After going back home to Yorkshire for the weekend and deciding what to do, a dog walk was definitely on the cards. To spice it up a little we decided to make the hours’ drive to the seaside in order to visit the award-winning Riley’s Fish Shack, a venture which started in 2012 as a street food bicycle stall. It has since evolved into a semi-portable fish bar & grill located in two converted shipping containers at King Edwards Bay in Tynemouth.

The concept is simple: a restaurant serving fresh and truly delicious fish & seafood, located just 200 yards from the waves. This honest, no-frills approach couldn’t be more perfect for this part of the country where integrity and no-nonsense is a way of life.

The beach at King Edwards Bay is filled with happiness, dogs, deckchairs, firepits and blankets. It takes seconds to see how popular Riley’s is as queues of people spiral around the beach desperately peering to see the blackboard of the daily specials.

The menu is forever changing and the fish landed locally is by catch, therefore much of the fish sourced is sustainable in its own right. Catch dependent specials are announced daily on the chalk board and served alongside regular chargrilled offerings of lobster, surf ‘n’ turf, monkfish, craster kippers, squid and mackerel.

A few years ago, I had the most unbelievable barbequed fish in Langkawi, Malaysia at floating fish restaurant so Riley’s had a lot to live up to. However, this definitely topped my expectations, proving you don’t have to travel 6,000 miles to grab the best fresh catch! My choice of lobster was served with homemade wood fired flatbread, fresh lime slaw and patatas bravas, which was truly delicious.

This does show that simplicity is sometimes enough and that a visit Riley’s Fish Shack is a ‘must’ if you ever find yourself in the North East of England!