Bobby Jo's 50's Diner, Southend

20th October
My daughter and her husband, who are very into retro, love eating here when we come to Southend. I was only too pleased to join them. The concept is simple, but the execution is clearly not so easy. Have a look at their web site on
http://www.bobbyjosdiner.co.uk/  which is really informative.(Interestingly this works well in Firefox but not Chrome or IE)
So the thing is that this is a lifetimes work of the owners, and they are very much present.with Tony doing the orders and Jo there as waitress, both kitted out in suitable costumes. It is an American 50's rather than an austere British 50's and the menu tries to replicate the food of the time if not the prices.
It is located on the seafront of Southend a bit east of the hustle and bustle, a short walk from the Kursaal. If you want to go there, it gets really busy on Sunday lunchtime with lots of families, and the parking can be difficult.

Having just had the American Burger experience, we all opted for burgers, and I had the Cheese Burger at £6.75 with Fries. The cup of coffee is refillable and the shakes look like five dollar shakes.

I had had one somewhat disappointing experience there before with ribs, but the burgers are the thing. You can have either French or Curly fries, and garnish, and a variety of other toppings. It's a pity that the cheese in the cheeseburger appears to be a slice of Kraft processed cheese, but that is almost universal in the UK.

The 6oz. burgers were well cooked, tasty and in a fresh bun. There are two patties of meat, and the web site assured me that food is locally sourced and home made. I could well believe that. It was sufficiently hot and on a crowded day scored 7.5 on the CHOF scale. 

The place is immensely popular with children, who are probably taking their cues from television and film. I was a child in the 1950's in the UK, and much of the imagery was what was shown at the time of the U.S. There is much film imagery and booths are named after stars, some of whom may be unknown to the customers (we sat in the Tony Curtis booth, and learned that he was originally Hungarian). I had a look around me and tried to imagine if I was actually in the place and time, and the thing that lets it down is the other customers. This is very definitely 21st century Southend. It is possible to eat there quite reasonably, and a simple lunch for three was just under £30 including drinks and a tip. Given my daughter's allegiance to the place, I know I will be eating there again, and would definitely recommend the burgers. Note that there is not a huge choice for vegetarians, but they can be accommodated.