One of the best things about living in York, you know, besides all the history, the great restaurants and pubs and cool things to do, is the fact that the city is located crazy close to the coast, the Yorkshire Dales National Park and North York Moors National Park.
In the summer months, it’s become a tradition to take day trips to these gorgeous areas to change the routine up and give the dogs a little day full of adventure. And some fun for their owners, too.
On a visit to the coast back in 2024, I had my first experience eating at The Fish Cottage in Sandsend (a village just outside of Whitby) and absolutely loved it, so I headed back recently to check it out again and see if it was just as good as the last time.
Simply seeing The Fish Cottage makes you feel like you’ve travelled further than the Yorkshire Coast, as it sits tucked into a bend in the coastal road and feels very like somewhere in Cornwall or South Wales. So, basically, you immediately go into holiday mode the second you lay eyes upon the restaurant.
Fish Cottage sits just 20 yards or so from Sandsend beach, so you’re about as close to the sea as you could hope to be without having to worry about tide times (and trust me, I’ve learned my lessons about checking tide times, but that’s a story for another time).
The ‘cottage’ bit is the cute, indoor section of Fish Cottage, but the sprawling outdoor space is the star attraction, as it’s made up of chunky wooden tables with parasols, and they’ve always got beachy, surf-y chill music going.
Inside the cottage is the sit-down restaurant, where they take reservations, but outside is first come, first served. And that’s where I’ve eaten both times I’ve been there.
It’s also dog-friendly, which, given that this latest trip involved two dogs, was a fairly important part of the equation.
To the food, which is the most important part, right?
The first time we visited, I had fish and chips and an order of the crab brioche, and both were excellent. So this summer it was time to see if they were still up to the standard of those great summer memories of a couple of years ago, and I’m happy to report they were.
Once we’d wrangled our two hounds and settled into the outdoor area, it was time to enjoy a feast of cod and chips, mushy peas, fish tacos and Whitby crab fries.
The cod was perfectly fried, with juicy fish inside and a properly crispy batter outside, while the mushy peas were an excellent version of the classic. The Fish Cottage says its hand-cut chips are cooked in traditional dripping, and they were certainly full of flavor.
The fish tacos were very good too, but I preferred the fish and chips hands-down. I suppose I ate too many fish tacos in Mexico and now I prefer corn tortillas and the more ‘Baja’ style slaw.
Chips smothered in creamy Whitby crab were as tasty as they sound, and I left so happy that we had swung by for a second time.
There’s plenty more on the menu that I’ll have to try next time, including the Shetland mussels served in a classic moules marinière sauce with toasted sourdough or maybe even some local lobster. Oh, and if you’re wondering, you can buy both beer and cocktails, alongside soft drinks.
On our way home, we decided that it must become an annual tradition to head to The Fish Cottage, because while the food is sensational, it’s the atmosphere that makes eating here an unforgettable experience. There’s something special about sitting outside here, with the sea just a few steps away, a couple of happy, tired dogs at your feet and a plate of great fish and chips in front of you that makes a day trip feel like a trip to a destination further afield.
If you can’t tell, I’m already counting down the days until my next trip to the cottage.
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