Oyster Creek Kitchen Review!

July 21, 2015 by Rich - Foodie Reviewer

Oyster Creek Kitchen Review

Something I have learnt over the years; never visit a brand new restaurant when they have just opened for business. I guess its like any new venture, restaurant or otherwise. They need time to settle down and bed in. The first few diners through the door are often the guinea pigs. Of course, the staff are, and quite rightly so, very excited in the first few days, and are keen to offer a good first impression. But I really feel you can only realistically judge a venue once it’s been open for a good couple of months. So my foodie golden rule number 1, never visit on the first weekend. Well, I threw the rulebook out of the window a couple of weekends ago.

As I am sure most of us couldn’t have failed to notice over the past few months, the renovation work that has been underway at that old dilapidated shelter along the seafront at Westcliff. It’s the one between Toulouse and the Arches. For years it was run down, home to just pigeons and seagulls! How nice to see another restaurant entrepreneur taking the plunge and investing in our wonderful seafront, I salute you! As you can imagine, I have been very excited in anticipation of this new eatery opening its doors. I just couldn’t wait, so Lou and I threw caution to the wind, and got in there the second day of opening.

This place looks simply awesome; the quality of the refurbishment work has been tiptop. Bare brick, rustic concrete floor, a wonderful looking bar, it appears to have everything. Not to mention a lovely outside area, all with views across the estuary, superb. Our table for two was located at one end of the restaurant, right by the window, probably one of the best seats in the house I reckon. The waiting staff didn’t disappoint, all really keen, and straightaway presented us with the menus, and our drinks orders taken. No crap on tap here folks much to my relief! Leffe Blonde on draught, together with Meantime, Brewdog and Anchor beers available by the bottle. Great to see some good craft beer on offer, no Fosters or Carling in sight! Both Lou and I went for a bottle of Meantime Lager, which when arrived at the table was served in an old style pewter tankard, a nice quirky touch!

So on to the food; a nice selection of starters, along with sharing boards. I really love a sharing starter, so that was us sold. But there are three to choose from, Italian, Trawler or the OCK board. The first two speak for themselves, but the OCK board sounded interesting. Described as a selection of produce from sea, ranch and garden. Lets give that one a go. Jeez, I’m glad we did, it was almost a light lunch in itself! Generous would be an understatement! A rustic board packed full of different meats and charcuterie together with clams, smoked salmon, sundried tomatoes and artichokes; probably one of the best sharing boards I have eaten in a long time.

For mains they have all sorts to choose from, Burgers, steaks, ribs, Lobster, you get the picture! Both Lou and I where in a fish kinda mood, so I thought lets see how they do the old classic, fish and chips. Lou went for the catch of the day, which today was Sea Bass served with fennel, parsley and lemon, sounds pretty nice! Both dishes arrived and where presented very well, my fish cooked to a tee, not at all dry and very hot, clearly straight out of the fryer. Lou’s Sea bass was cooked equally well; perfect to be honest, well done chef, you certainly know how to cook a bit of fish, which is often the downfall of any kitchen. If I had to be critical it would be the chips. They were just a little dry; maybe they had been sitting under the hot lamp for a little too long. I can only guess I had been a little unlucky here as they fish was superb! I’m not letting a dry chip put me off though, as the fish alone will draw me back. The homemade tartar sauce was a triumph! A lovely accompaniment to the fish, and a grilled lemon wedge on the side was a nice touch, as by grilling it, apart from adding visual appeal, allows you to squeeze more juice from it! The fennel and parsley with Lou’s Sea bass was perfect. Fennel and fish such a classic combo. But what the hell did they drink with their fish I hear you cry! For me, there is only one drink to have with fish and chips, yep, Champagne of course! We weren’t celebrating any special occasion, we both just love a glass of fizz, so it just had to be, and very nice it was too!

Guess what folks, we even had a pudding! At Oyster Creek kitchen they are very proud of their homemade gelato, so we just had to get involved. They have various tempting Sundaes on offer, and some with the addition of alcohol! We decided on the ‘Punch and Judy’ to share. This was made up of their homemade vanilla gelato, pop corn, chocolate flake, popping candy and hot salted caramel sauce all topped off with cream. How nice does that sound! Any pudding with salted caramel is a winner in my eyes. It tasted great, and the gelato was creamy with a perfect vanilla flavour. So nice to see a restaurant producing their own ice cream. I think I’ve said this before, when it comes to ice cream either serve a nice local Rossi’s or make it yourself. Well, it was time for the bill; three courses with Champagne, £97.00. Bear in mind the champers was £45 of that, so not bad at all.

I am so glad we now have another wonderful restaurant in the area, and in a superb location. As I said at the beginning of this review, I would normally avoid a restaurant in their first month of opening, let alone go on the opening weekend! But I am glad I did. Ok, I did have a little pop at the chips, but that aside, anywhere that can cook a perfect piece of fish deserves a big thumbs up, and not forgetting that amazing sharing platter! In terms of any apparent teething problems? I couldn’t really see any. I must just add, I read an article a few weeks ago, suggesting Southend will soon be the new Brighton. Not everyone would agree I am sure, but I see this as exciting times. I do think the recent local investment, and opening of new restaurants and bars, such as the Oyster Creek Kitchen proves we are well on the way. So, lets give them our support. Lunch, dinner or just a cheeky cocktail on the lawn, in wonderful surroundings, I’m certain you will not be disappointed; I’m definitely going back.