Urban Reef – The perfectly located Bar and Restaurant

Sat overlooking Boscombe beach, Urban Reef is a perfectly located bar and restaurant with some of the most beautiful views the south coast has to offer.

Open for just over five years now and owned by Mark Cribb, (who also owns boutique Bournemouth hotel Urban Beach) Urban Reef is a place to chill out with friends and family, be served by some of the friendliest staff we’ve ever met, eat, drink and be very merry.

After a tasty breakfast of smoothies, and pancakes topped with berry preserve and maple syrup, (yum!) we sat down with General Manager, Chris Warwick who told us just how passionate Urban Reef are about the locally sourced produce that goes into making their Restaurant, Bar and Deli as successful as it is.

Chris says: “We source from people, not companies because we like to have a relationship with our suppliers. We do it because we love food.”

Urban Reef are so dedicated to ensuring that only the best ingredients go into their food they’ve rented land on a farm in Sopley in the New Forest, where they grow seasonal produce to use in their restaurant and bar, including the strawberries in their home made lemonade, the mint in the mojito’s, the beetroot in the Goat’s cheese curd starter, and the zucchinis that are wrapped around the very delicious Plaice fillets. The food is 20 minutes from farm to chef so you know that what you’re eating is not only local, but as fresh as it can be too!

This isn’t just limited to fruit and veg; the seafood is local and one supplier: ‘Dave the egg’ provides, as you can imagine, all of the eggs for the restaurant. Urban Reef actually own their own chickens which Dave looks after and gives updates on how they’re feeling and laying!

In addition to the bar and restaurant, the ground floor also boasts an impressively stocked deli where, amongst other things, you can buy your own eggs, Dorset tea and honey, Aspall’s balsamic and cyder vinegars, and cakes, baked in house by baker Kay. (Who also takes orders if you’re looking for something in particular?)

Kay does all of the baking for Urban Reef, from the sandwich bread to the cakes and every pasty, pork pie and sausage roll in between, which you can eat on the premises or buy to take home, and believe me, you’re going to want to take something home. The bar leads to an outside decked seating area where you’re right on the beach; there is a wide selection of wines, beers, ciders and cocktails, most popular being Urban Pomms, a summery drink with a secret recipe. Ask for the bar snack menu if you’re feeling a bit peckish, here you’ll find delicious baked goods such as feta and walnut pasty, hand raised pork pie and a selection of breads from super baker Kay. If you fancy something more than a snack, you can move upstairs to the restaurant where you can sit inside, up on the mezzanine, or out on the balcony and choose from the café menu which runs from noon until 5pm and includes Urban Reef favourite (and maybe ours too) Cornish Mussels which come in either a white wine, or a galangal and yellow Thai sauce. Or, if you’re about in the evening, from 6pm the evening menu kicks in with lots of local seafood dishes like the delicious Plaice fillets, which come stuffed with smoked salmon mousse and wrapped in zucchinis, or the most popular dish: The West Country beef burger, which comes with smoked bacon, red coleslaw, haystack cheddar cheese and onion marmalade. Whatever you choose, your meal will come out looking and tasting perfect. The attention to detail at Urban Reef is incredible, it’s everywhere you turn, from Kay’s cakes, and the Urban Deli, to the beach hut décor and every single plate that comes out of the kitchen. And as if all the good food, drink, and beautiful views weren’t enough, you can enjoy live music every Wednesday evening, with chilled out acoustic sets to entertain you while you eat, and a quiz night on a Thursday, which starts at 7.30pm and costs £1 to enter. This is no boring pub quiz however, expect rock and roll bingo, obstacle courses on the beach and a tug of war to determine the winning team!

Visit the website here: – http://www.urbanreef.com/