A Lyme Regis food kiosk has made it into a prestigious list of the country’s top chefs’ ‘secret places’ to eat.
Herbie’s Dino Bar on the Marine Parade is the best place to go for cheap fish and chips, according to television chef Valentine Warner.
Twelve of Britain’s best chefs were asked to reveal their best ‘cheap eats’ and Herbie’s made it into the list featured in The Times newspaper’s Weekend supplement.
Valentine, star of the BBC’s What to Eat Now, said: “You can get cheap and utterly delicious fish and chips from a caravan on the romantic Cobb at Lyme Regis. They cook interesting catch such as whiting and ling, which they buy from the neighbouring and excellent fish shop the Old Watch House.
“Eat them looking across the sea, where the French lieutenant’s woman stood, waiting for her lover.”
Matt Yaxley has transformed Herbie’s from a run of the mill burger bar since buying the kiosk three years ago. He said: “It was just burgers and used to sell frozen fish, so we have tried to change it all around.
“Last winter we started selling local fresh fish. All the other places around here do cod or haddock, which aren’t really local, they’re bought in. I just thought there is lots of nice fish around here so we started to sell a lot of whiting, pollock and ling in homemade beer batter.
“All our fish is decent quality supplied by the Old Watch House fish shop.
“We’ve had a really good response to it and it’s been really popular.”
Matt has also started serving fried whitebait after visiting New Zealand, where the dish is popular, and it has also proved to be a winner in Lyme Regis.
Matt had no idea the chef had visited the Dino Bar, but noticed a surge of customers as soon as the article was published.
“I presume the guy who wrote it must’ve come and bought some,” he said. “I have never heard of him before so it came as a complete shock to me.
“We were really busy for fish and chips all day when it was in the paper and I didn’t really think anything of it. Then about six in the evening this family came and the lady said ‘ you had a good write-up didn’t you?’ “I’m sure it had something to do with how busy we were. I’m really pleased with it.
“If he comes here again he will get a free portion or a free meal.”
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