If you’re looking for great food in a coastal setting and a comfortable hotel nearby to make a long or short break of it, here's where to go
There is something about going to the beach that brings out the inner child in all of us. Perhaps it is the landscape that demands your full attention: the sand, rocks and catch-you-out tides simply cannot accommodate meetings, work or anything remotely serious. It’s no wonder, then, that adding quality food to such a setting triggers raptures.
Fishermen’s huts selling the latest catch, or simple cabins serving hot tea and ice lollies, are what you would traditionally have found on our shores in the past. Today, however – particularly following the boom in staycations since 2020 – a tide of imaginative venues has risen up along our coastlines, ranging from deliberately lo-fi sheds to more polished rustic bistros, with many becoming must-visit destinations in their own right.
So here is our summer guide to where to eat, and where to stay nearby, to make the most of Britain’s beach shack revolution.
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Along the coastal path near the Cornish town of Portscatho, on the Roseland peninsula, you will find one of the UK’s most individual, well-loved and now most well-known “secret” outdoor-dining experiences. Run by chef Simon Stallard, it is dedicated to using seasonal produce and remaining blissfully in tune with its surroundings. Salads and seafood are served come summer; spiced dhals, chowders and soups in spring and autumn. Cornish pasties, cakes and clotted-cream ice cream are available whatever the season – all accompanied by organic lemonade or BYOB. Spontaneity is celebrated: lunch slots can’t be reserved and the renowned summer and autumn ticketed “feasts” are announced on social media at the beginning of each month.
Contact: hiddenhut.co.uk
The Olga Polizzi-designed Hotel Tresanton has a whitewashed, cool Mykonos vibe, with ocean and lighthouse views from each of its 30 rooms. The adventurous will love chartering its 26ft yacht (the hotel is a former yacht club, after all) with a skipper to find hidden coves and beaches nearby; foodies will love its summer barbecues.
Driving time: 14 minutes
Book it: Double rooms from about £230 B&B; 01326 270055; thepolizzicollection.com
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After starting life as a “street-food (bicycle) stall”, the extremely popular Riley’s today comprises two customised shipping containers on Tynemouth’s King Edward’s Bay, overlooking the frothy waves. The reasonably-priced menu is fixed day-to-day according to whatever catch has come in, and it is all cooked, ever-so-simply, over charcoal. Local and wised-up visiting foodies feast on the likes of smoked mussels, monkfish collars, crab and lango rolls and, a favourite, pasty-like chilli-fish empanadas, all consumed using eco-friendly wooden plates and cutlery. Get there early for still-warm pastries, chocolate made in Tynemouth, Newcastle’s own Ouseburn Coffee – and kippers. Stay on for beer from local brewers and throat-tingling hot butter rum. Linger for glimpses of dolphins.
Contact: 0191 257 1371; rileysfishshack.com
Take your eyes off the view – a Victorian hallucination of a park, teeming with imported sequoias, Spanish chestnut trees, Atlantic cedars and man-made pools and waterfalls – and you will discover that stately Jesmond Dene House is peaceful, friendly and only a five-minute drive from the heart of Newcastle’s action.
Driving time: 17 minutes
Book it: Doubles from about £100 room-only; 0191 212 3000; jesmonddenehouse.co.uk
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A much-loved destination restaurant a 90-minute drive north of Belfast, Harry’s Shack is right on the dreamy dunes of the National Trust-owned Portstewart Strand, gazing out over roaring surfers’ waves. It is committed to serving the freshest local fare, crackingly cooked and at a cracking good price. The fruit and vegetables and meat and seafood are all sourced from as close by as possible. Co-founded by the former Fat Duck and Riverside Brasserie chef Derek Creagh, and Donal Doherty (son of the eponymous Harry), the restaurant serves confident, hearty and high-quality food – think top-notch fish and chips, huge turbot and a rather special chocolate pot.
