Last Friday we went to Ocean Beach for a romantic meal, the views and sunset were fantastic - in the height of summer when it is possible to sit on the terrace it will be even better (although the menu on the terrace is more limited).

I have just about got over my downer on the restaurant due to the issue of toilet signage or lack of it. You see it is a converted tram shelter (from the days when there were trams running along the seafront) and when it became a restaurant the council made it a condition that they took over the running and upkeep of the public toilets. However it wasn't signed as such. Now it says toilets facility rules apply and the door is left open most of the time - what it should say is "Public" Toilets - anyway enough of my rant.

It was full of Southend's attempt at WAGs, however the food was really good and this made up for some of the noise. I had moules to start off with and there were plenty of them too. There wasn't any swordfish for my main (even though it was a special) and so I had the lamb which was extremely succulent. Mandy had the smoked cod and we shared (which Mandy ate!) a dessert of meringues. We ordered some side dishes, but I think the quantities were so large that we didn't really need any.

I think that the waiting staff were a bit inexperieced, for example I questionned the moules and asked if they were New Zealand green lipped and she had to go and check, luckily they were native rope-grown - and were very good with plenty of them.

I think that for convenience to our house and not having to drive it is the second best restaurant in Southend - the best restaurant is still the Pipe of Port in my opinion, although it is probably more suited to the winter, because it is in the basement with no outside light. We are going to try the Roslin "Beach" Hotel next - I'll review once we have tried it.

If any of my more mature relatives go to Ocean Beach they should go fairly early because there is background music which they probably wouldn't like - I reckon about 6pm for them.

Yesterday evening I took Mandy out to Stéfans Brasserie which is in Westcliff-On-Sea. It was about 15 minutes drive from us. The meal was fairly good, but the service was very slow. It took one hour to get our main courses and with Mandy being pretty tired, because of Freya (she has a cold) that wasn't good. The starters and the desserts were the best thing about the meal.

Starters

Butter Beans Bruschetta Gremolata (wild Roquette, continental parsley and lemon) £5.50 - Good and very garlicky

Seared Peppered Yellow Fin Tuna, Wild Roquette and Vegetable Crisps, Wasabi Paste £5.75 - Excellent: the tuna was a deep red colour, Japanese with a French influence

Mains

Grilled Rib Eye Steak, Pease Pudding and Mature Cheddar Cake, Field Mushrooms and Sherry Sauce £17.95 - Overwhelmed by the sauce, couldn't distinguish the individual flavours

Roasted Barbary Duck Breast, Celeriac Puree, Prune and Cabernet Sauvignon Sauce, Parsnip Crisps £15.50 - Pretty non-descript and a fairly small portion.

Desserts

Lemon Tart, Raspberry Sorbet, Honeyed Mascarpone £5.25 - Good pastry and exquisite lemon flavour. The sorbet was beautiful.

Crème Catalan, Winter Berries Compote £5.75 - Lovely crème brûlée with loads of real vanilla.

We also had the worst seat in the house and I was facing a wall next to the stairs. The ambience was fairly good until they turned on the Barry White which didn't really compliment a French restaurant.

We may try the brasserie again, but this time for lunch.