The best restaurants serving American food in Kursaal Southend-on-Sea East of England

Pong was a place that was a spontaneous thing one evening, now is a must do anytime me and my friends go out. The activities there are brilliant from a regular game of ping pong to an extremely entertaining game of beer pong, with some variations with other spirits. The atmosphere of the place is always lively and jubilant, never has there been a time of boredom. The staff are the most down to earth and spectacular hosts, with Nes, Greg, Mark and Tadi always ready to greet you with the kindest smiles, no matter the occasion. I can only wish that everyone, whether living in Southend or just visiting, have the opportunity to go to this amazing place as it truly is one of the best places for all to visit. If I were to have one last night out at any establishment, it would unequivocally have to be Pong. Thank you Pong for treating me and my friends as if we had know you all for years. We all thank you.

Popped in whilst passing and had possibly the best salt beef beigel of my life. Cute and quirky place with a lot of choice on the menu. Will definitely be back.

booked a table a week in advance and when we arrived they were shut. not pleased

We visited for my husband‘s birthday. We were a table of five and arrived at 7 pm. On arrival. We were the only diners in the restaurant. Three other tables were occupied by the time that we left 9 pm. This was a sat night. The menu has changed fewer choices or maybe fewer fine dining choices. The signature dish seemed to be the steak either steak on the stone or cooked so we opted for steak. The menu even contains a little joke. “Don’t ask the chef to cook well or medium well “ I opted for medium rare so when it arrived, I struggled to find the pink meat. I also ordered some garlic bread for our daughters, it arrived smothered in cheese but no mention that it would have cheese both daughters don’t eat cheese . The waiting staff require additional training. A female server. Didn’t even apologise when I complained about my steak instead told me it would be a further 15 minutes for a new piece , that wouldn’t work as everyone else had been served. They would’ve been nearly finished when mine arrived. Her solution was to scrap the order all together, but I came to a restaurant to eat. That wasn’t a good solution, the senior server, or maybe the manager later came over and offered to compensate for the steaks and provided a discount, which is really good of him, the chips could’ve been triple cooked for that crispy restaurant feel they suspiciously look like they may have come out of a packet also . After we complained about the steaks, we didn’t receive any additional service. We had to request a desert menu, being gluten-free. I asked what was gluten-free on the menu. I was told nothing it’s not completely unusual but usually you’re offered either ice cream or sorbet. We had the feeling that we were no longer wanted so forfeited the deserts for our table of five, asked for the bill and left, one of our diners was in a wheelchair, no point did anyone offer to open the door so we navigate of the double doors ourselves and left disappointed . Positively the cocktails and the beers were delicious. My recommendation would be hire some staff that smile or are attentive, become a bar and do what you are good at. This used to be one of my husband’s favourite restaurants in Southend. I’m not sure will visit again though. Bad times!

Disappointing and to be honest this is a generous 2 based on decent staff keeping us informed. On food alone it would get a 0.5 to 1 Hotdog sausage was nice but the bun was so stale I was checking it for mould blooms! The burger was similar to that served in schools, cheap discount meat, no sauce a bare sprinkle of lettuce and onion. No pickle, No tomato (in their defence that's all as described in menu though) The chicken goujons were nice. Good potion size and crispy. The doh balls went down well with the kids. Queued 20 minutes to order and then advised another 30 mins wait for food, it arrived after 25 minutes, but still two teenagers were practically bouncing off the walls after 45 minutes wait for lunch lol. The bill for 4 drinks and 4 meals (chicken, 2 X hot dogs and burger all with chips and a portion of Doh balls) was very nearly £70 which is lot given the barely acceptable quality but then again you're paying for location and on the positive side, the staff that do give a damn, they kept everybody informed, were always busy and they were smiling! Something of a novelty these days.

We were absolutely amaZed by these chips - and they were defo worth the short wait! They’re double fried, so expect to pause a little longer than your usual chippy - but wow, these are delicious.