Time for a quick history lesson. The shale in the local seaside cliffs used to be mined for its alum, an important compound which fixes dye to wool and leather. As part of the process, ammonia was needed, one of the best (and most readily available) sources of ammonia being...human urine. Back in the days before modern plumbing, this was supplied via barrels of wee imported from London. Enterprising Yorkshiremen then filled the empty vats with cheese and sent back them to the capital.
Thankfully, there is no chance of finding any stinky cheese on the menus of the town’s chippies. Whitby takes its fish and chips business seriously, with the windows of each establishment along the quayside proudly displaying their reviews and which competitions they have won, such as Young Fish Frier of the Year.
The Magpie Café bills itself as world-famous after being promoted by the likes of TV chef Rick Stein. There seems to be a constant queue of people at both its street counter and sit-down restaurant, though the churlish would point out the crowds are more than likely left standing on the pavement because of their small dining room. They dished us up a lovely box of cod, chips and mushy peas at their streetside counter, but the portion was so large that half the chips went to the hungry gulls swooping around our heads.
Personally, we preferred the seaside fare from The Quayside where we sat in its spacious dining room overlooking the harbour. Although the pieces of cod and haddock were smaller than the Magpie’s, the batter was far lighter and crispier. The chips were smaller as well, but not at all greasy. Proper Heinz ketchup, wedges of lemon and fresh-made tartare sauce were all nice touches you don’t often get from standard chippies, which put the Quayside in a class of its own.
Away from the chippies lining the harbour, there are plenty more eateries on offer, including the retro-inspired Humble Pie. Ducking through the door of this 16thC timber-framed building, the small dining room with low wooden beams is crowded with 1940s furniture, Bakelite radios and vintage advertising. In keeping with their post-war décor is a menu of rations-era savoury pies and sweets brought out on tin plates. Pie fillings include hommity (a Romany-inspired assortment of root veg), steak and stout, haggis and neeps (turnips), lamb with rosemary plus corned beef.
Fortunately the portions aren’t limited by rationing: each pie comes with abundant mashed potato, garden peas and gravy. Recipes for desserts like jam roly poly, pear crumble and treacle tart are taken straight from the pages of 1940s cookbooks. Everything right down to the pastry is made on the premises using local ingredients and on top of that the staff were genuinely friendly, freely offering gravy top ups and encouraging patrons to nip down the street for ale to go with their pies.A proper pie does call for a proper pint, but this proved to be Whitby’s weakness. The miles we spent walking each day left us too weary for an extended pub crawl, so we didn’t have much energy in the evenings for exploring the local pubs. Most of those we came across were only average (The Duke of York and The Station, for example).
It wasn’t until our last night in Whitby that we found a pub that was a cut above the rest: The Black Horse, designated by Tetleys as a Heritage Tavern which means the historic interior has been preserved by the brewery. The helpful staff described each of the guest ales on offer (the Wharfbrook was nice, but Spring Fever was delicious even though only 3.4% ABV). We had a selection of high-class salty nibbles such as salami with salsa, olives, slices of ciabatta and (despite my own misgivings) the cheese board. What’s that, another pint? Go on, we had walked many miles that day!
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