“I ditched fish and chips for this Yorkshire coast food tour' - Danny Malin
If you’re looking for a quick foodie retreat then a Yorkshire coast road trip is where it’s at —sea air, fish and chips, and a lemon top ice cream.
My family and I packed up for a last minute getaway. We headed east, and I set myself a mission: three towns and one question - where’s serving the best grub on the coast right now?
First stop was Scarborough.
And not just anywhere. I went straight in with something a little different. Fish and chips is too obvious to start with.
I found Askim’s Turkish Grill had been recommended online.
It’s tucked away just off the seafront, on the South Bay in the town centre.
This restaurant hits you with the aroma of grilled meat before you even sit down.
It’s extremely family friendly as it’s family run, thank goodness, as we had our lively toddler daughter Athena with us.
I was spoilt for choice with an Askims special mixed grill or the Moussaka, so I went for both.
My wife Sophie, who’s vegetarian, had hummus, Falafal and flat bread to start and a vegetable kebab with cous cous for mains.
My daughter shared our meals with us and also had some chips.
The flat bread was to die for so I had to be careful I didn’t fill up on that as I had also ordered a Lahmacun Turkish pizza to start.
The starters were delicious and filled us up.
No matter how full we were we had to try the mains before taking it away in a doggy bag.
My mixed grill came with flat bread, and rice, the lot. And I’ll tell you now this isn’t your average late-night kebab or relish grill. This is proper, authentic Turkish cooking. It was the best Turkish grill I’ve had in the UK.
Even my wife was lapping up her grilled vegetables as every element was cooked to perfection. We were treated like royalty.
Scarborough might be known for fish and chips but this place is flipping that script. I’d travel from West to North Yorkshire for dinner here anytime.
The following day we had a disappointing breakfast on the Scarborough seafront but it left us room for a sweet treat at Alonzi’s ice cream parlour where we devoured a banana split and cherry ice cream smoothie. I love the 1950s retro vibe of the establishment.
We also found an authentic Italian restaurant for our evening meal at Gianni’s.
This really is a taste of Italy. Cosy, quick service and fresh mouth-watering food consisting of home made pizza and fresh pasta. If you need a quick and tasty bite to eat near Scarborough’s town centre this is your place.
The next day, it was up the coast to Whitby. You can’t come here and not soak up a bit of history and a stroll around some of the independent shops, most of which are dog friendly too.
My go to chippy in Whitby is The Magpie on the front but my wife had booked us in for a special treat.
We had a fish and chips afternoon tea at Hetty and Betty which is just off the harbour. It has vintage vibes, cakes and savoury food too.
They did her a vegan version and me the standard one. I didn’t know how I’d feel about fish and chips on an afternoon tea with home made scones but wow it worked.
Our daughter had a standard kids afternoon tea with sandwiches, cakes and a scone. For all that including drinks, it was just over £50 which was a bargain. We’ve done a full review on Mr and Mrs Yorkshire on YouTube too.
I’ll be honest, by the time we visited Bridlington and Filey, on the following days we still felt full.
Although we enjoyed a wander around Filey food festival, Bridlington’s car boot and a tour around John Bull’s rock factory.
We finished off in the factory rock shop with a bag full of treats from rock to fudge and cinder toffee.