A thriving café culture means you’re never far from a good pit stop for a refuel. The vote for the best coffee in town goes to the delightful, Scandi-style Blueprint Coffee & Books on Oxford Street. But if you are after something more with your coffee, there’s Grain & Hearth, a bakery and café, also on Oxford Street, where the coffee is good and there are sourdough croissants, grilled cheese toasties or shakshouka eggs to be had. It’s worth checking out the menu for their ‘Friday Night Dins’ too, and do pick up a sourdough loaf to take home. In-the-know locals still favour breakfast at the quirky kid-and-dog-friendly Windy Corner Stores on the corner of Nelson Road and Island Wall where a bacon sandwich, full English, or just an orange and rosemary polenta slice, will hit the spot. More central (on Harbour Street) is RuLu’s – Deli/Kitchen/Wine, open for breakfast and simple one-dish lunches of, say, steak frites or seared tuna with Asian noodle salad. Good coffee and cakes fill the gaps – the Portuguese custard tarts are recommended – and weekend evenings bring platters of cheese and charcuterie to go with a comprehensive list of wines.
Samphire, like everywhere in town, keeps things local and seasonal. With cooking over coals and whole animal butchery very much to the fore, booking is as essential for the good-value set-lunch and weekend brunch as it is for dinner. Or try Harbour Street Tapas, a Med-inspired suntrap whose plate glass windows invite envious peeks from passers-by.
Visitors and locals alike are drawn to the iconic, pink-and-blue painted Wheelers Oyster Bar, doyenne of the local dining scene. Steeped in history, it dates from 1856, and to this day serves fish and seafood fresh from the boat. A bring-your own-affair, don’t forget to nip over the road to The Offy for a bottle of wine that might match chermoula-spiced halibut, salt-baked celeriac, aubergine caviar, preserved lemon and meshiwiya sauce. Or, in warmer weather, pick up a pre-ordered picnic box for the ultimate beach picnic.
A stroll to the end of Harbour Steet will lead to the town’s newest and coolest Porto Wine Bar – the place for a deep dive into a wine list that majors on Portugal, backed up by sharing plates of ‘petiscos’ (snacks) such as ‘lanche misto’ a Portuguese twist on a ham and cheese toastie. And don’t miss the gorgeous, fire-warmed all-weather garden at the back.
Head to the harbour complex and the newly constructed South Quay Shed for the makings of a perfect beach picnic or home takeaway fix. Sooshi Sushi offers classic sushi rolls, say salmon and avocado maki or spicy tuna maki with sriracha mayo and crispy onions, alongside sashimi of tuna or salmon served with sesame, soy and ginger dressing and spring onion, all freshly made that day. Poké bowls are made to order and there’s a daily specials board, too. Next door, the hugely likeable Rad Burger flies the flag for all things burger. The crowd-pleasing menu canters through chicken, beef or vegetarian versions but local spies rate the truffle beef burger and the rosemary fries as a cut above.
It's well worth seeking out a more long-standing local favourite. David Brown’s Deli is tucked away in portacabins at the entrance to the South East Caravan Centre on Belmont Road. Here treats such as smoked haddock chowder, coq au vin, or pig cheeks in Rioja with garlic and Dijon mash make the perfect takeaway meal.
Out Tankerton Slopes way, where the town goes to swim, JoJo’s Mediterranean tapas is served with a helping of North Sea views. And of course, no trip to the seaside is complete without proper fish and chips. Or an ice cream for that matter. Ossie’s Best Fish and Chips, one block back from Tankerton Slopes, deals in fresh as it comes fish to eat in or takeaway. As does the family run VC Jones in Harbour Street, established in 1962 and one of the last fish and chip shops in the south of England to fry in beef dripping.
And locals know Sundae Sundae, also on Harbour Street, does the best ice cream in town - dreamy English ices made with milk and double cream.
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