[Out of Oxford] West Beach, Bournemouth

I do like to be beside the seaside. Perhaps not so much on a damp and windy January day in Bournemouth, but the glass-fronted West Beach restaurant, mere yards from the town's famous beach, was quite a cosy place to stare out at the grey surf beating on the shore, before we strolled along the promenade and found some rather classy beach huts. But would the West Beach similarly unite style and function? As often, the answer is a non-committal 'yes and no'.

Fishers, St Clement's

I grew up by the sea, but I've learnt by now not to miss the cry of the gulls, the salt spray in the air and all the other maritime clichés: Oxford must be about as far from any coastline as it's possible to be. So at first sight Fishers was a bit of a curiosity. It serves almost exclusively fish and shellfish (on a main menu of 23 items I counted two vegetarian dishes and a single meat option; that's not including the various shellfish platters), sourced and delivered daily from all over Britain.

[Out of Oxford] The Jetty, Christchurch, Dorset

A couple of years ago I ate one of the worst meals I’ve ever had in an establishment that afforded a wonderful view of sunset over Loch Lomond. Situated in a similarly idyllic spot - especially so on a warm, still August evening - right on the edge of Christchurch Harbour in east Dorset, the Jetty could be forgiven for not trying that hard. But in a restaurant just across the water from a busy fishing port with a head chef, Alex Aitken, who is a former Michelin star holder (and ex-trawlerman), standards are higher. 

[Out of Oxford] St Andrews round-up

When I visited St Andrews recently, I didn't plan to do any blogging. I was there to relax, after all. But this Scottish town, despite its small size, turned out to offer a great range of good food so I decided to do a summary of what I ate where and illustrate it with a few photos that show Scotland basking in the sun of the third warmest March on record.