• CLOSED: The Railway Hotel

  • (22)
    11

    Closed

  • White Vegetarian
Take-out
Breakfast

Traditional pub. A place for like-minded souls to come together for a good old knees-up. It's a bit like CBGB's crossed with Mallory Towers. Generous portions. Soups, risotto, nut roasts, and more, prepared by Chef Del Glover who previously worked for My Kitchen in Leigh before it closed. Menu changes seasonally. Vegan breakfast from noon to 1:30pm. Children can visit, but not after 9pm. Reported closed, Jul 2021.


Venue map for The Railway Hotel
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22 Reviews

First Review by djmoonlight

Veganforthewin

Points +2686

Vegan
13 May 2021

Shame it's Closed

Great value for money. I have had everything from this menu and doesn't disappoint. Shame it's now closed but hopefully they will open again one day

Sernicki

Points +390

Vegan
25 Jun 2020

Good Food

I ordered a red Thai curry with chips from here about a week ago. The curry came with rice and 3 very tiny veg spring rolls.

The curry was delicious and tasted delightful. The rice was the smaller portion I had ever seen and I am happy that I ordered the chips with it. The three spring rolls that came with the curry and rice was a pointless addition as they have no filling and are just thin cylindrical bits of pastry. Therefore I would suggest remove the spring rolls and put in a proper portion of rice, it's pennies.

The chips were excellent, fine in their skins, no grease and were delicious.

Pros: Healthier, Quick service, Independent

Cons: Miniscule rice portion, Tad pricey, Opening hours are limited

Skyzieboo

Points +3150

Vegan
01 Mar 2020

Went a long time ago

Reasonable from what i remember

Hootinthehouse

Points +930

Vegan
09 Sep 2018

Full English Breakfast is Out of This World

Really amazing, truly authentic British Pub serving up some wicked vegan food. Their vegan full-English breakfast will absolutely knock your socks off!

Pros: Food is all vegan, Good Value, Great classic pub atmosphere

Cons: Some beers and wines not vegan

MarkCraig

Points +25

Vegan
10 Aug 2018

Nice Lunch with kids and grandparents!

Tasty food and deserts. Vegan jackfruit burgers and wraps, salads really good.
Deserts really nice too.
Cool old boozer and people. Don’t judge it by its outer appearance!
Only thing could be better is have less fried/oil use stuff and more healthy plant based is my preference.
Definitely try here!!

jackl

Points +20

Vegan
10 Jul 2018

The best Pub in Southend

Not posh but very cool; the food is truly sumptuous. Good beer too.

Pros: All Vegan fare., Consistently good.

Cons: Not for the cheapskate.

CLRtraveller

Points +8103

Vegan
10 Jan 2018

Nice nut-roast meal, no local or UK vegan beer

They have a small vegan food menu, including potato wedges, nut roast, etc., but when I was there (Dec. 24, 2017), there were no UK vegan beers, not even in bottles/cans. We had made a special trip to Southend and were very disappointed to learn at 4:15 pm that the kitchen had closed at 4 pm that day. Went back later in the week and had the nut roast meal for £9, a large plate filled with roast potato, braised red cabbage, steamed vegetables, cranberry sauce, gravy and a small mound of “seitan medallions”(?). I hear that the vegan breakfast is served only 12 noon to 1:30 pm.

Pros: vegan menu in a pub

Cons: no local or UK vegan beers

MarkReeder

Points +86

Vegan
01 Sep 2017

Great Vegan menu

This place has a bit of a bad reputation locally but we thought we'd give it a go and all i can say is wow! We arrived 10 minutes before they were due to stop serving and the chef was more than happy to cook for us. The burger was awesome and the "fish and chip" so good. Atmosphere was friendly and staff were so accomodating. Will definitely be going back to try the pizzas.

Pros: Great menu with mains and deserts, Staff were amazing

Cons: Stop serving food quite early.

veganaurora

Points +265

Vegan
26 Aug 2017

Choose your own Wrap

I ate here last year from the general menu and was impressed by the quality of the food - freshly made and tasty. Today, we were in the area so popped by for lunch and were very happy with the new wraps they've introduced. You choose your main filling from around 6/7 different things such as tempeh, seitan, BBQ jackfruit, veggie 'bacon'. Then you choose a sauce such as salsa, garlic mayo, guacamole. Then you can add extra veg bits like tomato, cucumber, olives, sweetcorn for 50p each item. The wraps seem to come with a little green salad inside already.
It was fun designing our own individual wraps and I chose the BBQ jackfruit with garlic mayo and extra tomato and avocado. The wrap was warm and soft but a little bit crispy on the edges which gave it a good texture. Inside the filling I had chosen was delicious - the jackfruit was tender and the bbq sauce sweet and moreish. My partner's seitan wrap was nicely made too with different tasty flavours I can't describe very well because he was enjoying it too much to share!
The pub is a relaxed and easy place to lunch in, the staff members were friendly and helpful.
Go design your own wrap!

