The Olive Tree in Southend-on-Sea

Good place to go for food before a,show

As someone who has had surgery & can't eat large meals, I was refused as over 10 years old. I said ok I won't eat, so I sat while everyone else ate. I asked was it not bad business practice to not at least take some money from me for a child's meal rather than have me taking up a seat with just a coffee. I was told it was because old people would only order small meals all the time if they let me do it. They don't even serve just chips on their own. Very dissapointing, bad attitude too. Coffee was nice!

Lovely fish and chips. Tables a bit on the small side and close together, but as this isn't a place you would spend hours in having a three course meal we were satisfied. Will visit again.

Food was lovely and hot, staff however were not professional at all. We were left waiting for 20 minutes to order our food and drink while they stood around. Once we finally ordered our meal we had to wait for a drink. Restaurant wasn’t very busy. I hadn’t even finished my meal when they came and took the empty plate my friend had and gave her the menu back. Felt like a burden being in there. Didn’t need to wait to pay, they were over in a flash and with a card machine. Restaurant wasn’t closing for another 1hr. Very bad practice.

Lovely fish and chips will be definitely going back there

Tight with their chips and absolutely miserable service. Geezer was asleep at a table on the shop floor. Madness!!!!. Never again, ill spend my money where ppl are happy to accept.!

Amazing prices and amazing fish and chips for three people and the dog aswel can't grumble.

Lovely!! Perfect pre show dinner

Got there for 6 o'clock for sit down the place was full the fishwas fantastic

Absolutely fantastic fish & chips. Been a few times now also had delivered. consistently delicious food, try the cod bites with chips 👌

Fish n chips mushy peas lovely.

Booked a table, after a friend recommended The Olive Tree. It's in a great location, just a stroll from Westcliff Station and even closer to Cliffs Pavilion. Reservation is definitely recommended as we arrived and managed to swerve the people that were waiting to be seated. Service was promp and the food great.

Food is generally very good but the portions are small. We had 2 starters , scampi and garlic mushrooms @ 5.95 each The food was Ok but the portion size very questionable - 6 mushrooms without any choice of dip and 5 pieces of scampi. So each single scampi was £1.19 , I got the general feeling of being ripped off

Okay food, a little expensive for what it is and where the table is placed.

First visit to this lovely establishment prior to an evening at the Cliff's Pavillion. Excellent menu, reasonably priced and served quickly. They even had my favourite pan fried skate - delicious. Looking forward to a return visit when next in Southend.

The best cod and chips ever, delicious, good value and perfect before a cliffs pavilion show next door.

Jus walked out the rude ignorant creepy big nosed manager, refused to serve just chip as my wife is a celiac in a chip shop you cant get chip because it ain't on the menu don't waste your time, in my 36 years of life I've never come across someone so rude.

Just had a meal inside. Gave me chicken and veg pie where I wanted steak and kidney pie. Don't cater for people with autism. Daughter wanted just chips but said if all she wants to have takeaway as not allowed. Had to buy a chicken burger with meal that she can't eat so can eat inside. They expected me to get the bill for 2 strangers on table then deduct what they owe after. Disgusting place.

This is my Go To restaurant every time we are in Southend Amazing Fish and Chips every time. Staff make you so welcome .

Good place to eat before going to the Cliffs

I ordered takeaway of fish and chips there. Fish was freshly fried and price was relatively reasonable in that zone.

Good quality food. Very convenient for the Cliffs Pavilion.

Sorry to say but won’t be using again, I’ve been using here for the last 10 yrs or so as the food has always been good, but the service I received today from the young person behind the counter was awful, a dispute over the new boxes to put chips into which are tiny and the fact they’ve stopped doing large chips has made me never to use here again a shame as I know the owners

We did not have a reservation but they were very accommodating and we had an enjoyable meal before our visit to the theatre

Tiny large chips portion, lovely staff serving as well 🙄. Better chip shops about.

Be careful, charge more than in the menu.

Great salmon and cod meals. I would recommend if your in westcliff. 5 out of 5. Food was served quickly and to a good standard.

One of the best chippies in Essex with everything being cooked fresh and I've seen local fishermen bring in their catches to sell to the shop. Really friendly service.

