Clarks Fish Restaurant in Southend-on-Sea

Sat down with family to enjoy some traditional English food, and these guys served us cold chips and ruined everything.

Came in with my sister for lunch, please do yourself a favour and don’t waste your time. We ordered 2x fish cakes, a bowl of chips and 2 bottles of coke. I say coke but it was more like Rola Cola, absolutely vile. The chips are swimming in oil and instantly felt sick. And even upon arrival no1 said hello. I might add the fish cakes are microwaved!! Absolute hell hole. Avoid at all costs.

Great value. Large fish Large chip. Batter was cooked perfectly.

Went in Auguest for lunch. Something I thought was rude bill before I ate. Also I asked for a savaloy then a sausage came out and when I was cutting my savaloy was hard. Never coming here again. Also, saw that salavoys/sausages was sitting above. Was not in the deep fryer. And the women was nice but had the men chit chat. I would not recommend to come here. Cherry Pepsi £2.00 or a bit higher?? Like I said would not come again!

Full of oil seaside and quality is very bad my fish swimming in oil no salt fly attack me and price like 5 star restaurant table looking like school I'm not happy with that fish and chips

The fish is nice and the chips are okay. The service could be improved. And the cleanliness definitely needs improvement, dirty floors and toilets.

Honestly the best chips I’ve eaten. Friendly staff and great prices. Will definitely be going back

Food was not good waste of money

Walked in seemed quite nice ordered food pie come out freezing cold then sent back when pie came back peas where cold so didn’t enjoy at all wouldn’t recommend

Had the worse experience in our years of coming to Southend on sea and eating at Clarkes Fish restaurant today 22 August 2024. My family ordered cod bites and chips as that is what we normally have and like. The chips were extremely oily and soggy the fish not tasty at all. However it was the service experience that was very disgusting. We were treated with contempt by the "little girl" that served us. She didn't want to serve "our kind" and made it known in how she served us. When we asked for a manager she stated there isn't one. We asked for a pnone number she says we don't have one. Clarkes Fish restaurant of Southend on Sea do better. If you don't want people of colour frequenting your business state it clearly and not covertly. Don't wait for us to hand over our money then behave as your little girl did.

The place is easy to find beeing located on the main street near the promenade. The staff is nice and they move quick. Eat in and takeaway both available. The restaurant is clean and tidy. The food is tasty. We had the Large skinless cod chips and garnish with mushy peas as sides. The portion was big and tasty. The car parks are 10-15 minutes walk away. The Southend Pier and the Theme park are 2 minutes away, the beach just across the road. The shops on High Street are few minutes walking distance. The restaurant is kids and family friendly. The prices are affordable.

If you're not English, don't eat here. This place is blatantly racist. The attitude started the moment we walked in. For context, I’m Turkish. When someone asked a waitress to clean our table, she questioned why, which was odd. Then she ignored us for ages, serving everyone who came in after us. When I asked if we would be served, she didn't even bother to look at me and coldly said, 'they will.' We walked out, and I told her we were leaving because of the terrible service. Her response? 'O, ok.' We went next door to Roses and had brilliant service and amazing food. Avoid this place at all costs.

Sunday night takeaway of cod & chips & gotta say, it was decent. Returned for a sit in & was absolutely spot on. Nothing left on 6 plates

Went there for the first time… brought their steak and kidney pie with chips and beans. I will not be recommending this place to anyone firstly the pie was like a plank so hard you couldn’t eat it. Our gravy was even forgotten. The women do the hard work in there while the men chit chat away. Thankfully we wasn’t charged for the gravy that never arrived, the manager, one of the females was even generous not to charge us for the pie meal (in the picture). You will wait some time before you get your order taken. Only one of the young guys who cared about our concern was nice enough to help us with the issue.

We are a family with young kids and we’re in a day out at the beach. Kids were getting hungry and so we stopped over at the first choppy we saw. Overall verdict - dinner settings was from the 70s with fixed seats to a table. Seats are grounded to the floor. Chips were oily, fish was decent and fresh. Service a little on the slow side. I’ll forgive the service as it was a busy sunny Sunday afternoon. Would I go back - no.. I’d keep hunting for other chippys. Clarkes satisfied our and the kids hunger, and that’s it.

