Half term by the coast: where to eat with kids in tow
Published 15 February 2026

'Everything on the plate was of excellent quality and cooked perfectly. As an all-day breakfast café, the food was far beyond your normal "caff" quality. The interior was warm and inviting with just a hint of nostalgia – the staff were attentive and knowledgeable about what was on our plate. It’s true that the scrambled eggs are sublime.'
S Kyne

There are few better places to enjoy fresh fish in the South Hams than at this blue beach hut on the shingle seafront at Beesands. The Hutchings family have been running their fishing enterprise here for more than 40 years, and are now in the business of serving up their catch to customers. Their weather-beaten shack is now a robust, rustic café/restaurant, which doles out whole Start Bay crabs and lobsters alongside specials such as scallop and monkfish Thai red curry. Book ahead – and BYOB. Those walking the South West Coast Path can stop for a stellar crab sandwich or fish and chips from the takeaway hatch.

‘The freshest of fish and the funkiest of food combined with the friendliest of folk,’ enthused a reporter – although the prospect of chilling under cover, with the bracing expanses of Chesil Beach stretching out in the distance, is also an irresistible draw for visitors to this cheery wooden shack. Oysters from the owners’ beds are always in demand, although Portland brown crabs are the undoubted stars of the show. Otherwise, the menu is driven by the sustainable haul from the West Country boats – perhaps whole plaice with anchovy butter and Somerset cider onions or hake fillet with cashew pesto and truffle-scented mushrooms. Kids have fish and chips, ‘simply floured, buttered and baked’. Expect crowds, whatever the weather. 

There’s a lot to like about Dylan’s, not least the location right on the edge of the Menai Strait – the best tables give matchless waterside views. It is one of a trio of family-friendly restaurants in North Wales known for their friendly and engaging service, kind pricing and wide choice. This means properly crisp mac 'n' cheese bites made with good Snowdonia Cheddar and served with a lightly spiced tomato ketchup, as well as assorted pizzas, tacos and burgers, Welsh sirloin steak with fries, and a fair few Asian-influenced dishes such as teriyaki sea bass and Bangladeshi beef bhuna. The regular menu doesn't change a great deal, so daily specials such as gochujang chicken ssambap (Korean chicken and lettuce wraps) are worth noting. Dylan's signature dish is mussels, which (as the menu explains in some detail) are currently sourced from the Scottish coast while the local Menai stocks recover; they are served as a large or small bowl with marinière sauce. Sticky toffee pudding made with Wild Horse Brewery ale stands out among a selection of desserts that also includes a mixed berry vacherin and coconut panna cotta with tropical fruits. The affordable wine list traverses the globe, although other libations stay closer to home – including local ales and keenly priced cocktails, made mostly with Welsh spirits.

Set among the boutique shops of Brighton’s Bond Street, this stylish bakery and café is perfect if you want to buy a loaf of artisan sourdough to take home – one that's made with organic stoneground flour. Alternatively, you could settle in and enjoy a chocolate croissant or a cinnamon bun, produced each day at Flint Owl's main bakery in rural Sussex. There's excellent coffee too, made with beans from the renowned Square Mile roastery in London. In good weather, sit at one of the pavement tables and watch the city’s colourful street life go by. Flint Owl has branches in Lewes and East Grinstead. 

Uphill from Turner Contemporary, overlooking the sea, wildly popular Forts Café celebrates its fifth anniversary in 2025. Expect excellent coffee and a full-throttle breakfast, brunch and lunch offering: the all-day menu (until 3pm) promises multiple iterations of eggs (perhaps with fennel sausage, green chilli and basil pesto, or a mountain of garlicky mushrooms), and there’s always Forts' signature sticky, sweet, crunchy Korean fried chicken – maybe stuffed in a doorstop focaccia sandwich or served with kimchi slaw and gochujang mayo. Bloody Marys and espresso Martinis are arguably the requisite accompaniment. To top it off, you can pick up freshly made cookies, cakes and pastries at the till. No bookings. Forts coffee-focused little sister in Broadstairs caters to an equally enthusiastic crowd.

‘Perfect size. Perfect price. Perfectly cooked.' This is what is meant by a local restaurant: a convivial, friendly, family-run place that has a good regular following and where value for money is a big plus. Lee and Lucy Murray’s no-fills, light-filled corner tapas bar – all white walls, blond wood and big windows – fits the Spanish ethos very well. The atmosphere is laid-back, buzzy and sociable, staff are enthusiastic and the offer is bolstered by chalked-up daily specials and a wine of the month. Working out of a tiny kitchen shoehorned in at the back, Shane Martin offers a regularly changing menu where just about every dish begs to be ordered. There’s a seasonal slant to the likes of grilled peach with goat’s curd, anchovy and basil, but menu staples such as jamón Ibérico, Galician octopus salad, chicken thighs with romesco sauce, and ‘next level’ grilled tiger prawns with chilli and garlic have many fans – in fact we got 'dish envy' as the next table’s Duroc pork ribs with membrillo glaze was delivered. If you don’t think you need dessert, think again – everyone praises the Basque cheesecake. Reasonable prices extend to the stash of sherries and mainly Spanish wines.

