Stevie and Rebekah McCarry opened Native Seafood and Scran in the old yacht club building in Coleraine, in 2019. Their idea was to source sustainable wild fish direct from fishing boats, cook it and also operate as a fishmongers. With Stevie cooking and Rebekah running front of house, it was a success right from the start, with both locals and tourists.
When the lockdown happened they opened a pod on the site and started extensive work on the building, but building work stalled for a while on the project and, in summer 2021, they also took on the lease of the coffee shop at the Crescent on the Promenade in Portstewart and temporarily operated out of Portstewart only. The restaurant is situated right beside the sea, with seating inside and out, and they sell coffee and cakes as well as fish, so it has a longterm future in addition to the former yacht club in Coleraine.
They get fish like ling, sole, monkfish and hake from fishing boats in Greencastle in Co Donegal. Crab, lobster and mackerel come from the Portstewart based Buoy Matthew boat. Oysters and mussels come from Lough Foyle based Bia Mara seafood company. The fish is accompanied by seasonal produce and locally baked sourdough bread from Ursa Minor bakery in Ballycastle
The menu constantly changes according to the seasons and availability, but there are constants like monkfish tacos, crab mac and cheese and monkfish scampi that are supplemented by daily specials. In the summer lobster is transformed into a lobster roll. The leg meat is made into a ravioli with homemade ricotta and sumac with sage brown butter. Their ling and lang dog is a homemade ling and langoustine sausage served in a bun with fermented chillis, their own mustard sauce, gherkins and salad. Monkfish is battered in cornmeal to produce a corndog that’s served with citrus and coriander salad and katsu curry sauce.
Mackerel is homesmoked and and served in a profiterole with beetroot and parmesan salad. It may be served in a smoked mackerel pate with Ursa Minor toast and pickled cucumbers. The Kentucky fried monkfish burger is now a constant on the menu – marinated monkfish in the crispest oaty coating.
Oysters have various garnishes like kimchi consommé, grapefruit caviar, mignonette granite, aerated buttermilk and wild garlic. They’re also cooked and served as a Po Boy with leaves and pickles. A recent special was Moroccan spiced lemon sole cooked on the bone with Moroccan spiced butter, mussels, capers, pancetta, coriander and potatoes. Stevie is extremely creative and each week brings a new concept - it could be a delicious monkfish sausage roll, chowder in a specially prepared sourdough bowl, or the genius monkfish corndog.
Native Seafood is a welcome and much needed addition to the north coast restaurant scene. They have been featured in the UK press and won Slow Food best restaurant in Northern Ireland in 2020. They open all day, five days a week. Regulars can eat a different dish every time and the standard is always excellent. The restaurant is currently unlicensed but you can bring your own wine.
And there's always something new in the Native Seafood plan. Currently, as their pandemic story comes full circle, there's growing excitement about the next phase of their development - which will come soon, with the opening of their beautiful new restaurant Lir, when the long-delayed work on the old yacht club in Coleraine is completed. "Possibly the longest building project ever...", as they say themselves. Yes, but what a treat to look forward to in 2023!
