Having decided she wanted to go rummaging for a preserved velociraptor, we packed our bags for England’s only natural World Heritage Site, handily located just over two hours from Cardiff.
From the bleak wilderness of Lyme Regis’s Undercliffs to the yellow sandstone of Golden Cap, the birdlife of Seaton Wetlands, and the never-ending pebbles of Chesil Beach, we had a cracking holiday working our way along the coast.
Here are seven excellent places to eat on the Jurassic Coast:
Lilac, Lyme Regis
There’s a wine focus at this seasonal small plates restaurant. In fact, the interesting selection of natural wines, available in taster portions, were equally as memorable as the food.
A Teku Teku rose from Stonebird in Kent had bags of rhubarb whilst a Portuguese skin contact wine from Fita Preta had plenty of satsuma peel. There was also a Resurrection prosecco cocktail with oxidised wine syrup and bitters, which had a citrusy mulled wine thing going on.
Crisp tempura broccoli was accompanied by a thick sweet chilli jam; it was an excellent veggie take on crispy chilli beef.
Red chard, fragrant blood orange, Fetish (aka British Feta), fresh mint and toasted almonds combined to make a deliciously light and fragrant salad.
A first-rate piece of hake, flaky of flesh and crisp of skin, was served with a white wine twanged cannellini bean velouté dotted with nuggets of pork and wild garlic oil.
Uber tender pork belly was coated in a glossy meat sauce and accompanied by tart rhubarb ketchup and crisp winter slaw, both of which had excellent depth of flavour. Batons of crackling were on point too.
Carrot cake was topped with sweet sultanas, candied walnuts, tangy lemon curd and served with a creamy piece of Cotswold brie. It was a belter of a dessert-cheese course hybrid.
The Oyster and Fish House, Lyme Regis
Mark Hix, one of the UK’s most well-known restaurateurs and the former chef director of places like The Ivy and J.Sheekey, opened the Oyster and Fish House in 2020.
Set in a hobbit-like wooden building with stunning views of the Cobb, it’s the kind of assured operation which feels like it’s been open for decades.
Small plates to start included exemplary fritto misto with thick tartare sauce, well-spiced cauliflower pakora, and earthy beetroot puree topped with whipped curd and the sweet-savoury acidity of pickled walnuts.
A sharing platter was one of the best pieces of fish cookery I’ve ever encountered. Sweet lemon soul, meaty John Dory and oily mackerel were all precisely cooked with lightly charred and blistered skin. Silky hollandaise with a delicate zing of citrus and a vibrant green herb sauce were top drawer accompaniments.
Apple pie for dessert was more like a warm baked apple cake with a hidden fruit filling. It was served with a good dollop of whipped Dorset cream.
Walnut and whiskey tart was reminiscent of a pecan pie with its thin layer of pastry and a crunchy nut filling with notes of brown sugar and good lick of booze.
The Whole Hog, Lyme Regis
This little hole in the wall takeaway serves hog roast sandwiches, filled doughnuts and Monmouth coffee – a killer trio if ever there was.
We sat on a bench by the seafront and enjoyed one of their excellent hog roast sandwiches. A soft bap was overflowing with tender pork, caramelised onions, apple sauce, thick gravy and a generous quantity of crackling which crunched with every mouthful.
The Seaside Boarding House, Burton Bradstock
Sitting in the window of the Seaside Boarding House at Burton Bradstock has the feel of being on the deck of a luxury cruise liner.
Combining the traditional and the modern, it's a retreat which oozes class; the term boarding house really doesn’t do it justice. Owned by the team who used to run Bristol's acclaimed Wallfish, I can see why it was a place which was held in such high regard.
With an unfussy fish focused menu, there was a very good value £25 three course set lunch on the day we visited. Whilst I opted for the bargain bait, Mrs G stuck to the a la carte.
Whipped cod’s roe seemingly appears on the menu of every trendy restaurant nowadays and I’m fully onboard with it. Thick and creamy with a delicate smokiness, it was lovely served with peppery radishes.
