THE new owners of a Southend cafe and bistro are hoping to “bring something new to the city” after throwing open their doors to customers.

Selby’s Cafe and Bistro in Hamstel Road, Southend, replaces the once popular Mitchell’s cafe. 

Ollie Selby, 27, and his partner Anna Harvey, 26, are confident their business will stand out in a sea of “greasy spoon” cafes by offering “quality classics”. 

After a successful initial opening, they are hoping to expand their offering with themed nights – including cheese and wine and live performances. 

Different - Food at Selby's Different - Food at Selby's (Image: Ollie Selby)


Ollie said: “My partner and I are over the moon to have opened.

“She grew up in a family restaurant since young and I have been in kitchens since I was 15. My brother is a chef, my uncle is a chef, and I have run kitchens in other businesses.

“We looked at this café as the perfect size we can run, just us two, not needing more staff. Likewise it is not busy enough to need more, we can put our heart and soul into this place.

“We want to make this place really nice and we want everyone to come in and be happy, enjoying good food and good coffee. We want an offer that is good quality fresh food at a sensible price.

“It is quite easy to charge silly money and we want to be able to provide somewhere that is not an average builders’ café. There are not a lot around here but they are all builders’ cafés with greasy spoon grub.”

Ollie has particularly pointed to the café’s pancakes as a standout, with a “wow factor”, alongside their breakfast using meat sourced from nearby butchers.

He added: “At the moment the feedback has been really good. We want to try and build this up and we want to do theme nights in the future once a month.

“We could have a singer, a different cuisine or some cold meats and cheese and wine. There is not a great offering now for nice evening places so that is something we want to do.”