BEST BOATING RESTAURANTS
Richard Hall shares some of his favourite waterside restaurants
Marex owner Richard Hall shares his favourite eateries you can get to by boat
When we bought our Marex
310 two years ago, one option we decided not to add was an oven. The galley was a big selling point, being very airy and light due to the way the arched sliding door opens up and brings the galley almost into the cockpit area. But the thought of cooking anything more than eggs was not our idea of boating. So over the past two years we have enjoyed dining along the south coast, and I thought I would share a few of our favourite destinations, which can all be accessed by boat, including berthing and eating options. I’m sure there are many more which we hope to explore in the future.
SHELL BAY, POOLE HARBOUR
Located just inside the entrance to Poole Harbour, Shell Bay Restaurant is located on the Studland side of the harbour. Approaching from the sea, an almost immediate turn to port once past the chain ferry is required to head towards the rows of buoys sheltered by the harbour that are part of Shell Bay Marine. Call the office to be guided to an available buoy, and they’ll arrange for a water taxi to drop you off on the pontoon. The moorings are accessible around high tide, but when the tide is out there is very little water to get in and out, so planning your arrival and departure is important.
The views from the restaurant are fabulous. For lunch you get great views of Brownsea, Furzey and Green Islands, and the Purbecks beyond. In the evening, if you are lucky, the sunsets are spectacular. The food is as good as the view, with a big open-fire cooking experience as you walk in and top-drawer service. Locally caught fish, oysters and crab are terrific, but I can never resist the scallops here – lovely and crunchy on the outside, yet soft and juicy inside. Booking is essential, and seating by the window is on a ‘first to book gets closest to the window’ basis.
Afterwards, heading to a nice anchorage just off Goathorn Point is a great way to end the day.
THE HUT, COLWELL BAY
This seems to be the ‘in’ place this year and you can see why. Located very close to Lymington, and sheltered from the South Westerlies, it’s a very short hop for us across Christchurch Bay. It is very well marked with huge letters spelling out THE HUT on its roof. In settled weather you can anchor in the bay and once the anchor set is easy, a quick call to the restaurant will ensure the free water taxi is despatched to collect you. I won’t go into detail about the time we first visited The Hut on our Sorcerer RIB, and sat on the terrace as our boat slowly slipped towards Hurst Castle. Luckily the very nice chap who runs the tender kindly went and let out some extra rope to hold it in place again, all without us having to leave the table. It gets very booked up in summer so call early to reserve a table.
Once ashore the choice of whether to sit outside on the terrace or inside, with its ‘shabby chic’ interior, is difficult as both are good options. There is a lovely selection of fish as you would expect, and an amazing Fruits de Mer platter to share that goes down very well with a chilled Côtes de Provence (which comes in various sizes from half bottle, to Methuselah
– for large parties or thirsty drinkers). Afterwards we like to go around the corner to Totland Bay, which has a lovely sandy beach to finish the day.
Yarmouth has long been a popular spot for hungry boaters, and the choice of restaurants is very wide and varied. Salty’s is always popular, but on a summer’s day the garden at The George is a great place to be. Yarmouth can be