This week Pub Grubber visits the new Relish Bar And Kitchen in Cleethorpes.
It seems that there's finally a market for a little "upmarket" in Cleethorpes. It's not quite Shoreditch yet but trendy – or trendier – bars and restaurants have been slowly popping up in the resort.
Venues such as Harvey's and The Bobbin – both on the resort's High Street – are giving Cleethorpes a fresh and welcome new feel.
What's more, rather than being over-ambitious ideas from idealistic owners, they're surviving.
And when the staff have to do some juggling to get you a table at 7pm on a Thursday night, you can't help but be hopeful for the new "posh nosh" joint in town, Relish Bar And Kitchen.
The ambience was good, the restaurant was busy, and the range of dishes would convince even the most mundane of burger-munchers to be a little adventurous.
Just reading the menu, which described the food in the most intricate and mouthwatering detail, was a thrilling experience in itself.
But with each dish running to three lines long, it did take longer than normal to decide what to order.
The exhaustive descriptions also provided quite a challenge for the waitress when reciting the options from the specials board from memory.
She struggled with the pronunciation of one dish, before helpfully translating it as a "sort of spicy spag bol". I promptly ordered it.
But first up was the starter
Never in my life have I ordered crab in a restaurant, but this place instilled trust in me.
So I opted for the herbed white crab meat with wasbai mayonnaise and pickled cucumber (£5).
It was fresh, without that fishy taste I dread, and worked perfectly with the wasabi mustard – a combination that would usually frighten me.
My friend also went for fish, in the form of the panfried fresh king prawns in chilli, coriander and garlic butter sauce (£7). He said the prawns were fresh and tasty and the sauce a real delight.
My spaghetti main course from the specials board (£9) was perfect, presented in a neat and tall pile, with some green shavings (of something I couldn't quite determine but very much enjoyed) on top.
My friend opted for the spicy sausage ragu in pomodoro sauce with farfalle past, fresh chillies and melting smoked mozzarella (£10). Beautifully presented, with a pleasing mix of textures, it tasted even better than it looked.
We also indulged in some rustic skin-on chips with rosemary salt (£2.50) from the sides menu after spotting some being delivered to another table. And they were absolutely delicious.
Some restaurant promise the earth with pretentious labels but disappoint with ordinary fare. Not this one. At Relish, every dish was as good as its word.
