Bite 11 - Weymouth
Weymouth. Fun seaside town with one of the prettiest bays on the south
coast. More bars than you can shake a stick of rock at, and a thriving music
scene with some excellent food choices, enjoying the bounty of Dorset on land and sea.
Weymouth has a choice of marina berth or harbour mooring. An ever popular
summer stop-off whilst heading west or great holiday destination, especially if
you have the kids on board, as there are oodles of things to do here. I berthed
at the ever friendly, warmly welcoming Weymouth
Marina,
asked the boys for their best bites and headed into town.
Weymouth is a free spirit. The bunting is always up in the back streets. The
shop owners and restaurant runners, always chipper. They loved the Olympics,
eventually, and they are the family face of the Jurassic Coast. Yes, this is
fresh fish heaven
And the usual question I ask the locals first is - best Fish &
Chips?
There are two camps here - Marlborough,
adjacent to the town bridge (famous for introducing the mackerel bap and
earning huge support from Hugh FW in the process) or Fish n Fritz,
lovely clean, tiled restaurant a couple of streets back
Top end/ top dollar fish can be found at the Dining Room, and
if you ever get the chance to try their 'You catch, we cook', grab it.
Thought up by dynamic duo Em and Clem Carter (Emma runs B+B Weymouth, Clem is a professional fisherman) he takes people out
and what they bring back into port is cooked by Taher. A wonderful day out with
excellent edible results - a very special treat. Owner Taher Jibet weaves his magic here and runs a cookery school too
And for in between you have one of my favourite, small, local chains
- The Stable, right on the quay, serving
pizzas and pies, made from Dorset produce and a huge range of ciders. The George next door shares the same
fabulous views over the commercial fishing boats and a percentage of sales goes
to the RNLI, a very important service here, especially since losing the Coast
Guard.
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| Dorset Burger Company, conveniently near the station |
The review –
Dorset Burger Company, 6 King Street, 01305 780888
DBC comes out as favourite friendly, reliable Best Bite in Weymouth. Following their
growing success they have now relocated to bigger premises near the station.
Opposite the Dorset Real Pie & Ale Shop -
also worth a visit
DBC is always busy, and no wonder. All burgers are made from quality
meats sourced only from Dorset Farms. They have a few secret, homemade extras,
like the paprika seasoned chips and a wonderful pickle type relish - all
recipes secret squirrel. No wonder they won Best South West Café TOTW Gold Award 2014
The staff are excellent and families with youngsters had the added
bonus of the kids receiving an Easter Egg over the festive weekend.
Hops choice: The March Burger of
the Month - The Dirty Moo - see photo
This homemade beef
burger is topped with Monterey Jack cheese, that secret 'dirty sauce' and BBQ pulled pork to finish!
Juicy, flavoursome, the meat still with a bit of bite and top crunchy coleslaw.
Fabulous
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| The Dirty Moo - home made Dorset beef burger with local Pulled Pork |
Other favourites are the Red Lion with great pub food and
well kept beer and live music on Sundays. Lots going on in the convivial Hope Square
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| The deli on Charlbury Corner |
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| The busy harbour, something always going on... |
Charlbury Corner – deli, local produce, cheeses etc Rossi’s Ice Cream
Enzo’s Italian – out on the seafront
overlooking Weymouth’s beautiful bay.
Best coffee in Town?
Coffee#1 - Now I know this is a chain, but so is the Stable, which we all love.
It's a nice clean building, good meeting place and the pastries are really
fresh - I recommend the Portuguese Custard Tart and you have a choice of blends
But I think Bibi’s (a jewel of a fashion
shop, with some excellent bags, boots and shoes) tiny café called Coco’s, serves a very good
cup of Italian roast and the landmark, traditional coffee house Suttons is best stop for an early
caffeine hit.
Proper Fish Market - on the Quay and open every day except Sunday, run by friendly family firm Weyfish. Top quality wet fish and seafood.
Weymouth Marina, Dean &
Reddyhoff. Tel 01305 767576 www.deanreddyhoff.co.uk
B+B Weymouth 01305
783008
Other favourites that have recently closed are Floods and Waffle On -
so watch this space to hear what happens to the creative people involved here
...
The bike – 2 miles + as long as you like - take the Rodwell Trail out past
Asda to Chesil Beach
Bike hire delivered direct to the marina from www.weymouthcyclehire.co.uk 07973 751393
or Jurassic Electric and Signpost Cycling do some interesting tours
in the area.
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| The Rodwell Trail |
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| If you make it up the hill this is the well deserved view |
The hike – 1.5 – 3 miles. Wonderful walks through the Wetlands over the
road from the marina. More info on Visit Dorset site below.
Useful sites:
Rodwell Trail and many other cycle routes – www.gps-routes.co.uk
Weymouth to Dorchester option:
From the readers....
Mark Packer "Bournemouth has a beach, Poole has a harbour, Weymouth has both. Helen's Wholefoods is a local treasure. For more traditional seaside fare, head to Fish'n'Fritz in town, then stroll along the prom for ice-cream at Rossi's, opposite the Jubilee Clock. For history, visit the Nothe Fort, at the entrance of the harbour."Andy McLaughlin "Best thing? Proximity to Portland
