The Three Shells in Southend-on-Sea

Totally discussed with this place.. thought was coming to nice cafe to have lunch with my family.. we been waiting almost 25 minutes for our food. I asked several times why our food was taking so long????? The manager creepy kept looking behind freezer but didn't want to respond. Instead sends his girl staff to apologise for delay in food. But perfectly serving customers outside efficiently????

awful service terrible food had to ask for my money back will defiantly not go back and would warn others to stay well clear.

Staff wasn’t welcoming, last night We ordered chips and we asked for some spicy sauce or any spice, lady said straight no on face even though they had extra pepper sachets!! This felt so bad. Poor service. Chips were good in quality.

Nice little spot for lunch. Good option to sit inside or outside! Good choice of food probably one of then only places that offers sandwich’s/ panini’s aswell as hot food which was great as don’t always want burgers and chips etc! Food took awhile to come but seemed to be cooked fresh and was well worth the wait! Good price after the annual pass discount Will definitely be back!

We stopped for ice cream and donuts, ice cream had a weird taste, was absolutely massive which led to it toppling off the cones! Donut was stale. Service was poor, the man serving welcomed another customer ahead of us even though we were next in line. Real slow and drippy service. Frustrating! Go further down to the coffee hut, much better service and food!

Waste of money. Ice cream stacked so high it toppled over. My son's ice cream that stayed in tact had a bit of a weird taste to it and my wife's hot donut was stale and ended up throwing it all away. Don't waste your money plenty of better places to get an ice cream and donut at the sea front.

Chose here as husband used to go as a child and wanted to take our kids. Food was awful. One child’s sandwich came out on stale bread. Jacket potato was inedible (not sure how you can cook this incorrectly!). Fish was tasteless and the chips were terrible. To top it off something had clearly happened to the sauces because we opened a vinegar packed and it came out slimy. Just before leaving witnessed the man serving customers pick his nose. The only good thing was the view.

Quite a pleasurable place to visit for relaxation and good conversations. You have a full glare view of the sea and social activities. A replica of London eye is at this location to give you a feel of what it feels like at Westminster. An adventurous sky fun awaits you here. On a holiday you may have to fun of motorbikes all around.

Limited choice of evening meals ... more choice at the outside part of the 3 shells ...bizarre...

Too crowded, long wait and too many screaming kids.

Disgusting fish and chips! Smell of corn not fish! Full with bones!!

Was empty at Lunchtime on a Saturday, staff seemed very unenthusiastic to help. Food was over priced and took over half an hour to serve. Took the family for a meal and was very disappointed. Even had to pay extra for an extra drink rather than being allowed upgrade the kids drink. Food tasted bland and chips were quite cold.

Really nice ice-cream and donuts. Only critique is that it’s so expensive!!

Unfortunately, we were left unimpressed with our lunch experience. For some reason, you can't get any fish & chips, hot dogs etc... if you eat in, even though they sell them to take away. One of the meals didn't arrive and when we asked, they continually told us the meal had "gone out" and kept showing us a different order ticket. It took some time to get them to understand that they were looking at the wrong order and had actually missed a persons meal on OUR order. The food was OK but the "fish finger & tartare sauce paninis" had virtually no tartare sauce in them, (I felt it had been mis-sold). The jacket potato was served in a bowl, we had to ask for a plate to transfer it to as it was impossible to eat from a high sided bowl that the potato filled. The drinks were very expensive too - a glass of fanta was £3:30 and a VERY small glass of slush was £3. With so many alternatives on their doorstep for people to visit for food this place really needs to up its game - we all came out feeling disappointed and not planning to return.

Went to the fish and chips side. The workers are like them zombies from shawn of the dead, walking around aimlessly. Somehow it took them 20 minutes to place chips and a cod fish in a box which is Very suprisinh for a fast food place. By far the most tasteless food I have ever tasted even the sauces (wasn’t free) could not help. I felt like I was having newspaper with mayo. The fish tasted like a solid form of vegetable oil. Places like this shoudl be shut down, it’s a shame for people to pay extortion amounts for the worst tasting food, there’s literally no positives for the consumer. Eveythjnh about this place was appalling. If the owners had any pride they would improve customer service, employ more intelligent workers, and learn a thing or two about taste. DO BETTER!!

Great place to go for a walk at the beach. Friendly atmosphere and the staffs are also really friendly. Food is pretty good and for their prices it’s 100% worth it. I would highly recommend this place.

Took ages for order which was just burger and chips, The burger only had onions and not salad like the photo showed, and universally supplied with other chains. When I asked for refund for the burger with no salad they said they couldn't. Worst service I ever had. The chips were OK

l wanted 3 ice cream cones with flakes, and that's what I got....no nonsense, efficiently served, cones handled with paper napkin, flake popped in with tongs. Server washed her hands beforehand too. Good ice cream too.

