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Atop The Crows Nest
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Recommendation added: 07/08/2006 20:16
By: dewberry (YSUK rating +825)dewberry has been thanked 6 times for this contribution
"Located in the lovely Hope Square area of Weymouth's Old Harbour, The Crows Nest restaurant is a fabulous place to while away a couple of hours just watching the world go by – oh, and eating some delicious food.
The restaurant is open seven days a week from 9am until 5pm, and then from 7pm to midnight on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday. You can choose to eat either in the pretty indoor restaurant or at one of the parasoled tables overlooking the Square, I chose to eat outside as it was such a beautiful day and wasn't disappointed.
As you'd expect from a restaurant so close to the harbour the menu largely consists of fish and seafood dishes. I chose Parma Ham & Melon as a starter which was absolutely delicious; the ham was gorgeously salty and this was mixed with the freshest melon I've tasted in a long time. This was drizzled with an excellent quality olive oil which was flavoured with a delicate mix of spices. Oh wow, I could have eaten this dish four times over and not gotten bored of it.
For my main course I went for Whole Sea Bass which was oven baked to perfection and served with chunky chips and a fantastic herby butter. They had, thankfully, removed the head and the remaining fish was tender and meaty with the telltale sea bass tang. The chips were obviously freshly made, and calling them chips is a little bit like calling a Big Mac meat – these were more like chip shaped pieces of fluffy potato. Wonderful. This meal is one of the most expensive on the menu at £13.95 and while portion size isn't huge for the price, the quality of the food was absolutely amazing.
My partner ate duck fillets and he was equally impressed, commenting that the duck was cooked perfectly and that the meal wasn't greasy in the slightest – surprising when it comes to duck based dishes.
Our two meals (both with starters and ice cream for dessert) and a bottle of very good quality red wine cost £46.07 which I think was a decent price. This isn't the kind of restaurant where you leave having to undo the button on your jeans, but I definitely felt well fed and strangely decadent after eating here.
The outside eating area is lovely. It's in a prime position in Hope Square to be able to watch the hustle and bustle around the harbour area, yet laid back enough that I felt I was a million miles away from the tourist crowds. Each table has a lovely Thai-style parasol and the surrounding area is lushly green with some very exotic plants and some of the most gorgeous hanging baskets I've ever seen. It's a wonderfully relaxing place to eat.
Inside is equally lovely; the tables are covered in some very traditional looking red and white checked table cloths, while the walls have a select few fishing and sealife paintings. The staff are both welcoming and friendly, full of knowledge about the various menu options and also looking very smart in their black and white uniforms.
For disabled visitors, I'd say The Crows Nest can't be faulted either inside or out. The wide aisles and total lack of steps means wheelchair users and people with mobility problems can manoeuvre with ease, and the toilets are also equipped to make life as easy as possible.
So go, it's pricey but worth every single penny. To find this gorgeous restaurant is easy, simply walk along Weymouth Beach until you get to the Old Harbour. Walk across the raising road bridge and along the opposite side of the harbour for 200 yards or so until you come to Hope Square – you can't miss The Crows Nest as it's the best looking place there!
The Crows Nest
3 Hope Square
Weymouth
Dorset
DT4 8TR
Tel: 01305 786930"
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