Waterfront Cafe in Southend-on-Sea

Food was freshly cooked, tasty, with good portions and friendly service Having eaten frozen undercooked chips from neighbouring establishments it was nice to have the genuine article

Attending an evening show Wednesday 15/5/2024, Arrived Wednesday afternoon, around 3.30pm, came across the waterfront opposite the big wheel, greeted by friendly member of staff showed us to a table inside restaurant, decor lovely, comfy chairs to, my husband ordered haddock chips, I ordered small cod n chips, food excellent and very generous portions , great service from staff, I highly recommend a visit to the waterfront,

The staff are very friendly and helpful. The prices are good for a seaside town. The coffee is amazing and the food, from the cooked breakfast to cod and chips, are a treat. The fish is daily brought and very fresh. The chips are homemade, not frozen. It maybe only small but it is lovely. The cook and owner is lovely and even comes out to make sure everything is ok. They are lovely people. We recommend the cafe for anyone and the take window, is the same quality food you buy from the cafe

I took my elderly parents for a mother's day treat lunch yesterday and was surprised that there were no disabled toilets at the restaurant level. In order for my dad to use the toilets, we had to leave the restaurant via the entrance steps outside and walk down the side path to the rear car park (all outside and on a rainy day) to access the toilets. The food and service was ok, but lack of wheelchair access and disabled toilets is disappointing.

Lovely decor and great location opposite Adventure Island fun fair. The cafe was very busy when we went on a Saturday evening and the waitresses seemed to be under a lot of pressure. They even started turning people away (even if they were sat down at a table), I believe at the Chef’s request. The food was okay, although we had an item missing. I think if we visited at a less busy time we might have had a better experience.

Beautiful fresh fish and chips with salad a lovely cup of tea. Our club went there today,there was 16 of us the service was very good,and very helpful

One of the better and more comfortable places to have your fish and chips by the sea in Southend. Not crazy cheap but good quality food and excellent service, really friendly. Mushy peas especially were excellent!

Lovely people and brilliant food. Owner is a lovely man. Cushry dordy baby. Perfect all around, will be coming back soon.

Not local and popped in for a breakfast after an overnight stay nearby. What a lovely little place - clean, tidy, very warm, friendly & efficient staff, and a great breakfast and mug of tea! Would definitely go back on another visit to Southend. Thank you. X

Stopped for a bit to eat at this lovely little cafe . Great good really tasty. Freshly cooked to order . Service from a young waitress was top . Service with a smile and a friendly face. Thank you for your help with my mother in law . Would come again

Lovely restaurant. Friendly staff. . Nice food. Clean. Cute. Reasonably priced. Would go again. Would go again .near the front. Ideal location

Took the kids here yesterday for a spot of lunch. Very clean and cosy, lovely staff. Our daughters wanted bubblegum flavour milkshakes, they tasted like vanilla milkshake. Me and my fiance had lattes, £2.80 each for bog standard. Our son was sensible and ordered a can or 7up. Me and my fiance didn't order any food for ourselves because the prices were absolutely shocking. The kids chose a jacket potato, burger and chips and chips. The chips were rancid, i can't even describe the taste but they were disgusting. Our son didn't complain about his burger but he'll eat anything. The jacket potato didn't look appetising but Our daughter ate most of it. £39 later and 2 bad tummies i strongly advise people not to dine here. It's such a shame as it's a lovely place but the food we experienced yesterday was awful and £9.50 for a reheated jacket potato with tuna mayo is shocking.

We visited this nice restaurant on Tuesday 3rd November 2020 have been a few times and found the staff very helpful and polite even the owner is very friendly lovely food me and my friend had desert apple pie and custard sticky toffee pudding and custard it was delicious generous servings every time we visit south end on sea we always come to waterfront cafe and will continue to visit

Happened to stumble upon this restaurant straight across the road from the pier. The owner was extremely friendly and the food was lovely - we had fish and chips - the batter was dry and crispy and the portions were reasonable - I’d say the nicest fish and chips we’d had in a long time. Customer service was excellent from Albi the owner and the prices were fair too. All round a nice little find - I’d definitely go back

Visited today with my sister. Albert and staff very friendly and welcoming. Fish was so fresh and cooked just right. Even had heinz red sauce to offer. Steam pudding. Custard and icecream. Meal and desert were very large portions. Lovely place and lovely food. Thank you. Will come back again . Yvonne and Vicky 😎

Should have realised when all the other cafes were full and this was empty was tempted by the lure of air con don’t be fooled no better then a bad fan , husband went for full English at £6 omg never seen such a stingy serving one slice of overcooked bacon no bigger then a big thumb cheap nasty sausage full cereal , one tomato small pot cold beans and half yes half slice of bread with a scrap of marg not enough for a small child , mine was good old egg ham and chips , two slices of tangy tasting plastic ham with a portion of oil filled frozen chips , menu is totally misleading even the drinks were overpriced , all for the sum of £18 I informed the poor waitress about my issue and she tried to persuade me that it’s because the plates are big Odear🙈 my husband who doesn’t like a fuss completely agreed with me , don’t waste your money cheap nasty ingredients and the place had a edgy atmosphere about it too , give thisPlace a wide birth , I am a food critic have eaten countrywide but this needs a big overhaul

