Westcliff London Road new jazz bar and restaurant opened

Jazz Bar and Restaurant has proved a hit since opening in London Road, replacing a building supplies outlet three doors away from the Cricketers pub, receiving a warm reception from visitors so far.

The venue will combine live jazz, recorded jazz and authentic South African food to create an inclusive and exciting live music destination.

Grand opening - the new Jazz Bar is open in London Road (Image: Mavis Mpofu)

Owner Mavis Mpofu decided to bring her business to Westcliff after scouting around for possible locations and noticing that jazz in the town was hard to come by.

She said: “We love jazz, our culture loves jazz. Older people love jazz and so do many younger people. We noticed that the Southend area is very diverse, and we wanted to create something that would appeal to everyone.”

Excited - the owners (Image: Mavis Mpofu)

Mavis and her husband, who are originally from South Africa, are keen to offer a cultural fusion at Jazz Bar and Restaurant.

To cater to the town’s diverse tastes, Mavis will be offering a range of “South African, Zimbabwean and English food”.

The reception from the public has been overwhelming, even before the intimate 20-seat venue has begun hosting live jazz.

“Since we’ve got our licence and opened our doors, all of the responses have been very positive.” added Mavis.

Inside - the new venue (Image: Mavis Mpofu)

The venue is currently waiting on a noise impact assessment from the council, after which they will begin hosting their live jazz nights.

Mandy O’Connor, Labour Victoria Ward: “It is nice to have a restaurant that is different to give people more choice and I hope they have huge success. I will go down there.

“I think it is really good and unique and I would potentially go down there with friends. It doesn’t happen very often for bars and restaurants to open and the main shopping areas here are in Victoria Circus and on that part of the London road.

“There are more burger places and chicken places. It is really nice to see something unique from another part of the world for residents to enjoy. I wish them huge success.”