Cafe Masala in Southend-on-Sea

Really lovely restaurant, great food and tasty cocktails. Had a strawberry daiquiri which resembled something from London! Chilli cheese toast was unreal! Thanks Adnan again, you’re a great host and probably the hardest worker in Thorpe Bay!

Hi my friends a party of 8 went for birthday meal on the weekend not the first time been good few times .great atmosphere lovely staff food was amazing we all went home very satisfied 🤗 would recommend Cafe Masala to all.

food was lovely, had a small delay on one of the starters but didn’t cause an issue, and was made up for by a free drink!!

If I could, I would give this place zero stars for the food, service, and overall atmosphere. The staff were incredibly rude, and we waited two hours for our food. Even then, we had to send some dishes back—the dhaal was completely bland with an odd texture. The prices were unreasonably high for the quality; I’ve never paid £5 for a single naan before. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this restaurant. If you're looking for good Indian food, try Naz Grill in Southend instead—better quality and much more reasonably priced.

Came here based on reviews and couldn’t fault it. Food tasted great, staff and atmosphere was amazing and as per other reviews Adnan gave excellent attentive service.

Very nice ambiance and welcoming place. Food was excellent and staff incredibly friendly. First time there as not from area. Will definitely go again if in area.

Delicious food and really friendly staff.

Ads is the best waiter ever I love him so much he need a raise and I belive he is the best waiter I’ve ever seen He’s also so handsome

Ads needs a full pay rise , amazing bloke , amazing food . Quick service and lovely waiters

After a rotten day we decided instead of our usual great takeaway we would go again to the CM. We had a bad experience one year, service was awful and waited nearly 3/4 of an hour for our starter and walked out. Well we thought we might give it another go. Though we got the food this time we were sadly disappointed. The starters Onion Bhajis were nothing special and my prawn Puri was minuscule and very bland. Our mains my Vindaloo was okay, but my husbands dish which was Korai was absolutely tasteless. Our meal came to over £100! One glass of wine was £12 !!!! Even the Ivy Restaurant in London do not charge this and to be frank I was disgusted! Sadly we won’t visit again… The Raj takeaway in Shoeburyness is far superior, plus you can go a few doors down to get a couple of bottles of wine for a bit more than one average below par glass of wine. Staff were lovely though, this restaurants saving grace. Such a shame.

Such a lovely experience. Came for my mother's birthday with a party of 7. Was greeted very warmly, chairs pulled out under the table and offered for our jackets to be taken. The lovely man with the hip glasses asked us for our drink orders whilst another young waiter came around the corner with poppadoms and chutneys after requested. Mains and starters arrived with custom requests for how chilli we'd like all sauce dishes to be as well as if we wanted them to come together as a table. Hot plates and hot trays were placed and then came the food... WOW. All the flavours and authenticity was there; the condiments and curries were ON POINT. Then came dessert. The banana fritters and coffee floats were lovely and as you'd only expect from a lovely local South Asian restaurant, the birthday cake was that finishing touch my mother adored on her special birthday. Thank you to the team at Cafe Masala and I would above and beyond recommend this establishment to everybody in and around Essex. A true gem. - The Hussain's

Amazing dinner. Amazing food, amazing experience

My father and I went to Cafe Masala for dinner and had a wonderful experience. The chai and biryani were delicious. Adnan provided us with the best service. Thank you so much. Highly recommend ☺️

Fantastic food and service once again.. can’t wait to come back

We always enjoy our visits to Cafe Masala. Staff are lovely, friendly and polite. Our curry is always lovely whether it’s a takeaway or eat in restaurant. 5*****

I always have such a lovely meal when I come to Cafe Masala. After trying to find a good place near me in London, I’ve given up and always come back here as nothing compares! The menu has a great variety of options, the food is delicious and the service is great. Adnan is always so friendly and personable when we dine in.

Amazing time great service and wonderful food yet again would highly reccomend to anyone, always a good laugh in there!

