Even more diners have flocked to a popular South Shields seafront restaurant following a rave review by leading food critic Jay Raynor.

The respected Guardian and Observer culinary expert visited Colmans Seafood Temple earlier this month as part of a two-week trip to soak up the tastes of the North East.

In a glowing review, Rayner hailed the Sea Road restaurant - known locally as Gandhi’s Temple - as "all the things you want."

Colmans director Richard Ord told Chronicle Live how he was delighted by the praise from the award-winning critic and said it was a testament to the hard work of staff.

"The response to the review has been brilliant," Mr Ord said.

Richard Ord director of Colmans Seafood Temple in South Shields.
Richard Ord director of Colmans Seafood Temple in South Shields.

"To get someone of that calibre to visit us is an honour, especially when it’s Jay Rayner. We’ve had so many people in since the review, it’s incredible. All testament to the amazing work our teams put in front of house and behind the scenes to do what we do every day!"

Although Colmans has been trading in South Shields for more than 100 years, the Seafood Temple restaurant opened in 2017 following a careful renovation of a historic building that once served as a shelter and public toilet. The restaurant also features a cocktail and oyster bar and a fish and chip and seafood takeaway on the ground floor.

Raynor's trip to the Temple saw him order the fish of the day - a seabas he described as "the length of my forearm" - which he enjoyed along with chips, curry sauce, and mushy peas. The expert also tucked into the soufflé Arnold Bennett and sampled the Malaysian seafood curry.

In his review, Raynor penned: "They tell us it’s for one, but this slab of crisped salty skin and pearly flesh just sliding from the bone would do for two, alongside their chunky chips."

He continued: "A round of applause, too, for their mushy-pea fritters, which are fat discs of thick pea loveliness in a lacy batter overcoat which leaves behind chip-shop scraps on the plate, there to be picked at. The impact of all this is cumulative.

"They’ve devised a menu that is part bargain-priced Bentley’s or Scott’s, part kiss-me-quick-and-kiss-me-again. You can come here for something light and dainty. Or you can come here for something that will harden your arteries at 20 paces. If you’re planning a walk on the beach afterwards leaning into the wind, do go for the latter."

And it was clear that Raynor left the restaurant seriously impressed writing: "Colmans Seafood Temple may not exactly be a house of God. But they do pay serious attention to all the details."

You can read the full review by Jay Rayner here.

Join ChronicleLive's WhatsApp community for breaking news and top stories