*Following a refurb, Kota Kai has relaunched with more covers, a 'statement bar', updated interiors and a revamped menu including dishes from the Josper grill. Watch for a new review coming soon.*

Facing Jude Kereama’s acclaimed main restaurant, Kota, this second-string eatery is a first-floor space that feels a little like a loft apartment. A very long room offering good views over the harbour, it serves up a largely pan-Asian menu of popular favourites – say salt-and-pepper squid, tempura tofu, soft-shell crab bao, seafood laksa, vegetable ramen or chicken massaman – with one or two western interlopers in the shape of mushroom arancini, feather-blade steak or fish and chips. Drink cocktails or wine from £25.

The location and the views over Carmarthen Bay are as stunning as ever, but the restaurant formerly known as Coast has been re-branded and refreshed as Lan y Môr, with Hywel Griffith (the Beach House, Oxwich) and head chef Gerwyn Jones (ex-the Fernery at Narbeth) at the helm. With its front-facing windows looking out onto Coppet Hall Beach, the interior didn’t need much updating, but the whole set-up is now far more relaxed and family-friendly compared to the former tasting menu concept – although Welsh produce still dominates the kitchen’s wide-ranging, eclectic offer. 

Bowls of perfectly crunchy, peppery ‘frockles’ (battered cockles with smoky sea salt and mayo) set the scene, ahead of starters that span everything from classic Welsh rarebit to seared Saundersfoot mackerel salad with pickled fennel and orange segments or bao buns stuffed with hot honey chicken. Mains are categorised as ‘pasture’, ‘land’ and 'sea’, so expect anything from bluefin tuna burgers, lobster with tandoori butter or BBQ tofu with a char-siu glaze to an incredibly tender, flavourful chunk of Welsh lamb rump served with charred gem lettuce and anchovy dressing. 

Welsh cakes and Tregoes waffles figure on the dessert menu, alongside the likes of boozy chocolate and cherry cake with clotted cream; the Welsh cheeseboard beckons, too. The wine list (curated by the team at Narberth) offers plenty of choice across all price points, with some notable bottles from local wineries such as Velfrey Vineyard; there's also a decent choice by the glass or carafe.

On the northern shores of Loch Leven, this big, brightly lit space with wipe-clean tables and café chairs is the go-to spot for shellfish in the region. It’s also a showcase for the family-owned Lochleven Shellfish Company next door – which dispatches crabs and lobsters, langoustines and oysters across Europe and Asia. There are meat dishes for those who must, but it’s the simply prepared seafood, presented without fuss, that brings customers here. A table of returning German visitors were working their way through the menu on our visit: a dozen Loch Creran oysters, followed by shellfish bisque with aïoli, then the mighty shellfish platter on ice made up of lobster, brown crab, Loch Linnhe scallops and oysters, which they declared the best shellfish in Europe. Expect too, lobster served cold with mayonnaise or hot with garlic butter, and whole brown crab – all to be eaten hands-on with crackers and shellfish pickers until the table is a pile of shells. A little less messy are grilled clams with garlic butter, diver-harvested scallops, razor clams poached in white wine, and buckets of steaming mussels in cider. To drink? Expect a standard list of predominantly white wines as well as local brews from River Leven Ales in Kinlochleven. There’s also a daytime coffee shop and a deli where fresh, frozen and cooked seafood is on sale.

During the summer season, you can now hire a deckchair from Riley’s and eat their food on the beach (they will also sell you a blanket to use and take home if the weather’s breezy). The location – a glass-fronted shipping container facing the North Sea – is spot-on for a menu inspired by the owners’ stints as street-food vendors. Seasonal seafood is the deal, and the day's dishes (and service times) often depend on the catch. Items are rubbed off the blackboard as they sell out, although Riley’s classic wood-fired sourdough wraps (served in their famous ‘floppy’ cardboard boxes) are a fixture – perhaps BBQ Craster kippers, bavette steak or ‘hot plate’ hake with caper butter. Otherwise, the line-up might run from chilli fish empanadas via salt cod with grilled cos lettuce, smoked egg and preserved lemon to pan-roasted headliners such as turbot ‘chop’, lemon sole or brill (served with panzanella salad). Round off with one of Riley’s special soft-serves (wood-fired pineapple or peaches and cream, say). A dozen wines are served in plastic tumblers, there are plenty of ales from regional breweries and the venue also does a good line in homemade beverages (try the hot butter rum).

