Coastal Bite Breakfast Review

May 20, 2015 by Rich - Foodie Reviewer

Coastal Bite Breakfast Review

William Somerset Maugham once said ‘To eat well in England you should have breakfast three times a day’ true? I’m sure times have changed, as I couldn’t dis agree with him more. But breakfast is important, I mean, I wake up hungry, I reckon if I don’t eat within 20 minutes of waking I would run the risk of becoming ‘Hangry’ and there’s nothing worse than being ‘Hangry’ in the morning!! I have always been fascinated with breakfasts around the world, as they can be so separated from what we would call the norm; congee in Hong Kong, chicken noodles in Singapore, grits in Nashville, all the way to curry in India there is nothing wrong with any of them, all very tasty. To be honest, since having curried Indian breakfasts I now have a passion for chilli’s in the morning. I am not suggesting you rush off and sprinkle a little chilli on your coco pops, no no, but a couple of fried eggs on toast, topped with fresh chilli is superb for brekkie, If you’ve never tried chilli at breakfast give it a go, I cant recommend it more. Super healthy too, it kick starts your metabolism apparently. But, putting this aside, I reckon you could travel the world, try breakfasts in all seven (or is there 6??) continents, but our good old full English would always come out on top, its just such a classic, and probably along side fish and chips as our national dish.

Sadly though, breakfast is often over looked and not held in the same regard as lunch or dinner. I am sure most of us just grab a slice of toast in the morning, or maybe nothing at all. This is such a shame, as going out for breakfast can be such an occasion. Lou and I hadn’t been out for breakfast for months, so it was long overdue. But where do you go? The arches in Westcliff have long been a favourite amongst breakfast seekers so we decided to wander down there last weekend. The next big decision; which restaurant do we visit? There are so many to choose from, and I am sure each would offer a fantastic breakfast. One particular place stood out for me, Coastal Bite. They had recently refurbished the restaurant to give it a real seaside feel, so I just had to give it a go.

We arrived for a late(ish) breakfast at 10.30am. As soon as you walk in to the restaurant, it feels like you are stepping in to a beach hut, fitting the location beautifully. The weather wasn’t too good so we sat inside, we did consider sitting in the undercover area outside, as each seat was coupled with a blanket to keep you warm, but we are wimps so took shelter inside! We had some coffee to begin with, I had an Americano, Lou went for a cappuccino, both were pretty good. We are self-confessed coffee addicts by the way! So much so, when we are down to the last few Nespresso pods at home, Lou becomes a women possessed, concerned where her next caffeine fix will come from!

The breakfast menu had all the usual suspects you would expect to see, but with added bubble and squeak. I love bubble and squeak, and I don’t think enough places put it on the breakfast menu. Last time I had it for breakfast was at Marias Market Café in Borough Market, where the bubble and squeak is almost as legendary as Maria herself, its served with almost everything. So great to see this at Coastal Bite. I opted for the half coastal breakfast, which consisted of a free-range egg, flame grilled sausage, flame grilled bacon, bubble and squeak and Heinz beans, yes Heinz beans, nice touch! Lou went for the Coastal bubble and squeak. Along with the bubble and squeak, two rashers of bacon and two free-range fried eggs are served.

When our breakfasts arrived they looked great and tasted the same. My egg fried to a tee, middle bacon, sausage, a generous amount of beans and the bubble, a perfect brekkie. Any place can put together a full English, its not too difficult, the secret is the quality of its components. Clearly Coastal Bite have taken some care and pride over this, the sausage being a great example. It would be too easy for a restaurant to cut costs and offer a poor sausage, there’s nothing worse than that. Believe me, I have had some awful bangers in the past and would question their meat content. I am sure in some cases you would find more meat in a Linda McCartney’s sausage! No problem here guys, the Coastal Bite sausage passed my strict quality control. It was meaty, flame grilled, not deep-fried; believe me I have seen some places deep fry sausages at breakfast, not good! It was just a perfect sausage for breakfast. Lou’s Coastal bubble was great too. Two fried eggs, two rashers of bacon and the bubble. All that goes together so well. The bubble was great, I mentioned earlier the legendary bubble and squeak at Marias in Borough Market, well, Coastal Bites offering certainly rivals this! We ordered some toast on the side, which was nice to top with an egg, and soak up a bit of the bean juice!

I must add, I asked for brown sauce with my breakfast, you gotta have brown with breakfast I think. Well, a small jam jar was bought to the table full of brown sauce! No fiddly sachets guys, just a good old pot full of sauce. Sachets are just a little pet hate of mine. Both our breakfasts were great, I have struggled to find any criticism, but I would ask that one thing is added to the menu; Black Pudding. I know its not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love it, and I am sure lots of other diners would too, so go on Coastal Bite add it on!

By this time we had cleared our plates, and it was time for a late morning walk along the seafront to contemplate lunch (just kidding)! At £16.70 that’s not bad for two great quality breakfasts, in wonderful surroundings, with great views over the Thames Riviera! A big thumbs up to these guys, they have made this small restaurant very quant and cosy. Its beach hut theme is smart and stylish and fits right in with the relaxed seaside environment. What you’ve got to remember, there is strong competition along the arches making no room for complacency, and clearly Coastal Bite are far from being this. They are just serving up great quality food in equally great surroundings, not only for breakfast, but lunch and dinner too. I need to get me down for some of that next time.