There’s much more to the seaside just than fish and chips – although, don’t worry, there’s still plenty of that too. From freshly caught seafood and local produce to sourdough pizza, artisan coffee and inventive small plates, Britain’s coastal towns are becoming increasingly exciting places to eat.
Talented chefs are putting local ingredients and seasonality centre stage, while independent cafés, bakeries, restaurants and street-food traders are bringing fresh energy to the coast. Even the humble chippy has upped its game, with greater attention paid to the quality and provenance of the fish and the perfect crispness of the batter.
In once-faded resorts, old seaside favourites are being joined by farmers’ markets, pop-ups and destination restaurants. Today, a great meal can be just as much a reason to visit the coast as the sea view and salty air itself. Here are seven seaside towns where you’ll find plenty to tempt your tastebuds – as well as jaw-dropping landscapes.
Best for: variety
On the tip of the Roseland Peninsula, overlooking the Fal estuary, St Mawes is a harbour-side village lined with whitewashed cottages. The area is laced with footpaths for walks along cliffs, past creeks and beside bays – ideal for working up an appetite.
St Mawes has an array of great places to eat. For a treat, head to The Idle Rocks hotel. On its seafood tasting menu, highlights include cured monkfish and scallop caught by its fisherman, Gareth. For excellent mussels, try The Watch House. Pop into Mr Scorce deli for baguettes filled with locally caught crab and Cornish pasties. Meanwhile, Hotel Tresanton has popular beach club suppers.
The Hidden Hut, a well-known gourmet shack cafe that also hosts summer feasts on Porthcurnick beach, and its sister pub The Standard Inn in Portscatho are both 10 minutes’ drive from St Mawes.
Travel to Falmouth Dock by train and take the regular 20-minute ferry to St Mawes, year-round.
B&B at the Rising Sun from £150. While there, enjoy the pub menu that showcases local prowess, including market-sourced fish specials. Accessible room available.
Best for: coastal classics, with a twist
There has long been an edginess to Deal; it was both a prosperous naval town and a smuggler’s delight, a boating safe haven that was also renowned for shipwrecks when the wind blew the wrong way.
The winding lanes and Georgian townhouses are populated with galleries and bohemian shops, such as the Tamarisk Boutique and Hoxton Store (homewares) that contrast with the Brutalist pier on the pebble beach.
Visitors can expect urban chic-by-the-sea, with a resurgence of places to buy food, eat and drink. The Rose is classic Deal, a 200-year-old boutique hotel and pub serving modern classics, such as rock oysters with forced rhubarb. Jenkins and Son has been selling fish since 1940 and has seafood platters and a lunchtime street food bar with the day’s catch.
Head down to Hut 55 on the beach (weather dependent) for scotch eggs and chunky sandwiches, or Updown Farmhouse, a restaurant with rooms and a kitchen garden in nearby Betteshanger that uses local suppliers.
Deal is served by Southeastern trains on the Kent coast railway line. B&B doubles at The Royal Hotel from £175. Prebook its afternoon tea. Accessible room available. B&B at Updown Farmhouse from £180.
Best for: fish and chips
Most recognisable for its Victorian Tramway, Saltburn-by-the-Sea is on a cliff top with a shingle-and-sand beach at its feet. There are colourful beach huts, the 200-metre pier (the last on the Cleveland coast) and surfers – it’s surfing community dates to the 1960s, and it continues to attract learners with its gently shelving, north-facing beach.
Aside from traditional fish and chips, The Seaview Restaurant serves a Saltburn Crab Brioche that was recommended on the BBC (now Channel 4) show . There are two other excellent fish and chip shops, Oscars Fish & Chips and Cat Nab Fish n Chips. Chocolinis makes fabulous truffles and chocolate marshmallows.
The direct train from Darlington takes less than an hour minutes. B&B doubles at Brockley Hall Hotel (AA 2 rosette fine dining) from £210. Accessible rooms are available.
