Chineside is a family-run beach café and takeaway sitting directly on the sand at Durley Chine, in the stretch between West Cliff and Alum Chine. It suits several moods: a break in the middle of a walk along the prom, a warm-up after a swim, or a full cooked breakfast eaten a few paces from the water.
What's on the menu
Breakfast holds the menu together: bacon and sausage baps, a full English, and brunch that now runs all day rather than stopping at 11am. Fresh, locally caught fish is a real speciality, and the kitchen relies on local suppliers wherever possible, with meat from a local butcher, fish landed close by, ice cream from the New Forest and ales from a local brewery. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free choices are on the menu daily, so a mixed group is not stuck picking between a single dish.
The setting
There are two floors, both facing the beach, and on a clear day you can see as far as Old Harry Rocks and across the water to the Isle of Wight. The place is relaxed and unpretentious, geared to sandy feet and beach bags rather than smart clothes, and dogs are properly welcome, complete with a doggy sausage or doggy ice cream for the canine members of the group. Alongside the café runs a separate takeaway hatch for anyone who simply wants a coffee or an ice cream to take down onto the sand.
Practical details
In winter the café opens from roughly 9am to 4pm each day, with longer hours through the summer; check the website or Facebook page closer to your visit, as beach café hours change with the season and the weather. There is no dress code at all, it is a turn-up-as-you-are seafront café, best combined with a walk down the chine or time on the beach itself.
Our food & drink guide lists more coastal cafés and places to eat, and you can see how Durley Chine's stretch of sand compares with the rest of the coast in our beaches guide.