Silver Darling

Named after the North East term for herring, Didier Dejean’s award-winning restaurant specialises in upmarket seafood dishes, the local source of which crashes or laps against the walls nearby as you are eating. Located at the harbour mouth at Footdee, diners have a view of boats putting out to sea in one direction and of the beach sweeping to the north in another. Lunch starters of crab cakes with curried courgettes might precede monkfish with a dusting of shiitake mushrooms or seabass and stir-fried vegetables. In the evening, duck foie gras or steamed oysters lead up to memorable mains such as blue tuna with a mustard and red pepper crust.