Chips are great, but the service is poor. Expect to wait a long time for your food to come out.

We went there for a meal and was completely astonished with what we had and saw... we found hairs in the chilps and the chicken was pink and raw inside... the tables where sticky and dirty... the waitress that served us was helpful but she was not able to help us due to the manager... asked for the bill and was also overcharged... THEY JUST DIDN'T CARE ... NO CUSTOMER CARE . WILL DEFINITELY NOT BE RETURNING

Visited here yesterday (Wednesday 24th) and was shocked how terrible the experience was. This was my second time here as the first was so good I decided to come back. But was massively disappointed with the cold oily soggy undercooked chips. Found a hair in the chips that was not my own. The saveloy was also freezing cold and as soon as I bit into it it bursted with water (obviously barley been cooked) incredibly shocking with the hygiene as well, opened up the menu and was greeted to a squashed dead fly. It’s disappointing as the other month I came here I was impressed by the hot fresh food and the friendly staff. Won’t be coming back.

Unfortunately can't leave any star's for food but have to place a star to post , as myself and my partner and son .visited here on Monday 22nd July to then ended up being left with food poisoning and unwell for 2 / 3 day's , I had a large Cod which was awful and only had half of it the batter had a funny taste to it and chips where half cooked, my partner had sausage in batter which was awful only had half of it ,our son had 2 sausage in batter with chips and has been ill since as the batter and chip's where awful. There was batter mix all over the floor and frozen and cooked chips on the floor and side behind the counter. We asked for orange juice and was given orange squash We have been violently sick for 24 hours and suffering loss of earnings due to having to take 2 / 3 day's off work . We will not be returning . So £37.40 for a dinner, not good at all.

Came here on Monday 22nd July, the food was awful which resulted in food poisoning for myself and family, I should have cancelled my order from the state of the cooking area but proceeded. We had fish and chips and battered sausage with chips. We definitely won't be returning there, I really think this place needs looking into with food standards as well as hygiene I would not give this place any stars but can't post without

Excellent fish and chips with great friendly service. Food was piping hot and very tasty. This was our second visit and we will return again

I had an absolutely horrendous experience, I do not recommend going to this fish and chips. I experienced under cooked chicken and then found hair that was not my own in my chips. I do not appreciate this. However, service was acceptable as when asked they removed certain dishes off the bill. The surfaces was disgusting, they were sticky and clearly uncleaned. This should be zero stars. PLEASE DO NOT EAT HERE. Thank you for reading. I was so put off my food that I did not eat and was hungry after I had to resort to eating a packet of Mcoys. I am very upset.

Lovely fish and chips, friendly staff, classic venue

Great fish and chips. Supremely fresh, crispy and delicious. Fab service and good prices - so glad we came.

Very rude staff came with 94 year old grandmother would not give her a proper knife and fork as the wooden ones she struggled with. No customer service at all

The chips were undercooked, there was a gooey substance on my fork, toilets disgusted me, inside my scampi was a hair. Unhappy.

Weird vibe , attitude and a bit of racist .... Been treated completely differently to other people they were there .

In Southend on Holiday ,late lunch at Clarke,s Service Good,staff took order quickly,were helpful Food Quality Awful,Chips,peas average,lukewarm,Cornish Pastie tasted awful,seemed like it had been microwaved Atmosphere Seating in double seats is tight ,chairs,tables fixed to floor Loud music played constantly over speakers Price .Cost of meal would have been reasonable if quality of food better My advice try elsewhere.

Visited on a Friday in May 2024. We ate later than lunchtime and before dinner time so it was fairly quiet inside. The food was 10 out of 10, delightfully crispy fresh batter, chips cooked to perfection, and that is why people go to a fish and chips restaurant. Service was second to none and the young lady who served us you could tell really really cared about what she did, and to provide a top notch service. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was that it is a little tired and could do with a refreshment inside. That said the toilets were clean, soap dispenser worked well and could easily dry hands. If it's the food and service you care about, give this place a go.

