Mussels, mussels, mussels!

If there’s one ingredient forever associated with our stretch of the North Norfolk coast, it’s glossy, plump mussels. And these gorgeous, fresh-as-you-like bivalves are coming into abundant season right now.
 
We’re celebrating their arrival by going bottomless at The Lifeboat! Book a table on a Monday or Tuesday and eat as many bowlfuls as you can for just £10 – we’ll top you up till you tell us to stop, and we’ll include a glass of wine or a draft beer for good measure (we’d go for the light, citrussy flavour of a Moon Gazer Pintail), and plenty of fresh, chunky bread to soak up all those delicious juices.
 
Choose a classic marinière-style, steamed lightly with white wine, garlic and parsley, or mix it up a bit with chilli and coriander, or cider and bacon. Mussels lend themselves to all sorts of flavours, and our chefs have been getting creative!
 
Bottomless mussels, £10, available at The Lifeboat on Mondays and Tuesdays from the 7th September until 27th October.

Sailing on!

We’re not letting summer slip away just yet here at The Lifeboat. When we first launched the Sail in early July, we didn’t know what you’d make of eating under canvas – but you have LOVED it! It has been such a pleasure to welcome so many wonderful guests (regulars, first-timers, families, dogs, ‘bubbles’) that we don’t want to say goodbye just yet.
 
So the Sail is going to stay hoisted through September. It feels right. It’s a relaxing, airy, fun space to eat, so bring a coat to snuggle up in and let that pint of wherry, or our laden pizzas, or giant burgers – or steaming pans of mussels – keep you cosy to the core! See you again soon…
 
The Sail is open all week through September with food served 10am-9pm. Check out the menu here

…and this is where they’re from

The tidal creeks that wriggle and eddy round our Norfolk coastline are home to the mussels that are a delicious mainstay of our autumn-winter menus.
 
A pan of just-steamed, parsley-flecked mussels is one of our most popular dishes in the cooler months, but it’s not that long ago that mussels were considered the poor relation in the shellfish family. Chefs weren’t that interested, nor were customers. Then came the focus on ethical, sustainable and healthy food, and an interest in small-scale production. Mussels, grown in Norfolk by fishing families who have worked the marshes often for generations, found their star began to shine again – and it’s showing no sign of fading.
 
Along our coastline, licensed fishermen grow mussels from seed in beds that are constantly washed and refreshed by daily tides. The best, plumpest mussels will have grown slowly for up to two years before being harvested carefully, cleaned scrupulously, and delivered daily. They are as fresh and delicious a taste of Norfolk as you can hope to get!
 
Come and taste the very best Norfolk mussels, on The Lifeboat menu now.