Went there with my brother his sons and my sons, when we went to sit down and order our food, we were told that we had to order the hot food downstairs in the takeaway section which was very odd, but I m not sure why they have changed that. When we ordered our food, the service seemed a bit slow, the staff looked a bit like zombies, and the food were very pricey indeed. When we finally got our food we were told sauces cost 35 p which was a rip off as the food itself was pricey as it is. As we digged into our food the fish I had was very bland and soft, and not crispy like fish would be, the chips were also tasteless, my children’s fish fingers tasted a bit burnt as well. The fizzy drinks were also bland and no ice was offered with the drinks. The whole overall experience was just awful and I have been going into three shell since I was a kid with my parents and it has always been good, but now I feel like the standards r slipping, they didn’t have hardly any one sitting down because the hot food can no longer be ordered in seating area. With so many places to pick from now, I don’t think I be going back to three shell anytime soon.

Staff refused to give me ketchup in my burger, food shockingly bad, service even worse. Seems to be common trait of all adventure island food placed. Avoid.

Thank you Georgia and Harris, lovely friendly staff and excellent service! Lovely experience! Highly recommend this place.

Fresh sugary donuts a warm delicious treat would recommend!

Lovely food, friendly staff and very clean especially the toilet. Didn't have any of the sundaes but they looked immense and other people were certainly enjoying them.

Worst customer service ever. The server left my son in tears. After queuing for 10 minutes we was rudely told that they was closed and that they wouldn’t serve us, if this was the case then we should of been told this when we joined the queue. The sever then rudely said that we hadn’t been there for 10 minutes and that we had pushed in which is a complete lie and rather insulting and she then went on to say in such a rude manor I’m not serving you. I hope there is cameras so the manager can look back and can see that we had been waiting, we was at the end of the queue and she served everyone else but us, it was completely humiliating. We end up walking away with nothing and my 7 year old son was crying his eyes out. I hope this gets investigated as the girl who served us should not be in a job where she serves customers as she was so awful, rude and treated us disgustingly. Description of the girl: young, ginger hair and wore glasses.

Queued for around 15 minutes to get coffee and doughnuts to watch the girl throw 14 doughnuts in the bin after no one claimed them as she messed the order up then told her colleague don't take doughnut orders as there's no batter etc for around 20 minutes!!! Disgusting attitude on her been going here for years won't be back now!!

Stopped here on our way to see the Southend beach front fireworks - my husband and I had a nice bite and the staff were friendly.

Poor attitude of staff. Tap in toilet only letting out boiling water and staff not bothered by it.

Poor customer service, it looks like staff dont know how to make coffees. I ordered iced vanilla coffee, and what i have got was the black coffee full of ice. I returned the drink, no alternative was offered, no apology, no money back. I sat on the terrace with the friend so she can finish her drink, then surprisingly they brought me an iced coffee with no words. Poor attitudes of staff. This was my first time and last time at this place.

Shocking customer service. Server walking round like a zombie no care attitude brought my food and 10mins later my daughters food out after asking on 2 occasions dont think there is a brain cell between al of them

Service here is sooooo bad waited for a table for ages no one bothered asking if we need anything or recognised we were waiting for a table so left. Prices are very expensive compared to the local food

Limited menu targeting day trippers dropping in for quick sustenance, rather than cafe clientele hoping to enjoy a lunch out with family.

Not enough staff!! 35 minutes to get an ice cream The owners need to get more staff or sell the place to someone more competent

Poor customer service (girl with spectacles yesterday at 7pm didn't want to be there and you could tell) and chips were dry and tasteless, I'm sure they were frozen chips which is shameful as you don't expect that from a fish and chip place. Would not visit again. This iconic Southend landmark deserves better as do the people that spend their money here.

Stood waiting for my coffee, saw them practicing making ice creams by pouring onto the bottom of a cup, then when done, chucking it back into the machine. Disgusting, especially given little kids are getting ice creams from there.

We returned here after a nice meal last visit & were disappointed to find the restaurant closed so we tried a takeaway & were very disappointed. The service was terrible, we had a long wait to be served, rather than take several orders at once they seemed to take one persons order, serve them, then deal with the next person. It wasn’t a busy day but 1/2 hour for 3 portions of chips is poor even if they are cooked to order. We certainly won’t be returning here!

I have never tasted chips so bad, Purchased 2 small portions of chips and 1 coke, most of the chips were undercooked, no taste even though plenty of salt & vinegar was applied. The coke was not great either, more than half saw the bin, £9 wasted.

Friendly staff and delicious fresh hot doughnuts on a cold day 😋

No words describe how terrible this place is

The donut delight is an experience!

The Three Shells is no doubt an icon of Southend and with good reason too. Been frequenting this establishment for many many years. The best hot & fresh sugar doughnuts we’ve ever had. Simple.

First came here 40 years ago... hope to keep coming for another 40 ;-)

Used to be very good, but now not so good. Very limited menu. Very disappointed.

Great location but terrible instant coffee! Honestly make an effort!!!!

Service wasn't great, and sandwich bread was abit tough😐. Ice cream sundaes just left on the counter, melting

Staff friendly, meals quick to arrive, all in disposable boxs plus drinks.children liked their meals plus hubby, mine batter abit to thick on the fish other wise very good.

Great staff and for young people really awesome can't wait to return

Undrinkable coffee, the place has gone downhill badly

This place!!! The staff members serving us (young girl and boy), were really polite and professional! And the young man preparing the ice cream took extra care when it came to hygiene. Never touched anything with his bare hands, used napkins and tongs all the way and presented the cone to us with friendly smile. Really refreshing seeing someone who actually have some care and decency.

Good place to grab some fish n chips. Service was friendly and didn't take too long despite being busy. The prices were fair enough for me - I'm used to paying criminal prices here in central London, so just under £10 for fish and chips at the beach was reasonable. I was a bit surprised however that you have to pay 30p for sauce! Usually, you should get at least one or two free, but not here. Overall though, a good experience.

Expensive and nowhere near fresh made

Burger was nice but looked nothing like the image LOL, its was missing salad, & baby size chips. so i paid £8:00 for burger chips and a drink, over was tasty but need to think about their portion size, compared to other serving.

Waited half an hour for a portion of fish and chips.

Avoid. Orders were totally wrong. Got single burgers instead of what we asked for. Plus left cheese out. Cold bun. Tiny salad in it. Awful.

Friendly, safe and efficient service

Nice open air veranda, quite during week and on the seafront ,chips and pot of tea just right for two people.

Friendly service and food freshly cooked to order

Right on the front sit out side view over estery. Clean toilets

Brilliant service, coffee and food!

So what does £6.50 get you. Well a thin sliver of fish only just bigger than an iPhone 5s. Batter was slimey and the fish was tasteless then they had the audacity to charge for sauces. Hygiene is poor aswel, as I managed to find a brown/red eyelash(might be ginger) along side my fish. I have pitch black hair. Wasn't too busy and waiting time was still 20 minuets from point of ordering There are many other restaurants on the strip that offer better quality food for the same price plus they don't squeeze you for the sauces, you're a busy establishment.

Ordered fish and chips, fish was black inside and chips portion paltry given you're paying £9 for it! Super slow.

My go to for hot, fresh, delicious fried donuts! £1 each or 7 for a fiver

The most expensive place on Southend Sea front, there donuts are twice the price they were and half the size, will never go back... 😠😠😠

Called into three shells for lunch after a bracing seafront walk. Food and coffee good. Lovely chat with young lad called Sam who made us feel very welcome.

Dog frendly patio good place for coffee !!

Good food, nice view of the sea

Nice place for fish and chips, tea & scones or just to sit with a cup of tea with great views of the famous pier & Thames Estuary. Polite friendly staff & clean, you can’t ask for much more.

Its clean good food and great staff

I visit here regularly with my granddaughter and my friend with her grandson. I am always happy with my bacon roll and last time I had the bacon and sausage roll and it was very tasty. However, the fish fingers that my granddaughter has are cheap quality. She loves fish fingers usually, but these are bright orange and are obviously a cheap make. It is a shame, because the rest of the food seems ok. They are the same fish fingers as at Sealife Centre, which is also where we regularly visit. Please could you change to a better quality fish finger. It is very reasonably priced with the annual pass and the surroundings are pleasant and the staff are usually friendly and helpful.

The original and still the best

Ham egg and cjips excellent. Well cooked fat chips, no fries. Lots of good ham and lovely runny eggs. Clean, fast friendly service.

Went here to grab a coffee. It is such a cute little place. Staff were friendly and helpful. Food and drinks were good. Would 100% recommend having a tea and scone. View was lovely. Will return on our next trip.

Its a basic cafe but does the trick - had the chip butty and left happy! The donuts from the kiosk outside were delicious - but all fresh donuts bought down the seafront tend to be amazing!

Few veggie options. Veggie nuggets pretty poor and no salad.

Great fish and chips,.good service

This place has its issues. Unfortunately our visit included the poor smell of over used toilets. However, it was clean and tidy and the staff that served us were very friendly. We ordered tea, which comes in proper cups with saucers and a proper tea pot! The view is much better during high tide and it overlooks a small manmade children's lagoon/play area. Prices are as expected. Food is ok! Good access for everyone. We like it here.

The food is good and the service was very good and staff helpful and friendly.

Food not nice and not worth the money

Kids enjoyed a lot and much more fun with sea life creatures

I used to go here when I was a child it was always a great place to stop. Been back a few times over the years and slowly the quality of food has got worse and worse. Was in there last week and ordered the full English and the sausages were perhaps the worst, cheapest quality I've ever had. The tea and coffee was also very below standard. Staff are always friendly and the setting is lovely but the food quality needs to improve!

Nice place to stop with either a quick refreshment or hearty lunch. Restaurant is clean and staff are always friendly and chatty.

Very clean and enjoyable rock pool very safe and kids loved it

Dog friendly, lovely fish n chips and and cream tea. Very well priced x

Scenic spot, nice layout people pleasant product average

We enjoyed a stop at this seafront cafe. For me, the outstanding feature of this cafe were the polite and friendly staff. I encountered three different staff members and each one was helpful and attentive. I can reassure vegan customers that the issue of dairy free milk has now been addressed and we were able to help ourselves to free condiments also!! I had anticipated a problem with regard to disabled access but was pleasantly surprised to find a decent ramp for disabled access to the rear of the restaurant, which also boasts a same level disabled toilet ( key was offered and brought swiftly by staff member before we had had a chance to ask). The food isn't haute cuisine, but perfectly satisfactory for this kind of establishment and although the prices were a little steep, this little eatery commands a prime location along the seafront and there will always be a premium for this. We would eat here again.

Friendly place with great doughnuts

The service was so slow, our orders weren't complete because the cashier was so so forgetful.

Grate Southend beach restaurant.

Tables were really dirty the whole place just felt unsanitary. The staff were really nice though and the place had air conditioning so it didn’t get too hot. Just would recommend cleaning your tables more.

Faces beach n sea people in swimwear but staff told me to put on my t shirt as kids about at rear area no smoking yet open air not a place I would recommend to relax

Nice to sit on front enjoying a Sundae & watching people enjoying themselves

Great for families and kids as they have a Lagoon just outside. There's seating on outside on decking, plenty of indoor seating too. Food is.. rather average - CHECK the prices though as the menu doesn't make financial sense (2 for the price of 4 on children's meals - possible miss print) :)

Family friendly and reasonably priced

Visited Southend-on-Sea with my family today and stumbled upon this lovely little place. Staff were so friendly, food was nice and my 19mo gave the ice cream a huge thumbs up! We'll see you again soon.

A lovely spot to enjoy a cup of tea or a meal. We sat on the new terrace for the first time. Helpful staff. Access ramp from the beach, but only steps up from the promenade. Disabled toilet with direct access from the café.

Well appointed eatery offering a good selection of food and drink. Lovely outside terrace with views out to the estuary. Friendly and swift service makes this a pleasant stop if you are out for a seaside stroll. Caters for all ages. Worth a visit if you want to stay close to Southend's many attractions .

I ordered 2 small chips. The price for that was £5.50 which is very expensive. I presumed the chips would be ready made and would get them immediately, instead they got a frozen bag of chips out of the freezer instead, which i do not expect from a fish and chip place. Once they were finally made i took them away and started to eat them. They were very stodgy and didn't taste very nice at all. The inside was horrible. I ate a few and chucked the rest away, nearly went back and asked for a refund. I will not be returning.

Seafront cafe serving hot food as well as cakes etc. Doughnuts made on site and sold from a front window as well if you're not eating in. Outside decking protected from (most of) the wind by laminated glass screen. Not cheap but not unreasonable prices for where they are.

Service was OK, food OK, little expensive, good location.

Very friendly service and sheltered seats outside. Cappuccino from a machine

Bought my stepson and neice to sea life centre as a treat then thought we would have something to eat whilst we were here. The meals did arrive quickly. But the chips were not cooked at all. Kids both had a burger meal me and my mother had chip butty. The chips were awful. When I complained to staff about it they said they would get a manager. No manager arrived when I turned around there was two managers sitting behind me a staff member picked up a chip from off the plate showed her manager and said because the meals had been eaten. But kids only ate the burgers and we ate just the bread that we were only entitled £2.40 back which was for one portion of chips. I then asked what oil the chips are cooked in and found out that it’s vegetable oil not rapeseed oil. Not impressed and £7 for a kids burger n chips. It’s better value at McDonalds. Never again. Disgusted is an understatement