Thinking of visiting Dartmouth…
Wondering what the local food speciality is…
Being a coastal town in Devon, Dartmouth boasts all the culinary delights you would expect from life by by the sea. Fresh seafood, great fish and chips as well as wonderful Devon cream teas.
Whether you are visiting for a day or a week you have to try one of Dartmouth locally caught, fresh crab sandwiches.
We took it upon ourselves to sample a number of Dartmouth best to let you know where to find the perfect sandwch for you.
Now I hear you say ‘Crab sandwich…how can you get it wrong?
Well in Dartmouth the perfect crab sandwich comes down to 3 elements :-
- Fresh Local Crab
- Ratio of Brown to White Meat
- Quality of Bread
We took 3 takeaway crab sandwiches back to DVC headquarters from The Anchorstone Cafe on Corronation Park, The Crab Shell on Raleigh Street and The Crab and Bucket on the South Embankment; to give you our honest review of the three.
The Anchorstone Cafe
A new resident of Dartmouth the Anchorstone Cafe which is located in Coronation Dark. Serving up great food that matches it’s original Dittisham site the cafe is open from 07.30 and benifits from a large outdoor area perfect for alfresco breakfasts and lunches. On to the sandwich…
Initial judgement this appears to be a top dollar sandwich, well presented in a cardboard takeaway box complete with salad garnish. The sandwich is bursting with crab and the bread is fresh and fluffy.
The Offices Verdict: Brilliant sandwich! loaded with crab, nicely seasoned, fresh bread, slightly heavy on the brown meat for some. Wish we were enjoying it in coronation park rather than the office.
The Crab Shell
A Dartmouth Stalwart, the Crab Shell has long been the place to go for a crab sandwich in Dartmouth. Tucked away down Raleigh Street you could easily spend the day exploring town and miss it.
Initial apearance this take away sandwich was no thrills wrapped and bagged.
Office Verdict: A very tasty sandwich, predominantly white meat, fresh bread, a great value for money sandwich, perfect to take-away and eat in your favourite spot.
The Crab and Bucket
Located on the south embankment the Crab and Bucket was the dark horse out of the three. Whispers from locals who know who’s boat the crab is landed from and a bit of research on trip advisor led me to chosing the Crab and Bucket as the 3rd contestant in our tasting.
On initial appearance this sanwich was slightly different, hearty brown bread and the inclusion of the red roe or ‘coral’ as it’s known.
Office verdict: A flavoursome sandwich, great mix of white and brown meat, unique seasoning, ‘is this really from a pub?’
In conclusion there are a number of ways to get a crab sandwich right as long as you have fresh ingredients and there are a number of variations to suit individual tastes.
We would love to hear about your favourite places for lunch in Dartmouth.