In the town, there is a thriving arts scene with the Saltburn Community Theatre, cinema and art and craft galleries, including Saltburn Studios and Gallery, Hawkins Gallery and Creation Saltburn.
Best for: friendly bistros
The dual seaside towns of Lytham and St Annes on the Sea preserve trappings of Victorian heritage with leafy promenades, gardens, a Victorian bandstand and pier, two miles south of Blackpool. There’s also a selection of family-focused activities (treasure trail, a trampoline, and splash park). The beach has wide views and stunning sunsets. Rent a hut for the full experience.
Lytham St Annes has lots of good cafés and bistros. Both the Courtyard Cafe and the Hygge Ansdell have a loyal following and base their seasonal menus on local ingredients. Try the superfood salad at the former; a highlight at the latter is the blackberry and Brazil nut scones. Head to The Prickly Pear for Sunday lunch and to Un Momento for Sicilian and Sardinian food.
The fastest train route from Lytham to Manchester takes 1 hour 20 minutes. B&B doubles at the Offshore Hotel from £98. “Just landed” fish and shellfish feature on a seasonal menu. Accessible rooms are available.
Best for: ice cream
The town of Mumbles is the gateway to The Gower Peninsula, the star of South Wales. It has an old-fashioned feel, independent shops and a long, sandy beach with a restored Victorian Pier.
Joe’s ice cream parlour has been serving its vanilla recipe for more than a century (the mini chain was founded by the Italian Cascarini family in Swansea in 1898). Fortes ice cream parlour has been in business since 1936, and seafront Ripples serves homemade gelato.
For dinner, try Môr, the Welsh word for sea, which is a star on the town’s menu. Its Mangalitza pork is flavourful. For a pick-me-up, head to Microlot by Mumbles Coffee.
Mumbles is five miles from Swansea, with good bus connections. B&B doubles at The Oyster House from £105. Accessible room available. The set menu is a steal.
Best for: whisky, fish and cheese
The main village on Arran – the largest island in the Firth of Clyde – is set between the mountains and the sea. Brodick Castle is at the far end of the sandy bay where you’ll find Arran Botanicals, a cocktail bar on the beach.
Beyond, there is magnificent hiking. Try the easy Fisherman’s walk circuit or ascend Goatfell, Arran’s highest peak while looking out for the rare Hen Harrier. Alternatively, try a seal-watching kayak trip. If the weather takes a turn, whisky tasting at the Lochranza Distillery is a draw. Warm up with seasonal soup or haggis in the café.
In Brodick, visit Auchrannie Resort’s Brambles Seafood Grill for steamed Scottish mussels or a Scotch ribeye steak. The family-run Ormidale Hotel offers lovely pub grub such as a local venison casserole washed down with Arran Blonde, one of its guest beers. Just outside town, Arran Cheese Shop stocks award-winning Arran Blue and Arran Mist (brie).
And a little further up the coast, Mara Fish Bar & Deli serves fish tacos, Lamlash bay creel caught lobsters, langoustines, and hand-dived scallops.
Brodick is accessed by ferry from Troon. The train from Glasgow to Troon takes 40 minutes. B&B doubles at The Douglas Hotel from £189. It’s Bistro promotes island produce. Accessible rooms are available.
Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland
Best for: cocktails
Poetically referred to as the town “where the mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea”, Newcastle is undergoing a revival, notably the construction of a 1km-long promontory that features sea-inspired sculptures.
Hikers head for Newcastle as a base for climbs of Slieve Donard, Northern Ireland’s highest peak, or to walk among follies and streams in Tollymore Forest.
Brunel’s Restaurant has great cocktails and modern European fare using local ingredients. It’s good to see more unusual fish like stone bass and coley on the menu.
For a sea view, The Mariner can’t be beaten. Enjoy the buzz of the bar, before heading up to eat.
Newcastle is 90 minutes from Belfast by bus or a 45-minute drive. B&B doubles at Harbour House from £131.