The quality of the food was of a high standard. The speed of the service was quick and efficient. Staff were friendly and made sure that the food was good. They put the air-conditioning on. The prices were very reasonable for fish and chips. A good choice of menu.

not too busy for a Saturday afternoon,quickly served ,good sized portions and nicely presented, overall a good experience and would recommend to anyone passing there way

Had a nice meal staff really friendly service good will go again soon

Great food excellent staff good prices worth a visit

Fabulous Fish and Chips, and lovely welcoming Staff. ❤️

Very good food, well cooked and well presented. Incredibly busy, well worth booking, with proximity to cliffs pavilion

Over crowded and noisy Basically a fish and chip restaurant next to Cliffs Can't go wrong with food.

Lovely food and friendly staff.

It's was all too busy at anytime to get an meal with others housemates and with a drink.

Enjoyable experience, excellent choice of food, we dined in. Highly recommended.

Had Saveloy & chips! Saveloy was barely warm and tasted of water

Great food, service and ambiance!

Very disappointed with the olive tree restaurant. We hadn't been there for quite a few years & couldn't believe how mu h it has increased the prices. They used to ha e different sizes of fish dishes, but now it's one standard price which is far too much. Would not go to this restaurant again.

This is my local chippy and I go pretty regularly. 9 times in 10 they are excellent, quick and efficient even when I turn up at odd times, the food is good and the staff are fine. However, once in a while they do have an off day.

A little manic, the tables are very close together however that’s what you get when somewhere is as popular as The olive tree is. The food was lovely, the staff were lovely and it’s a perfect little restaurant for a before the show meal. Would definitely go there again !

Superb fish n chips. The best I’ve had in the area.

A good meal at a reasonable price. I enjoyed the ribs and would recommend them.

Can't say what the food was like "looked nice" but was placed by a constantly opening door during -2 degrees, there was a constant arctic blast, when we asked to move we were told we had only booked a table for two, even though there were spare tables, disgraceful

Just great food and service. Highly recommended...

Ribs where lovely as was the lamb shank. Great food reasonably priced

After reading good reviews we decided to pop in before a show last night, we were disappointed not sure where these reviews are based on but pretty sure it can’t be here, calamari looked like Tesco frozen bag that had been fried about 10 times batter was thick and dark and had gone beyond crispy being on the seafront you expect fresh seafood really and this was clearly not fresh it everything tasted like it had been fried in old oil and had that dark look to it, cod was ok but there was no consistency in sizes coming out felt mine was particularly small compared to tables around us but there was no size option on the menu to account for this, chips were less than impressive but edible, gherkin and mushy peas were nice. Staff were really friendly and service was quick which was good as we planned to see a show after and didn’t have much time. Overall was disappointed left that greasy oil taste in your mouth afterwards. Wouldn’t visit again

Fish and chips at its best. Always good quality food and perfect for a pre-show meal if you're visiting Cliffs Pavilion theatre.

Fish was a skinny tail end. So basically I got a plate of chips and batter.

Lovely restaurant delicious food

Nice sized portions of fish, and whole meal was very tasty. Very busy, may need to book. Pleasant atmosphere.

Ist visit. Good food good choices. Pleasant staff

Battered sausage really cheap meat and super oily, cod bites literally scrap pieces from tip of tail, chips aren’t too bad but still really greasy. Don’t think I’ll be going back or suggesting to any friends.

This chip shop is fairly local to me and I'd heard they do some pretty good chips so I gave it a try, I couldn't believe it when they asked me for £5.10 for sausage and chips! At this price they better be good, both were not, chips were greasy and didn't taste good, and the sausage had an odd flavour and was greasy too, there's better fish and chips shops nearby that are way cheaper, I won't be going back.

Went I here for a meal before a show at the cliffs, we were asked if we had booked a table and we said no but we saw online it does not take bookings. Food was OK the chips seemed abit cold and mushy. Desert we had Apple slice with ice cream and strawberry cheesecake. We were told we could have our table for an hour and the staff seemed to want us out in a rush so not very relaxed eating and atmosphere. Very expensive for what it's worth

I usually only get cod and chips from this restaurant. They know how to impress. Fresh fish and good customer service. Well done 👍🏽

We always come here for a bite to eat before a show at the Cliffs Pavilion. Excellent chips and a great selection of dishes on the menu if fish and chips is not your thing.

Cod and chips twice. I got cod and my mum got cod with a bigger backbone than Captain America. Huss maybe? Disappointing.

Excellent fish and chips great service

Friendly staff, amazing fish & chips! Really very good. Definitely recommend and if we are back in the area we will revisit.