Oh dear. Where do I start?? Food - tasteless, and well below average. I always order the same meal, so I know what to expect (taste, etc). Chicken dansak. This one was lacking any hint of taste, smell, or, excitement. The onion bhajis were tiny, had taste, but nothing special. Bombay potatoes. I can't even be bothered. That's how pointless the dish was. I ate everything, as I hadn't eaten since breakfast, as I knew I'd be having a lot tonight. But, that's £68 (for two!! I didn't order that much!!) wasted on a rubbish meal. Then there's the service. Near the end of the meal, the waiter was reaching over, just in front of my face. I've never had this before, and as I'll not be stupid enough to waste my money, time, energy, taste, or, evening, in this place again, I won't have that happen again. Long and short of this. Don't waste your money, and time. There's a Tesco express just up the road. Get a meal deal, and save yourself!

Absolutely love coming to the Masala. All members of staff are always welcoming and friendly, service is fantastic. Now the food is on another level, it’s deliciously mouth watering. Credit to you all.

Had a wonderful meal in this lovely restaurant We were served by a very polite and helpful young man Definitely will be returning

Incredible food and setting , very relaxing and enjoyable all round!

Amazing food, Adman’s service is excellent every time, and makes the experience, 10/10

adman is always a gentleman and i always feel looked after while dining here. As good as you can get for a curry. 11/10

Great Indian restaurant, had a fantastic time. Adnan really looks after us. Can’t wait to be back again.

Really good food. Super service. Looked after as always by Ads! 5 star ⭐️

Amazing food and brilliant price definitely recommend.

Unbelievable food. Great service.

The food is so lovely, beautifully cooked.

Always great food and welcoming staff.

The restaurant is great. Having delivered its stone cold.

Wonderful people, wonderful place, excellent food!

Missed some items but restaurant was happy to redeliver those items, everything is good now. Thank you very much.

Attended a charity curry night, and was extremely disappointed with food which was cold and in short supply. Rice arrived at least 15 mins before any curry, which when it did arrive was not enough and was luke warm, rice was obviously cold by now, several had cold rice and curry sauce with a slice of nan each. Is this an example of the quality of your food or do you just not bother on these occasions.

First time at cafe masala and it didn’t disappoint. Lovely food, amazing service and nice atmosphere. Highly recommend

Excellent restaurant, brilliant service and great food

Amazing food. Friendly waiters. Atmosphere and music was very good too. Had a recommendation dish and it was beautiful. Reasonably priced too. Will definitely be returning. Different to other local Indian restaurants, definitely worth a visit

As normal the food was excellent and service very good. Highly recommend a visit we we be returning. The chicken dishes were cooked to perfection and really tender and and the sundries were great as normal.

Great service and absolutely love coming here. Well priced mid week deal and portions are excellent. Always leave here feeling happy... And stuffed!

Great food and fantastic service. The atmosphere of the restaurant is always friendly and the food good quality. We have had 3 meals here recently and they have all been delicious!

We had the mid week menu for £20 including a starter , main, side , rice or naan bread . The food was fantastic, along with brilliant service. We will be back to enjoy the experience again with friends

This place came recommended by others. The staff are great. Friendly and very helpful however the restaurant is let down by the thing you go to a restaurant for - the food. Ours was bland and quite tasteless. Surely, it's not too much to expect flavour and spice in an Indian restaurant but sadly it was lacking both. In addition to the food, the menus need updating/reprinting asap. They're virtually falling apart and not a good representation of the restaurant as a whole. Another small irritant was that the price for glasses of beer was one price on the menu and another (50p more per glass) on the bill!

We’ve recently moved to the area and booked to come here for dinner , it was pretty full at 7-15pm , Goid sign of a place is busy We were shown tonight seat , coats hardly off and we were offered popadoms before drinks , but no problem , would have liked to just settle Drinks order though taken shortly after and we settled into a lovely evening Our food was delicious and served on really hot plates a big yes from me love my food kept warm I can’t fault anything it was all really well cooked , delicious and so tasty one of the nicest Indian meals I’ve had in years The atmosphere for a sat night was nice and buzzy but not loud , service was good although only 2 waiters to serve all the tables and a few tables were parties of 8 to 10 but they worked so very hard and were so nice I definitely recommend this restaurant, we would go back again and again and not too expensive although we only had 2 glasses of wine and no dessert Lovely experience

Nice relaxed atmosphere and excellent food! I'll be back!!

Amazing food - delicious. And fantastic service. Staff are great. Really relaxed atmosphere. Great for couples, family or friends outing.

