Fisherman's Wharf - Southend

On Monday, my day off, Bridget, my Mum and Nan and I ventured to Southend, the infamous seaside resort in Essex that boasts the longest pier, and Adventure Island fun fair, (Peter Pan’s in my childhood).

It was really chilly on the day, so we enjoyed some toddler time in Adventure Inside, the indoors arm of the theme park, which has an indoor play centre which has a huge soft play area, lots of fairground rides and some other attractions.

The rides are paid for with a pre-loaded card (think Oyster style) which rather than running out on the day, can be carried over to your next visit, which I think is a great idea.

The soft play area is absolutely massive and toddlers can go into all areas, as long as accompanied by an adult, so I got to enjoy some slide action, a ball pit, and a hell of a lot of climbing too. Great fun and all for £4 for toddlers whereby you get a wristband and can come back as many times as you like.

We enjoyed lunch at one of our favourite Southend restaurants, Fisherman's Wharf which is set in a small hill, overlooking the sea, and as well as great views out across the vista, has good, reasonably priced food and great service too.

Yesterday was no exception. I usually get the small fish and chips, as it's genuinely so fresh and delicious, but chose something else which made use of the local catch, a Fish Pie. Cooked individually in a round dish, the, the pie was topped with golden brown, cheesy mash potato - delicious. The inside was a rich and creamy roux which contained salmon, cod and smoked haddock plus some subtle herby additions of parsley and dill - beautiful. 

Fish Pie at Fisherman's Wharf, Southend

From the children's menu, I picked the small fish and chips with peas for Bridget, which she really enjoyed too. The fish was, as ever, fresh, pure white and flaked to the touch, just perfect.

Children's Fish & Chips, Fisherman's Wharf, Southend

The staff were really good with Bridget too, bringing her some colouring crayons and paper, so that's a big tick for me.

My Mum had Scampi and Chips - which was a rather large portion, all enjoyable and my Nan had the medium Fish & Chips - again tasty and well cooked.

We had three pots of tea (almost mandatory when having fish and chips at the seaside) and a lemonade, and the entire meal was just over £40 which was a fair price.

You can certainly get tasty fish and chips along the seafront for a cheaper price than that, and we often do, but the slight premium you pay at Fisherman's Wharf is well worth it for the more upmarket feeling, being spotlessly clean and having less of a 'cafe' feel. It's well worth a visit if you're in the area.