Tang's - Southend-on-Sea

The very first time I went to Tangs I ate so much I honestly thought I was going into cardiac arrest! On that occasion we went at night when the full complement of food was available at slightly higher cost than the lunchtime menu. We were in formal eating out mode and behaved accordingly. What I've since realised is that Tangs isn't supposed to be a formal dining experience, and it's not fair that TripAdvisor reviewers are judging it as such. You pay £7.99 at lunchtime, plus extra for reasonably priced bar drinks, and you get a fantastic Chinese meal in a pleasant modern environment. Tangs is actually the cheapest of the dining outlets in the immediate vicinity of Southend's Victoria Shopping Centre (Wimpy, Molo Lounge, German Doner). For £7.99 you get starters, mains, deserts and as many return trips to the buffet as you like. The central buffet is Chinese food. At the weekend there is also Indian, pizzas, chips, and English food. There are also sushi and salad options available, and more. For all the choice on offer, the staple Chinese dish of chicken curry is actually one of my favourites at Tangs. I'm quite surprised to read the negative comments on TripAdvisor about service. We are always greeted by the same friendly staff who recognise us and always ask how we are, and comment if I go alone without my wife or if we haven't been for a while. We always ask for our preferred tables and get them, regardless of how busy Tangs is. I've learnt my lesson about over-indulging at Tangs, but going to Tangs is always one of my favourite treats.

When we visit southend we always choose Tangs buffet for lunch the restaurant is large , bright and clean there is so much choice , from soups , main courses and desserts . the food is excellent quality , with a variety of courses , no matter how many times you make a selection , once finished , the waitresses clear the plates and all at a very reasonable price.

Very rude assistant manager. Accused of smuggling people in who had not paid. Interupted during eating with my family, being told to pay for more people, very rudely, while being accussed of smuggling people in. Transpired the assistant manager had miss counted adults, children, under threes etc. No till receipts issued to me even though, i asked, as these are needed to get to your table. Assistant manager said not needed, and sat us all down at three tables, as there were 19 of us. Felt intimidated while eating as three to four members of staff were standing watching us. Spoke with the manager, with regards to the accusation, he wasnt intrested, said i should of had receipts, to get in..... Explained what had happened, but was not intrested in my, or other members of my families, opinion. Will not be eating there again and will not recommend. Stay clear and eat elsewhere.

I booked a table a few weeks before our visit (despite reading on here one or two reviews about cold food). I decided to book for 6pm on a Saturday, as the restaurant opens at 5.30pm my reasoning being the food temperature should not be an issue at this time. We entered from the High Street and the decor was impressive, sleek and elegant and made our way up the stairs to the dining bit. This was equally impressive and they already had my name on the reservation list (didn't even have to show them the screen shot of my booking reservation). We paid for the evening buffet on arrival, which I thought was efficient and were promptly shown to our table and informed that we could get our own drinks from the in-house bar. Again, this was a lot more efficient than waiting to be served as is the protocol at many of these sorts of places. We were also shown where the food was laid out, good selection and nothing I had was cold that shouldn't have been. A few different mushroom dishes, great for me as I do like mushrooms and all the things you would expect; pancakes, different types of rice, chow mein etc. Nice surprise to see mozzarella pizza on offer, garlic bread, Yorkshire pudding, sushi looked nice but didn't try any. Did have some salad which was also nice. Only things that were bit disappointing were no chicken balls in batter (like you get at a takeaway) that I could see and ribs were smaller than the ones I usually get from takeaway (although to be fair you could obviously just help yourself to more). Overall food choice and quality 4/5. I am a huge dessert fan and knowing they did dessert at Tang's did influence my choice when looking for places to eat. The choice of desserts here were outstanding 5/5 all sorts of lovely cakes/ice cream combinations and the fact that they were included in the buffet was great! Used toilets twice during my visit, decent condition/cleanliness 4/5. Staff seemed professional and kitchen staff looked like they were working very hard! Only slightly annoying thing was when they kept trying to take my plate when I finished but was about to go up again for more. It's only me that's eaten from it so happy to re-use it. £14.95 pp seemed a lot at first but considering the amount I ate (especially dessert), decent furnishings and the fact they have their overheads to pay it wasn't bad at all. Also liked the fact we could keep hold of our own coats, unlike some places. Overall, I would say it was well worth a visit, will definitely come back!

I enjoyed my visit. The restaurant had a lot of people eating at lunchtime, including quite a number of children. I think children should pay the same as adults as they can often eat as much. I was impressed by the clean and attractive look of the restaurant and the efficient staff. I would recommend Tang's, there is a lot of choice including salad and cake and fruit, which is much more than usual.