It’s been named one of UK’s best seaside towns for food and drink
Emma is the parents editor for the Manchester Evening News. She covers news and events for families across Greater Manchester.
Fish and chips from Seafarer’s Fish & Chips, Lytham St Annes(Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
You can’t beat the seaside for a place to enjoy a chippy tea and there’s no shortage of them in the popular town of Lytham St Annes.
They’re not all open on a Sunday evening though and after discovering The View had closed for the day on the beach front, just a short walk away we found Seafarer’s Fish & Chips.
Set back among a row of shops across from the Lord Derby pub, it’s a firm favourite with locals and visitors and recently reopened under new owners after a revamp.
With glowing blue signage and digital screens inside, there’s a much more modern sparkly feel to the place, which still has a restaurant attached where customers can eat in.
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Seafarer’s Fish & Chips, Lytham St Annes, recently had a revamp(Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
There are lots of tables and chairs out the front too, which is where we decided to sit with our dog.
The menu has all the things you expect from a traditional chippy, but there are other options too, like shredded chicken, burgers, jacket potatoes and ‘hot and kicking chicken’.
It also sells Frederick’s Ice Cream and a range of desserts including chocolate fudge cake, cheese cake and apple pie.
But there was only one thing we were there for and that was fish and chips, with curry sauce of course.
After asking for two large fish and chips, the guy serving looked a little wide eyed and suggested a regular portion of chips might be the best accompaniment. He obviously knew how big that fish was going to be.
Fish, chips and curry sauce (Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
You never quite know what portion size you’re going to get at these places, but when I saw the fish being prepared behind him – held up lovingly in the air ready for the fryer – I soon realised that when they say ‘large’ here, they really mean it.
Served in a box, they let the customers add their own salt and vinegar, which was another bonus as we like a lot of that too.
As I walked outside with my two steaming boxes, I’m not sure who looked more excited, my husband or the dog.
The chunky chips (£3.15) were just right – crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside – and the fish was immense. A huge soft, flaky cod coated in thin and crispy golden batter, it was worth the £9.80 price tag, while the smooth curry sauce, with just the right amount of kick (£1.50), was the icing on the cake.
If this experience is anything to go by then I can see why this town – just an hour from Manchester – was recently ranked by Which? as the best seaside town for food in the north west of England.
Ranking it highly, it awarded the town five stars for its food and drink options, alongside giving the location three stars for its beach and an overall destination score of 72%.
There’s seating inside and out(Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
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And Lytham St Annes, known for its picturesque beach huts and huge pier, is no stranger to such accolades.
This summer we analysed key data to find the best seaside towns across England and Wales – and discovered five of them are right here in the north west, with Lytham St Annes being one of them, as well as Blackpool, Morecambe, Cleveleys and Fleetwood.
The shortlist of towns was based on those which have been awarded either a Blue Flag or a Seaside Award this year.
Then to create the rankings, we analysed six key data points people consider when planning a trip to the coast.
These were: the number of hot days, summer rainfall, Google Reviews ratings of all seafront fish and chip shops, the number of pubs, and the amount of antisocial behaviour crimes recorded last summer.
You can find out which seaside towns made the list by entering a postcode for your area or searching the map below.