Emma Lee-Potter

The Hive Beach Café at Burton Bradstock has one of the most stunning locations in Dorset. Right on the edge of Chesil Bank, it has sensational views of Lyme Bay and the famous Jurassic coastline. Best of all, it’s the most perfect place for lunch I’ve discovered since we moved here. Delicious food, friendly staff and speedy service – I couldn’t fault it.

We’d planned to visit the café last weekend but changed our minds when Dorset was battered by 70mph winds and lashing rain. Admittedly we came off a lot better than some, although our house is still bearing the scars – windows plastered in salt from the sea, branches strewn all over the garden and leaking windows.

But when the sun shone this weekend we jumped in the car and hared off down the coast to Burton Bradstock. The route brought back tons of memories. I hadn’t driven along the Dorchester to Bridport road for nearly thirty years – since the days when I used to head off from my parents’ house every Monday morning to work on the Mid Devon Advertiser in Newton Abbot. My car was a very temperamental green 2CV and I could never be 100 per cent confident that I’d make it up those Dorset hills and down into Devon.

The moment we parked by the beach and strolled into the café I knew we were on to a winner. The Hive Beach Café’s fame has spread far and wide (AA Gill himself gave it a sensational review) and even though this was a chilly February day the place was absolutely packed. My husband hates queuing but I persuaded him to give it a shot and sure enough we found a table. He sat there with the paper while I queued up to order lunch. The café specialises in locally caught seafood and it was pretty hard to choose – but in the end my husband went for the hake and I chose a delicious prawn sandwich, washed down by a glass of dry white wine.

The Hive Beach Café serves a nifty breakfast each day from 10am so next time round we’re planning an early morning walk along the beach, followed by granola and fresh coffee. I can’t think of a better way to start the weekend.

PS. I loved the Hive Beach Café’s upbeat Twitter message this weekend. “We’ve weathered the storms… Dorset is very much OPEN for business! Join us and make the most of all this wonderful winter sunshine.” So that’s exactly what we did.