Here's a quick run through of what we ate;


I'd been to a friends' Barbecue earlier in the day and was pretty stuffed with burgers - it's a hard life.... So, I ordered the king prawn tempura from the starter menu and a portion of double-cooked chips (I can't help it, they're irresistible). I can honestly say, I have eaten a fair few battered king prawns in my time (I'm a bit of an addict actually....) but I have never had any as delicious as those at the Shoeburyness Hotel. They were just incredible, fresh but crispy, and not too greasy - perfect. The chips were delightful too, I've harped on about this in a previous post, but I really do love a hand-cut chip. 

My family are pickers - we rarely order separate/individual dishes, instead ordering a tad too many dishes (in my eyes) or a 'platter/tapas' (in those of my mother.) We're not really massive dessert fans (although I am, I do try to be restrained) but fortunately/unfortunately, we're a foodie family. Fortunately in that I'm very grateful to my parents that they encouraged me to try lots of different foods when I was younger, forcing me out of that fussy eating stage, which I am told I was stuck in for the first 6 years of my life... Unfortunately, this means that we always over-order, because we can never decide on what to eat - we just want to try everything! Saying that, looking at the photos now, it appears that maybe we didn't eat as much as I thought. However, we did re-order the prawns once or twice - they were too delicious not to...

So as you can see, we didn't have a big, formal sit-down meal, but I think that's what's charming about the place. We just sat on the sofas in the bar area, having a drink and a chat, petting an adorable bulldog called Lenny (I always like a dog-friendly restaurant). It's just a chilled, friendly environment - the staff seem to really know the people eating in the restaurant, which is always a good sign. I think it's really nice when you can actually speak to and get to know the people cooking your food, for both parties involved. For the business, in ensuring the paying customer becomes a regular at your establishment, but also for the customer, in that they feel they've been looked after - lovely lovely.



I also had a little explore... Although I've been to the Shoeburyness Hotel before, it appears that every time I visit, the whole place has been made-over. Nevertheless, I really like the current layout; there's a restaurant area, which has lots of old photos of Southend and Shoebury, which I think is a really nice touch.