't allowed to eat his food there. We explained he was autistic and wouldn't eat any of the food on the menu but the person was adamant. If it had been packed in there I would have understood but there were just 4 people seated at a table, we always used to go there when we visit the pier but no more, it's their loss as we always spend a lot in there so we walked over to the grill bar on the pier and had no problem with my grandson eating his meal, so our new favourite place.

Very overcooked small portion of duck for £23 One small potato rosti and 3 stems of brocoli. Kids meal was twice the size of mine. Staff didn't know what to say and looked blankly at me when I said I didn't enjoy. We got a burger after on the beach as so hungry after full day on beach.

The service was good the staff was excellent the food was cook was very very well just now we like it

What an absolute waste of money. First of all, when my drinks were brought over, I had water spilled all over me and my daughter and no apology. Then, two minutes after ordering dinner was brought out, I had a beef roast and wasn’t told the beef was rare. I had around 5 green beans 3 potatoes and a pot of carrots to share between 3. The Yorkshire pudding was like a loaf of uncooked bread and when asked if everything was okay I explained that the Yorkshire’s and beef were inedible. After obviously being spoke out by a group of workers ( pointing at us ), they came over and said because we’d eaten some, they couldn’t do anything about it. Even got charged for the tap water. Save your self £100 and go carvery down the road, at least you get what you pay for there. Avoid.

Lovely place, great food, great service and very friendly waiting staff

Food is great but service is horrible as the waiter ask us to pay first where she didn’t ask others and wanted to clear out our plates when we haven’t finish. And we saw others could pay by cash where she did not allow us to. Disappointed

Lovely restaurant but very expensive and for what you get its lot of money won't be going back in a hurry but staff were very nice

4 of us went in there for dinner, the service was good and the food was good quality (although definitely not cheap) but at the end on our bill was a 10% service charge which I was not happy about. If I want to tip then i would but I don’t want it put on my bill. When I questioned it I was told it was a new feature and was optional so I asked for it to be removed and gave a tip as normal but I believe this is an underhanded way of getting money out of people so some won’t question it and others may not see it. Won’t be going back there in a hurry until they reverse this ‘new’ policy as there’s plenty of other places to go in Clacton. A poor management decision, shame as it affects the staff as it turns people away (like us).

A huge disappointment – all four meals received by our group were sub-standard, overcooked and tasteless. My vegan burger was a tasteless low quality pate in a ‘rock hard’ ciabatta, which was so small the burger stuck out the sides and looked extremely odd. The vegan pie came with soggy tasteless vegetables including chewy sweet potato that had the texture of chewing-gum. It was also accompanied by what we are convinced was a 'meat gravy' which was so thick it stayed in a firm lump when poured onto the plate. We spoke to people at other next table who had retuned meals that were inedible. I heard the manager tell them “for their information, snapper is a meaty fish so it is normal for it to be tough” – WRONG… snapper is a beautiful flaky fish – the only reason it would be tough is if it is overcooked. At the end of the meal we politely informed the waitress that we was not satisfied with the food. She said she would tell the manager - we saw her subsequently talk to him. No apology was given. In summary, the meals served at this establishment were very poor quality – likely reheated frozen food, which was tasteless and overcooked. My advice is to spend your money somewhere else that has a good cook and a manager that cares about their customers.

Hospitality was top .. a very chilled atmosphere

As a manager representing the face of your establishment, you should handle your customers in a kind and respectful manner. However, this was not the case here. Aside from the beautiful atmosphere, it is the unprofessional attitude of the manager that has lead me to leave one star instead of five. Upon entrance, my party and I were escorted to a table efficiently and with no trouble by a waitress. Not even five minutes later, we are approached by another waitress informing us that we cannot sit without ordering food. A member of my party informs the waitress that we were seated without being told this information, which led to her fetching the manager over. With the traces of disrespect she spoke in, you would not have exactly been one to believe she was a manager at all. She came over after speaking to the waitress who seated us and bluntly stated “you can’t sit here”, before ushering us away from the table. I personally felt like I was back in the school cafeteria on Mean Girls. “She assumed you were eating”, I then informed her that assumptions should never be made and the waitress should have asked, and a shrug of the shoulders and agreement with me was the end of that. We were then herded like naughty children to the bar area. It’s a shame that a member of bar staff had to apologise for the actions of their manager, rather than being the other way around.

Nice seating , view & food. They have fish and chips.

Food was OK but expensive for its quality, what isn't expensive these days I suppose. Drinks were very very expensive. Service was good and the veiw was very nice. Ok for a couple of beers and look out at sea. Probably wouldn't eat there again.