I went for a meal with my family on 3.8.2020 and ordered a piece of skate. It was full of bones and batter and I managed to eat just 2 small mouth fulls of fish and the meal was gone. For the privilege of eating this measly portion of fish, they wanted to charge me £9.00. The chef came out after I politely and quietly informed the waitress of my disappointment and came over to my table he then verbally shot me down in flames. Trying to educate me on the price of fish these days. I felt like a kid as by now, he was shouting and everyone else in the restaurant could hear him. He offered to cook me another free piece of fish which I accepted and then tried to charge me for 2 meals at the till. He then shouted at me again in front of a restaurant of people and insulted me. Horrible man. Think he needs to take a day off or something. So if you feel you need to challenge the standard of your food, unless you can defend yourself without feeling bruised and battered (Pardon the pun) MY ADVISE DON'T EAT IN THIS ESTABLISHMENT. !!!!!

Lovely lunch today with my partner I had the Scampi my partner had the Plaice, both was cooked lovely with good portions and the staff was very friendly. We will definitely be returning. Thank you!

This lovely little restaurant was a great find when my partner and I wanted a proper fish and chip dinner, The Waterfront Cafe didn't disappoint. The staff were really friendly, the food was delicious and the overall price was more than reasonable. The cod was flakey as it should be, the batter was crispy and not at all soggy and the chip's weren't at all greasy. If you're going to visit Southend on Sea then I'd definitely recommend this lovely place for food and drinks. You won't regret it.

Me and my friend stopped here for some Fish and Chips. The food was decent and fairly priced. We asked a waitress for a card machine and paid, as most normal people do. We left and were heading back to the car. Suddenly a man is stood behind us, we thought we were being harassed for money by a local. He said to us 'Have you forgotten something?'. I thought he was trying to say we left some loss property. Turns out he thought we hadnt paid and chased us down the street. Some advise would be to check with your waitors and waitresses first before trying to intimidate your customers on the street. Won't be coming back.

The owner was very friendly and helpful, cared about keeping things local. The food was freshly made, simple but lovely and well presented

Staff were friendly and welcoming indeed, but that is not a surprise considering yet another unsuspecting group of customers were about to have themselves turned upside down and part with their hard earned cash for what was really an overall unimpressive impoverished offer of food.The price of a meal here is nothing short of daylight robbery. You wouldnt mind if the quality of it was up to scratch, but it quite simply isn't. To have to pay nearly £4 for a portion of chips that frankly you could count on your hands beggars belief. Starters too by far mis-representated and frankly offensive.Why not complain at the time - simple answer is another family were mid discussion (quite rightly) about the sub standard food to price comparison and we simply wanted to leave - frankly embarrassed about being ripped off.When walking along this section of the esplanade you are accosted by an array of staff from each outlet who have got great imagination and genuinely believe they are operating in some hot tourist Greek island enticing you in. We decided to go to the only outlet that wasn't pouncing - and now it occurs the only reason they weren't was because they were busy turning out the pockets of the poor unsuspecting folk who had foolishly thought they'd get a fair meal at a fair price.

This could be a very good cafe. The staff are pleasant enough and it is in a good location. The menu is also quite good. But there are a few things that really let this place down. The food isn't cheap. Now, this would be fine if it was good quality food. But it really isn't. I had a cooked breakfast, which was nearly £7. All of the items were clearly the cheapest you can find. If you are going to charge these sorts of prices, maybe use a local butcher. Don't buy beans that are anaemic, eggs that are watery and sausages that a dog wouldn't eat. The other suggestion I would make is to clean the place up. Rather than spending money on tacky wooden signs, (take them down) get in some new tables. The fixed table cloths you have are damaged and look awful. Try cleaning the place up with a fresh coat of paint. If you are going to charge the prices you do, have a decent product and setting to back them up!!

We recently went to this pub, and ordered some food,which was three beef dinners and one chicken dinner,we sat down at the table ,the waitress bought the cuttelry to the table and we noticed it was dirty so we asked for some more which was not much better.all the meals then arrived within five minutes,all four were cold and very bland, nothing was fresh and it was not fit for a dog.we sent the meals back to be warmed up,it came back swimming in gravy.the manager came over and refunded half the cost ,I would not recommend that you have a Sunday lunch here.terrible

Personalised service, freshly cooked food, really good prices. I took 84 year old mother there who has dementia nothing to much trouble staff very caring will definitely go back.

