I was drawn to Dungeness last summer by the Snack Shack. I’d heard about. It’s been written about in The Telegraph, even.

It is, in fact, not a shack but a converted shipping container. Some picnic tables and the promise of freshly-cooked, freshly-caught fish. Catch of the day in a bun, in a flatbread or with fried potatoes. What’s not to like, if you like fish, anyway.

We went on a bank holiday and arrived early having read that it sells out quickly and can get very busy at times – always a good sign. It wasn’t even lunchtime, but I convinced myself that fried fish was a suitable brunch.

What I ate

The Fisherman’s Bap of the catch of the day – Plaice – fried fillets, salad and homemade tartar sauce. I’m assuming it was homemade tartar sauce as the pieces of capers were huge and gave a delicious acidic juiciness to the mayonnaise. To accompany this, fried potatoes. I would go back for these alone. The crispiest skin-on potatoes fried in hot oil and scattered with sea salt, heaps of mayonnaise and some lemon ketchup on the side. Another great discovery of the day, Hastings Original Lemon Ketchup.

What to expect

The food on offer varies depending on the daily catch, but it’s various options of fried fish in rolls and wraps. They even make their own flatbreads as I could see them being rolled out and cooked to order. There are some additional options including Mexican coleslaw, veggie options of halloumi, and of course plenty of soft drinks and tea & coffee.

The prices are reasonable, humble. They could exploit their popularity and charge more, but they don’t. Coffee was £1.20/cup and my Fisherman’s Bap £4.50*. The staff are very friendly. The warm sun and sea breeze, although not guaranteed, certainly added to feel of the place.

Street food on the south coast, Brighton, Folkestone, but Dungeness? It seems an unlikely location in some ways, but in other ways, it makes complete sense as they have their sister Fish Hut next door selling fresh produce.

Dungeness

Dungeness isn’t for everyone. A power station dominates the vista and the audible hum of the power pylons is impossible to ignore. I’m not even sure I could see the sea from where we were, the shack is just stuck at the side of a road. It could easily be missed or overlooked if you didn’t know what you were looking for. There are boats dotted about and discarded fragments of forgotten fishing items; a reminder that the sea is not far away.

What struck me as most unusual is the mix of properties nearby. There is a whole spectrum from swanky Grand Design builds, to post-war prefab, to concrete monolith homes reminiscent of military bunkers. It’s also impossible to define the edges of property boundaries. The land must be protected in some way and the coastal plants are conserved in all the gardens without restriction or refinement.

The area has a strong artist community, and on this particular day, an open studios event brought visitors mingling around. Many people visit Dungeness for the light railway – The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway – but it’s worth venturing further from there and paying a visit to the Snack Shack. Go early to beat the crowds.

*prices correct in summer 2018. I plan to go again this coming summer and will update this post as needed.