Contact: twitter.com/harrys_shack
A fresh, fun, family-run Victorian terrace, with 18 boldly decorated bedrooms sporting all manner of clashing/not-clashing prints and textures, the boutique Elephant Rock hotel has a good-looking restaurant with equally fine food (try the pan-roasted cod), a glamorously modern take on an art-deco cocktail bar and sea-view rooms that look out over the Causeway Coast and the Atlantic.
Driving time: 16 minutes
Book it: Doubles from £150 B&B; 028 7087 8787; elephantrockhotel.co.uk
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With the UK’s changeable climate, it makes sense that sometimes a “shack” by the coast is, in fact, a sturdy shipping container. This one comes with a large deck area leading up to the pebble beach, lined with white wooden tables and chairs, and canopies billowing in the breeze. The Little Rock’s focus is championing the local fish and seafood that it serves fresh from the trawlers you can see coming into Folkestone. Weekend brunch is a big deal here (try the Folkestone Crab/Crayfish Royale), as is a sense of community: the restaurant offers a free drink with its early- bird Friday supper to those attending the nearby harbour cinema screenings on some dates in August and September, and supports the DJ events at its sister spot, the Pilot Beach Bar.
Contact: 01303 762565; littlerockfolkestone.co.uk
This picturesque 17th-century Jacobean manor has just been refurbished to become a very current, very grand restaurant with rooms. The nine-bedroom country house features key modern finishes: superking beds, drench showers and glass walls that overlook the three-acre gardens, while the restaurant is headed up by Shane Pearson, the former chef at both Caravan and Blacklock restaurants in London.
Driving time: 23 minutes
Book it: Doubles from £160 B&B; 01233 427727; boys-hall.com
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With DJ appearances, official merch (get the “I heart BH” socks) and After Eight martini cocktails, Beachhouse Devon is a busy operation. However, it still manages to retain its earthy, laid-back vibe and beachy good looks, thanks to its friendly service and openness to children and dogs. Positioned right on South Milton Sands, it is a pretty sky-blue and white shed with a collection of wooden tables and parasols that work together to create an ideal backdrop for sundowner shots. The food itself is fresh and local, and features large lobsters, scallops and other seafood treasures.
Contact: 01548 561144; beachhousedevon.com
Simple and smart, but, like old-money friends, far too sophisticated to make you feel uncomfortable about it, Hope Cove House is the kind of seaside guesthouse you can relax in enough to start daydreaming that it is, in fact, your own second home. You’ll enjoy summer barbecues on the tiered terrace and top-notch food, thanks to its London restaurateur and former-chef owners.
Driving time: 11 minutes
Book it: Doubles from £160 B&B; 01548 561371; hopecovehouse.co
The sight of the Barricane Beach Café, a dinky little blue cabin, being lowered back onto its usual spot via crane around Eastertime is an exciting visual indicator to locals that winter’s long, dark nights are drawing to a close and the season of seaside dining is upon them. As well as serving drinks, homemade cakes, ice creams and upmarket sandwiches, what makes the Barricane stand out on the beach-shack restaurant circuit is its Sri Lankan curry suppers. Joyfully, there are just two options: meat or veg, and both come with rice and poppadoms. Add a drink or bring your own bottle along with a blanket, choose your spot and clink to the sunset.
Contact: barricanebeachcafe@gmail.com
The sweet passion project of experienced travellers and couple Will and Stacey, the 19th-century Smuggler’s Rest has rooms that are individual and smart, with each offering guests something slightly different, from Dartmoor views to a balcony to a beautiful large bay window. Try the curious “son-in-law” duck-egg salad at Miss Fea’s Bistro.
