The Crab & Lobster at Sidelsham Quay in West Sussex has long been on my must visit list. It’s in a Tudor building and has been an inn since the 17th century. Substantially refurbished about 10 years ago, it has a flagstone floor, beamed ceilings, and an elegant and pared back style.
You’ll find it in a hopelessly pretty little corner of Pagham Harbour which happens to also be steeped in history and where the water laps at a low wall at high tide, and creeps gently away at low tide, revealing a footpath back to Pagahm.
The Crab and Lobster also happens to be the sister pub of The Halfway Bridge, a 17th century coaching inn at Lodsworth near Petworth and both have restaurants with a stellar reputation. Arriving late at the Crab and Lobster, on a sunny June evening, we weren’t expecting there to be any room in the inn, but were lucky to find space in the small and pretty courtyard at the back.
Local produce
As you know, we like places that major on Sussex ingredients, and a quick glance at the specials board revealed Sussex caught seabass, and Selsey lobster and crab. So far so good. A deeper dive into the menu showed Sussex halloumi, Sussex fruit and veg and Sidledsham produce along with a commitment to sourcing local wherever possible and supporting Selsey fishermen and neighbouring dairy farmers. There’s not a massive choice of Sussex wine on the menu but they do serve Coolhurst’s Cote de Provence Rosé and their Lady Elizabeth, along with Tinwood, Chapel Down and a good selection of international wine.
What’s on the menu?
With Selsey being famous for crabs and cockles, and being right on the edge of the harbour, it’s no surprise that they major on fresh fish with a variety of traditional English and Mediterranean dishes. There is a good selection of meat dishes too, as well as a vegetarian and vegan menu, and a specials board. To start with, we went for spiced heritage carrots with goats cheese, cumin beignets, and curried dukkah, and pan fried tiger prawns, Asian slaw, sesame dressing, and Thai green curry sauce. Beautifully prepared and served, both dishes were faultless.
For our main course, it had to be baked Selsey crab gratin for me, with warm salad of new potatoes and samphire, confit Nutbourne tomatoes, watercress and sunflower seed pesto, whilst my companion had pan roasted fillet of halibut with steamed clams, Selsey crab Orzo, tenderstem broccoli and fennel marmalade. Again, beautifully cooked, with an interesting range of ingredients that all worked wonderfully together. Sadly, we didn’t have time for dessert but Sidlesham Berry Pavlova and sorbet from nearby Caroline’s Diary were both calling my name.
The Crab and Lobster have that winning combination of a great location, that is really very special, top notch service and a really good chef. A meal here is the perfect end to an afternoon exploring Pagham Harbour. They also have rooms so you could stay the night. We’ll be back.
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