The local cafe hailed nationally as 'perfect after a coastal walk'
A local cafe is rubbing shoulders with the likes of Rick Stein on a national list of coastal gems.
Good Food Guide has put together a list of 31 top places to visit across the country, from Rick Stein’s Cafe in Cornwall to Lochleven Seafood Café in The Highlands.
And a Whitburn favourite has made it onto the list with a recommendation to visit Latimer’s.
The shop and deli is already well-known in the area for its locally-caught seafood, which you can enjoy for sit in or to takeaway, and the Guide praises it for being “perfect if you need refreshment after finishing a coastal walk” while its fresh fish counter is a “treat for cooks.”
Latimer’s, which prides itself on selling seafood fresh from the trawler, started in 2002 when Robert Latimer began selling shellfish out of the back of the family garage and petrol station just over the South Tyneside border in Whitburn, which grew to become the cafe and deli.
Further up the coast, Riley’s Fish Shack in Tynemouth also received praise in the list, with inspectors saying: “The location – a glass-fronted shipping container facing the North Sea – is spot-on for a menu inspired by the owners’ stints as street-food vendors. Seasonal seafood is the deal, and the day's dishes (and service times) often depend on the catch.”
This year, in what’s believed to be the first time, two Sunderland restaurants also made it into the Good Food Guide.
Both Ember in Sheepfolds Stables and North in Seaburn impressed inspectors who visited anonymously.
North, which gave new life to an old storage shelter at the far end of Seaburn Promenade, then went on to make the Guide’s prestigious Top 100 Local Restaurants list.