Oyster Creek Kitchen Reviews Summary

Setting & Atmosphere

Pros:

• "One of my favourite dining locations in Southend especially in the summer! The setting is amazing when the sun is out."
• "It's a lovely place to sit and have a coffee or brunch with friends."
• "The garden area, lighting, etc. at the front facing the seafront is lovely."
• "Was a great venue, overlooking the water."
• "Gorgeous venue on the seafront at Westcliff."
• "Amazing location. Can't wait to go back asap! Xx"
• "The external and internal decor is fantastic for the space. The views from the garden over the estuary second to non."

Cons:

• "The restaurant was very quiet and we got the impression it was more of a lunchtime or early evening venue at this time of year (late September)."
• "The actual building is quite small but they have created a great atmosphere and the outdoor area is fantastic in the summer."
• "Place looks great from the outside but is a little cramped inside."
• "Visited on the hottest day of the year and it was sweltering inside. Luckily there is a beautiful outdoor section where there are umbrellas and a lovely cool sea breeze."
• "On one of the hottest days of the year we were refused a table with an umbrella even though they were available."
• "Inside was empty yet I was taken to a little corner table."
• "This restaurant looks lovely from the outside but once you go in it feels as though you are in a chippy."

Service

Pros:

• "Staff managed to find us a great table they were super attentive throughout."
• "Staff were friendly!"
• "The service is great."
• "Our waiter Max was an absolute gem."
• "Max was super friendly and a great waiter."
• "The staff were very professional and took our hot beverage orders while we decided what to eat."
• "The staff were very professional and welcoming."

Cons:

• "The staff REALLY need some customer care training and advise, a smile and being polite costs nothing."
• "Unfortunately the speed of service was very poor, our starter arrived before our drinks, we had to ask where they were."
• "Service was a bit better this time, but you are basically ignored for ages once you're there."
• "Service was awful. We've ordered drinks one spirit and one beer. First of all they've served people that came after us and second they didn't even bring a glass for beer."
• "Service appalling, 25 minutes for our first drinks to arrive."
• "The service was painfully slow. We were there for over 4 hours."
• "Waited 90 mins for a drink!"

Food Quality

Pros:

• "All in all a very excellent restaurant and would visit again."
• "Good food with a great view."
• "Food was lovely...I had Oysters to start which were nice although a little small, followed by the Skate Wing."
• "Cocktails are great and we ordered calamari, garlic prawns, fish and chips, lovely food well presented."
• "The food is really good! Decent menu supplied with cocktails."
• "Food was tasty and reasonably priced."
• "The food was amazing and the service was just as good."

Cons:

• "The filling was also really mushy and a bit bland."
• "The prawns in their shells were absolutely tasteless and poor quality and the cockles were small and had no flavour or taste of the sea at all."
• "Both our meals were cold. I had the fish pie and my friend, the haddock."
• "The tuna in my starter was so soggy I could have had a wash."
• "The oysters were so fresh I could hear their heartbeat."
• "However, the taco’s were stale unfortunately, the churros were over cooked & solid."
• "The soft shell crab burger was completely tasteless."

Price & Value

Pros:

• "Prices are acceptable."
• "We also didn’t feel it was overpriced considering the standard of food we had."
• "It is priced above-average for Southend but given the menu is largely high-end seafood, it is understandable and overall excellent value."
• "The food is well priced, slightly higher than other restaurants but for a restaurant on the beach overlooking the estuary this is lovely."
• "Reasonable prices and great service."
• "The bill was reasonable considering what we had all ordered including a couple of orders of hot beverages and fruit juice."
• "Personally I feel the prices were justified and the food was of decent quality and portion sizes."

Cons:

• "Very poor quality food very overpriced. Never, ever would I go back."
• "They were in par on price with award winning restaurants in London but without the quality to justify it."
• "Food was ridiculously overpriced, £15 for a starter of TWO prawns, same for my main, was overpriced for what it was."
• "The whole experience not worth the £410 bill for the six of us! Had to leave at 11 rather than see the new year in cos the place was so noisy."
• "The 3 stars are for the cocktails food is over priced for the quality presented!"
• "It seems they are trying to chase their costs by ramping up prices too high."
• "The cost performance is very low, and the taste doesn't match the price."