I always find that I need to get out of London come Easter time (after a particularly busy few months at work) and always try to book a little minibreak out of the city. Luckily, Blai could take a few days off and so it was that at about noon last Thursday, we arrived in Hastings. I was so looking forward to seeing the sea and what 1066 Country could offer.
First, we had to feed ourselves! I had made a lunch booking at Maggie’s, an award winning fish and chip restaurant located on the Stade, Hasting’s shingle beach from which Europe’s largest beach launched fishing fleet launches each day. The restaurant wasn’t easy to find; we got directions at one of the small museums nearby on Rock-a-Nore Road. To get there, find the Stade end of the miniature railway and you’ll see a sign for Maggie’s on the first floor of a nearby building. It’s not really visible from the Rock-a-Nore Road.
We chose to split two different fishes: a single cod and chips (£6.60) and a haddock and chips (£6.30), which turned out to have two pieces of fish.
These were excellent. Seriously, these were quite possibly the best fish and chips I’ve had to date. As you’d expect from a restaurant located on a major fishing beach, the fish was of supreme freshness and quality. And it was beautifully fried with the batter perfectly crisp and the fish perfectly tender and flaky. And the chips weren’t relegated to being the stuff on the side; these chips could also have taken centre stage. Ragged and crisp on the outside, fluffy and soft on the inside, these were just perfect chips.
We had mushy peas (£1.20) on the side, which were pretty good.
Bookings are essential, even for weekdays! The restaurant was booked fully that Thursday and people were turned away. They open very early in the morning and close after lunch.
After lunch, we wandered around Hastings Old Town and somehow ended up at the top of the East Hill. From the hill, we watched as the last of the fishing boats came back to the beach. We explored the Stade after and loved looking at the boats, nets and other fishing paraphernalia. It’s no surprise the fish sold in Hastings is so fresh – more of the fishmongers are located about 100 m away from where the boats get pulled up on the shore.
Somehow, we also managed to spend one and a half hours walking along the beach and examining the shingle. I love holidays, however short they are.
For dinner, we returned to Rock-a Nore Road to Webbe’s Rock-a-Nore. While I had read good reviews of this restaurant online, the meal was a bit of a let-down. The seafood was all extremely fresh, as I’ve now come to expect from anything along Rock-a-Nore, and was all well cooked too. However, the flavours were very muted; everything was underseasoned. For example, our razor clams with garlic and herb butter didn’t taste of the potent bulb. The squid fritters pictured below were the best of the bunch with a tasty, light and crisp batter; the chillli jam on the side did suffer again from a lack of punch.
Luckily, desserts were very good; Blai had a dark chocolate and marshmallow mousse and I chose a pear and blackcurrant crumble.
Even after the improvement in the food, we couldn’t get over a feeling of not being wanted there. We had been greeted with a sneer when we entered the restaurant and service was generally missing throughout our meal. Ah well, we were on holiday and didn’t let it get to us and went back to our B&B with light hearts. And how could you not have that holiday feeling when you wake up to this view?
The next morning, we visited the ruins of Hastings Castle on the West Hill …
… before heading back again to Rock-a-Nore road (I love that road!) to a stand that we’d spied the day before.
This really made up for the disappointment we’d had over dinner the night before. For £2.50, you get two fillets of dab, dusted in flour and fried in olive oil, slapped into a bun. It’s simple and yet satisfying. We had one each for lunch and then split another one after a more extended walk through Hastings Country Park which we accessed via the East Hill Lift. (We came across lots of wild garlic!)
After another stroll through the old town and then an ice cream on the beach, it was time to go home. I wasn’t going to leave empty handed though. Back to Rock-a-Nore Road (Hastings is very walkable!) to visit the Rock-a-Nore Fisheries; I’d heard that they do their own smoking on site. The hot smoked salmon immediately caught my eye and I bought a piece each of the regular, black pepper and hot chilli to take home.
We had a very simple supper when we got home: the salmon, bread and pickles. The salmon was gorgeous – all soft and moist inside – and so much better than any packaged hot smoked fish we’d ever bought at a supermarket. A great way to end our short holiday … but I’m missing all that fresh fish!
