Winter Food on the Beach… Newcastle …

Following on from my post on my long weekend visit to Newcastle [click on the link below to read the story] - This is the part of my story about Riley’s Fish Shack …. And our party on the Beach in Winter ….

LIFESTYLE the - NEWCASTLE WAY

As the day turned into late afternoon on our trip to the beautiful city of Newcastle, we got onto the Metro & took a trip to the coast - Tynemouth which is about 25 minutes on the Metro.. We did not get to much time to look around, but I am reliably informed that this town has a vibrant nightlife! I think this is a bit of a theme with this part of the world!

When we got to the beach some very hardy people were surfing in the waters on the long beach, which we watched for a while as we were early for our table…

It started to get a bit chilly so we decided to make our way to King Edwards Bay where the table was booked for 5:30… At Riley’s Fish Shack …

Riley’s Fish Shack, King Edwards Bay, Tynemouth - We made our way down the many steps to the beach and the restaurant - Problem was we arrived too early & people were still sat at the table. So we got ourselves a drink & the staff at Riley’s stoked up a fire on the beach for us, I am not going to lie it was COLD! To be honest I did not really have the right outfit on for this as I had expected to go straight into eat…

A few sips of wine later … We watched the light begin to fade & the sparkling lights of the two sea trawlers in the bay became brighter… There is something about the sound of the waves crashing into the sand that for me, most people I think - is rather romantic… The cold, my light outfit & the wine kicked in… You know that feeling when you go from being very, very cold to your cheeks starting to roast like you have been sitting in front of an open fire… The fire pit cracked full into life and we danced & dodged the orange embers as the wind blew them this way & that… If I was honest the lighted embers blew mostly at me, no matter were I stood, there is something about smoke & fire it has a pathological attraction to me! More drinks were ordered as the darkness took over & the fire-pit finally burnt down… It does not take too long for a fire to burn out … But as we watched it burn, we chatted & relaxed & waited for our table to be ‘nearly’ ready …

We clambered up into the Shack, that for the record is exactly what Riley’s is! The table was still not quite ready, so we were invited to sit on the stools on the veranda by the outside heaters, you could no longer see the sea clearly, but you could smell it & hear it smashing on the beach… It was all rather magical! When our table was ready, we were sat at the high table on stools, right next to us at head height set into the wall are small wood burning stoves, that were at roaring orange heat, you had to lean away from them the heat was so intense…. Until the burnt down a bit…

Riley’s - has no inside area, as such it is a veranda with a glass screen that is open to the elements behind, which is where the tables are with the wood burners, there is only about three tables with seating for approximately four on each, but that is the magic of the experience in the winter, the cold weather, the dancing fire-pit, the sound & smell of the beach & sea, then the shabby-chic tables with the roasting wood burners, that set your face & upper body alight, almost literally! Without a doubt - it was a strangely romantic experience that if you had planned it would not have worked so well, we were actually due to go for lunch, but they had double booked & so we had a later table - I am so glad this happened … That is what made it! It reminded me of being carefree …

The food… I hear you ask! It is cooked on an open fire grill, I would say that my pan roasted turbot grilled chop, had good flavours & I was told that the half lobster was good too… For me an eating experience, I was not so keen on the paper plates & wooden cutlery it made it quite hard to eat, but - I am thinking that that is all part of the experience? This after all was not fine dining it was a - WINTER BEACH EXPEREIENCE - which for me you could not top… Here are the pictures of the food you judge for yourself!