WHILE it boasts many a fine eaterie, Southend is not exactly bursting with good places to go for vegetarian food.

So when the Railway Hotel launched its new vegetarian and vegan menu a few months ago, I couldn’t wait to get down there and give it a try.

Unfortunately, it’s tricky food serving hours meant I couldn’t make it until last week – but boy was I glad when I finally got round to it.

My pal and I were greeted warmly, although that may have been down to her being a bit of a regular there, and we perused the menus.

We decided we would share a falafel salad as a starter before tucking into a halloumi stack (her) and a veggie burger (me). The chef is from ex-Leigh veggie eatery My Kitchen, so my expectations were high.

When the falafel salad arrived I have to admit it exceeded those expectations. The plate was overflowing with goodness. To call it a mere salad seemed a bit of a travesty. There was courgette and carrot coleslaw, a roast tomato lurking among the numerous leaves and succulent roast peppers too, as well as a scrumptious harissa/houmous dip and pitta bread to go with the delicious falafels.

It was more than a meal in itself, but we ploughed on manfully through our main courses. The burger I’d picked was vegan-friendly, but the chef was kind enough to pop me in a slice of halloumi, since I’d had a bit of food envy for my friends’ choice.

It was tasty and a nice firm texture – a far cry from the crumbly, pea and carrot disasters you can come across. The halloumi complemented it perfectly, adding a tasty layer of saltiness. Like our “starter”, the plate was overflowing.

My dining buddy proclaimed her halloumi stack delicious. It certainly looked it, with a brightly-coloured selection of roast vegetables. Her only complaint was it was messy to eat, due to the abundance of sauces and salad.

Her two children were catered for as well. We’d ordered them a pizza to share and without us asking, the chef split the dough in half and made two small pizzas, which was a nice touch.

The pub staff were very accomodating in asking us exactly which veggies the children would and wouldn’t like to eat.

The children couldn’t quite finish the pizza. I snaffled a leftover slice, unable to resist the melted cheese, chunky vegetables and rich-looking sauce. It was as good as it looked, possibly even a bit better.

After our mains, we soaked up the laid back atmosphere of the pub, sipping on its selection of Fentimans’ fizzy drinks.

It was very quiet inside, but it was a weekday lunchtime, and there’s always stuff to look at in the charmingly vintage-style pub, from odd-shaped teapots to quirky Sixties prints and old radios.

Service was relaxed, friendly, warm and thoughtful. But don’t go expecting silver service with a waiter checking on you every five minutes.

The staff were happy, though, for the children to dance around. No one cocked a disapproving eye as they showed off their enthusiastic moves.

Groaning with fullness, we decided we had to sample the vegan chocolate cake and ordered one slice between all of us. This was the one weak point of the meal. It tasted delicious, but without eggs or butter, it was inevitably dry and crumbly.

My only criticism would be the serving times. They only serve food at lunchtimes Tuesday to Friday (apart from Wednesday when they do a £10 meal deal in the evening) and don’t serve at all on Saturdays.

The evenings or Saturdays are the only times I, and most of my working friends, would have time to eat out. A shame, as I’d love to gorge myself here on a regular basis. I’m sure they’d do a brisker food trade if they ran Saturday lunches.

But if I am off work again any day soon, I know where I’ll be grabbing food.