The sea views might be distant, but Rocky Bottoms has made quite a splash on this stretch of the coast since opening in 2015. It is owned by a local fishing family, so the crabs and lobsters are of unimpeachable freshness, yet almost as diverting is the modern vibe of the place. The much-enlarged converted brick kiln has black-tiled flooring and bare-brick or dark-blue walls enlivened by local artworks. Staff are young and eager (if occasionally green) and cool soul provides the soundtrack. Outside, there’s a bar with decking, picnic-bench seating on an extensive lawn and a shop selling seafood. The cooking has a contemporary feel too, with expertly presented dishes arriving, perhaps, with a tongue-in-cheek retro garnish of cress. Seafood and genuinely local ingredients dominate the concise menu. Brancaster oysters make a popular starter, as do bowlfuls of salt-and-pepper crispy-fried cockles from Wells-next-the-Sea – crisped-up yet nicely chewy and replete with (unadvertised) chilli-heat. Although prices can be something of an eye-opener, compared to other local daytime venues, there’s no doubting the culinary flair manifest in the likes of, say, crab linguine: the pasta cooked to perfection, the dish replete with the flavour of fresh brown crabmeat. A tasty glass of Grüner Veltliner (from a drinks list that also includes Norfolk wines and beers) makes a happy pairing. To finish, lemon posset is a luxurious treat (creamy and tangy), its accompanying hard disc of shortbread less so. Overall, though, during the summer season, it's no surprise that Rocky’s is on a roll.

If you're in Southwold, this bright, welcoming spot is one to know. Set back from the High Street and its myriad tea rooms, the Canteen opened in 2022 after the town’s Old Hospital building was renovated and reimagined as a place for the local – and visiting – community. Breakfast and brunch are served until 2pm, while a counter piled high with cakes and bakes tempts the morning and afternoon crowd – although it's also worth booking for lunch if you fancy a real taste of ‘let the ingredients shine’ cooking.

Bread from local baker Filo & Twine and plates of pickled vegetables with houmous and crudités open a short menu that includes a generous daily changing savoury tart – perhaps mushroom, Binham Blue cheese and tarragon. A substantial salad, lightly dressed, bursts with the freshness, colour and crunch of raw cauliflower, pickled golden beetroot, nectarine, chervil (picked from the beds that surround the outdoor seating) and a scattering of nasturtium and calendula petals (ditto), while really hungry lunchtime visitors could be satisfied by a plate of venison, pheasant and rabbit casserole or chestnut mushroom and chickpea masala. 

To finish, try a squidgy macaroon with buttermilk ice cream, pumpkin pie or a lavender honey cheesecake pot. To drink? This is Adnams-land, so maybe choose their Dry Hopped Lager (brewed just round the corner), a refreshing homemade blackcurrant cordial with sparkling water or a cup of house-made oat chai. 

Overlooking the western end of Porthmeor Beach, away from the tourist hugger-mugger of downtown St Ives, the Fish Shed is swathed in scents of the sea. If you turn up sandy-footed from pottering on the beach, nobody will object. Populist seafood dishes take in the likes of crab Scotch egg, Cornish mackerel tartare or crisply battered Korean-style monkfish, and the bracing freshness of it all comes as standard – although execution can be a little muted. For afters, there could be a fairly hefty miso treacle tart with Cornish honey and yoghurt sorbet – enough for two, unless you're an incorrigible dessert fiend. A short wine list opens at £7.50 a glass.

With its maritime blue-and-white colour schemes, blond furniture and seafood prints on planks of wood, this buzzy seafood restaurant has the feel of an upmarket beach hut – although that’s where the similarity ends. Knowledgeable, friendly staff are on hand to advise on the menu, which majors in fresh seafood in various forms. As expected, locally landed lobsters are the headline act – from a potted version bulked out with shrimps and crayfish to various classic riffs (poached with garlic mayo, grilled with thermidor sauce and so on).

Alternatively, kick off with a bowl of Shetland mussels or smoked trout and leek tart ahead of battered haddock, a freshly dressed crab salad or something from the specials board (perhaps garlicky langoustines or pan-fried halibut with lobster mayo). Meat eaters and veggies are also well served, whether your penchant is for duck and port parfait, wild mushroom and spelt risotto or rump of lamb accompanied by buttered mash, red wine jus and homemade mint sauce.

Desserts have seasonal flavour, be it a baba laced with sloe gin rather than rum or glazed lemon tart with fresh raspberries. Beers from the Alnwick Brewery show up well on the drinks list, although most praise is reserved for the wine selection, which offers a terrific international choice of styles and grape varieties.