Pier One in Tendring

Sadly we had the skate and it tasted so bad it could not be eaten. I asked the waiter to check and he said the kitchen said it came in fresh that day and was fine. The smell was so bad. No refund offered. I have never had skate before so did not know if that was the terrible taste and smell. Having looked it up it seems this strong amonia smell is ftom fresh fish but to get rid of this taste and smell it should be left for 24 hrs and soaked in milk etc. put me off for life and put me off returning. It was really pungent in taste and smell. A shame as I have been there quite a few times It cost a fair bit for something we only had a couple of mouthfuls. Sorry but we should of been offered a refund on this one meal. The other meals were fine. The owner will need to look at honest reviews and up his game with the chef and when a customer complains and just wants honesty, or he will risk losing his business.

Be careful. They close whenever they see fit so don’t travel here and rely on them being open.

The chef must not be able to understand fish. The skate was awful and smelt of cat pee. Said it was fresh that day which could of been the issue as some fresh skate should be left for 24 hrs, other things done as has strong amonnia smell. Could not eat it but no refund offered. Would not return

We have eaten at Pier 1 a few times before and it’s always been good. But I read the recent reviews on here and began to worry our lunch on Sunday 22nd September would be less than excellent. We had no need to worry. The service was good, young but really courteous staff and the food excellent. Chips were all chip shop style, never from a freezer and ‘no black bits’. The batter was great and the price was good value. We will definitely go again and are so pleased that these negative reviews were so wide of the mark.

We had a fish and chips takeaway which had to be ordered in the restaurant. The staff serving seemed baffled and confused. The kids portion of fish goujons was a scrap of a tail end of a bit of fish that wouldn't even suffice for a cat. When I complained they said the chef wasn't able to cut up a piece of cod to make a normal size portion..the food was cold, tasteless and overpriced. The staff seem poorly trained. Would definitely not recommend this establishment. Will go back to Kirby fisheries which was much tastier.

It was ok. Good service, but it's a bit pricey, taking into consideration that it wasn't London. I would recommend it 👌.

They guys were a bit short staffed so speed of service lacked at times however they were spot on and friendly. Good fresh food, really enjoyed.

Not great to be welcomed with arguments amongst the staff. Then have to ask for the menus. My wife asked for her Tuna steak to be pink in the middle. It came overdone. Overall, it seems a quite expensive place to eat. Couldn't wait to leave.

Went in there on a Saturday lunchtime for takeaway fish and chips. Takeaway section was closed up so had to order through the restaurant which was an awfully thought out process. Small entrance into the restaurant meant myself and everyone else that wanted takeaway were all huddled around the entrance either waiting for our order or for someone to take our order. Very off putting for anyone coming in to eat in the restaurant and quite an awkward set up for everyone wanting take away too. When I asked one of the 3 girls I wanted takeaway they all looked at each other not really knowing what to say and then a guy in a waistcoat appeared asking what I wanted. I wanted to see a menu first so he got his phone out his pocket to show me a photo of the menu he’d taken from the closed takeaway section of the restaurant - all very bizarre. Anyway cut a long story short, all very odd and strange that you have to put your own salt and vinegar on the chips after they are all wrapped up etc so I had to do it at the bar in front of everyone and get everything out, unwrap it etc. I also have no idea what the 3 girls standing were doing. One was morning that the smell of the chips was making her hungry whilst the other was talking about the jeans she brought from H&M. Food was very average, chips clearly not fresh and the Rock had no bone in it which was unusual. Expensive for what it was and shan’t be going again. Advice to management - if you are going to divert takeaway customers into your restaurant then put a decent process in place and train your staff to know what they are doing.

10/10 to team member Lewis for his customer service skills when we visited on Friday evening.

nice fish and chips, terrible service. the young man short hair was polite and helpful, the rest of them weren't at all.

Great place but under staffed, which spoiled the experience It was late in the day, 18.00, very hot sunny day. I don't understand why they don't stay open later

Phoned in advance several times for allergy information to check ingredients used in batter for fish and chips, left my name and number but never heard back from them. On the day I phoned again to check if any sugar is added to the batter, it is, so not suitable for me. Disappointed that it is so difficult to check ingredients with this place.