This place never fails to disappoint you. Our order was given to another customer. We waited 30 minutes. No customer service skills what so ever. . Eventually asked for refund which was given without apology or trying to put the situation right. Absolutely disgusting service.

Every time I go to this place thinking service will be on point. They failed again . This time gave my order to another customer. How is that possible. Waited 35 minutes. No apology or effort to sort it. Just asked to wait again. Honestly I don’t know how they are still there. They were happy to give refund because they had a massive ego. So walked down to olde Inn where they the service was fantastic.

Stunning fish and chips with a friendly service. How to do business in this Internet age. Good old fashioned grub and service

Don't go here. I repeat, don't go here. In the past we had put with a couple of porr service instnaces because of the excellent food. On this, our last visit, the food was average and the service, was simply rude. The "waitress" came over to take our order when she clearly begrudgingly realised that none of the other staff were able to because they were busy. No smile, no "hello", just silence. Took our order and cam back with a card machine with a number on it which she simply stated, "Twenty-four pound fifty". No "please". Call me unusual but I do think that when one is asking for money from someone, one should say, "please". I asked if there was something missing from the end of her sentence. She said, "no". I said "how about "please"?". She said, "please". Just about. Food was average. We won't be back. You will see from my other reviews that I give plenty of praise when we get good food and service and so you can rely on the accuracy of this review.

Absolutely terrible!!! 🤢😫🙄... Me and my partner and son all had burgers and the burgers tasted vile.. the burger buns were so dried out as well , restaurant over all wasn't ver clean 🤢 Once we returned home that evening both my partner and I had upset stomachs, I broke out it a terrible sweat and had servere stomach pains and was vomiting. We both had food poisoning from this restaurant 🤢 I do not recommend!!

Very large cod fish and chip, delicious, and nice environment.

Some of the worst chips I’ve ever had

Took a while to get served waitress didn't have a clue what she was doing got a cold cup of tea rolls turned up after asking for them 3times

Great seaside fish and chips , after many visits this place is still knocking out the best chips on the seafront , great value and location for a quick bite to eat for families.

We stopped off for a quick bite to eat and was surprised by the service, portion sizes and prices which were all far better than. Expected. The only negative was that the mushy peas were cold, but everything else more than made up for it.

We were served by Maddie & she went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed.

Food was ok, nothing special. Service was very slow and staff didn't seem to want to be there. Menu prices are wrong and it's actually more expensive and they couldn't explain it other than "yeah it's not what's on there". They didn't even mention it until we looked at the receipt. £14.70 rather than £12.75 for fish chips and mushy peas. (Side not included even though the menu says it is). Drinks are wrong too £2.75 vs £1.60 for a Pepsi Max

Food was amazing fresh very tastier and quick for the price very worth it rightly recommended

Excellent fish and chips. Good value and very nice not at all greasy. If we were nearer we'd return but sadly it's a bit far to come from Portsmouth

Took my young granddaughter in for lunch last Wednesday- faultless service kind and attentive food as always scrummy 😋

We had the most amazing fish and chips last night that we demolished. Price wise was bang on and taste wise we thoroughly enjoyed.

This is an absolute British institution. Heritage manifest. Cod and chips were great. Good portion size. Pickled onions were icing on the cake. Great authentic cuisine!!

One of the few places open on a winter Friday evening.Food and service good and at sensible price

Very clean, staff very freindly had the best fish and chips. High quality ingredients. Fish lovely and meaty Generous portions highly recommended

DONT GET THE GRAVY Burgers aren’t very nice. We also ordered gravy which was forgotten but when we did get it, it was like thick sauce you genuinely had to scoop it. We held the pot upside down and the gravy didn’t move. The young gentlemen was very helpful and discounted our drinks for how unsatisfied we were so thank you. But overly not happy

Brilliant food, great prices. However what bothered me is that there is a steep climb of stairs to the toilets!

The food was just right and staff were welcoming and helpful. We went yesterday and staff were more than accommodating when it came to us wanting to light the candles for our son’s 9th birthday cake. As we sang Happy Birthday, staff also dimmed the lights. Thanks to everyone at Clarkes - much appreciated.

