This is an old fashioned coffee shop/tea room opposite the library in leigh on sea. It is good for…read morewhat it is, fairly cheap and they also sell gifts which are actually ok. The food is nothing to write home about. Typical cafe stuff and the coffee is average at best. What is really nice is that they have a little playroom full of toys for children which is a godsend sometimes. Also, there is a lovely outdoor area out the back with little tables and chairs for little people!

This place is a joke. They call themselves child friendly yet they complain if your child plays in…read moretheir play room, and perhaps most absurdly they will not allow you to feed your baby any food you have brought from home (so purees etc). They only allow you to feed your baby if it is food bought from themselves which is completely useless if your child is not eating solids yet! The service is hit and miss depending on who serves you, with orders ignored or forgotten about, but to be fair when the food does arrive it is tasty. I think they should do themselves a favour and just remove the kids room (which is only filled with 3 or 4 broken toys) and just admit that they only want older people who won't make them work for their money. Overall I would recommend if you want to have a nice enjoyable coffee or lunch with your child to go elsewhere. **Update I feel I need to comment further, as whilst I appreciate the other reviews weren't necessarily aimed at me I just feel I need to address certain points. From my own point of view I am talking about babies who have just learnt to toddle so I can hardly think they can be blamed for terrorising the other customers or running around being a 'health and safety' issue. I firmly believe staff should intervene when a child is behaving inappropriately and the parent fails to act responsibly. I am a teacher and so would like to think I am a responsible parent - we supervise our children and quite frankly aren't demanding as customers I would also like to point out that speaking for myself and my friends, we always order food and drinks for ourselves and pay the averagely high prices without quibble so it is not like we just go there bringing our own food for a picnic. We might feed our baby a baby yoghurt as a mid-morning snack which is the offending food, which seems to be acceptable depending on which member of staff you speak to. Should I not bring in water from home in their beakers either if we are using the 'I would not take my own alcohol into a pub' argument. I frequently eat out and have never encountered a child friendly establishment not allow you to bring in snack food for a baby providing you order food for yourselves. So when a child is still eating pureed or mushy food, or are a fussy eater they aren't allowed to go eat in a 'child-friendly' cafe because it is not appropriate to bring snack food in from home? Ludicrous! I have been there many times and have been served by a couple of lovely waitresses, and thought this place was lovely especially when I had a small baby who slept in his pram. However I feel good service should be a given every time and even having a couple of bad times is unacceptable. And my comment towards the staff having to work for their money was after I witnessed the waitress demand a heavily pregnant lady sitting on another table to pick up raisins the lady's child had dropped. The lady sat there apologetic until who I assume is her friend got on her hands and knees and picked them up whilst the waitress stood and watched. Somewhere claiming to be child friendly should expect crumbs on the floor. Finally I can only stress this is my own experience and of course people will have a different opinion and review what they have seen for themselves.

Went for lunch. We were 5 and had a variety of items from the menu. Starters of prawn cocktail,…read morebelly of pork bites, duo of duck parfait, nachos and dusted calamari were delicious and generous portions. For main courses we had the baked sea bass, sea bass fillet and smoked BBQ ribs. Again really good. Usually at a steak house people to the beef which you will see from the other reviews was well received but I thought it would be of interest to highlight the broad variety of good and tasty dishes on the menu. Recommend making a reservation as it is very popular.

Nice cosy-feel pub downstairs with seating / restaurant upstairs. Staff are friendly, prices are…read moretypical for this kind of steakhouse chain. I'd say the food is better than other similar type restaurant chains. Lot's of parking.

Found this lovely little cafe where I had a fantastic meal. The steak and kidney pie was to die for…read moreand the apple pie and custard was great! All of the food was homemade and great value for money. Family friendly with excellent service. I would strongly recommend this place to everyone going to or is in Southend.

Always wanted to try this cafe/restaurant for years, and today was the day. Had Steak & Kidney Pie,…read moreNew Potato's Cabbage & Carrots & plenty of gravy. my desert was treacle sponge & custard really nice. All Home made excellent value They were queing outside the door when we arrived, the cafe is very basic with its decoration, and its like walking back into time when you step in side. Please do not let that put you off, the food was excellent. I thanked the owner and told her we had really enjoyed our meal. Yes we would go back again, but probably a bit later when the rush for lunch has died down.

DO YOU LOVE GREAT FRIES, AND THE UTTER BURGER??? Then don't…read morego to Henry Burgers. After waiting for forty minutes, I asked where our food was, AND MIRACULOUSLY, our food appeared not two minutes later (oh, and the waitress wasn't wearing a mask, and didn't seem to be bothered at all)! So, to the meal. The fries were alright, but nothing special. BUT, the burger was well below average. The bacon must have come from a pig that died from coronary disease, as there was more FAT, than meat. £13.00 for this??? I'd be VERY, VERY, generous, and give £1.40. Waste your money somewhere else, as this place is not worth it.

Very good service, Had a "Classic Dog". It's my usual there. Definitely recommend. Unfortunately…read morethe bread was a little stale. But it was a one off. Very good sausage though.

This place was always where I came for food when I lived here, so thought I would take a stroll one…read moremorning to see if anything had changed. The place itself has been refurbished with a higher seating area, which I found uncomfy, so sat myself on the "normal" seat, My friend and I had chosen Scampi & Chips for tea, which we found to be as good as they once were. There is something relaxing about looking onto the sea when having your tea I think. I would recommend this place for a quick bite, if your ever in the area on the sea front of Southend. the staff are friendly, the place is clean, during the summer months though I think it would be packed out with children, so I would give it a miss then, but it's lovely when it's quiet.

Smiley's is a family tradition, as I learned this weekend when we drove all the way out to…read moreWestcliff-on-Sea from the West End. Egg and chips. Why didn't I know this before? The egg and the other fixings were just average, but the chips were fantastic. Super hot and right out of the fryer, they were rather randomly cut skinned potatoes. Like snowflakes, no two were alike. A little salt, a little vinegar (the English way of course), the bowl was empty before I knew what happened. Great coffee too. Very smooth and delicious. We managed to get a parking space right out front (two hours free!) and then the table right on the pavement ("sidewalk" in American) opened up as we arrived. Front row! A great place to sit and watch the world go past, maybe watch a ship or two go up the Thames Estuary to London. A fantastic spot!

This is the best cafe down the sea front. For non locals…read morethe Palmeira Parade cafes are known as the Arches and this family owned and run business serves traditional, good quality food at affordable prices. No pomp or pretense the furnishings are basic, comfortable and clean and you can bring your own wine unlike many of the other cafes that have opted for a licence to sell alcohol, mostly cheap inferior quality at inflated prices. On a sunny weekend be sure to book a table in advance, the locals swam here and many tables are reserved.

What a lovely place to enjoy a meal. Great atmosphere and good service. You pay for what you get,…read morehence the food being very nice. Book early as it gets very busy. If you have a party booking, you can reserve a seperate part of the restaurant which is ideal! Enjoy

Great place for early breakfast. Big plate of food for a fiver. Not mad on the sausages, they are a…read morebit too fancy for a early morning breakky but sure some would love! Will be back

From the owner: Friendly local café offering a wide range of food from breakfast to lunches in Southend-on-Searead more