Harbour Lights and Titchmarsh Marina

AntarcticPilot said:
I think that it must have changed management recently; last time I went there (quite a while ago) it was mediocre and had a suspiciously long menu that implied that they relied on pre-prepared food to a large extent. The menu seems to have got much shorter, and I always regard that as a good sign.
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Nope, I don'think it has changed management. Harbour Lights ratings and reviews on Trip Advisor tell it all.
+1 for Bradwell marina bar. Great food and good atmosphere.
 
johnalison said:
In our later cruises down the South Coast it was noticeable that many YCs were feeling the pinch and having to downsize their premises. The Royal Cinque Ports and Dorset come to mind. I think that franchised restaurants really only work in places that are purpose built for the task, such as some in Belgium. Our own club would no longer be a club if it were opened up regularly, though it is available for functions.
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Most clubs in Belgium learned the hard way that they could only maintain a restaurant if they opened up for non-members and offered good enough quality/price to be attractive. Still, most have struggled with concessionaires who could not make it work. The alternative is to have just a bar with limited opening hours and volunteer bartenders.
A couple of clubs have indeed taken the plunge to build new premises with both modern and improved restaurant and sanitary facilities. I hope they survive the corona seasons and other threats such as new harbour developments.
 
I rather liked The Harbour Lights when it had a restaurant, and tagged on was a sort of a cafe type restaurant which seemed to suit many yotties but not so much Walton/Frinton senior citizens. Pleased that is a success at the moment. Personally, I have never been someone who can fully appreciated eating out when sailing. Either I'm too tired, too lazy or too poor.:)
 
MoodySabre said:
Excellent food and improved ambience at Bradwell marina bar. I hope that get some outside visitors to keep the chef and his cheerful staff busy. It’s been a long wait…….
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I can second this, we were in Bradwell a couple of weeks ago and the service in the bar was fantastic. We ate out at the Green Man before we went to the bar however next time we will definitely eat in the marina.
 
You must have been lucky, I walked out of Harbour lights, Easter weekend after waiting 20 minutes for someone to take my order, wouldn’t have minded if it was busy
But I did have a lovely meal at the Loch & Quay at Woolvestone
 
UK licensing laws make it difficult for clubs to open their dining facilities to the public. While it's generally straightforward to get a club licence subject to introduction of a few club rules, an open licence, allowing non members to buy drinks is more difficult, often requiring installation of sophisticated cctv and other expenses. Of course, this varies from one licensing authority to another. It 's worth remembering that the majority of a restaurant' s profit comes from selling drinks.

Of course, with determination all these hurdles can be overcome, but a club committee is not always a unified body and many members don't start to think of the benefits of inviting the public into their clubhouse until the club is on the verge of collapse, by which time it's too late.

Peter.
 
Last time we went to the Harbour Lights ( 2 years ago), they were doing the "70s" thing of steaks delivered on a hot stone, on the premise the customer could cook the steak to their preference.
The food was barely edible.
 
StUrrock said:
Last time we went to the Harbour Lights ( 2 years ago), they were doing the "70s" thing of steaks delivered on a hot stone, on the premise the customer could cook the steak to their preference.
The food was barely edible.
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You shouldn’t have overcooked the steak then. The most uneatable food I have seen was in St Malo when we were with a rally and went to a poshish place and those who chose lamb had meat that was barely dead. Most of the eaters gave up after a trial chew. I had the cod.
 
johnalison said:
You shouldn’t have overcooked the steak then. The most uneatable food I have seen was in St Malo when we were with a rally and went to a poshish place and those who chose lamb had meat that was barely dead. Most of the eaters gave up after a trial chew. I had the cod.
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The steak being under/overcooked (i do like mine rare:)), not the problem.
Although the French go to the extreme (Blue they call it??)).
Just the quality of the ingredients plus the preparation and presentation were very poor.
 
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StUrrock said:
The steak being under/overcooked (i do like mine rare:)), not the problem.
Although the French go to the extreme (Blue they call it??)).
Just the quality of the ingredients plus the preparation and presentation were very poor.
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Cooking a steak is like making love to a beautiful woman and ...............................................
 
When I was a child I thought it was manly to have meat well done, not that we ever had steak then. It was a while before I realised that it was the other way round. I now like steak as rare as possible, and have occasionally enjoyed S Tartare. On one occasion, at a club do at the Nelson in Ipswich there were four of us at my table ordering steak, and we all ordered differently, mine being blue. To my amazement, when they arrived each was exactly as ordered.
 
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