Seriously how can you get double egg and chips so wrong. The eggs were overcooked, burnt and covered in black bits, and yes I did complain and the staff member stated they would redo the eggs but I refused as the black bits would suggest that the grill plate hadn't been cleaned. The only things edible were the chips. My friend had pie and chips and the pie had been microwaved, and we all know what Mr.Ramsey thinks of that. Voting with my feet, 1st and last time..

Hi all purchased a portion off chips and a can off seven up from Clarke's I was at Southend and I was really cold and went to Clarks using spare change in my coat chips were so nice proper chips really enjoyed them thank you ps can I also thank staff fore helping me with doors putting on salt and vinegar so on I use a large powered wheel chair staff were so helpful and I don't think I was the largest spender thanks andy

Great food and excellent service - a proper seaside chippy. Decent sized portions and cooked fresh to order. Lovely cup of tea as well 👍

Lovely fish and chips. All cooked fresh to order. The large cod was large and plenty chips with all the dishes. Not greasy like some folk have said in previous reviews. The fish was very tasty as were the chops. I don’t know why folk have marked it down. Service was good and the waitress friendly and it was serviced e with a smile. Only thing that I marked it down on was paying for the food before we got it.

Large cod or regular cod and chips is so good in clarkes!! Definitely worth a visit if your around southend for a day out or if you live there one of the best cod I've ever had.

Raw batter cold chip. Not good at all

I would of giving zero if I could What an awful experience from the start 1st of all I wanted was to order a kids meal to take away and was told no can’t do that with no explanation So I ordered a jumbo hot dog ( which is stated on the Menu ) I got it and asked for mustard told no in a very snotty way I walked away with what I taught was a hot dog only to break the end off it and see it was a sausage This is not the same thing ! I returned to the window and said excuse me this isn’t a hot dog to be told well if you asked when ordering I would have told you that ( although I shouldn’t have to ask as it states hot dog and not sausage on the menu ) This is false advertising The girl was very rude and scruffy looking and unhygienic and in my opinion shouldn’t be working around food and could use better people skills while dealing with customers as she grabbed the food from the counter flinging it into the bin, refunded my money and aggressively slamming the till closed I won’t be returning This is the 2nd time I have had a bad experience here and should have learnt not to return after the 1st one when I received chips that were cooked so many times they were dark brown

Don’t know why it’s rated so low , great food , great music and great view

Dined here in the evening, no greeting when we walk in told to sit at any table, when the server came over to take our order no greeting, a face like thunder and very rude. The food was well cooked, hot and delicious and came out in a timely manner.

This is Truly a Treasure found on the Beach (Front) and we shall be returning each time we are in Southend. Energetic Staff and they are all very helpful and Respectful…. Molly with a “Y” has exceptional energy and was very Attentive to us. What a great young lady and an asset to this Restaurant. We really Appreciated this place and I have Confidence each time We return to Southend, that we will eat well, with the Hearty Portions served by the Clarkes Team. We had fantastic portions of Cod & Chips. I am a real Connoisseur of Fish & Chips and I searched most Restaurants along the front and around the area and checked the food being served to Customers, inside and outside and tasted some but I knew immediately that “Clarkes” was the place and We were not disappointed. Thank-you to all of you at Clarkes, especially Molly (With A ‘Y’) See you soon 😉

Its a omg from me what a lovely chippy. Great chips and lovely curry sauce will defo come back again its a must visit

Best and biggest piece of fish ever. Beautifully cooked and presented . Air conditioned eating area. Cool friends atmosphere

My daughter and I had dinner here the other night. Outstanding value and quality. We're from London and 'large' cod here is cooked from frozen and barely bigger than a fish finger. I was gobsmacked when my large cod arrived and I saw the size of it. It was obviously cooked from fresh. The staff are all enthusiastic and friendly. They offered a takeaway box when I was too full to finish my meal. I highly recommend this restaurant. It deserves to do well.

Excellent service portion size was brilliant 10/10 however the kids nuggets and chips would have been better if it had 4 nuggets and few less chips but other than that a really nice place to eat.