Driving time: 3 minutes
Book it: Doubles from £250 B&B; 01271 870891; thesmugglersrest.co.uk
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A former coal shed, today the Beach House Restaurant is a destination spot in the truest sense: the Michelin star it has retained since 2020 encourages intrepid food fans to make their travel plans around it. Probably the most grown-up venue on this list, it drinks in its surroundings, from the simple stone walls that blend in with the beach it sits on (part of the Gower’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) to the all-fresh, all-local, mainly sea-sourced produce. Inside, the decor is rustic, textured and pared back, with glass doors overlooking one of the prettiest views of any restaurant in Wales.
Contact: 01792 278277; beachhouseoxwich.co.uk
Formed from three 17th-century buildings, the King’s Head Inn is a cosy, family- run hotel serving homemade food, with a bar boasting one of the largest malt-whisky collections outside Scotland – perfect for a snifter after a walk on nearby Rhossili Bay, consistently voted one of the UK’s best beaches.
Driving time: 20 minutes
Book it: Doubles from £135 B&B; 01792 386212; kingsheadgower.co.uk
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Living up to its name, the Hive Beach Café is a hub of activity situated on Dorset’s magnificent Jurassic Coast. As well as serving the freshest fish and seafood it can get its hands on (preferably from the waters it looks out upon), it also sells its own vodka and fudge and has a pop- up ice-cream parlour. In summer, the Top Marquee is erected, serving lunch and dinner with the best views. The Hive empire also includes self-catering cottages, sister café the Watch House and the nearby Club House restaurant.
Contact: 01308 897070; hivebeachcafe.co.uk
This roomy and extremely comfortable former coaching inn dates from 1535. It has a mix of heritage finishes and modern luxuries, such as gigantic beds, and is located at the heart of buzzing Bridport, a town with on-the-up food and arts scenes, an abundance of inviting tearooms and a market to mooch around.
Driving time: 10 minutes
Book it: Doubles from £95 B&B;01308 422878; thebullhotel.co.uk
Dorset is perhaps the UK county with the highest density of beach-shack restaurants worth visiting: the Shell Bay Seafood Restaurant faces competition from the likes of the Noisy Lobster, at Avon Beach, and Joe’s Café, also on Studland. However, Shell Bay has the benefit of a recommendation from the Michelin Guide for its balanced combination of modern and classic seafood dishes, the panoramic views out to Brownsea Island from every table, and the way its original rustic-shack roots still shine through in its more bistro-esque incarnation. If you enjoy its perfectly presented Cornish king crab and lobster, you might want to try one of the forage-and-feast experiences that occasionally happen over on Middle Beach, a 50-minute stomp or 10-minute drive away.
Contact: 01929 450363; shellbay.net
Part of the UK’s brilliantly batty ultimate boutique-hotel brand, this little piggy is the one that looks out on scenic sandy shores. Make the most of the excellent breakfast offering before taking the short stumble to Old Harry Rocks, then head back to base for fantastic cocktails by the fireside.
Driving time: 11 minutes
Book it: Doubles from £255 room only; 01929 450288; thepighotel.com
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A self-described fish café, Goat Ledge is so much more than that. There are the brilliantly colourful heated beach huts that you can have free when available. Then there’s the area for boules, and the many beers on tap. Yes, there are fish baps as well as bacon-and-egg classics, but also plenty more unusual options, such as the Sunrise Sandwich (smoked haddock, fried egg and chilli jam), the Vegan Sunrise (essentially, mushrooms and hash browns), and the Vegan Goat Bap (tofu and pickled red cabbage). And don’t forget the sunset DJ sessions throughout the summer on Thursday and Friday nights.
Contact: goatledge.com
A former Georgian coach house, Laindons sits on Hastings High Street and consists of five chic, high-ceilinged rooms, a shared lounge with an honesty bar and a light-filled conservatory in which a homemade breakfast is served. Owners Malcolm and Karen are London hairstylists who happened to visit the beach town one pivotal, life-changing weekend – so there is even a one-chair salon, should you require a quick tidy-up.
Driving time: 7 minutes
Book it: Doubles from £150 B&B; 01424 437710; laindons.com
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All accommodation had availability at the time of going to press
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