Went to Pier One Fish and Chips and it was empty on a Friday night and the food seemed to be expensive - £4.50 for a battered sausage. We ordered and waited a while for our food before walking a couple of minutes to the seafront to eat. When we began to eat, it was apparent the food of all 4 portions was barely warm, bordering on being completely cold so therefore not enjoyable at all and a complete waste of money. The boys hardly ate anything and we threw the food away. We also drove past another chip shop on the way home, just up the road and the customers were queuing out the door so will go there next time.

There were two tables outside, and despite these, a group of 3 customers came in with two dogs (NOT assistance dogs) and sat at our side. The staff brought two bowls for the dogs. We couldn't stand the smell and moved to the tables outside. The weather was great and we enjoyed sitting outside. I had cod and chips, and my wife had cajun salmon with egg noodles, as shown in our photos. The food was priced reasonably and was OK. The young waiter was polite and attentive but not organised. The restaurant is in a good location and the atmosphere is OK but we're not used to having dogs in the restaurants where we eat. If you want to bring your dogs in with you, then this is a place where you'll be welcome. I had tea, but the mug and its plate were not washed properly and had stains.

I had an awful experience at this fish and chips shop. The tables were filthy, and when I asked the staff to clean them, they not only ignored my request but also carelessly threw everything, including the cutlery, into the garbage. When I questioned them, they blatantly said they didn't care about the business. I also asked for tissue, and they handed me kitchen blue paper instead. The food was terrible—the fish was greasy, and the batter was soggy and unappetizing. The entire place was dirty and unkempt. I absolutely do not recommend this place.

Drove to frinton to have fish and chips by the sea on what was forecast a sunny evening. The food supplied from here was just awful in every aspect. The chips were advertised as twice fried but were undercooked soggy greasy and tasteless. The very small cod was also full of grease and the scampi was a bit underdone, soft and watery inside. Topped off with an extra charge for a very small and very cheap quality ketchup. Service was lacklustre and two people walked out after not even being acknowledged for a long time. They’ve got something very wrong going on here. Was all supplied in nice boxes and bags but the contents did not match this. Disappointed our drive out to the coast was spoiled.

Went with a couple of friends. We had a great time , staff were all very attentive and helpful. Lovely food with large portions. Fairly busy at tine we went and would definately go again. Thanks

The waitress jacinta was very pleasant to look at

Fish is always fresh, and chips crispy. One of my regular haunts for eating in, and such a nice guy who runs it. He was chuffed when I said it was better than the same meal I had in Rick Stein's a couple of weeks back!

The worst cod and chips I’ve ever had. We walked back to the beach only to open our boxes to disappointment. The cod was a soggy mess of batter. The chips looked brown/over cooked but in fact the chips were hard and raw throughout.

Not as good as pre-COVID, so bit disappointed. Chips seemed reheated & had lots of black spots on. Partner's cod was large, thinly battered, but rather tasteless. Pity high standard originally experienced has not been maintained. Young staff doing their best but often seemed overwhelmed by whole experience of being a member of waiting staff. Doubt we'll revisit.

Well, we tried again because the last visit didn't go well. Seated promptly and given menus, gave the waitress food and drinks orders. Nice atmosphere. This is where it starts to go wrong...food arrived but drinks took quite a while to arrive even though we reminded 3 different waitresses. Fish was just about edible but undercooked. Chips had many black and brown bits in them an had to leave about half of them. Will not go there again, waste of money.

Went for a takeaway fish and chips meal….i had the vegan banana blossom and my husband had cod and chips.Had to wait nearly 40 minutes to be served, only 1 person serving, when we opened our boxes the meals actually looked quite nice…..until we tasted them! Mine was extremely greasy and the fake fish was stringy and tasteless, my husbands was much the same in that it was greasy and the batter for both was undercooked. So disappointed and had to leave most of it……definitely won’t be returning

Hands down one of the best meals I e ever had, started with whitebait and had cod and chips for main. Fish was fresh, batter was crispy and not oily. Most definitely we will be returning here.

Food was pretty good and location was pleasant however the waitress we had could do with some hospitality improvements!

Decent portions in squid and mozzarella stick snack boxes we had, also very nice thick chips, and cheaper than expected for Frinton!

Awful food, terrible service- go elsewhere! Came here as a group and had decent expectations as the menu looked good and seemed varied to suit most tastes. In the expensive side, but the food was COLD, disjoined service (waited for a final member of our party to be served a good 5 minutes after the first dish was. Haddock overcooked, and vegan option was inedible. Seems it’s run by kids who aren’t interested and the owner was nowhere to be found. Cold food and very expensive! Don’t go here, there are far better local options who will appreciate your custom.

Such a pity, this could be a very nice restaurant with a varied menu to suit all of our group. However, the service was extremely slow, the chicken meal came burnt but hidden on the underside and with the added pleasure of a hair. Sent back. The steak - costing £25 was poor quality, over cooked and thin. The salmon which we requested cooked Medium rare was well done. The chips were tasteless scraps. Ordered a second round of drinks which were never delivered. Unfortunately to add to the above problems the Owner was more concerned about getting his staff to reorganise tables for a 'special' guest - seeking parliamentary seat and therefore totally neglected everyone else in the restaurant. While the young staff did the best the owner was rude, didn't apologise and had a couldn't care less attitude. The children were supposed to have ice cream as part of their menu - we had to constantly ask for this. What a disappointment and really taken back with the general attitude of the owner. The Chef needs some cooking lessons. Don't go there and don't waste your money.

Lovely evening for my girls’ birthday. Food was delicious and freshly cooked. Halloumi fries particularly good. Kieran made it extra special for the birthday girls and really went the extra mile to make it a perfect evening. Just wish they had margarita cocktail on the menu!!

It says the times it's open but they're NEVER open on those times or days, they seem to be closed everyday of the week and the one time I finally get served it was the worst customer service and the worst fish and chips I've ever had! Never going here again.

We went to this takeaway on Saturday afternoon. We ordered haddock and small chips, served by two young people. Foolishly we didn't inspect it too closely and headed off to the Greenway to eat our food. It was awful. The fish had been sliced thinly so it looked big but the size was bulked up with batter. The chips tasted of pepper. We won't go back there again!

We didn't get to experience anything. We sat down, received a menu and we were then ignored. We had checked if we could just purchase drinks which the waiter agreed was ok so maybe that's why no-one bothered to take our order. It was not busy and there appeared to be enough staff. We couldn't get anyone's attention. After about 20 minutes of waiting we left.

My family came over for Easter and we promised them proper take away fish and chips as we live by the sea, however, we were all really disappointed and wasted £75, (if it hadn’t been pouring down , we probably would have taken the food back!). The cod was mainly batter and a tiny bit of dry fish. The chips were undercooked, far too big and didn’t taste particularly nice. 😤how can chips go so wrong 🤦🏼‍♀️We will be using other take away chip shops in the future, the food was such a disappointment! It deserved zero stars!

Great vegan options , wonderful location, friendly staff and good pricing . Sadly today's vegan options were really not great , out of stock of things and the sausages we had were just dreadful. Also the Eton mess desert was nothing like an Eaton mess.

Solid gluten free options and very friendly service, highly recommend.

Have had a lovely meal at Pier One. Batter very light and good gluten free options. Excellent, cheerful and fun waiting staff. Highly recommend!

This is a very dog friendly restaurant, the staff are very helpful and nothing is too much trouble. The food is good with a variety of food on the menu which should suit most people. There is plenty of parking nearby, and the town is friendly and vibrant.

Horrible fish, average chips. The batter on the cod had zero crisp and was a soggy mess. Incompetent. Don't know how a fish and chip shop can't fry a decent bit of cod

Outstanding Food, excellent service from all staff, great atmosphere.

