The Alex in Southend-on-Sea

Booked for bottomless brunch.....great food (1kg of wings 😍) and value for money ...drinks constantly replaced. Shout out to our server Couch, barman Chris and James and Darryl in the kitchen.

Awful. Patronising, rude staff. So many better and cheaper pubs around. Go somewhere else.

I went to the Alex on Friday night for their karaoke night, it’s always a fantastic night and it was great to see Ash back behind the bar! He is always polite and serve drinks quickly and accurately.

We had the bottomless brunch today and were served by Callie - she was super attentive and kept the drinks flowing for us! I had the Caesar burger and it was delicious! Thank you Callie & Team!

Always the go-to for my mates and I to when it’s one of our birthdays. Couch, yes that’s his name, is the best server would recommend

Great venue, uses the Mixr app and has various discounts depending on the day of the week, there’s music and games such as a couple of Pool Tables, service was lovely and helpful with recommendations for the local area.

Love the Alex, it's rare these days that a pub meets the needs of any age range or that any still have a pool table! It's a little indy slice of heaven and they still put on the sport

Honestly the best time !!Me and 5 others went to the Alex for bottomless brunch ! Such a brilliant time , would highly recommend , food was so good and the bar stuff was so on board with the drinks ! Shout out to a very helpful gentleman COUCH ,all of the bar stuff made our experience so enjoyable, we will defo be coming back ! You get what you pay for !!!! So cheap

We were visiting The Cliffs for the matinee show and chose this venue, having never visited before, for the Bottomless Brunch. Wow, we were not disappointed! We chose Nachos to share first (which wasn't included in the brunch price but very reasonable) and have had this as a sharing starter on numerous occasions at numerous establishments but this was the best we (my friend and I) have ever experienced! YUMMY! A shout out to James the Chef for his attention to detail as usually the cheese, guacomole, sour cream is all in the centre.....this dish had it located in different places....sufficient for both of us....and better! Our server, Callie, was friendly and couldn't do enough for us. We had various drinks and got more than our fair share....when she noted we were running low she was straight to our table to check if we wanted another. Great! Really good value for money. My friend and I (who aren't local to the premises) have already said we will be returning (by train to Southend Central station and less than 5mins walk from there) to enjoy this Bottomless Brunch again in a few months time. Thank you to the team for a lovely experience.

They denied my 19 year olds friends real id and on Friday, Even though it’s meant to close at 1 shut at 11 and had no karaoke awful. And the prices are going up for no reason

I went into the Alex with my mates, I had a pint then went back up to order another one. They ask me for my ID. I’m the oldest out of all my mates by a year(I’m 19) they tell me that I don’t look like my PASSPORT photo. I give them my card and bank statements with the same name but they refuse to look at it. I’m furious. I’ve been going to the Alex for 5 months and haven’t ever had any problems. They told me to leave as it was after 7. I was very polite and left after I ate my food. I provided proper legal identification and was denied this is awful service and the manager on shift needs to be fired.

Always been a fan of the Alex, lots of pubs of this style can make you feel old and unwelcome but the Alex stands out as an amazing experience and does it's best to mingle all ages together, a real gem

Great bottomless brunch served by Demi, really attentive and lovely server. Would definitely come back!

Used to be one of my favourite in town, good alternative pub with relaxed feel. Unfortunately recently the prices have risen (£6.40 for a cruzacampo/moretti) and cheap Tuesdays have changed to be student only which I feel alienates most their clientele, I only say this as I worry it'll move alot of people from the venue to find somewhere more affordable for a evening and we'll lose a Southend staple

Had an amazing time for my partners 50th Birthday. We had the bottomless brunch which was really worth it. The burgers we had were amazing and the service was superb. Our server was 'Couch', he was the friendliest and most attentive barman. Thank you so much for a lovely day, we will definitely be returning.

Had an amazing day yesterday ❤️ we had the bottomless brunch for my partner 50th birthday. The burgers were so good and our server Couch was so friendly, attentive and great fun. He is truly an asset. Thank you for a wonderful day xx

Recently came for lunch, had the vegan option. Was treated like an idiot even though the staff didn't get the concept of eating plant based and only being able to have vegan options. I was talked down to by the barman and who i assume is the mamager. And the cherry on top was that my burger came with the bun upside down. Poor show.

Gone from dog friendly to sometimes dog friendly, if the new manager decides. How are you supposed to plan an evening out when you don’t know if you’ll be allowed or not. Kinda shitty. Should have been an email announcement if changing policy

Unfortunately, Stonegate are on a mission to ruin what was the best pub in Southend. Event pricing on an already expensive pub during the weekend, punishing people who have no interest in sports, and taking away what was a staple of Southend for many years, the cheap night on a Tuesday, which just a few years prior was always a packed house, but constantly changing the deals and making silly decision after silly decision, causing a rapid decline in popularity followed by killing it off all together might just be the nail in the coffin the place deserves

Upper management should be ashamed. This is / was one of the best pubs in Southend. The staff are lovely and as a whole the vibe is good, but upper management seems intent on destroying this place. The cheap Tuesday’s are apparently going. They’ve been slowly killing Tuesday night at the Alex for a while with change in deals / closing at 11pm (it used to be 1am), and now the final middle finger to the locals who keep this place alive, deals will now only be available to students with a student card on Tuesdays. For shame Stonegate management… you’ve killed what was an awesome pub… for shame.

I don't know what Stonegate are thinking. I will happily praise the staff who work there and I've always had a great time. I've been a regular for over 10 years and Tuesday was my regular night due to the great deals they have on. Even though over the years those deals have changed and not for the better. I've come to find out though that the Tuesday cheap deals will now only be available on the student card. Good job stonegate, you've just lost regulars and a good chunk of money due to this decision. As I said the staff are great, the company The Alex are under are terrible and just want to ruin a great establishment.

We held our Christmas Party here from start to finish was a shambles. We have had several functions here before in the garden. Either Stone group has gone down hill or management for The Alex is not attentive to promoting a positive experience. Communication was slow via email and wasn't accommodating to help with the venue hire for the function room. Our group payed for the Christmas buffet and what a disappointment a total of £1350 for a poor amount of food. This was frustrating to hear everyone in our party complain about the taste and quality of food. There was not enough served and then food was left over because the quality was bad. Apologies to the kitchen team as I'm sure they worked hard to serve but obviously they are supplied with cheap crap. I will say two staff members were amazing the girl behind the bar struggling to serve our party of 70 was lovely and hardworking and the guy who helped set up our room. However the door staff seemed to racially profile our Filipino and Nigerian staff we witnessed the challenge 25 by door staff which we appreciate is needed but visibly saw two young Caucasian girls not get ID?? and the young female manager could improve her customer service extremely hostile and unaccommodating, I get that she may of been busy but we deal with vulnerable unwell people and would never speak rudely to them as she did to us. This ruined our experience forever and we will never put our money to The Alex again.

A couple of friends and I visited Saturday for the bottomless brunch. The food was lovely. Cooked perfectly and severed hot. What makes this experience even better was our waitress Callie. She was fantastic so attentive without being intrusive. She was friendly and cheerful and made sure we had everything we needed. Will 100% return in the future.

We had booked for bottomless brunch and really enjoyed it, got served by Couch?(I'm sorry if I've misspelled your name) really lovely and patient with us haha. Great service and enjoyed the food options, thank you! Will definitely be back again ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I used to work the door at this pub and found the people to be friendly and DJ very good !

Was goid went for a bottomless brunch .. I can't remember much, so it must be a good sign.

Always a great experience here. The staff are friendly, the drinks are reasonably priced, and the vibe is relaxed. My favourite local venue.

Booked a brunch; lovely host, very friendly. The staff member couch was very easy to talk to, and accommodating, if I could score 11/10 I would!

Still a great choice for meeting, dining and drinking with friends, and pool tables upstairs in case you want a game. Always seems to be some great people to chat and bump in to.

I didn't eat, just had a drink. Whilst most other bars in Southend seemed empty, The Alex was busy, warm, inviting, friendly, karaoke and student vibe.

Great night watching comedy show 👌

Not my sort of pub, gambling tables and very tatty!

Decent pub for football but quite pricey for beer compared to others. Not far off London prices.

The experience has now gone because all of a sudden it's not a bottomless brunch after 2 drinks been told its a 8 drink limit even though it's not in your t&c sorry will not be returning felt uncomfortable

I really like this pub. And the food is really good.

Great pub. The staff is welcoming and I enjoyed the food.

Bottomless brunch today was amazing such great food from Daryl and service by Chris and Henry plenty of drinks for us and well looked after too! Will be coming here again for another one soon!

Nice large student pub, with real ales. Plenty of large televisions for sport.

Good staff nice selection of beers and plenty of deals to be had.

We had a bottomless brunch here and Bex and Couch were very attentive and considerate to our dietary needs (I needed some sugar free options and they offered lots of alternatives!) plus they went to the effort of making personalised drinks to our needs! We will be back thank you!

Couch & the lady server (who I didn't get the name of) were absolutely brilliant - we came for brunch and they were super quick with all the drinks, the minute a drink was empty, they were taking order for another! Which is normally the case for brunch! Cam also did amazing getting all the food out together!

Absolutely fantastic time, celebrated my birthday with a bottomless brunch with 21 people. Couch and the serving staff were fast and prompt with the drinks, and Cameron, Darrell and James making the wonderful food which all came out together. Couldn't ask for more, cheers guys

Came for a quick drink, first visit, located a short walk off the main street between the train station and the pier. Service was very friendly and helpful. Drinks were nice and reasonably priced. The venue itself is brilliant, great size, outside is large with covered seating and open seating as well. I can imagine it gets very busy in the evenings but we went just after opening time on a Tuesday so it was very quiet. Well worth a visit.

A shame to change my review but the bar really wasn't busy yet took a long time to get served and the staff were completely unaware of who was next. They seemed stressed and understaffed without someone available to change barrels. Not their fault at all, feels as though management has gone downhill a little.

Great pub for watching Sport. Good music, decent food and cracking atmosphere.

Really nice bar with fantastic viewing options for sports on various TVs Staff are very helpful and good options for drinks. My only negative is that the mens toilets are not in good condition. A deep clean is required. The taps don't function properly as you need to keep your hand on the tap to keep the water running.

All over this establishment, there are advertisements to download the app and receive a free rum drink. We had downloaded the app, spun the game, and won a drink which we showed to our server, and they refused to offer it, even after said server had apparently messaged the manager about honoring the deal. For our first time experience, you can imagine we were not impressed, and the cocktail and food we ordered was mediocre at best.

Great venue amazing location easy to get to atmosphere was amazing we went for one of the England matches it was electric team Alex you are awesome

I love the food at the Alex, especially if Couch is cooking!!! Just had a bottomless brunch, and was not disappointed, as always!!! Ash was super responsive to anything we needed and so so polite and professional! Thank you again for a lovely time!!!

Great venue for all sports and even better in the late night

Very polite and friendly staff, good priced lunch deals

Got drinks order wrong, then didn’t deliver an app ordered drink, food was not as described on menu… also £5 for ‘bday suit cookie dough’ aka. A small burnt cookie with smarties (yes, those are standard size smarties pictured) and a slug of ice cream

had a lovely bottomless brunch at Southend. our glasses were never empty ! food, drinks and service were impeccable!! couch was the best server we could have asked for and made a birthday very special today !

Couch was so amazing !!! He was so attentive and our drink never were empty at our bottomless ! Thank you so much to the amazing team at the alex for making my sisters birthday so good !

We had couch serve us for our bottomless brunch and cannot daily the service or cocktails

Great experience as always especially the service by Couch have been to the alex several times now, the bottomless brunch is well attended and drinks was continuously flowing. Very impressed as per always. Highly recommend and will continue to come back.

A pint here is an ethereal experience. Would reccomend. Wings also very good.

The service was fantastic. Been going here for fourteen years, and the service has always been top notch. The duty manager, Couch, was excellent. Always recommended to the Southend area.

Female bouncer with dark hair & glasses likes to throw her weight about, ruining peoples night. Won’t be going back & will tell my mates not to either.

Had a good evening with friends. Pool table and outdoor area.

