One of the many (few) things The Mr and I have in common is a love of spontaneous travel. We just love jumping in the car, or on a train, or a plane, and getting away to somewhere interesting. Or quiet. Or quirky. We don’t really mind, as long as it’s away from here.
We have many places on our must visit list. I’m not going to lie to you – Southend was not among them. But, faced with a child-free couple of days and a bit of a lacklustre weather forecast, last week we decided to jump in the car and race to the nearest bit of sea, which happens to be the Essex coast.
I have a few friends living in Leigh-on-Sea, just next door, so made a couple of calls on Thursday night to see where, and what, they recommended. There was only one resounding response, from each of them.
You MUST book into the Seven
My female friend said
Book dinner at Aurum, at the Seven. Make sure you have drinks on the terrace
A male friend replied
Who were we to argue? As we were seriously last minute, we booked the last available room at the Seven Hotel for the Friday night (they had none left at all on the Saturday, due to a wedding), jumped in the car and arrived around 3pm.
We weren’t disappointed. Despite driving round Southend’s rather odd road system twice before finding the turning we needed, we were both pleasantly surprised as we pulled up, and took in the hotel. Perched atop a hill, with a gorgeous view over the shoreline, the Seven is an imposing, modern building that stands out against it’s neighbours. As we arrived, the sun came out, making the gorgeous terrace extremely inviting, and after a swift check in we made ourselves comfortable outside, sipping Champagne and enjoying a wind down after a busy week.
Now, it should be said that we’ve both got very healthy recently, and the Mr had been on a 5 week detox right up until our visit, involving no alcohol, meat, or much really (think green juice and dust). So when we came to look over the menu for our evening meal, we were a little disappointed that the seafood platter wasn’t available that evening. The menu looked great but we both really wanted fresh, clean fish for both starters and main, and options were a little limited.
We shouldn’t have worried. The team here are exceptional – and as soon as they heard our conversation, came over and offered to have the Chef prepare something especially to cater to our somewhat weird, and demanding dietary requirements. New dishes were created on the spot to take into account our tastes and we were both blown away by this service. When you eat out a lot you’ll understand that not every kitchen will be so accommodating.
The food arrived, and we were as impressed with the presentation as we were the staff. Real effort has gone into the dining room here; the interior itself is modern and stylish with attention to detail, and the food presentation followed suit.
Fresh, plump (and huge) Oysters were nestled among juicy lemon wedges and the exact right accompaniments (the pickled shallots were exceptional). The Mr’s specially created dish of fresh cod on a bed of clams with vegetables and the most delicious broth was exactly the right choice; and my tuna tartare (adapted from a starter) was enjoyable, although I did need to give it some extra punch with seasoning and lemon juice.
Our meal was complemented perfectly by the most delicious dry Rose, recommended to us – and as we spoke to both Roberto and Stefan (the team who guided us through our delicious meal and looked after us so brilliantly) to complement them and the Chef on our wonderful experience, we suddenly realised we’d been sitting right next to the owners of the hotel, Clare and Javed, all along.
It was an absolute pleasure to sit with them for a while, learning about the hotel’s history, famous visitors (Rod Stewart and Tyson Fury, to name a couple) and have a drink or two on that gorgeous terrace, taking in the sunset and relaxing into the weekend. It turned into the best night we’ve had in ages, and an unexpected trip turned out to be one of our favourite in a while.
I would fully recommend the Seven – especially if you’re looking for a quick get away from London or the South East. It took us under 2 hours to get door to door, the hospitality simply could not have been better, and we absolutely would have stayed an extra night had a room been available.
We spent Saturday wandering around Southend and Leigh-on-Sea – taking in the kitsch joy of it all. The Mr ate cockles by the sea (although we were amazed at how few fresh seafood stalls there are…), we made plans to come back with the kids and explore Adventure Island, we walked and we talked and we enjoyed a bit of English seaside we haven’t visited for, ooh, twenty years or so.
We will definitely be back whenever we’re craving a little bit of sea air, and the Seven, which is a total departure from the madness of the rest of Southend, will be our first destination. Next time we’ll be booking an Estuary View Suite (well in advance!) but all the rooms are a great standard with some really beautifully interior design elements. You won’t be disappointed. Book in, and let us know what you thought below.
If you have any Southend (or Leigh-on-Sea) favourites, please do comment below so we can check them out next time we visit. I would also say the Roslin terrace, and Left Bank Six clothing boutique are must visits. Other suggestions gratefully received. JJ x