Staff very friendly food really nice. We had cod & chips & skate & chips. Worth a visit if you are in Frinton. DOG FRIENDLY ALL DOGS WERE ON THEIR BEST BEHAVIOUR 🐶

Really nice food and the staff were very friendly.

Banana blossom and jackfruit fish substitutes had an odd taste, like they weren't prepared properly

Excellent and very dog friendly

Gluten free fish and chips! Prior to finding this restaurant/takeaway we went to ‘young others plaice’ around the corner to be told they only sell gluten free fish and chips on Fridays which is disappointing! However it was the best thing that could have happened as we then stumbled upon this place! So so fresh piping hot, service was amazing and portions were very generous!

Lovely. Had banana blossom and chips. Really nice.

This was our first time at pier one as my mum has just moved to Frinton. We had a great meal, portions are a good size znd the staff were very friendly l eill definitely use again when visiting

If you happen to be in Frinton on Sea and are hungry, Visit Pier One in Connaught Avenue. The food is very acceptable, service is fine , atmosphere pleasant and if you have a four legged friend with you, the charming owner will spoil them with sausages and puppachino!

I’m From the North of England and this is the Best Fish & Chips this side of Watford I’ve ever had since moving here 35 years ago, extremely friendly service and dog friendly, which is a real plus for me and my family, they even have their own menu and the dog snacks are free of charge. I cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough.

I've been going to Walton and frinton for years and I am so upset that I have never eaten here before. BY FAR the best fish and chips I've had in the area. The chips were amazing. Dog friendly aswell! Would definitely recommend

Great staff and restaurant. Food was amazing and the dog loved the dog food. Staff were outstanding and they were very friendly and polite. Great Atmosphere. Erin (waitress) was especially nice and helpful when it came to ordering. Great restaurant all round. Would 100% come again.

Super lovely staff when we came in New Years Day. Food was great and one lady who we think was the owner was incredibly kind to us. Scampi was spot on! Will come back on our next Frinton trip!

We went for lunch with our dog who was completely spoiled rotten with treats, fish, sausages and a puppachino. The food was lovely and really reasonably priced and the staff were lovely. Cannot recommend enough.

Beautiful food, beautiful atmosphere and great friendly staff 🙂 Great choice of food on the menu, specials board and dessert menu. Clean and tidy restaurant and bathroom facilities.

Fish was nice, we had rock and haddock, chips were the worst chips we’ve ever had… don’t understand how you can get chips so wrong 😔

We were very pleasantly surprised to have found this lovely restaurant on Connaught Avenue in Frinton on Sea. The blackened cajun salmon was really well flavored. I would definitely recommend the chicken milanese too. Desserts were scrumptious. Service was really good, the waiter took his time to answer some questions we had with the menu as we were quite indecisive as to what to order, there was so much choice. Nice and clean. Inviting atmosphere. The owners were really lovely and friendly, took time to have a chat with us. We will definitely return.

2nd time ordering take away there and certainly the last. Portion size for the price isn’t good and they forgot to add included sauces on both orders.

Popped in today for roast dinner. Food and service was excellent

Tasty fresh fish and chips. Great, friendly and professional service.

Had a very enjoyable plate of food. Have been before. Only customers due to the pouring rain. Well looked after

Wonderful service for a table of 7 - extremely dog friendly

Great food, great service and a lovely atmosphere and very dog friendly complete with doggy menu

Lack of gluten free beer and bread, but food good nice staff. Dog sausage!!

Very good service and excellent food

We bought 6 cod and chips yesterday and we all were so disappointed with them. The fish was ok but the chips were definitely not fresh. They must have been cooked then re-fried then reheated. None of us eat them, they were that bad. As we drove home there was a queue outside waiting to buy. I really hope theirs were better than ours. I can see that they don’t like bad reviews by their comments..improve then, then you won’t get them.

So glad we chose Pier One, to finish off a lovely day spent at Frinton, with my daughter and grandson. Pier One has a friendly atmosphere, and we received excellent service from Kieran our waiter, nothing was too much trouble for him, and he was marvelous with my little grandson. It has a very large menu to choose from, and the food is excellent, at a competitive and reasonable price. It also benefits from having a very pleasant and attentive owner.