A gloriously light textured Westcombe cheddar soufflé delivered a big hit of fromage with crunch provided in the form of toasted hazelnuts.
Leek vinaigrette saw sweet, charred and tender alliums topped with plump mussels and a well-judged note of richness balancing delicate acidity.
More buxom mussels were bathed in a flavour pack sauce of scrumpy cider, leeks and aromatic bay.
Fish soup, laden with huge pieces of poisson, delivered on the promised intensity of its earthy rust coloured hue. It was served with thick lemony aioli and fronds of monks beard.
For dessert, two scoops of vanilla ice cream were paired with a first-rate brandy snap and a jug of warm salted caramel sauce with a moreish salinity and toasty sweetness.
A slab of squidgy, throat warming ginger loaf was accompanied by candied walnuts and another thick toffee sauce. The only thing missing was a scoop of ice cream or glug of cream.
Bennett’s, Weymouth
Located on Weymouth’s historic harbourside, Bennett’s has been dishing up fish and chips for over 30 years.
Choose a table, order at the counter, and pull up a pew whilst your fish is fried to order. Everything hit the mark from the bubbly batter and flaky cod to the crisp chips and pot of curry sauce on the side.
Catch at the Old Fishmarket, Weymouth
Situated upstairs from a high-end fishmonger on Weymouth harbourside, Catch is in pretty much the textbook location for a fish restaurant.
They put all that locally sourced fish to very good use as a £40 four course set lunch, which was big on Asian-twanged classical technique, was more impressive than many a Michelin-starred meal.
Warm sourdough was accompanied by a UFO of wild garlic butter topped with a sweet lightly pickled mussel.
Surplus brown crab from the fishmonger had been turned into brown crab powder and used as seasoning in a Korean style dumpling filled with light white fish and sweet white crab mousse. But it was a massive-flavoured crab broth, heady with lemongrass and ginger, which knocked my socks off - it was just a shame to see the leftovers in the teapot discarded when they could have gone in my belly.
A cleverly balanced dish of savoury and meaty miso cured trout was topped with crispy trout skin, peppery watercress puree and warming wasabi mayo.
Delicately cooked skate wing lacked any of the unpleasant gelatinousness I've encountered elsewhere. Parmesan powered hispi cabbage roll, silky broccoli and anchovy puree, and a deep-flavoured skate bone sauce were all super accompaniments.
For dessert, a riff on an apple tart saw ultra fine slices of tender caramelised apple fragranced with lemon thyme and served with a boozy aerated apple brandy custard and a dollop of Devon cream.
Crab House Café, Weymouth
It was a full house inside the restaurant and marquee at the Crab House Café on a weekday lunchtime and it’s easy to see why with their menu of hearty fish cookery, which appeals to the trad crowd and hipsters alike.
Baked oysters, farmed by the restaurant on the waters of the Fleet just a few yards from where we sat, were topped with a chorizo spiked crumb and sweet pea puree.
Hummus twanged with smoky bottarga was served with a toolbox of crudites and croutons.
A mashup of dressed crab and celeriac remoulade was very clever indeed - the fine texture and earthy sweetness of the root vegetable mirroring the crab.
Two hulking pieces of white fish had top drawer accompaniments. A tranche of hake was served with truffled mushrooms, vibrant cashew nut pesto and minted broad beans and new potatoes.
Herb-crumbed pollock was joined by a hearty mixed bean and octopus cassoulet. Kraken-like tender tentacles appeared everywhere.
A simple side of samphire was beautifully fragranced with pepper and charred lemon butter.
I'd been meaning to try a slice of Dorset apple cake all holiday and it was worth the wait - warm, soft-crumbed, generously flecked with fruit and delicately spiced, it was delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
We didn't have a single dud meal during our trip to the Jurassic Coast and in fact it's one of the best food holidays we've ever had in the UK. I'm sure we'll be back soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment