Bournemouth Restaurants

Sample the wonderful cuisine at one of Bournemouths 250 restaurants and bistros, where diners can tickle their taste buds with a choice of new culinary experiences.
Bars and restaurants offering outdoor dining, family favourites, English fare and food from around the globe ensure diners are spoilt for choice. Bournemouth's eating venues range from simple snack bars and coffee shops to posh restaurants and gourmet temples.

Local cuisine

Many establishments feature fresh produce from the local area on their menus and regional specialities include fish such as haddock, red and grey mullet, mackerel, turbot and sea bream. Local crabs and shellfish such as scallops are also popular. Regrettably, most of the lobsters are exported to France.

Popular fish dishes include haddock cooked with tomatoes and mushrooms and topped with breadcrumbs and cheese; a nice casserole. Red mullet is often covered with melted butter, sprinkled with lemon juice and herbs, and then baked to extract its full flavour. Mackerel is so tasty that cooking it as simply as possible is best, then serve it with a gooseberry sauce (it is also great baked in cider). No matter how it is cooked, the quicker it gets from sea to pan, the better the flavour. Topping all of these delicacies in popularity however, is the local fish n chips a firm favourite.

For those with a sweet tooth, the delicious Dorset apple cake can include local cider as part of its recipe.

Where to eat

Many of Bournemouths restaurants offer terrific, uninterrupted panoramas of the seafront and the neighbouring area, and they often provide outside seating for al fresco diners who wish to be close to the sea. Harry Ramsdens restaurant next to Bournemouth Pier serves delicious fish and chips in elegant surroundings. Several cafs in the centre of Bournemouth offer chairs on the wide pavements outside including the popular Camera Obscura Caf, which is located in the main square near Bournemouths Lower Gardens.