I orderd burger and chips the burger was stone cold and I only got half a portion of chips, I told them about the burger and the staff thought it was acceptable to laugh at me behind the county , one of the members of staff took the burger and put it in the microwave and thought it was acceptable to give it to me, in the end I asked for a refund

Fish well cooked, small portions of chips, horrible plastic chairs so close together when the person behind you moves all you can feel is it banging into you. Child portions very small, my children could of ate it twice.

we managed to get a table as it was a rainy day and busy, went to go up and order food from counter but told to sit down and a server will come. they did come but 40 minutes later and after requesting service 3 times. other people after us were served which made it worse. Rock and chips not that good buy sausage and chips snd cod was nice and good portion. Some of the order was wrong and had to ask to change it and received dirty look from the woman. There was 1 young guy having to serve the majority of tables and he was very nice and polite.

Waite 30 minutes for my fish and chips. Turned out that they order was never “called out”. Refuse to do scampi on takeaway for my son. Rude, arrogant staff.

We had fish and chips. Standard. Busy shop. Toilets not that clean.

Delicious food, the food was hot and freshly prepared its the chippy i always go to when in south end

Friendly staff, quick service and good food! Would recommend the scampi!

After spending a lovely afternoon and evening in Peter Pan’s for a family afternoon/evening as it’s not often we can get altogether, we were all famished. It was getting late and was thinking we are not going to get in anywhere as there was 19 of us and said we all wanted fish and chips. Clarkes were open and Charlie and the team welcomed us all in and secured tables for all our family together. The service and food was excellent. The staff were polite, friendly and very accommodating. I would highly recommend and will be returning. Thanks again Clarkes we all had a lovely time.

Nice meal, 3 kids meals and 2 adults meals for about £30, eating in. Good sized portions and very tasty. Seating is very close together but nice other than that!

I honestly can't fault this proper old school English Café. A lovely cuppa tea ☕ The fish and chips had a little side salad 🥗 It was like stepping back in time where you felt very welcome without any problems. Toilets are a hike up the stairs though. Outstanding service and food with a can-do attitude all round. The bonus surprise was seeing a little 20% discount for Scoops 37 ice cream that I enjoyed after my walk on the pier.

Went to Clark’s whilst in southend for the weekend and have to see it was probably the best fish and chips we have had so much so we had to return for more the next day - portions were huge could feed 2 perfect crispy batter and real Chunky fish Will defo return in the future

Good tasty food, varied menu, good prices, quick service and friendly staff.

I normally love Fish and Chips from Clark's but today was a real let down. We ordered a takeaway of chips, fish, saveloy, sausage in batter and a couple pots of Curry sauce for just over £30 (feeding 4) so it aint cheap and the quality in return was surprisingly poor. The chips were really full of grease and very very mushy - normally they are quite dry and fluffy. The fish was tasty but again had taken on a lot of oil. Sausage in batter and saveloy was fine but the curry sauce was quite thin. All in all the meal left us a little blur to be honest from all the oil. I really hope it was a one off and not a change of product/ supplier as I really didn't enjoy this meal - I'm sorry to say that if the food is going to be like that in future we unfortunately won't be back.

Came with the family First time here and the food was amazing. Everything was fresh and piping hot. Service was excellent. Our waitress was very attentive and the whole place had the feel of a proper old school fish and chip restaurant. Was a perfect end to a perfect day. Thank you

Thank you Molly for making mines and my familys time lovely. She's so friendly and nice

Great spot for Fish n Chips 🐟🍟 on the strip! Massive portions enough to feed 2 people. Kid friendly and good atmosphere. Staff were awesome and the food exceptional.

Fantastic food and fantastic service. Very polite staff and a very lovely atmosphere. The food was top notch. We had cos and plaice and both were fantastic. Would recommend this place and surely come here again next time in Southend!

I used to get a take away as a treat from here many years ago on a Saturday night after bowling at the Pavilion.. We ordered a take away through just eat.. The order was delivered by a guy on his pushbike. My first thought was the food is going to be cold as it took him 20 mins to get here.. Surprisingly the food was still really hot as it had been very well wrapped up. The fish and sausage was really nice, the only disappointment was the chips. They looked very grey and had lots of black on them. I would say a quarter of the chips was like it.. I understand the potato crops haven’t been great this past year or so. We had the same problem elsewhere last year. We have had food from here before and the chips seemed a lot better last time .. It hasn’t put me off from ordering from here as this is the first time the chips have been like that..