We came to Frinton for the day today and decided to go and get fish and chips for 6 people. The fish was ok but the chips were just awful. They definitely were not fresh and seemed like they had been cooked then reheated. Not one of us could eat them. We thought for a fish and chip shop they were terrible. As we drove past on our way home we saw a queue waiting to buy. I just hope that there food was freshly cooked unlike ours!

Thought it was very overpriced everything seemed to be frozen oven food and not fresh

Wasn't given cutlery or offered any condiments.

Without a doubt, the worst cod and chips I've had. £23 for two portions, small chips. There was more a greasy lump of batter hiding a small piece of cod. The chips tasted reheated and old. Just a handful of an assorted size, a few small sharp ones, a few totally inedible, the rest, very dry, even the seagulls turned their noses up. The people in front of us were given extra chips, so I'm wondering if we were at the scrag ends. At £3.50 they should be at least edible. Pricey as well.

Very poor take out chips tonight. The were presented nicely bagged and looked thick n chunky so was expecting a nice meal. However they had been refried at least three times and tasted of very old/stale frying oil so a big disappointment to the extent we had to bin them.

I have been to this restaurant 3 times and each time the food has gotten worst. Never come across such RUDE staff before. Would not recommend !

Very disappointed to be honest our experience was not good. We had our granddaughter with us and we decided to buy fish and chips on our last day. We purchased for us adults one haddock and chips and one cod and chips and a childs portion of chicken nuggets with chips to take away and eat on the sea front. We also purchased three cans of pop . It cost me circa £37 for a take out which seemed pricey compared to others we have used in the area. We had to ask several times for tomato sauce to be thrown in as they wanted 30pence for each sachais.. However I don't mind spending a premium as long as it is good. That's the frustration.. the whole lot was awful and all three of us thought this meal was nowhere near the same as all the others we had eaten during our holiday. The lot was soggy and really greasy and the batter was not nice. I will not be eating here again and will not recommend it based on our experience. Obviously you should make your own decision as this was just possibly a one off not so good experience. Good luck.

Pier one is fine. The haddock and chips I had well very well cooked, and was enjoyable. Very limited drinks selection, and as we were eating outside, it would have been better if a screen were to be put up between tables and pavement (as in photo). Otherwise a fun eat!

First class food first class service.

Sole dish was very good. Seafood linguine just average. Mussels poor quality. Prawns ok presentation could be better. Staff amateurs. Too much talking at the bar.

What a lovely lunch and experience we had at this gorgeously dog friendly restaurant. Our pooches were made so welcome and you were all so attentive to us as customers. Can’t wait to come again.

Awful food, good service but expensive cost low quality food tasted awful

Very poor fish and chips. £24 included can of 7 up for 2 x cod and chips. Take away. Greasy..

food was terrible chips were black and manager admitted that was black chips last week which I replied chips should never be black food was heated in microwave as served in seconds of ordering also booked a table where all details were taken but when got there was not in their diary would avoid

We always get our fish n chips from here when we visit Frinton-on-sea. It’s always fresh and their chips are nice n chunky. They didn’t have any read rolls this time and their chip portion was on the small side but it was very tasty still.

Great place even for the furry members of the family love the fact they have a Doggy menu.

Horrible fish & chips. The batter was greasy and mushy and the chips were all green and dry. I would not eat here again. If you want good fish and chips, I recommend you visit the one in Walton on the Naze (Yates Fish Bar). - Response to the owner's comment: I actually have no reason to promote another place but as your fish & chips are the worst that I have ever had, I had to mention in my review where I've had good fish & chips. Seeing as I'm not the only person who has commented on how nasty your food is, perhaps you should focus on improving your recipe instead of responding to all your 1 star reviews with your excuses. The other reviewer mentioned that you served him fish & chips with raw fish skin. As awful as the portion I was given, I'm so glad I did not receive that one because it would have put me off fish & chips for life!

