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After Tynemouth we headed back to pick Jon’s parents up for a run over to South Shields. We were heading over to the Souter Lighthouse … and then we were going to check out The Grotto. We’d last eaten here over 12 years ago but it had been closed for a while. It had recently been taken over and reopened – and we’d heard mixed reviews. Our plan was to head down, have a drink and if we liked what we saw, then we’d stay!
First off, we had a quick look inside the lighthouse. The final climb up to the light was extremely steep – bit like climbing a ladder! Inside, the lighthouse and keepers cottages, it was like stepping back in time.
After the lighthouse we walked over to The Grotto and headed down in the lift to the beach at the bottom. A great little bay and remarkably quiet.
We ordered drinks and sat out on the terrace and looked at the menu. The choice was fairly limited but all us us could have chosen a couple of the items. We decided to stay … but we would eat inside.
Inside had been recently renovated and the main part of the restaurant was in the cave – this used to the house of the person who’d dynamited the cave originally.
The food was surprisingly good. Callum wanted to try the seafood chowder for starters and the rest of us had prawns. Tempura batter was really light and crispy. The chowder got Callum’s seal of approval.
For mains, Jon opted for the lobster and the rest of us had the massive fish and chips which again was all really good. Portions were huge so absolutely no room for pudding. Jon, Callum and I also decided to walk up the steps back to the car park.
One final look over The Leas towards Tynemouth and another glimpse of the Priory we visited earlier that day.