Excellent food and service, we will be back :)

A lovely curry with good service. Highly recommended thanks Adnan you're the man!

Always a great meal here, friendly service and a warm lively atmosphere!

Incredible Salmon curry. Always been tentative on it, but even better than the lamb (which is world class!)

Delicious food and good service from Adnan who was very attentive to our table. Would definitely come back!!

Great place brilliant food and as always friendly staff will be visiting again soon !

The food was absolutely delicious! Couldn't have had a more perfect evening. The cocktails were amazing! Thank Ads taking care of us.

Food was amazing as always host was amazing very much enjoyed it

Warm welcome with impeccable service. We'll definitely be back.

Great restaurant friendly staff especially the owners son made us very welcome the food was very good definitely be back.

Nothing but the best things to say. Really yummy food, have eaten in and ordered takeaways multiple times and always very happy. Fantastic service, good food and really lovely team. Wouldn’t go anywhere else.

Fantastic food, friendly service. My favourite restaurant around!!

Cannot fault this place, absolutely delicious and well presented food, will definitely be returning

Dined in last night with my parents and boyfriend and we were all so pleased and impressed with the exceptional service and delicious food. We all agreed that the peshwarii and garlic naans, poppadoms, and chutneys were some of the best we’ve ever had. Would highly recommend the Pasanda curry! I’ve been to cafe masala a few times in the past couple of years—both for takeaway and have dined in. Every single time the food has been tasty and fresh, the waiters have been extremely polite and hospitable.

Another great dinner at Cafe Masala.

Went here last night and as usual had the best food. Very friendly service and nice atmosphere.

Good place to eat Nice atmosphere Nice staff And I got a punky desert witch was amazing All together 5 stars

Found this place by chance as we looked for some food after the fireworks. Convenient to get to by car, good ambience and great service. Felt looked after. Curries were rich in flavour. Halal.

The service is impeccable, they can't do enough for you. Well worth a visit

Always amazing food and service… our go to whenever we are in and around Southend. We have been visiting since it opened and having moved away, always make sure we have time to stop in when we’re back!

Great food and service. I would definitely recommend 👌

Absolutely delightful, Firstly the food was incredible the set menu on a weekday is such good value for money, and portion sizes perfect, Ad the waiter is unbelievable really attentive kind ridiculously good at his job makes you feel super welcome doesnt rush and isnt over every two seconds asking if everything is okay gives you time hes a real great guy and is everything you need from a host! Food was beautiful again portion sizes percect not greasy just perfect! Not water curries perfect thickness, rice was amazing and naans were perfectly cooked no complaints at all and very good for price will def be going again! AD again keep it up mate you are so good at your job and you should be proud of your craft!

I visited this beautiful restaurant on Thursday evening with my husband and our two friends. We had a wonderful evening together and we really enjoyed our dinner. The food was so amazing. With there also being a mid week special on offer it was extremely good value. Staff were very attentive and kind. An all round great experience and a lovely friendly atmosphere.

There was no rice, but the food was delicious

Never had a bad meal in this place and always well looked after by the members of staff and greeted with friendly faces

Arrived 15 minutes late and needed warming up. Food itself was good

The staff were amazing excellent customer service. Food was fantastic too.

Onion bhaji, duck naga, tikka naan - best curry for years. If you’re in the area don’t miss this place!

Came here Sunday night for dinner for 2, what a lovely experience they was due to close 30 minuets after arrival but did not feel rushed. The food was sensational bursting with flavours. We will be returning again soon!!! 😊😊

food was excellent, the staff were very polite and attentive.. the only negative was the price of the soft drinks. 4 half pints of soda water and lime came to over £13. would definitely return for the food and service.

The food, the service, the atmosphere and the waiters were absolutely lovely! Special shout out to Adnan for checking in on us and making us feel at home! Highly recommend if you haven’t been here yet!

The Best curry house 🍛 in Southend by a mile 👌 👏

Had an amazing night at cafe masala food was delicious and tasty service was faultless and adnan made us feel very welcome.as always

Really good food, impeccable and friendly service, modern decor and lighting, nice atmosphere. Highly recommended.

