The best places to eat by the sea in the UK, as picked by Tom Parker Bowles
- Everything seems to taste so much better with a sea view, says Tom Parker Bowles
- READ MORE: Why you simply must pour yourself a glass of raw milk
Oh, we do love to be beside the seaside, preferably with a vast platter of seafood and a glass of something white and cool.
Everything seems to taste so much better with a sea view, and if the sun won’t come out to play, at least you have the prospect of a long, jolly lunch to get you through the gloom.
Rockfish, Devon
There are now eight Rockfish, all of them in the Southwest, offering sustainably caught, beautifully cooked seafood.
At the one in Brixham chargrilled calamari, then a whole Devon crab or lobster, work with lashings of rosé.
Proof that good British seafood is not just for those with deep pockets. therockfish.co.uk
Beach House, Wales: In Oxwich on the Gower Peninsula is this serious restaurant, with a Michelin star to boot
Riley’s Fish Shack, Tyne & Wear
This is one of my favourite restaurants, anywhere, the very best, freshest fish cooked over coals or in their wood-fired ovens.
The view, over King Edward’s Bay in Tynemouth, is almost as delectable as the food: spicy mackerel wrapped in fluffy flatbread, roasted tranche of turbot. The wine list is short but sweet and the beers local.
After lunch, sink into one of the deckchairs to snooze until dinner, when you can start all over again. rileysfishshack.com
The Seafood Shack, Scotland
It’s little more than a shack on the beach in Ullapool. Well, a trailer, but you know what I mean.
But The Seafood Shack is all about local seafood, bought from day boats.
Like all good fish restaurants, the menu depends on what looks best that morning: local creel-caught langoustines with garlic butter, steamed mussels and hand-dived scallops. seafood shack.co.uk
Beach House, Wales
In Oxwich on the Gower Peninsula is this serious restaurant, with a Michelin star to boot.
Head chef Hywel Griffith cooks up the likes of local lobster with tomato, elderflower and peas, and John Dory with ricotta and anchovies. Ingredients are locally sourced and the quality of produce is matched by the skill of the cooking. beachhouseoxwich.co.uk
It’s little more than a shack on the beach in Ullapool. Well, a trailer, but you know what I mean. But The Seafood Shack is all about local seafood, bought from day boats
The Company Shed, Essex
Don’t go to Colchester’s The Company Shed expecting linen tablecloths and a cavalcade of amuse bouches.
A few years back, you had to bring everything yourself, save for a knife and fork. Things are a little more sophisticated these days, but it’s still all about the fish: local dressed crab, cockles, homemade crab cakes, smoked mackerel and amazing oysters.
Bring your own booze and bread (although they do have both), eat, drink, then work off lunch with a walk on the beach at West Mersea. the-company-shed.com
The Hidden Hut, Cornwall
By day, this internationally renowned restaurant in Portscatho serves up grilled seafood and salads.
Then, as night falls, there are regular one-dish feasts (booking essential), ranging from lobster and chips and grilled mackerel to carne asada and wood-fired seafood paella.
You bring plates, cutlery and wine, they do the cooking. Like the very best picnic, with none of the hassle. hiddenhut.co.uk
