Beside the seaside: Jay Rayner’s 10 best value places to eat around the British coastline

Oysters in Essex, cheese toasties in Scotland, cod and chips in Cornwall, Jay Rayner on the restaurants, pubs and seafront kiosks worth eating at this summer

As islanders, many of us have an intensely romantic relationship with the sea, even though we may not set eyes on it from one end of the year to the other. When we imagine ourselves on the shore, we envisage being in a simpler place; somewhere less challenging, somewhere built for calmness. Certainly, a lot of us have a fantasy summer life and a part of that fantasy involves eating great food by the sea, at a price that will not force us to ponder the sale of a vital organ. Happily, it doesn’t have to remain a fantasy. Here are 10 recommendations for great places along our beautiful coastline where the food is terrific and the price qualifies as great value. Here you’ll find gloriously thick crab sandwiches for just a few quid, alongside keenly priced cheese toasties that will sustain you through Britain’s quixotic summer weather. There is, of course, fish and chips; there has to be fish and chips. But there are also seafood platters, south-east Asian curries, intriguing small plates and so much more.

For sake of doubt, these aren’t listings cobbled together from a reading of vaguely convincing websites. I’ve been lucky enough to eat the food provided by every one of them, often more than once. Yes, it’s a personal selection, but it’s one that’s been properly road-tested, in the service of proper appetite. You may have your own favourites. We’d love to hear about them. These, however, in no particular order, are mine.