Just five months after opening, the London Road cafe boasts almost unanimous five-star reviews on TripAdvisor ranking it the best cafe in the borough, and has a community of committed regulars. Although the cafe’s interior is as the name suggests, quirky, the secret to its success is far more simple – great food and even better service. “Everybody comments on the quality of the food and people have said it’s like coming for dinner at a relative’s house” she added.
The Quirky Bird Cafe is open six days a week, with Lisa preparing meals in the kitchen every day. Although she has decades of hospitality experience, the 59-year-old sharpened up her skills with fresh cookery qualifications before opening the cafe. One of the stand-out successes of The Quirky Bird has been their smaller-appetite options, smaller versions of standard menu items that are suitable for children, or just those with smaller appetites.
Lisa explained: “I’ve always thought that you shouldn’t be limited to a children’s menu just because you don’t want much to eat. One of those to have been won over by the The Quirky Bird’s mix of eccentric design and no-nonsense cuisine was 70-year-old Alan Perkins, who owns a flat in Westcliff and has become a regular at the cafe. “It’s lovely to find somewhere where you know that you’re going to get really good food.
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