First time visitor but really enjoyed the food and the great service.

Popped in last night before going to Cliffs Pavilion. Told them we were a bit short of time, they took our order very quickly and brought the food rapidly. Cod and chips was FANTASTIC. I was offered extra chips once I’d cleared my plate - just in case I had a bit of room. Will go again without doubt

Real lovely fish n chips prices very reasonable good service too

We had fish and chips and most of my chips were warm with the odd one or two piping hot. The fish was very good. This is literally the sitting area to the fish and chip shop, had I known earlier I may not have entered.

Very friendly cheerful good value and a varied menu if your going for a meal before going to the theatre

I’ve been coming to this chip shop for years and have noticed the decline. Today I was served a pie that was inedible, completely dried out inside and pastry like rubber. It had clearly been in and out of the hot rack for days. If they don’t serve fresh pies I assume the fish is no different. Now I’ve got to find a new local.

Great fish and chips and lovely service

Always good service and great sized portions. The food is really tasty. Value for money, every time

The Olive tree is a basic, no nonsense restaurant, with a no frills menu of mainly fish and chips. The service, the food, the portion size, the prices are all good to very good. If all of that fits your bill, I would definitely recommend it.

Found this restaurant by way of a recommendation from a member of the public in the near by car park: Shorefield Road. Good value for money, although a large coke (pint) is £4. I was told that it’s charged as two x 1/2 pint? I opted for cod and chips with mushy peas; all-in £9.95. Good value. Tartar sauce is via multiple sachets but wanted homemade. I made a mess, sorry! Cod was piping hot and the mushy peas was good but on the small portion size. Chips were warm and slightly underdone. Service was ok and had to ask for the bill four times. Otherwise a good experience and away from the hustle and bustle of nearby seafront eateries. If I had more space I would have opted for the cherry pie and iced cream which looked delicious. Food envy!

Fish was lovely, nice and crispy batter. Tasty chips and friendly service, thank you!

A great place to eat but you are packed in tightly...and the waitress we had forgot to put our order in..

Came up from London for 3 days and found this place,I ordered cod and chip's absolutely delicious and the price unbeatable for a sea side resort. PS The staff superb.😃

Nice and friendly good food and not over priced

Advertising themselves as open until 8.30pm, but apparently been closing at 7.30pm "since Covid." The restaurant took my order - and my attempt at conversation was shut down even when I tried to tell the owner I was a first-time customer trying to support a local business. Don't bother coming here; fish was more plaice in batter than cod, and chips were more cardboard than the box they came in. Utter madness that a fish and chip shop thinks it's good business to close early on a FRIDAY NIGHT??! I don't like giving a bad review; I want to be supportive of local businesses in the current climate. Shops and chains are crashing left, right and centre. But EVERY single customer counts, so does every review. And this is one of them.

Best fish and chips in Southend. Friendly service, always accommodating, great place

The best fish and chips in Southend and Westcliff

Good food, good friendly service.

Stumbled upon this gem of a place... lovely cuppa and skate. Thank you!

Went there today. 1st July 2020. Take away due to the current situation. My son had a large cod n chips I had a normal size .great value. Excellently cooked .best fish n chips I have ever had in southend highly recommend. .you wont be disappointed. Will go again .

Lovely clean restaurant, pleasant staff and the fish was lightly battered with generous portion of chips and a choice of garden or mushy peas. Our first visit and definitely won't be our last!!

Very busy glad I booked wonderful service and food

Great fish and chips. Reasonably priced. Convenient for Cliffs Pavilion

Great food, quick service. Ideal if visiting Cliffs Pavillion.

Absolutely luxurious and unrivaled restaurant

Food was alright but not the best. It's just a takeaway on a plate. Fast service and friendly service.

Fantastic food excellent service would go again with out question

Excellent food and service. Great for a pre-show meal.

Great place and fish & chip's were superb

Fantastic fish n chips. Lovely staff.

Very rude female staff with no customer skills at all made us feel very unwelcome

Great value for money, lovely restaurant.

Best chips in Southend (I had a pie and well which was equally good). Good value as well.

Large portions, good food and reasonably priced

Reasonable food reasonable price and nice and clean

Had a meal here on Sunday the food was ok and the portions were reasonable. The service was good and the place is nicely decorated.

Nice food, good portions and good service friendly staff

Been here many times pre theatre trips. Great food, always freshly cooked to order, good customer service. Would definitely recommend a visit.