Rocky Bottoms - Passion from pot to plate

Just outside Cromer you’ll find Rocky Bottoms, a business with family at its heart and sustainability running through its veins. We caught up with Richard and Alison to hear their story…

“The site on which Rocky Bottoms sits is an original brick kiln from the 1800s” Ally shares.

Today it it’s a beautifully renovated restaurant, with local art lining the walls of the glass room, and spectacular views of the ocean from the expansive garden surrounding the site.

“Our family has been involved in every step of our story. Pollyanna, my eldest daughter, cooks in the kitchen and has helped craft the menu into a range of platters, salads, pasta dishes, and fish dishes.

“Our son Hector helped with the original set-up of the business and oversaw sales management before he moved to Canada. Adam is a carpenter and shaped the renovation of the brick kiln as well as supporting Richard with fishing alongside my other son Winston.

“We started out with 7 employees and now have the most amazing team of 27 people. It’s a small industry but we’re keen to support our staff to grow. George started out washing pots and is now our Head Chef!

“In the cities you never taste such freshness. Crabs there are often all brown meat, and bulked out with herbs and fillers. Here we dress crabs the traditional way using a knife and spoon. You get the proper texture of the white meat which people come from all over to try.”

Richard has been fishing along the Norfolk coast for over 35 years from his traditional double-ended crab boat, Anna-Gail. You can see Richard bringing in and washing fresh crabs near the crab hut as you enter the Rocky Bottoms site.

“Crab landing sizes are smaller in Norfolk” shares Richard “which is why the meat is sweeter. The shallow waters and rich chalk beds full of calcium afford the quality and freshness we enjoy here. People drive over 120 miles to try it.

“It’s a challenging job, with little downtime and sees us taking on multiple roles. I’m not only a fisherman but also an accountant and mechanic to boot! But we love the wild mornings, beautiful sunrises and seeing the happiness our produce brings to our customers.”

And most importantly, where does Rocky Bottoms get its iconic name from?

“The name is from anchorage points out in the ocean off the coastline here” they smile. “We were originally set on the name “Stream over the hill” but when we saw this, we knew it was perfect.”

Head to rocky bottoms to test out new seafood with one of their seafood platters. If it takes your fancy, why not pick up a dressed crab from the crab hut to take home with you?
Follow Rocky Bottoms on Instagram here and find out more here.