Quick Tips for Hungry Visitors to the Northumbrian Coast

Beaches B&B and Restaurant

Established for more than 25 years, this curious little eating place demonstrates every visual seaside cliché, inside and out. You’ll find ceiling nets full of bric-a-brac, sea charts on the walls, even a Jolly Roger and a stuffed parrot. You may fear the worst, but you’d be wrong. This is a good place to eat. The evening menu is short, simple and fishy – think kipper pate, big prawns in a thermidor sauce and crab cakes. It has no alcohol licence so you must bring your own wide.

The Red Lion Inn

Everything an English pub should be with wood-panelled walls, low ceilings and well kept draught beers. At the back, its garden has stunning views over the Aln estuary. Home cooked food using local produce is served in the bar or in the separate dining room. Quantities are generous so you may not get as far as the desserts which are chalked up daily on the board.

Bistro 23

Mostly it’s a tea room, but on Wednesday and Saturday nights it's a bistro. The interior is pretty and spacious, with exposed stone and cream-painted paneling with a pleasant atmosphere by day or evening. The evening menu is short and there’s real cooking going on: brilliantly green pea soup, a light cheese soufflé, seabass with prawns. Be sure to book ahead for evening dining.

Essentials:23 Northumberland Street, Alnmouth NE66 2RJ, +44 (0)1665 830 393

The Hermitage Inn, Warkworth

Located at the bottom of the hill, with the imposing silhouette of Warkworth Castle at the top, this pretty black and white pub is worth a visit for two reasons. The first is the beer. Order a pint of Jennings bitter then enjoy a really well kept ale. The second reason has to be the leopard print toilet seats in the ladies’ bathrooms. Only a print, not a texture, but even so...

Craster Fish Restaurant

Right on the harbour at Craster, this is part of the Robson’s Smokehouse, so you can be sure that your smoked fish is absolutely fresh. Cooking is very simple and quantities are large, as is the menu at lunch or dinner. Views out to see help compensate for the 70s style decor. Another 70s touch - they don’t take credit cards.

Shoreline Café and Shop

Just down the road from the smokehouse premises at Craster harbour, the bright, white exterior of the Shoreline Café strikes an entirely different note. All is bright and white inside too, with more tables outside on the decking to catch the sun. Savoury dishes are light and varied, and the home made cakes are simply delicious. There’s also an imaginatively stocked mini-deli in the corner – including locally baked Cakeroot cakes.