For my work's company summer away day we were treated to a traditional day out by the British seaside. We headed to the picturesque Leigh-on-sea to have lunch at The Boatyard, a restaurant overlooking the Thames estuary that was awarded best Essex restaurant and has the claim to fame of being one of Rod Stewart's favourites places to dine!
We arrived off the coach with our buckets and spades and headed straight to the pub whilst we waited for our table reservation for all 100+ of us! I just couldn't resist one of my beach side favourites - cockles from the traditional cockle shed, which I know they are not to everyone's taste but they just remind me of my childhood as I always used to have a jar with chips. We visited one of the famous Osborne Bros sheds and they were really fresh and totally moreish.
We then headed to the restaurant for more sophisticated fare and was welcomed with a Pimms reception out on the sunny (but quite blustery) outdoor deck.
We then spread out over around ten large tables and tucked into a delicious three course meal. I was really surprised by the quality and presentation of food and the service as it is often difficult to get it right when catering for such a large group.
I started with the mixed seafood cream cheese tart, which was gooey due to the cheese and even though not overly fishy it was a great combination and balanced well with crispy pastry.
I stuck to the seafood theme and went for the oven baked fillets of trout with a capers, again these were cooked to perfection, the skin crispy and the flavours quite delicate. This was served with vegetables and new potatoes.
I was starting to fill quite full by this point but could not resist the selection of ice cream!
We then took a leisurely stroll to Southend-On-Sea to go on the dodgem's and 2p machines in the arcades.
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