After driving for an hour and a half for the fish and chips, we were extremely disappointed. One member of male staff in particular was very rude and dismissive. Another informed us that they had recently switched to a new, cheaper supplier of potatoes, which resulted in the chips being very dark in colour and mushy in texture. We noticed a few people had left their food on tables barely touched. The fish was as nice as always, but we will not be returning in a hurry.

Great place to drop into for a good fresh cook fish and chips... Table service as well..

Absolutely appalling the burger buns were stale and hard, the chips looked horrible and were very earthy, the table service was unprofessional and the entire place was dirty and falling apart. All tables had food left and the seats were to close to the table and to the backs of other. Would not recommend to anyone unless in need of bowels emptying.

With all the competition in Southend for fish and chips you'd have thought they'd try harder. The chips were full of black bits, soggy and absolutely dripping in grease. We sent them back and got exactly the same as replacements. As we left you could hear one of the staff announcing "if you don't like it, you can go somewhere else". Don't worry, we will.

Great service, food was excellent and reasonably priced, very nice and helpful as always and the young manager I can’t thank enough for keeping the children entertained

We popped into Clarkes on a day trip to Southend, and have to say it was a great choice. It was quiet when we arrived (but it was only 11:45) and decided to sit inside. We ordered 2 large cod and chips and 2 teas which was cooked to order. Well I was delighted when it arrived, the portion was huge, the batter was golden and perfectly cooked, the fish was pure white and flaky. We thoroughly enjoyed the whole meal and the staff were very friendly. By the time we left it was starting to get busier. We will definitely pop back in the next time we are in Southend.

The best fish and chips in South End the staff are amazing even though I asked for my fish to be redone because I forgot to say well done the staff were very polite great food great staff defo coming again ❤️

5 of us came in. really polite and welcoming staff, no wait at all came to straight to me and only look 15 mins to come. the meals are huge and definitely worth the price. i came here on a sunday and everyone was so professional and very happy.

Very very nice lovely food lovely staff have been there several times alway good

The customer service was so bad. I asked for a tango ice blast and was given a tango can. When I corrected the lady she very rudely said it is slush puppy with a lot of attitude. The food was not all that the chips where burnt and really soggy. Overall rubbish!

Changed hands and you can tell been coming her years but was so disappointed after today and sadly won’t be back place is becoming run down and dirty chips were soggy and dripping in grease and funny Color from old oil fish was taste less and most peoples plates were left half eaten clarkes what have you done obviously kept the name but not the quality, younger staff were slapdash and disinterested and the interested is only in money they push you to pay the bill at the table at the start so if you don’t like your food tough place looks grubby sat up the end by the kitchen Metal rod hanging from doorframe waiting to catch some ones leg or child’s face sorry to say after years of the best chippy around we won’t be back

I was really looking forward to FRESH chips from Southend, I ended up with crispy, crunchy burnt chips 👎🏻. The young lady that served us, wanted to give us our chips in a broken box.😵‍💫 When we asked for it to be changed she had an attitude. Abit disappointing.

Poor quality. Fish wasn't great. Batter wasn't nice.

Got seated waited ages for service when a lady member of staff walked by asked very politely if they are still serving as it was late evening got quite a rude look from her and a muffled reply probably best she works behind the counter but luckily our waitress was alot welcoming and polite so the rest of the time was wonderful

Traditional fish and chippy. Portions are massive, even for the kids menu. Not much to say other than if your looking for a decent fish and chippy then pop in. It would be good to have freshly made tartar sauce instead of a packet but I'm not picking. Prices are reasonable, the large cod and chips is one for 2 people...and I have a big appetite. Kid friendly even though it's a bit of squeeze to move the push chairs around, staff are attentive. Food comes super quick.

Purchased the cod with chips, good portion size fish freshly fried melt in the mouth and the chips tasted delicious too, top rating for the customer service as well..

Good food clean restaurant great service