Very nice people, and dog friendly

Becky was amazing! Cameron the food was beautiful! drinks following constantly and never had to ask. Even came outside while we were smoking to make sure we had a drink waiting. Will always come back! Great for the price, with a selection of drinks and foods for everyone.

I have been going here for years and I enjoy it so much. However planned a night out to be turned away at the door by a young (female) with glasses security staff member who told me "I can't let you in because you drank in a car which is illegal". I was a passenger sipping some pre drinks before being dropped off for a planned fun night of karaoke at the Alex. I then saw her on her phone, then smoking a cigarette at the venue doors. I was in tears after this, I don't understand how security staff are authorised to look at me in a car as a passenger without any understanding of what I was drinking. She just assumed and there is no law stating a passenger cannot consume small amounts of alcohol as a passenger. I am so concerned at the lie about the law because if they are making them up, what else can they decide if they are altering the law?! I am really upset and cried so much because I was made to feel like a criminal for having two sips of drink (with a lot of mixer!!!) before a night out in a private vehicle. What about rented limousines where champagne is drank from the back seats?! I don't understand how laws can be made up and unfairly enforced. The security staff kept staring at me while I cried in the car and made me feel so intimidated; I am worried to go back. I have had people fall on me from being too drunk, spike drinks, smash glasses in front of me at the Alex and that seems to be allowed as they were not told to leave. But I was watched from a distance outside and targeted for something done in a parked car as a passenger. It is deeply concerning that people are targeted for made up laws by staff in a position of power here.

I’m disgusted with staff behaviour. Rude arrogant member trying to throw his weight around. Told me pub was closed despite people still drinking on another table. No fair warning of time to drink up. Served a drink at 10.45 pm at the bar. Shouting we are closed straight after But no bell for 20mins drinking up time. When questioned about my obligatory time to finish my recently purchased beverage I was told they are closed and a female member of staff snatched the drink out my hand! Won’t be coming back as I was told I am barred ! Little did the staff know I was engaging in a write up for the good pub guide 2024

Disgusting customer service, extremely rude staff. I would avoid!

Bottomless brunch is great the staff are amazing great cocktails service and food! Big thank you to couch amazing service and really funny!

Had a brunch and was served by the ever lovely Couch. Thank you for your outstanding service, you're the reason we will be back 💕

The pub was clean and well decorated. We went for a bottomless brunch and had an amazing time with great value for money. Becky was very attentive bringing our drinks and was a very good laugh. The food cooked by James was lovely. We both had the breakfast which was served hit and fresh. Would definitely return. Well done guys.

Bottomless brunch Excellent food, brilliant service, Ruby was amazing never had to wait for drinks, will definitely coming back well done guys

Good service but owners fell over in front of me and didn't bid me farewell

Visited at lunch time with our children during half term, food great as always and staff very friendly and welcoming.

Staff does a fantastic jobs, especially when you need help or in a situation. Friendly environment great service. Very popular.

Great in the evenings. 2 for 1 cocktails on Friday. Karaoke. And an outside area with a pool table (which is cash only!!)

Omg, what good value! Loved the pints of Bacardi. Chef Couch’s karate burger burned my arse hole! Service a bit slow sometimes but added some time on…

Booked to watch football upstairs, really smooth process. Only niggle was that upstairs bar wasn't open so had to go downstairs each round

The big boned woman with the black hair and eyeliner is the worst security guard I have ever witnessed. No duty of care whatsoever. And there is no atmosphere since they have hiked the prices up.

The doorstaff obviously had a bad day yesterday, So they decided to take it out on the punters. 10 years I’ve been coming to that bar and for some reason I didn’t get in last night. Despite the fact there was no one there in the pub, female door staff were rude and condescending.. unempathetic. Urgently need replacing… Also £9.50 for a double rum and coke is a bit steep… especially for a pub..

Ight place need more pool tables

Thank god for ELL behind the bar! What a superstar, looked after us all day, a real credit to The Alex!

