A beloved seafront restaurant with a fascinating history is finally set to throw open its doors again after an almost eight-month closure.

The Labworth beachfront café in Eastern Esplanade, Canvey, was forced to close on October 1 as the next phase of the seawall defence works commenced.

Major work began in January last year as the Environment Agency is attempting to ensure the island is safe from severe flooding.

Now, the agency has given the restaurant the green light to re-open at the end of this month.

Announcing the temporary closure, a spokesman for the restaurant said at the time: "At this time we do not have a definite return date but, rest assured, as soon as we are given the green light by the Environmental Agency, we will make an announcement about our re-opening.

"We thank all of our wonderful customers for their continued support.

"Please don’t forget about us, we will be back as soon as possible."

The restaurant, which is opening again on Wednesday, May 29, is a Grade-II listed building designed in the 1930s by distinguished engineer Ove Arup - the design engineer for the famous Sydney Opera House - to resemble the bridge of the Queen Mary.

By the 1990s the cafe was in a state of disrepair, but it was awarded its listed status in 1996 by English Heritage and then bought in 1998 by Canvey businessman and lottery winner Chris Topping who transformed it.

The café was awarded its blue heritage plaque in 2019 and has been visited by TV stars such as Danny Dyer and Jeff Brazier in recent years.