‘There’s no need to be crabby.’

Dad rolled his eyes and gave a sarcastic chuckle as he glanced behind him at the restaurant till.

We were in the Headlands Restaurant right at the top of Flamborough Head next to the lighthouse in Yorkshire. I had popped home to Hull for the weekend to celebrate my dad’s birthday and there’s one thing he absolutely wanted:

Crab Sandwiches. 

He raved about having one of these mythical dining experience on top of the cliffs of Flamborough, which is about 10 miles north from Bridlington.

I had been to Flamborough before as a little boy and I can remember the stark white lighthouse before taking the walking trail with my dad to nearby Bempton Cliffs where wild sea birds nest and cling onto the cliffs there.

 

Fast forward 20 years later, we were back with my Mum in tow to partake in crab sandwiches.

Dad could remember having the best crab sandwich in Flamborough Village that had both the North Sea on either side as Flamborough is a large chunk of rock that sticks out of the Yorkshire coast.

So naturally, I drove us the one and a half hour journey there only to discover, that in spite of the many pubs, cafes and restaurants there, no one sold Crab Sandwiches.

Dad was crushed.

Surely, there is a place here that sells them in this old fishing village renowned for catching crabs?

Luckily, as I wanted to see Flamborough Head, the furthest point into the North Sea, we discovered the Headlands Restaurant.

 

And guess what, they did have Crab Sandwiches!

Dad raced in and took a seat expectantly as I went to order our meals. Mum and I decided to get crab sandwiches for ourselves only to see what Dad was on about.

It better be good. After all, I paid an eye wateringly £35 for three crab sandwiches, a side order of chips and three beers.

 

The ordering process was very slow and the waiting for our food was even slower. We finished our beers and waited longer.

‘Have they gone to catch the crabs?’ Mum joked.

We chuckled.

But we waited longer. Dad fidgeted and I could see him dreaming of crabs.  He was agitated and started complaining about the wait.

That’s when I uttered the crabby sentence. He wasn’t impressed.

I went back to the till to enquire the whereabouts of the meal when Lo, and behold, our meals came out. Woo hoo!

 

Fantabulous. Now we can tuck in.

However, I couldn’t see why the long wait. It just seemed like a normal sandwich to me and quite disappointingly so. I was expecting a rather large sandwich that was stuffed and overfilled with the elusive crab including white and dark meats.

Perhaps it would all be in the taste.

Taking a bite, I could tell that it was tasty but it didn’t knock my socks off. The salad that came with it was fine and the side of chips I ordered was a little wet.

Overall, I wasn’t wowed by the crab sandwich. I thought it was a nice sandwich to have if you were feeling peckish and wanted something to tide you over but not as a meal in its own right.

But more importantly, what did Dad think about his?

‘It was nice, but I’ve had better.’

But Flamborough Head was the unique key selling point of the restaurant. Sitting outside in basking hot weather, you could appreciate the panoramic views of the white cliffs that proudly stood in defiance of the North Sea, playing host to a wide variety of coastal wildlife that enraptured visiting families.

Fresh sea air, beautiful views, the white lighthouse and of course, Yorkshire. That’s what we had on our day out. Perhaps it’s something worth having fresh crab sandwiches at Flamborough Head for.

So fresh, that it’s still singing ‘Under the sea!’