WHERE TO EAT
Prices are for a three-course meal for two people with a bottle of wine, unless otherwise stated
The Alnwick Garden’s The Treehouse Restaurant Chef Rhys FaulknerWalford offers a set lunch menu, grills and dinner specials such as twicebaked Northumbrian nettle cheese soufflé. Try the adjacent Potting Shed for early evening cocktails – its ‘Jane’ range (named after garden visionary the Duchess of Northumberland) should put a spring in your step before wending your way back down to terra firma. From £77. Denwick Lane, Alnwick, NE66 1YU, 01665 660320, alnwickgarden.com
Audela Chef Craig Pearson offers a modern British menu at this intimate restaurant of eight tables, named after the last boat to be built in the Berwick shipyard in 1979. The short, seasonal menu changes daily according to local availability from land and sea – specialities include Eyemouth halibut with heritage potato terrine. From £90. 64 Bridge Street, Berwick-upon-Tweed, TD15 1AQ, 01289 308827, audela.co.uk
Bait at Beadnell Beach café-style food from a container bordering the sand dunes of Beadnell Bay. Evening suppers change each night, but there’s always local lobster, garlic and herb butter and chips on offer on Thursdays. Feast in the dunes watching the sun set over the bay. Suppers, from £5-10pp; lobster and chips, from £15pp. Beadnell
Bay Sand Dunes, Chathill, NE67 5EE
Carnaby’s Café Family run, with homemade cakes and sausage rolls (using pork from their own rare breeds), frittatas, beautiful salads, assorted scotch eggs (think sweet potato and chickpea with dukkah crust) and burgers – all of which can be taken away. Sandwiches, from around £6. Brownieside, Chathill, NE67 5HW, carnabyscafe.co.uk
Embers Inviting courtyard pit-stop on the coast road. Delicious wood-fired pizzas are made, cooked in and sold from a re-purposed shipping container using local ingredients. ‘Northern heat’ is topped with bresaola from local Hammond Charcuterie. Pizzas, from £8.50. Spitalford, Embleton, NE66 3DW, 07858 984544, emberswoodfired.co.uk
Hjem Pronounced ‘yem’, meaning ‘home’ in Swedish and Northumbrian, Swedish chef Alex Nietosvuori and his local partner Ally Thompson opened this small destination restaurant with rooms in Hadrian’s Wall country in 2019. Alex’s Michelin-starred Scandinavian-inspired food has people flocking from far and wide, so booking is essential. A 15-18-course tasting menu, from £85pp excluding wine. The Hadrian Hotel, Wall, Hexham, NE46 4EE, 01434 681232, restauranthjem.co.uk
The Old Boat House Rustic seafood joint on the harbour front, formerly home to the inshore lifeboat. Wide range of fish and shellfish, including lesser-known types. Diners enjoy discussing and choosing from the iced fish display, or the speciality Boat House seafood platter. From £74.
Leazes St, Amble, NE65 0AA, 01665 711232, boathousefoodgroup.co.uk The Ship Inn A small homely pub tucked into the corner of a square of cottages overlooking the sea in an unspoilt bay. Good, simple food using local ingredients, including crab or lobster straight from the bay – plus real ale from their own microbrewery. Hand-picked crab sandwich, £7.75. Low Newton, Alnwick, NE66 3EL, 01665 576262, shipinnnewton.co.uk
The Potted Lobster Popular restaurant in Bamburgh. Chef Richard Sim is fanatical about locally caught fish, with specials changing daily according to what the boats have landed. Alfresco seating plus a food collection service for those who want to eat on the beach. From £67. 3 Lucker Road, Bamburgh, NE69 7BS, 01668 214088, thepottedlobster.co.uk