It doesn’t get much better than Burnham Overy Staithe on a warm summer evening at high tide. That is, unless you were lucky enough to also have bagged a table at the Nest Pop-Up Restaurant open only from 12th to 16thJuly and now moved on. But don’t despair, there is another one coming soon in Anglesey 8th to 27th August and if that doesn’t work there are two restaurants in London which look good.
But to give you an idea of this brand. Burnham Overy Staithe is a fabulous location which, particularly in summer, brings together locals, holiday makers and lots and lots of second homers, all with the overriding common interest that is the absolute pleasure this place gives. If you like, it’s where the lovely Laras, Caras and Zaras rub shoulders with ordinary people. And it is here that the historic Boathouse was turned into a restaurant for just 5 evenings. The tables were simply set with hessian covers and sea lavender from the marsh close by, the space lit with strands of fairy lights and the bar, a simple trestle table loaded with an array of bottles.
The Nest team, clearly delighted to be working in such a place, were charming and efficient and we were well looked after. The food, billed as a seven-course tasting menu with optional extras of oysters and Champagne to begin and cheese to finish, was delicious.
The use of excellent local ingredients, including as local as sea purslane from the marsh across the way, and the simple yet powerful impact of putting combinations together makes a string of winners. All the food was so good. Soda Bread with Seaweed Butter, Brioche with Crab and Binham Blue Cheese, Poached Cod and Tomatoes with Dill, which may sound dull but was outstanding, Lamb Shoulder with Crushed Peas and a pudding of Chocolate Mousse, Sea Salt Caramel and Delicious Small Doughnuts. Doughnuts are clearly a speciality here and they are outstanding. Pudding lovers might be dismayed to find they have to share a pudding, as they don’t tend to like sharing, but it was fine for our table. There was an abundance of food, and we could not manage the cheese course which was a pity as this area is well-known for some outstanding cheeses.
Our table, one of the last available, was an early one and as we emerged there was a most fabulous sunset and we met the high tide and the staithe full of people taking it all in, messing around in boats and swimming or just looking as you do in a place like this. We followed the sunset all the way home along the coast road. Friday nights in summer really don’t get much better.
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