Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant, Deal

I recently spent a couple of days with the girls and my Mum at her caravan in Deal, on the Kent coast.

As this is a fairly new purchase for my Mum, we are still exploring the town and local restaurant scene, however one that keeps drawing us back is the Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant. My Mum has been to this one in Deal one three times now and Glen and I enjoyed a fantastic fish and chips in the Dover outpost of the small independent chain back in March with the girls – you can see below how appetising it looked, and after a day in the cold and wet Betteshanger Park followed by a beach stroll in Dymchurch it really hit the spot.

Fish & Chips at Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant, Dover

In June however, we enjoyed a meal at the Deal branch of Hythe Bay. We know they source their fish locally and it has always been good each time.

We visited early on a Friday evening, which as those with children will appreciate, is an easier time to eat and be served without too much fuss before the witching hour begins.

Mum and I shared a fritto misto di mare between us – basically a selection of fried seafood including whitebait, cockles, calamari and prawns in a deliciously light batter and served with a garlic aioli. One of our favourites and reminded us of our recent trip to Kefalonia where we had a similar dish often.

Whilst we enjoyed our starter, the girls meal arrived – cod goujons with chips and peas. One children’s meal is sufficient to share for children of their age (3.5 and 1) and they really enjoyed their meal too. A far cry from pub-grub fish fingers, these are delicious and fresh fish goujons, and I would have happily eat them myself.

Although we were in a seafood restaurant, Mum couldn’t resist one of the specials on the menu – calves liver and bacon, she’s a stickler for the old school classics and she enjoyed it immensely. It came with creamy mash and a red wine jus and she said if there were any complaints it would be that the liver was over-cooked a little to her taste, and there could have been more of the red wine jus, but she ate it happily.

Calves Liver & Bacon, Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant

I opted for half a lobster cooked with a garlic butter and served with chips and salad. The lobster meat was cooked perfectly; sweet and tender and complemented greatly by the garlic butter which acted as a great dip for the accompanying chips. A rather decadent meal for a modest price of around £15.

Lobster in Garlic Butter with Chips & Salad, Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant

The girls’ meal came with two scoops of ice cream, which the restaurant staff were more than accommodating enough to put into two bowls so we had two very happy little girls who enjoyed a great two course meal.

Ice Cream @ Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant, Deal

Bea enjoying her ice cream at Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant

Mum and I had a bottle of the Chillean Sauvignon Blanc, which was a lovely light and crisp wine with the meal and really complemented the lobster.  

The full meal was around £70 for the four of us with drinks and two courses a piece, which was well worth it.

I’m sure we’ll be getting to know the staff at The Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant in Deal more as the season wears on. It’s a great restaurant, with friendly and knowledgeable staff. The décor is very much seaside chic on the upscale side, but with comfortable and reasoning price points. A great location for family meals.

Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant is situated on 41-45 Beach Street in Deal and is open 10am-9:30pm seven days a week.