Had a lovely birthday meal on Sunday. Service is great

Great food, excellent service, wonderful atmosphere. Come here for a modern experience provided by a team that hasn't forgotten the traditions that makes Asian food very special. We were given plenty of time, but we're never waiting. Perfect. Thank you.

Worst Indian food I’ve had in a very long time. Don’t waste your time or money. Yak and yeti is much better. Disappointing meal

Nothing but good things to say about this restaurant. Was our first time in the area and even the Taxi driver on the way there expressed his delight that we had chosen this Indian restaurant over any other. So in a nutshell, the food was certainly excellent, as was the price, decor, and comfort. But the thing that impressed us the most about our night was our waiter Adnan. Truly, a very welcoming and kind, young man. Not to mention hard working. Managed the floor by himself on a Friday night (with a smile) and always had our drink orders on our table within 30 seconds. Absolute pro if I may say. Thus, thank you for a lively night. And thank you for the copious amounts of mango chutney with our poppadoms!

I've been to Cafe Masala a few years ago and they were helpful. Today, I asked for a dish not on the menu and they pushed the kitchen to serve it. My friend spilt his beer they served another straight away. I speak for 4 customers, excellent, thanks.

Had a takeaway tonight normally the only Indian i use but tonight had to wait 2 hrs for a delivery and when we did finally get it unfortunately it was Luke warm and didn't really enjoy as much as usual naan bread was under cooked and soggy my partners bread and onion bhaji was stone cold so wasn't worth £46 disappointing ☹️

App is saying our order has been delivered but it’s still yet to arrive. Have called the restaurant 4 times and quite frankly they could not care less and keep saying it’s on its way and blaming the just eat app. Will not be ordering from here again as it’s the second time it’s happened. I’d like a refund please!

Beautiful place to enjoy the most memorable and delicious indian meal. The staff were really helpful and friendly, and made the experience at Cafe Masala really special for our group. The food was excellent and presented to a high standard. My favorite was the Chicken Tikka masala, once eaten never forgotten and one of the best I have ever tasted. There are are a great selection of foods and drinks from the food and drinks menus. Pleasant music played in the background and the restaurant's decore gave it lovely warm feeling and atmosphere. When you entry there is a wonderful smell of food spices which makes you feel hungary. It was a great night out. Big thank you to all the staff at Cafe Masala for a fantastic evening.

What a fantastically well run restaurant with some first class staff! We visited last night , the food was first class though my partner felt hers was a little too spicy for her taste. Well our waiter couldn’t have been more helpful and insisted that they replaced the said item, which they did with absolutely no drama whatsoever. Couldn’t fault our service at all. A really good service experience from a great Front of House Team.

Have eaten here several times and will definitely be back again. Excellent food and service as always.

The best Indian Restaurant in not on Thorpe Bay but Southend on Sea. Fabulous venue, fabulous staff, fantastic food. Cannot recommend highly enough. Excels every single time. 5*s

I placed an order and thought that I had added naan bread but it didn’t arrive. However when I phoned to question it Cafe Masala could not see that it had been added I had added naan but not stated which type and as I don’t have rice I had nothing to put with my Tikka masala. They sent me a naan at no extra cost. They were very helpful and accommodating and understanding even though the mistake was mine. Great service thank you

Fantastic meal as always, for 5 years i have always had the same Chicken Dhansak but last night i switched it up and order different starter and main, Really really good food, so tasty , service great and friendly. The best place to eat in Thorpe Bay

Great food & staff remembered us from a previous visit. Very Attentive

Always a pleasure to visit and the takeaway service fast and the staff are amazing.

Very enjoyable meal with excellent service throughout. The midweek special offer (Mon-Thurs) makes it extremely good value too.

we pre-ordered and it turned up early. also, we ordered and paid for more poppadoms than we received

Awesome tandoori seabass! Great local curry with healthy options. Staff are friendly. Would highly recommend a visit!

Love coming here, food is great, staff are really friendly would highly recommend I think this is the best curry in Southend

Love coming here, amazing food, taste amazing,staff are great and friendly, highly recommended,best curry in Southend

I've been to Cafe Masala on several occasions and every time we've had a lovely meal. The waiters are all welcoming and friendly. I would definitely recommend a visit. Updated 2023 - Still as awesome as ever, great place! Best local Indian, period!

amazing food as ever. thankyou 👍🏻