From golden coves to shingle shores, take your pick from the coast team's top beaches for foodies. Words: Caroline Wheater
FOR A SANDY BEACH CAFE
1 Watergate Bay, Cornwall
This two-mile-long, wide, sandy beach is glorious in summer as visitors sunbathe, swim and get sporty with surfing, stand-up paddleboarding, kitesurfing and waveski. Fuel up at The Beach Hut (01637 860877), right on the sands, which is a child-friendly busy, buzzy cafe. There is also Zacry’s restaurant at the Watergate Bay Hotel, where the accent is on brasserie-style grilled meat and fish (01637 861231, watergatebay.co.uk; visitcornwall.com).
FOR SEAFOOD ALFRESCO
2 Steephill Cove, Isle of Wight
This beautiful little beach can only be accessed by foot, which guarantees a chilled-out vibe. Fresh crab and lobster are brought ashore daily and cooked up at an iconic eatery. Wheeler’s Crab Shed is the place for tasty crab pasties and mackerel ciabattas (01983 855819) steephill-cove.co.uk; visitisleofwight.co.uk).
FOR AN INN WITH A VIEW
3 Applecross Bay, Wester Ross
On a clear day, you can see over to Skye and the Applecross Peninsula from this secluded bay. The renowned Applecross Inn is close to the rocky end of the beach and looks out to sea. The simple dining room specialises in seafood – langoustines, prawns, oysters and more – and from April to October, the pub’s ‘Inn-Side Out’ retro food truck on the shore offers coffee and cake as well as artisan ice cream to take away (01520 744262, applecross.uk.com; visitscotland.com; visitwester-ross.com).
FOR LOCAL FISH
4 King Edward’s Bay, Tynemouth, North Shields
Small, sandy and protected by cliffs, this beach is popular with families and foodies, too, who come for Riley’s Fish Shack (0191 257 1371, rileysfishshack.com), run by local chef Adam Riley and his wife Lucy. The shack serves breakfast in the mornings, and local seafood for lunch and dinner – chargrilled squid, surf and turf, cod with samphire – accompanied by signature salads and crispy garlic potatoes (visitnorthtyneside.com).
FOR ART AND EATS
5 Aldeburgh Beach, Suffolk
Shingle doesn’t come much more magical than the shoreline that inspired 20th-century composer Benjamin Britten, celebrated in Maggi Hambling’s gigantic Scallop sculpture at the northern end of the beach. Find treat eats at Brudenell Seafood & Grill, where beach-dug clams and Deben River mussels are highlights (01728 452071, brudenellhotel.co.uk). Ives Ice Cream Parlour & Coffee Bar is also worth checking out, too (visitsuffolk.com; visit-aldeburgh.co.uk).
FOR CLASSY COOKING
6 Cobb Beach, Lyme Regis, Dorset
Every beach-lover should head to Cobb Beach at some point in their life to admire Lyme’s 14th-century harbour wall, which featured in iconic film The French Lieutenant’s Woman. Ascending the steep network of streets inland you will find the smart Hix Oyster & Fish House (01297 446910, hixrestaurants.co.uk) on Cobb Road. Look out to sea while you dine on divine dishes including Lyme Bay shellfish soup, grilled Lyme Bay lobster and Newlyn mackerel salad (visit-dorset.com).
7 Coppet Hall Beach, Pembrokeshire
With a Blue Flag award and rockpools to explore, this attractive sandy beach on Carmarthen Bay is home to the elegant, award-winning Coast restaurant (01834 810800, coastsaundersfoot.co.uk), where chef Fred Clapperton cooks up a storm. Dine on Caldey Island lobster, Little Haven crab and Pembrokeshire turbot (visitpembrokeshire.com).
FOR SIMPLE PLEASURES
8 Portstewart Strand, County Londonderry
This sandy, Blue Flag, National Trust beach is home to Harry’s Shack, a lovely, down-to-earth eatery that offers simple, delicious food. The dedicated chef does a fine line in local seafood, meat and vegetables at reasonable prices. You can even bring your own wine (028 7083 1783; discovernorthernireland.com).
For more beach inspiration and coastal guides, click here or take a look at the magazine.
