CASINOS are not normally the type of venue associated with value for money. But if you hunger after something other than gaming chips at Maxims Casino you could end up a winner.

The husband and I decided to doll ourselves up for a change and booked a table at the Equations on the Estuary restaurant, found within the casino, on Saturday evening.

You don’t have to be a member to eat there and with live music on Friday and Saturday nights you get entertainment thrown in.

At first glance of the menu the husband was in game heaven as he spotted both starter and main course with pigeon as a feature.

It’s not something I like, so he took full advantage and ordered both.

His starter of pan-fried pigeon was immediately declared a winner.

I played it a little safer and opted for the soup of the day – chicken and leek – a welcome change from the ubiquitous tomato and basil that seems to feature endlessly on menus.

Although it was a safe bet, it was tasty and satisfying nonetheless with real chunks of chicken and leek and not blended into an anonymous mush.

The husband’s meat feast continued with the trio of game, one of the restaurant’s signature dishes which was created by a trainee chef at Southend Essex College. And a feast is certainly what arrived. It was a huge portion of rabbit, pigeon and duck, perched above a filo pastry base loaded with red cabbage and gooseberries.

I took his word for it that it was good and the empty plate seemed to concur.

For me the lamb shank was tasty, full of flavour from rosemary and red wine and fell from the bone with ease.

But I found the mustard mash accompaniment a little dry.

Still, pushing that to the side of my plate enabled me to purloin half the husband’s order of Dauphinoise potatoes, a sumptuous, cream and garlic- oozing affair that was divine.

However, I really hit the jackpot when it came to the puds.

While the husband drooled over his pot of warm chocolate with dipping fruit, I was in heaven thanks to the pannacotta.

It was thick, creamy and speckled with vanilla seeds, while the glistening pink rhubarb compote added just the right note of tang. It was hard to savour as it tasted so damn good and all too soon it was gone.

When the bill arrived we braced ourselves for the first sour note of the evening, given the amount and quality of the food we had consumed.

But with three courses each coming in at less than £30 a head, we still had change for some chips, of the roulette variety of course!

What we ate Pan fried breast of pigeon with smoked bacon and blackberries £6.10 Chef’s soup of the day £4.95 Trio of game £18.25 Rosemary and red wine braised lamb shank on wholegrain mustard mash £12.90 Selection of green vegetables £1.95 Sauteed garlic spinach £1.95 Dauphinoise potatoes £1.95 Rich brandy chocolate sauce pot £4.65 Pannacotta £4.85 Our verdict - out of five Atmosphere four Food five Decor four Value five Service four Wheelchair access Yes