Pros: Great quality food, Relaxed atmosphere

Cons: Not for a formal meal (not a con for us !)

LithuanianVeganGirl

Points +369

Vegan
19 Feb 2017

cosy pub atmosphere yet restaurant quality food

So you walk into this old fashioned cosy pub where you think you will only get some beer and perhaps chips and that's it. But you couldn't be more wrong. Their food is restaurant quality! It's amazing! We had a seitan burger, wild mushroom gnocchi and cashew curry plus 3 different deserts and we were amazed - it was so delicious, plus good size portions and lovely service. Definitely recommend it to everyone!

Cjlelliott

Points +137

Vegan
03 Jul 2016

great food

Good rotational menu, calzones are fantastic and have bought several meet eating friends or relatives here that loves their food. Love the tofu fish and chips too. The vegan breakfast was borderline too realistic for me personally but probably fantastic to bring a transitioning/ new vegan/ veg to try.

benpoole

Points +66

Vegan
06 Jun 2016

Best risotto EVER

I've eaten at the Railway a fair few times now. Their veggie burgers are the best bar none, just fantastic. I haven't tried their pizzas yet but can really recommend the vegan "fish" and chips (amazing!) and best of all, their vegetable risotto: wow.

Pros: The food!, The prices!, It's a pub!

Cons: The Railway is a 'spit n sawdust' pub. I like it,

mattblack

Points +21

Vegetarian
07 Apr 2016

Best in area

MCLP is vegan, so we have tried all the local restaurants around. This is far and away the best...We have been back many times and even brought our parents, its that good.

Pros: well cooked, good portions

Cons: desserts could be better

Walwitch

Points +78

Vegan
27 Dec 2015

Delicious pizza

Had pizza at the Railway on a Sunday after Christmas. They were short staffed and we had to wait 1 hour for our food. It was worth it though! Delicious pizza!! Nice vibe and friendly staff. Recommended :)

Spiderman

Points +33

Vegetarian
16 Nov 2015

Amazing

Everything on menu was vegan or had a vegan option. Most dishes were gluten free (Or gluten free option), including GF pizza. Food was really special and reasonably priced. Lots of real ales (sadly I couldn't sample as I was driving). Great vibe: can't describe it but an LP of "Carmen" was playing when I first went, a variety of punk classics on the jukebox the second time. If I lived near Southend I would go there every week.

Pros: Lots of vegan and gluten free choice, Amazing vibe, Good value

Cons: Too far from where I live

JaredinIsrael

Points +1370

Vegan
08 Jul 2015

Best part of our South-End-on-Sea experience!

We are a vegan family of 5 from Israel, traveling in the UK on holiday, and while visiting an old friend in South-End-on-Sea, we checked HappyCow for a dinner recommendation and were rather surprised to see a pub at the top of the list. We were a bit hesitant, especially in thinking about the kids, but the reviews were so good, we decided to give it a try anyway... and boy were we pleasantly surprised! We walked in and were immediately taken by the authentic pub atmosphere, complete with old tattered comfy sofas, half-broken pianos, and a former church pulpit re-purposed as a DJ stand. Only then did we notice the menu on the wall, almost all of which was vegan, extremely creative, and definitively mouth-watering. We basically ordered one of everything, and could not have been more satisfied. The staff were very friendly and talkative - happy to explain the history of the place and its recent transformation - the portions were enormous and very fairly-priced at £7 each, and the food itself was so fresh, healthy and yummy! They even had a few toys for the younger kids to entertain themselves while waiting for the food to arrive, and the owner was more than happy for my son to play the grand piano for the small crowd there in the early evening. We couldn't stop raving about the experience, and would definitely recommend this to anyone in the area. I wouldn't hesitate to return to South-End-on-Sea just to eat here again!

Pros: Fresh, healthy, creative dishes, Enormous portions at fair prices, Very friendly, welcoming staff

Mhaffner73

Points +188

Vegan
22 Mar 2015

perfect

We had booked to come here for a couple of weeks. Eventually came and was unsure when turned up as the place looks like a typical music venue. Ordered the food and OMG was amazing. Even got live music. Loved it. Perfect menu with huge vegan choices. Deffo coming back and soon.

Pros: vegan menu, vegetarian menu, prices. mega cheap for veggie and vegan

Cons: look of venue

nasara

Points +56

Vegan
16 Feb 2015

Worth going to Southend for this alone

Imagine if Jools Holland believed in animal rights and opened a pub, it might be something like this. I'd almost consider relocating just to live nearby such a lovely place.
We were there on a Monday night which is open mic night. The open fire was lit & everyone was demonstrably enjoying the music, the owners of the bar occasionally jumping on the piano to play while the audience waited for the next act set up their gear.
Unfortunately the kitchen is closed on Mondays but we went back for lunch the next day and had the Crass burger. A huge (homemade) bean burger with a generous portion of salad and chips.

