The Isle of Skye fills up faster and faster every summer, it seems, but as the midges evaporate so too do the seasonal crowds. Explore the breathtaking landscape, dressed in muted autumn shades, and its equally breathtaking restaurants. Push to the island’s northerly coast to find the famed Three Chimneys – smoked haddock ravioli with mussel and horseradish velouté got our inspector’s vote recently – and Loch Bay whose handful of tables overlook the waterside in Stein. The unpretentious setting is a wonderful backdrop for Michael Smith’s superb fish-led cookery. Back in Portree, the island’s main town, tuck up harbourside at little Scorrybreac to enjoy Calum Munro’s delicious take on modern Scottish cuisine.
Fancy Wales? The beaches of the Gower are miracles of coastal nature and are all the more beautiful in quieter periods. Hywel Griffith’s Beach House – it actually is on Oxwich beach, but as beach houses go it’s sophisticated – is a must for anyone keen to discover the best ingredients of the chef’s native country. Book for Gower salt-marsh lamb, Oxwich Bay lobster, and bara brith (in a soufflé, much to our inspector’s recent delight). Pembrokeshire captivates too, not least because you’ll find Coast on Coppet Hall beach, Saundersfoot, where the new terrace bar overlooking Camarthen Bay is a stunning place to linger over shared platters of local oysters, charcuterie and cheeses.
On Anglesey, now’s the time to get lucky with a table at Sosban & The Old Butcher’s at Menai Bridge where a deliciously creative nine-course tasting menu might include torched cod with onion fudge, fermented spring onions and liquorice, and whipped buttermilk, compressed apple and celeriac ice cream. Menu? Nothing so pedestrian is offered, keeping up the surprise quotient at this exciting restaurant. There’s a cluster of lower-key places nearby too such as friendly Dylan’s Menai Bridge, and the great-value Freckled Angel where a twice-baked perl las soufflé in a cream and perl las sauce drizzled with balsamic vinegar has had rave reports.
There are feasts to be had along England’s south coast. In Kent, The Sportsman in Seasalter draws an international crowd year-round, guests lured by the exceptional hospitality of chef-owner Stephen Harris and his team, and food that brilliantly treads the line between simple and unforgettable – slip sole with seaweed butter (or smoked salt butter on our inspection visit) is a classic, and a blueberry and almond tart with lemon verbena ice cream will finish a meal perfectly. While you’re in the area, have a wander round nearby Whitstable (read our local guide here) whose foodie reputation thrives in the form of longstanding favourite Wheeler’s Oyster Bar, and neighbourhood favourite Samphire, but also fabulous sushi, sundaes, fish & chips and bakeries.
Families and fossil-hunters pack the Jurassic Coast in peak season but visit the UNESCO natural World Heritage Site now to find tranquillity. As part of the South West Coast Path, it’s a stunning place to walk and with tea rooms and beach cafes dotting the coastline you’re never far from a bite to eat – we’re serious fans of the Hive Beach Café in Burton Bradstock where you’ll find crisp squid splashed with lime, crab sandwiches and lobster rolls. Anchor the day with a memorable meal at Catch at the Old Fish Market in harbourside Weymouth, and kick off your walking boots in Exmouth to slip into gracious Lympstone Manor. Michael Caines’ restaurant is push-the-boat-out territory, but to sit on that sun-bathed terrace overlooking the river Exe, perhaps with a glass of Lympstone’s own rosé, is memory-making stuff.
In Cornwall, Padstow takes a deep breath as the pace slows, making now an ideal time to visit Paul Ainsworth’s acclaimed No. 6 restaurant (stay at his Padstow Townhouse for the full experience), Rick Stein’s evergreen Seafood Restaurant where roast turbot remains a luxurious classic, and the chefs’ respective lower-key cafés and bars. Over the estuary in Rock, check out Karrek in the St Enodoc hotel, where local Porthilly shellfish, Cornish crab, and ‘mum’s favourite bouillabaisse’ have seduced inspectors. Want more? A short drive north, the pretty fishing village of Port Isaac draws fans of chef Nathan Outlaw’s superlative fish cookery, and as summer ends the quest for bookings at his New Road and Fish Kitchen restaurants, especially at lunchtime, becomes a little less fierce.