Ell made our experience. First time at the Alex, won’t be the last! Thanks so much Ell for being such a great bar person

5/5 experience all round. We went for a bottomless brunch and it was honestly one of the best we've had. Everything was exceptional, the service, the food, the drinks. Our hostest for the afternoon was Sophie. She went above and beyond expectations and was a top factor in us rating so highly. The presentation of the table and accessories set out was a personal touch we wasn't expecting. Would definitely recommend a bottomless brunch here. We will be coming back here.

First time for bottomless brunch at the Alex it was amazing!! We've been to the golden fleece in Chelmsford before which is the same company but this one was much better!! Our hostest was Sophie and she was very attentive, there wasn't a point where we had an empty glass before she was back asking what our next drink was. Food was delicious, very, very good selection of drinks for a bottomless brunch, very wide selection. Multicoloured lei's, funky sunglasses, gloves and promotional codes on the table for the whole party to enjoy. We will definitely be back. Thank you Sophie for making our first experience a good one!!

We had a bottomless brunch today and Sophie was our waitress and she was lovely and friendly. Definitely recommend this place us girls had a lovely time

Super amazing bottomless brunch at the Alex with Couches serving us! Thank you so much!

Wonderful day at the Alex! We were served by Becky and Simon and chef was Daryl! We had the bottomless brunch, Becky was our server and she was so polite and attentive, Simon made our cocktails and they were beautiful and our breakfast by Daryl was gorgeous! Thank you guys so much! We have now made this our monthly catch-up spot! Can’t wait for next time !

This venue has a lively vibe with friendly helpful staff. Quick service with a smile.

Pub was busy. Was showing the rugby. There was police presence in the garden, I presume to make sure the atmosphere stayed calm. Service was OK-didn't take too long to be served. Even though the pub was very busy

THEY ARE FAKING THEIR OWN REVIEWS!!! Totally rubbish place . 0 star. Food no good. They using overdue dated products and to hide this they overcooking all meals. You can poison your stomach easily. Venue very dirty, smells like urine so they keeping dimmed lights so customers can't see that. Avoid people any cause!!!

Food was really nice and we got a lot of drinks in our bottomless. Couch was always coming over asking if he can help!

Came for St Patrick's Day bottomless brunch today and was such an excellent time. Served by Couch the whole time and he made such an effort to serve us quickly and keep us entertained.

Great pub serving great beer. Shows ppv sport.

Bottomless brunch excellent, couch was amazing

2 diners , each ordered a chicken dish and I swear they split 1 breast between 2 dishes and made then both as tough as boots. Skin on fries were not, just frozen fries. Dressed salad was not dressed. Onion "rings" were just 1 onion ring. And the drinks bill was£10.05 for a pint and a small non alcoholic beer. Just really disappointed.

Let me be honest it's not what it once was. It used to be booming with a better menu and clientele. However that may just be me getting old. The menu still needs some work and it a bit on the pricey side for what it is with exception to the breakfast/brunch menu. Service is hit or miss but never rude. I can see they are trying to do new stuff such as comedy nights which are very good and the student Tuesdays are still a staple! Overall it's still a safe environment for anyone who wants a night out and the riff raff is avoided!

very unwelcoming and unpleasant blonde woman behind the bar. this used to be a very upbeat, friendly place, that me and my group of friends would regularly go to. however i will not be coming here again. EDIT: i actually did wind up coming here again. and i had a much better experience, surprisingly enough. in regard to the response (not sure whether it is still visible), but it seems like the original girl who served me was perhaps having a bad day, as i had no issues with my ID this time around. I was served by Ruby, primarily, on the upstairs bar and she was an absolutely phenomenal bartender the entire night. there are a lot of lovely staff here, so i have updated my prior rating from a 2/5 to a 4/5. would definitely have been 5*'s had i not have had the previous bad experience (:

Great comedy night lots of fun 😊

Very nice lunch and at a decent price. Staff very nice.

The door staff were disgustingly rude with a huge (despite being small) sense of entitlement, the venue very clearly did not want to have live music and couldn’t have cared about the situation and borderline insulted one of the bands, Do not recommend for a night out, and certainly don’t recommend any band use this venue.

Rude door and bar staff, wont be returning.

First time I've been in the Alex for probably 18 years Completely different to how I remember but I definitely recommend it.