Pros: Friendly staff, Atmosphere, Huge portions

Cons: Kitchen closed on Mondays

bencamps

Points +580

Vegan
24 Jan 2013

Excellent honest pub food

I visited the Railway last Saturday (19.01.13) with my mate and could not have been more impressed! I'd found out about it beforehand from Happy Cow and was already looking forward to trying a crass burger, I certainly wasn't disappointed. The burger, salad and wedges were all great, my mate had a calzone and was also suitably impressed. The bar staff were very friendly and the place itself nice and cozy - I've read about other people saying it's run-down but if you like a 'real pub' you won't feel this way. Another customer informed us of a punk gig taking place that evening in their venue upstairs so we went back for this and had a great night and jumped around like teanagers. If I ever find myself in Southend again the Railway will be my first point of call!

bazjscott

Points +37

Vegan
18 Aug 2012

What a surprise

My brother was trying vegan food for a day as a birthday gift to me and whilst in Southend we needed to eat. I checked the website and it looked like no food was served on a Saturday so we went to a nearby cafe that offered vegan food, Closed, even though the times on the door said it was open. The Railway Hotel website did mention they can usually cater for small parties so I called and they said food would not be a problem. We arrived minutes later and despite the pub looking a bit run down in the harsh light of day, the guy behind the bar was very friendly, started us on a tab, served drinks and took our orders. My brother and I had the Crass burger with homemade chips, we were informed the burger was named after a band, and for the others not eating dinner we ordered some garlic bread and (I thought) chips for the table.

The burger and chip meals arrived with a side of garlic bread and wedges instead of chips, I couldn't be happier. I gave the kids some of my chips and had instead what looked like sweet potato wedges with a sweet chilli sauce, so good. The burgers were big and came with a good amount of onion cooked to perfection in them. The rest of the plate not taken up by the burgers was salad and the delicious homemade chips.

I mentioned earlier the pub was a bit run down looking in the harsh light of day, well this did make the very high quality food look a bit out of place but it was clean, the toilets were clean and the look of the pub I imagine changes at night when it fills up with people coming to listen to the very frequent live music they have.

The pub is located near to the high street and just a few hundred meters from the train station so should make easy travelling for most. During the day this is a perfect place for me, easy to get to, quiet and friendly. However, I do think I will have to make a visit one evening to sample the live music just out of interest. I know I will be back here to eat again but I am not sure if I will have the strength of will to try something else off the menu knowing how good the Crass burger is.
Updated from previous review on Saturday August 18, 2012

Pros: Friendly, Delicious, Decor

Cons: Decor

poorlittlefish

Points +17

Vegetarian
26 Sep 2011

Look past the shabby chic - the food's great!

I have to say, I was amazed to read that this pub has been refurbished because it looked to me like it's not been touched in decades! It's a big ol' pub with a shabby wooden floor, disused cocktail bar and ancient chairs/tables - not what I was expecting. However, it has a charm of its own, even if a little odd. Old 33rpm records were being played and there was an eclectic of punk/artist types when we visited, including an eccentric gentleman who was sporting the sort of hat only the mother of a bride would wear, complete with netting.

To be fair, we sought out this pub not for its decor, clientele or drinks (though if you want an orange juice it'll be freshly squeezed), but because we'd heard it had a vegetarian menu and on that score we were not disappointed. Prices were reasonable and portions good. As for the grub itself, it was absolutely delicious. We had the Halloumi Stack Sandwich and Alternative Sausages & Mash (fat Glamorgan leek & cheese sausages, sweet potato mash and a red pepper sauce) and we can thoroughly recommend both. The vegan chocolate cake was actaully more like a chocolate sponge pudding as it was round, served hot and accompanied by an orange sauce. It wasn't very sweet, but still tasty (and good value at only £2!).

I'd say that first impressions of the pub are deceiving, because while it might look a bit rough round the edges, its food makes it a hidden gem. We travelled a fair way to try lunch at the Railway Hotel but we'll definitely be back.

Pros: Taste of food, Value for money, Polite and friendly service

Cons: Shabby decor was a bit of a shock

djmoonlight

Points +45

Vegan
17 Sep 2011

tasty treat

vegans of southend were filled with a great sadness when the one and only veggie restaurant shut down, so it made everyone happy when local alternative pub decided to make their menu purely vegetarian and vegan!
I have ate here twice now. The first time I had the vegan burger which was a large vegetable burger with a generous serving of sauteed potatoes on the side and today I tried the vegan thai green curry which was delicious filled with veg and had a lovely kick. The meals are all £7 and are generous portions, the vegan items are marked clearly on the menu with a V.

Pros: tasty, reasonable price, generous portions

Cons: can be busy, not always available




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