Eat My Words: We review Seascape at the North Sea Observatory, Chapel Point

There’s a lot of hype around the North Norfolk coastline - and quite rightly, to be honest - but lesser-heralded stretches of Lincolnshire’s coastline ought to be celebrated too.

Perhaps designating the all-too-often-bypassed bit between Chapel St Leonards and Sutton on Sea as the Lincolnshire Coastal Country Park will do the trick - and seems a decent way to highlight the nature spots, horse riding centres, walking routes and attractions in this area that could easily be missed.

Seascape is a cafe that’s built to make the most of the views in this neck of the woods - with a dozen or so tables positioned around floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at waves crashing onto the shore. It’s part of the North Sea Observatory at Chapel Point - a marine observatory that opened in 2018 in a bid to celebrate the impressive sea-and-sand dunes landscape as well as the wildlife that makes it all its home. It’s also billed as a ‘gateway’ to the aforementioned Lincolnshire Coastal Country Park, sitting at its southern tip.

I’d been wanting to visit Seascape for some time and had been promising to take my mum for lunch here. It’s probably a good sign that on our last visit - a cold Sunday in January - the place was so full that we took up a seat outside in the chilly winter sunshine and stared on forlornly as no tables became free indoors. We sipped nice coffees - and wrapped our hands around them for warmth - but made a vow to be back.

It couldn’t be quite as busy on a random Tuesday afternoon could it? Well, almost. There were just a couple of tables free and, while it thinned out as the 4pm closing time approached, this is clearly a popular haunt. Not least with dog walkers, it seems, with a few well-behaved pooches among our fellow guests.

A stereotypically bracing spring day offered up some choppy-looking waters to gaze out upon. Only a few hardy souls braved the beach and it was a far more relaxing experience to enjoy the blustery weather from behind glass and the landscape is undeniably the showstopper here. But that doesn’t mean you need to leave disappointed from the rest. Far from it.

There’s a decent amount to pick from on the menu - from burgers and loaded nachos through to more traditional sandwich, salad and soup lunch fare - and the prices were about what you’d expect.

Rustic rolls were the order of the day (or cobs as we call them, since that’s the correct word, right?). Prawns in thousand island sauce for mum and bacon, brie and chilli jam for me. Accompanied by a pair of flat white coffees.

The coffee here comes from 200 Degrees - an up-and-coming chain from Nottingham that does have a shop in Lincoln. If they fancy branching out to the rest of the county then I shan’t complain - and this was an excellent drink, smartly served up.

There was plenty of filling in my ‘roll’ - gooey, melted brie and quality bacon that was on the well done end of the spectrum (but not too much) with a chilli jam that added enough of a kick without overpowering the proceedings. I perhaps should have asked them not to waste their time with the obligatory plate-filling side salad.

Mum was impressed too.

She said: “The prawns were lovely and the bread was especially good.

“All of the food that came out looked good and you could see by everyone’s reaction that they were saying ‘wow, that looks good’.”

The dog next to us shot me a look that said he richly enjoyed the ham his owner treated him to too. Almost as much as he seemed to enjoyed his later dip in the sea.

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We weren’t done there though. Wanting to savour the view a while longer - and make the most of the seats while we could get them - we opted for a pot of tea to share and some treats from the tantalising cake cabinet.

Mum’s rocky road was a tasty mix - with good quality chocolate and a pleasing amount of marshmallow for her liking. My morello cherry blondie had chunks of white chocolate and was surprisingly light. Both weren’t exactly massive, but were big enough to round off our excellent afternoon feast while the tea flowed for three cups each.

With food and views as good as this I’m sure we’ll be back - if we can get in.

Out of five:

Food: We were both impressed by our ‘rustic rolls’. Generous portions of tasty fillings in high quality bread, what more could you ask for. The burgers looked like they’d satisfy your appetite if you were after something more ****

Drink: It’s nice to see they take the quality of their coffee seriously. Our pot of tea for two was good value too. There’s also alcohol on offer ****

Decor: Few cafes will boast a backdrop as good as the waves crashing on the beach. It’s Seascape’s key selling point and one that it really maximises and embraces as its ‘decor’ with floor-to-ceiling windows. Walls contain displays on the history of the landscapes, walks and some of the wildlife to be spotted. There’s enough to whet your appetite without being overdone *****

Staff: Fast and super-friendly, even at the end of a busy day ****

Price: £8.95 seemed a fair price to play for our rustic rolls - it’s not like they’ve tried to sting you for extra given the setting ***

Have you had a great meal? Share your own Eat My Words reviews or tell us where to try by emailing: news@lincsonline.co.uk