All our photos from Hastings can be found in this Flickr photoset.
Maggie’s
Rock-a-Nore Road,
Hastings, East Sussex
TN34 3DW
Webbe’s Rock-a-Nore
1 Rock-a-Nore Road
Hastings, East Sussex
TN34 3DW
Tush & Pat’s Fishermen’s Rolls
located at the base of the East Hill Lift.
Rock-a-Nore Road
Hastings, East Sussex
Rock-a-Nore Fisheries
Rock-a-Nore Road
Hastings, East Sussex
Thu, 28 Apr, 2011 at 23:20
Those fried fish are massive, real good value. Definitely did well on the price/value rating.
Fri, 29 Apr, 2011 at 11:43
Looks like a great trip – I agree about sometimes just dying to get out of London
Fri, 29 Apr, 2011 at 16:55
Sounds like a good couple of days, and English seaside at its best.
Fri, 29 Apr, 2011 at 18:14
Love Hastings. It’s a proper seaside resort. I remember the fish roll stall. But it’s a shame about Webbe, as attention to little details like friendly service is what makes or breaks the service industries. Excellent review as it refreshes me what so good about Hastings.
Fri, 29 Apr, 2011 at 19:41
Fantastic write up! This has inspired me to pop along from Brighton – haven’t been to Hastings for ages. Tush and Pat’s looks worth the trip alone 🙂
Fri, 29 Apr, 2011 at 20:37
Good to read about you getting a bit of a break! The fishermen’s roll looks amazing.
Sat, 30 Apr, 2011 at 04:38
except for that disappointing dinner, everything else looked wonderful!
Sat, 30 Apr, 2011 at 21:33
The fish n chips look absolutely amazing and delicious!! I really miss England, such a beautiful country!!
Mon, 2 May, 2011 at 08:30
The fish fillet roll looks divine and like a very generous serving of fish inside too! Boo to the bad service the night before and onwards and upwards to the fish roll!
Mon, 2 May, 2011 at 10:08
You can’t visit any seaside resort and not have fish n’ chips! Although £1.20 for a serve of mushy peas is a bit much,IMO.
Mon, 2 May, 2011 at 13:52
Never mind everything else – that Dab Sandwich looks awesome.
Interestingly we had exactly the same scallop dish at Webbes Cafe Restaurant in Rye last year.
Tue, 3 May, 2011 at 17:34
Three-Cookies: It’s a great thing being situated on a fishing beach!
Gourmet Chick: Yup, London’s a fantastic city and all but sometimes one just needs to get away!
Helen: I’m a sucker for the English seaside.
Robert: It’s a shame that Hastings Pier isn’t in use (well, technically it’s no longer safe to use as there was a huge fire a few years ago). Love seaside piers!
The Graphic Foodie: Oooh, of course, you live by the seaside! Fantastic!
Kake: Thank you! It was a much needed couple of days out.
kat: Everything else was definitely wonderful! Fantastic even!
danatural1: Come back for a visit! Lots of fish and chips all over the place!
Lorraine: Fantastic and at only £2.50 – a bargain!
travelrat: It does seem a bit steep. But the fish and chips…. wow.
Jonathan: A sandwich for you! But oh, it’s not in London. Just read your post on the scallop – yours looked much better executed than what we received.
Fri, 6 May, 2011 at 10:26
I loved your description of our town – and you found the real gems. I absolutely agree with you about the Fish Rolls and I hope you bought a copy of The Little Hastings Fish Cook Book. Webbs not any better – we went last week and had to complain…and Maggie’s still fantastic.
Fri, 27 May, 2011 at 11:00
[…] to Singapore. A big trip to Beijing. Overeating in Barcelona. Little trips to Leicester, Lille and Hastings. A cancelled trip to Vienna. I seem to measure my year in how many stamps I get in my […]
Fri, 27 May, 2011 at 23:54
Ooh check out those fish and chips. The best ones I’ve had were in the Lake District. Ah, to have those again…
Tue, 3 Sep, 2013 at 18:51
[…] a quick lunch of a Fisherman’s Roll, we strolled along the pebbly beach and splashed our feet in the freezing water before heading back […]