I JOINED customers racing through the doors of the new Wetherspoons in Basildon town centre to be among the first to try the hearty 'Spoons' breakfast.
Sigered, King of Essex opened at East Walk, Basildon on Tuesday, welcoming waves of excited residents from as early as 8am, to enjoy a breakfast, sit with a pint and take it in all of the much needed, glossy new pub.
With an open gantry, a rare feature for Wetherspoon venues, the pub was designed to enable efficient, speedy service practiced by the team of more than 60 staff over the past several weeks.
I arrived amid the chaos of the opening, and ordered a large breakfast and pint of apple juice to fuel my morning - placing my order via the Wetherspoon app, for which the new pub has a tailored team responding to orders.
Even with all the ruckus of a busy opening morning, the service was flawless - as my food and drink arrived within two minutes of placing the order, served fresh from the open gantry.
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I was presented with a full traditional breakfast you'd come to expect from a Wetherspoon pub - two bacon rashers, two sausages, three hash browns, two fried egg, mushroom, beans and three slices of buttered toast.
The meal went down a treat with no complaints, a testament to the training and organisation of both the kitchen and front of house staff teams who's rigorous training had evidently paid off.
Every ingredient was well cooked and flavourful, and I noticed many other Basildon residents enjoying their breakfasts around the busy venue.
With a generous portion size and priced at just £6.95, the new Wetherspoon could certainly rival other cafes and breakfast offerings in the town centre for it's price.
While many guests had already trialled the lager by 9am, I opted for a a cold pint of apple juice which was tasty and refreshing.
My order was quickly processed through the new I order station - a designated section of the bar and kitchen dedicated to in app orders for maximum efficiency.
Whilst traditional walk-up service remains available, this new feature is pioneering for Wetherspoons, and comes to Sigered, King of Essex ahead of many other venues as part of the pub chain's innovation for the future.
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