Labworth Cafe – based on the bridge of HMS Queen Mary
Canvey Island is one of those places that Londoners have heard of but never visit. An island in the Thames Estuary, it was popular as a resort – primarily for caravan holidays – between the wars. In the 70s it attained a sort of fame because blues bands such as Doctor Feelgood emerged from the area. There are some lovely houses by the sea front, but the area has always been seen as a bit common. Last week I went there, and I can tell you it is worth the trip.
The only famous restaurant there is the Labworth Cafe. This was built in the 1930s in the modernist style. It was designed by the famous engineer Ove Arup and was intended to look like the bridge of the the liner – The Queen Mary. It’s now a sort of bistro. You can buy a full English breakfast, but we ordered the grilled skate and chips and salad. And my son had roast pork belly.
Actually, it was very nice. I won’t go any further than that. After all, you don’t go to Canvey Island for cordon bleu cookery. It’s the sort of place where almost every house has a St Georges flag – largely because of the football – and where Asian women in saris go paddling in the sea. It’s not upmarket, but it’s not completely chavvy.
My skate was well cooked – a little more than I’d like. The chips were obviously out of a packet and salad was fresh and well dressed. My son’s pork was very soft and tasty and his roast vegetables weren’t overdone. It was simple food and cost us about £12 each – including soft drinks for my son and a beer for myself. It was very good seaside fare.
And if you’re feeling in the mood for a snack in the afternoon, can I recommend The Welcome Cafe – a snackbar on the seafront. Tea is made in a pot and the locals buy cooked chopped up sausages to feed their dogs. The only thing I didn’t like was the mugs. These all carried headlines from the Sun newspaper. Mine had the delightful headline: ‘Elton takes David up the aisle’. Canvey is a lovely place to visit, but it’s not exactly a centre of high culture.
Mugs of tea at Canvey
My son attacking a plate of pulled pork