I don’t normally leave negative reviews, usually just move on and chalk up to experience. Today however was hands down the worst fish and chips ever. My wife had cod and chips. The batter was mostly an undercooked mess the skin almost raw. When I took a bite out of my steak and ale pie, the first chunk of meat was stone cold whilst others were Luke warm. We threw almost our entire meal in the bin outside. More than £20 wasted which we could I’ll afford but had decided to treat ourselves. ------------ *update* Thank you for your reply. I was kind of expecting a terse reply having since read your responses to other complaints. The reason I don't usually leave negative reviews and the reason why we didn't complain on the day is that we are not keen on confrontation. I am not sure that the way you respond really helps your case though. In the first instance, criticising the way in which people choose to complain (as you have with other reviewers too) does not magically invalidate their negative experience at your establishment. Secondly, had I seen the responses you have left for others, It would have actually reinforced a negative opinion of your restaurant rather than have encouraged me to give you a go. Had I seen a positive and open response to criticisms, showing genuine concern, I would not be deterred from coming and would give the benefit of the doubt. The fact that you do not respond at all to positive reviews and only aggressively to negative ones might suggest a lack of concern for your customers.

The first time we used this restaurant I rated it 5 stars . However having drove 40+ miles the second time to arrive at 5 o'clock and there website showing closing time 6 o'clock when we arrived they said sorry but we are closed . The manager apologized stating he did not know about the website time's???. One our last visit the same happened again only this time he said they were short of staff. That's the last time we shall be using this restaurant waste of time. Yes we have visited this restaurant again only this time they let us in . Big mistake on my part . They have extended their menu now including beef burgers+pizza's etc needless to say that the fish and chips are now horrible . We had haddock+chips also Rock+chips . Soggy batter and loads of it , chips greasy and soggy . We certainly won't be going back . The young staff were very helpful and friendly , perhaps the owner instead of sitting outside wants to get back inside behind the ramp and sort things out . There is competition along this high street and I think he'll realise people will be giving this restaurant a wide berth in the near future.

Great place to eat in Frinton. Dog friendly too. Food was excellent. Service was fast and friendly. Good value for money

Take away the best fish and chips in frinton!

Bad service. Inexperienced server. Food is ok, nothing special, not to value. Uncomfortable and ridiculous set up with better food options written on the wall horizontally across the restaurant where you cannot see at all sitting down. And they are not on the menu. No need to come back :)

Greasy, floppy chips, oily, slimy fish, the banana blossom I can only describe as “wet” with the only taste being salty. Staff were abrupt and sulky and the whole lot was overpriced. Would not use again!

Slightly on the high side (at least for my pockets). The service ice made up for it though, everyone young, vibrant, eager to help and very friendly. Chefs were approachable too and sound as a pound. Will return and be more adventurous when ordering. Great to snack. Brilliant main courses options. I saw gluten free and vegan options. Welcomed well behaved dogs.our were a bit mischievous yet they still smiled. Just a nice place. I’d even go drink when record shopping near by!!!

very nice cod and chips, service very good as well, recommend it

Lovely food on a quiet evening. Attentive but not pushy staff. Will definitely be back.

My first visit to Pier One, the restaurant had a nice atmosphere, the staff were professional and friendly and the food was delicious, would visit again if in Frinton

Really lovely meal at Pier One today. Highly recommend.

Very friendly and welcome Nice atmosphere, very dog friendly too

So pleased I popped in after speaking to someone. Gluten free fish and chips cooked every day. Light and crispy batter good size piece of fish and not too many chips. Perfect to complete my seaside visit eating on a bench on the front.

Lovely fish and chips with a great service.

Delicious fresh seafood, proper chip, fantastic service with a really lovely owner, an excellent experience.. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, dog and children friendly aswell.. will DEFINITELY return, thanks all

Lovely food and great friendly staff

Lovely dog friendly restaurant, cold beer & fish & chips, even my dog pickle was given a sausage as a treat! Nice to see a few doggies all enjoying themselves with there owner! Will be back!