Turning the Tide - Europe
Britain’s seaside towns are enjoying a resurgence with barely a kiss-me-quick hat in sight. Lucy Kehoe takes us to three resorts awash with authentic food and cultural experiences
Tenby Pembrokeshire
Looking out over Carmarthen Bay, this elegant Pembrokeshire town adds a sunny touch of the Italian Riviera to the South Wales coast. Once the destination du jour of Victorians seeking a seaside excursion, genteel Tenby remains dressed in its Sunday best, complete with tinkling ice-cream vans on the promenade, colourful boats in the harbour and pastel-toned townhouses perched on the hilly bay side. Flanked by three pristine Blue Flag beaches, Tenby had lain languid of late but the recent arrival of Y Gegin food hall ygegin.com on Pembroke Dock signals a welcome gourmet resurgence. This laid-back dining spot gives a seaside twist to the tried-and-tasted food hall template, with local businesses and guest chefs, including Matt Waldron from Cardiff’s The Park House, serving up street food and sharing plates from the bare-brick warehouse. Expect seafood platters finished with ruby-red crab claws from local vendor Cŵlbox and blushing steaks courtesy of nearby Paternoster Farm. Further into town, the cobbled streets are crowded with gourmet outposts selling the best of Welsh produce. Pop into The Nook & Cranny thenookandcranny.co.uk to pick up a bottle of Pembrokeshire Gin Co’s new Tenby Dry Gin (distilled with hand-foraged Welsh rosemary) or hop over to Upper Frog Street to find Loafley Bakery loafley.wales where glistening strawberry tarts, towering lemon and elderflower cakes and cheesy, wild garlic sourdoughs await.
Among the newcomers, stalwarts of the town’s restaurant scene remain. Enjoy a leisurely afternoon on The Salt Cellar’s thesaltcellartenby.co.uk terrace while feasting on Carmarthen Bay mussels (served with a Tenby Harbour Brewery beer) or ramble across the 8km coastal walk to Saundersfoot to find rustic The Stone Crab stonecrab.co.uk and Coast restaurant coastsaundersfoot.co.uk on the cliffs. Padstow-born Thomas Hine took the reigns at the latter just last year, refocusing the menu on local fish, so expect crispy Porthilly oysters and mackerel ceviche served in front of stretching sea vistas.
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Margate Kent
All crisp white walls, expansive windows and jaunty angles, the 2011 arrival of the Turner gallery turnercontemporary.org on Margate’s waterfront was an early sign that the down-at-heel resort looked set for a revival. With skies labelled ‘the loveliest in all Europe’ by JMW Turner and artsy locals including Tracey Emin (look for her neon artwork above the tourist office), this seaside town is now rich with culture and laced with a youthful nonchalance. Nostalgia still reigns on Kent’s east coast – the refurb of the town’s Dreamland pleasure beach in 2017, with its candy-coloured carousel and traditional helter- skelter is case in point – but like a stick of rock, there’s a streak of art-school cool running through the town’s revival. Gallery-cum-café Hantverk & Found hantverk-found.co.uk showcases some of Thanet’s best seafood alongside exhibits from local artists. Tuck into dashi-poached Dover sole and freshly caught prawns with a harissa mayonnaise while admiring the up-and-coming paintworks. On The Parade, Angela’s angelasofmargate.com offers modern twists on classic seaside ingredients. Ray knobs in tartare sauce, whelks in garlic butter and grilled herrings with gremolata are all paired with a wine list tapped from Kent’s bountiful vineyards.
Sunshine-filled afternoons should be spent at the UK’s largest saltwater pool, Walpole Bay Tidal, before stopping by The Greedy Cow thegreedycow.co.uk for a slice of homemade cake and coffee. Come evening, pick up a pizza garnished with bougie toppings from the garden of England – orchard pear with blue cheese and Parma ham with nectarine – at GB Pizza greatbritishpizza.com before taking a seat at the Harbour Arms on the waterfront to watch Turner’s favourite sunset with a glass of local Northdown’s IPA. A room at chic pad The Reading Rooms thereadingroomsmargate.co.uk will make it hard to leave this swathe of the Kent coast.
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Tynemouth Tyne and Wear
Rugged creamy-yellow cliffs, golden beaches, brisk seaward
winds: this northern county on England’s coast offers a striking
alternative to a whimsical seaside jaunt. Wedged between the
mouth of the Tyne and the tumultuous North Sea, the cluster
of towns that make up North Tyneside can’t much rely on
the sunshine to bring in the crowds. Instead, Tynemouth and its neighbours are earning a burgeoning reputation as a
gourmet outpost. First to stir the sands was Riley’s Fish Shack
rileysfishshack.com – a rustic barbecue joint that opened in
2013, serving up whatever landed off the boats at North
Shields Fish Quay, all cooked over beachside fire pits. Adam
Riley and his partner Lucy toast lobster, monkfish and kippers
on sticks in front of their beachside shipping container and
serve up Lindisfarne oysters and delicately chargrilled squid
in wooden boxes. No silver service here – the best seats in the
house are on the sand. Then came the restaurants: among the elegant townhouses in Tynemouth centre, Longsands Fish
Kitchen longsandsfishkitchen.com offers classic fish and chips
alongside local mackerel with beetroot and rhubarb gel and
North Shields halibut, served ceviche-style in a lime, chilli and
coriander marinade. Head down to North Shields Fish Quay to
spot restaurateurs and hungry locals picking up the daily catch
among screeching gulls, salty aromas and the chug of fishing
boats. Cooking your own? Collingwood Seafood is a good bet.
Quayside, the River Café on the Tyne rivercafeonthetyne.co.uk
(no relation to the London establishment) and Staith House
thestaithhouse.co.uk are must-visit stop-offs. Dishes at the
latter include pan-roasted sea bass served with a butter
churned with fresh beach-collected seaweed. And check out
the coming-soon Salt Market Social food hall, too. Located
in the old Cosalt factory, it’s due to open later this year.
Finally, if Newcastle Brown Ale isn’t your tipple of choice, fear not. Pull up a seat at the taproom in the Flash House Brewery flashhousebrewing.co.uk to sample its Coffee Milk Stout and session IPA, while at many of the local pubs you’ll find Three Kings Brewery threekingsbrewery.co.uk behind the bar – cask ales all named with a touch of Geordie humour, such as the dry Irish stout Dark Side of the Toon.
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