The Ship Inn, Low Newton on Sea

Mr Frivolitea and I make an annual pilgrimage here for one simple reason (well two) a crab stottie (Mr Frivolitea usually has Swallow’s fish cakes) and a pint of Ship Inn beer. This is a short blog post as there’s not much to say. It’s perfect. A free house that doesn’t faff about. Short simple menu, beer brewed on site and a fantastic view. That’s all that we require and it’s why we keep coming back!

The view towards the beach

Crab Stottie

Swallow’s fish cakes

It’s worth saying that they do an occasional special and on this visit they had chocolate mousse cake with cardomom honeycomb. Wow! It was amazing. Mr Frivolitea has decided all honeycomb should be cardomom flavoured from now on.

The Old Boathouse, Amble

Northumberland has been generous to us this weekend both in terms of the weather the bounty of seafood on offer. We decided as a last adventure to head to Amble. Somewhere on my list but not yet visited. I had heard that the Old Boathouse was the place to eat and we got lucky. We called in. No table but they could give us a table in 45 minutes. Excellent! A wander around the lovely harbour pods that showcase local food and artists then we would eat. 20 minutes later they rang to say it was ready early. Even better. This service alone impressed me before we even got to the food.

We realised how fortunate we were when everyone else who arrived that afternoon without a reservation walked away disappointed. The great thing about this place is that it really focuses on local seafood. They have a regular menu but the excitement lies in the specials board based on local catch available that day.

We decided to share a portion of salt and chilli squid to start. Simple and delicious. The crumb on the squid was beautifully light.

When we had walked in earlier I had spotted a lady with a huge bowl of langoustines. I couldn’t get them out of my head so that’s what I ordered.

I was not disappointed. They were deliciously sweet and juicy. I made a mess but I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner!

Mr Frivolitea had whole wood roast seabass stuffed with orange, chilli and tarragon and served with an olive and sunblushed tomato salad. This was also really beautifully cooked and full of flavour.

One thing I do know is that on our next trip to Northumberland we will be booking a table here. What a discovery!

Beaches Seafood Shack

You have probably worked this out already but I absolutely love seafood. Any opportunity to eat it I will take. Today we spent the morning birdwatching on Staple Island and decided to go somewhere different for lunch in the afternoon. We decided on Alnmouth. Not far south of where we were staying and the promise of lovely views and the beach. A quick search led us to the Guardian and an article they posted last year about cheap eats in the area including mention of a seafood shack. So off we went and I am REALLY glad we did.

This place is very unassuming with a hand painted sign and hand written notes and menu outside, but it delivers in abundance.

The note on the door sealed it for me….read it for yourself….

The hand written menu inside made me grin from ear to ear, the only difficult bit was deciding what to have. Actually it wasn’t that difficult.

They had half lobster and fries for less than a tenner. Decision made. (Ten minutes later they sold out) We chose to eat in as there were three little tables inside and watched a number of people come in for takeaway. It is clearly a popular place.
My lobster and fries was perfect. That’s all I can say. It really was.

Mr Frivolitea ordered the smoked haddock Mac n cheese in a pot. He was delighted and is planning his next visit.

What a find this place was! I can’t wait to see what is on offer next time we visit.