After wondering around looking for a good restaurant to eat we found a small sea front restaurant that had Excellent service, good value for money, food was delicious

Really good food to suit all, fabulous friendly service. Would absolutely recommend for a fry up!!!!

Great food superb service. Very extensive menu don't miss the salad section the king prawns looked fantastic. Great haddock fresh today and you could tell. Would recommend searching this one out as others around it are not as good

Very nice place to eat staff are friendly and the fish and chips with mushy peas was superb I had curry sauce to dip the chips in it was amazing best curry sauce I have had for a while. The price was reasonable aswell as it was all cooked fresh. I definitely recommend this place for lunch they also have other things on the menu spoilt for choice.

Great friendly place with a wide variety of food and sizes. Cod was cook perfect and presentation was decent aswell. Service was great always smiling very helpful and polite our server was a young man called Billy and would definitely recommend this place for the food and for the friendly service. Thank you all and see you next time we're here..

Lovely cafe, delicious fish and chips just what we were looking for. Staff are great and right by Adventure Island

What can I say but excellent typical little cafe selling a bit of everything and fantastic Fish and Chips. We had XL fish and chips with tea and a coffee cracking. Excellent service nice and clean and presentable. Thanks will return....5 ***** from us...

Was a large table of us and went here because opposite Adventure Island

Lovely little cafe on the front. The food was good but what made it really stand out was the great service. Thanks!

Lovely tasty and well presented meal after a long day at southend, it was lovely and cool inside and very clean.

This was the last day in Southend and I wanted a traditional fish & chip meal. The Waterfront was good value. The meal was well cooked & tasty and there was an ample portion of chips.

We popped in for a light breakfast, my wife asked for toast and marmalade, to be told they had no marmalade but had Jam. It then seemed they were asking neighbouring cafes for jam , but we weren’t too sure if that is so, however when her toast came out the jam was already spread on the toast! Very strange !

When I ate here the chips and especially the nuggets are extremely nice and freshly delicious. I think it's just a very great cafe in seafront area after being in the area.

Random stop as we were early for our coach. Waitress was lovely, coffee, tea and hot chocolate nice. Had a variety of sandwiches which were in lovely fresh bloomer bread. We enjoyed it.

Good fish and chips can be found here! We had haddock and cod and both had a really good, non greasy batter on them. The chips were crunchy and well cooked too. We managed to get a table outside in the sunshine which was perfect!

So we was shown to a dirty table, requested it to be wiped eventually it was, we ordered 2 medium fish & chips mushy peas, child's beans & chips and burger & chips 2 teas 2 cokes,

There were 10 of us, from 11 to 62, and we all found something on the menu that we fancied. Very nice fish and chips, and the other food went down well. Really friendly staff. We will return next time we are in town.

Having visited with my partner last August and been thoroughly impressed with its' quaint atmosphere, I visited with a group of young people and can recommend this restaurant as the 'place to go' for quality fish and chips and excellent customer service.

Had breakfast and was very impressed with service, friendliness of staff and speed we were served with freshly cooked food which was excellent so much so we returned for afternoon tea. It is a small premises but has all facilities and great staff. There was nothing we could find fault with and its location is perfect when arriving by coach as it is 2mins from drop of point on seafront.

Came here on a day visit to Southend-On-Sea. Service was reasonable. Ordered large fish and chips but appeared to be just regular size. The chips were very dry and salt that was not salty and no vinegar taste at all that appeared to be watered down taste.

Dropped in here with my wife and grandchildren after visiting adventure island. Big mistake.i had milk in my tea that was on the turn, rock hard , dry chips, watered down vinegar and salt that wasn't salty probably because it was old..Tasteless food.But then we paid £25 for 3 meals and 4 drinks..so cheap. .but you get what you pay for I suppose. On the plus side waiting staff were good..definitely a miss.

Came here at the weekend with my partner and our two youngest children. We were spending the day at Adventure Island and this place was conveniently situated right opposite so we thought we'd give it a go.

Went there to eat lunch before going to adventure land we decided on eating on the premises the staff were great really friendly fish and chips were fresh clean and tasted good

I visited the waterfront cafe just opposite adventure island. Never in my life have I been so insulted with their disgusting customer service. I would never go here again and would advise other people to avoid.

We recently visited Southend-on-Sea to meet up with our Grand kids, we arrived early and were looking for somewhere to get a drink, we came across this cafe by chance. The food and drinks were lovely and served efficiently and promptly, the staff were very friendly and courteous, in fact we were so impressed we took the rest of our family back there for lunch. Would defiantly recommend going there if you are in the area.

There are plenty of places to eat on the front at Southend. So we tried the Waterfront Café. Staff greeted you at the door and took you to a table. The Waterfront Café does excellent Café food. I had Fish & Chips and my wife had Ham, Eggs and chips. The Staff are more than helpful. If you are in the area please go. You will not be sorry.