The Loft

Simply delightful and delightfully simple, this rustic wine bar does nothing complicated or showy to earn your affections, but will undoubtedly capture them anyway. Tucked away down the narrow cobbled streets, away from this seaside town’s summertime bustle, it’s a sweetly run and immediately likeable place. The sharing plates are bright, fresh and generous, keeping things simple but delivering on flavour with the likes of crab and dill crostini or steamed Dorset clams with chilli and bay. Unsurprisingly, the wine list is well worth poring over.

A charming 1930s beach house in a superb location overlooking Porthminster Sands, there are few seaside settings finer than this one. There's a bright, New England style to the restaurant, which unsurprisingly specialises in seafood. Fresh produce, from mussels and crab to squid and scallops, populates dishes that are enlivened by a range of global influences. A mixture of Asian elements, like Indonesian curry or satay sauce, are particularly prevalent – but there's still room for classic European dishes like moules marinière and seafood linguine.