Restaurant in Port Mulgrave, United Kingdom
24 seats, no website, book early.
A 24-seat Michelin Plate restaurant in the coastal hamlet of Port Mulgrave, Number 20 serves a daily-changing, three-course menu with a seafood and Italian-influenced focus at the £££ price point. Two consecutive Michelin Plates and a 4.8 Google rating confirm this is serious cooking in an informal setting. Book two to three weeks out for weekends; no tasting menus, no sharing plates.
Number 20 holds a Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025, earns a 4.8 on Google across 63 reviews, and seats just 24 people in a single room in one of the smallest coastal hamlets on the North Yorkshire coast. If you are driving out to Port Mulgrave specifically for dinner, book it. The combination of seafood sourced close to the coast, Italian-influenced technique, and a daily-changing menu that runs to three starters and three mains makes this one of the most focused independent restaurants operating at the £££ price point anywhere in the north of England. The only caveat: the format is not for everyone. There are no tasting menus, no sharing plates, and no theatrical flourishes. That restraint is the point.
Twenty-four covers is all you get. The room was the village pub; it is now a single dining space where Sue Davies runs front of house alone and Jason Davies cooks on an open kitchen anchored by a Josper grill. The atmosphere is quiet and domestic rather than buzzy — conversation carries, the pace is unhurried, and the absence of background noise means you can actually hear the person across the table. For a food-focused evening with someone whose company you want, the room works well. For a group looking for energy and spectacle, it does not.
Jason and Sue previously ran the Fox and Hounds nearby, so the move to Number 20 was a deliberate step toward something more personal and more precise. The menu changes daily, which is both the draw and the constraint: what you eat depends entirely on when you arrive and what is at its leading that week. The Italian influence is not cosmetic — it shapes how the kitchen handles ingredients. Wild sea bass carpaccio with olive oil, lemon and chilli; seared scallops on grilled polenta with anchovy and rosemary sauce; crab risotto; panna cotta; burnt Basque cheesecake; Fregola grape sorbet. The approach is to let the ingredient lead. Nothing is over-sauced or over-composed. The Josper grill is used for both the seafood and the meat course, and it shows , grilled fillet with smoked potatoes and horseradish cream, ribeye with borlotti beans and herby salsa, spatchcocked partridge from the North York Moors grilled with lemon and thyme. The cheeseboard is a single, perfectly ripe specimen, often something like Young Buck or Lincolnshire Poacher, served with quince cheese, grapes and oatcakes. It is one of the more considered cheese courses you will find at this price level.
The wine program at Number 20 is worth treating as a genuine part of the meal rather than an afterthought. Sue advises on wine herself, and given the menu's Italian leanings , polenta, risotto, Fregola, salsa verde-adjacent sauces , the list rewards anyone who asks for a pairing suggestion rather than defaulting to a bottle they already know. The kitchen's preference for clean, high-acid preparations (lemon, chilli, anchovy) and grilled protein means the list likely tilts toward Italian whites and lighter reds that complement rather than compete. That said, the list itself is not published in advance, and the daily-changing menu means pairings shift accordingly. The practical upside is that Sue is at every table all evening , if you ask, you will get a considered answer rather than a rote recommendation. For wine-focused diners visiting from further afield, that personal engagement is a meaningful part of the experience. Compare this to destination restaurants where sommeliers manage multiple sections and the pairing conversation is brief: here, the conversation is the service.
Port Mulgrave sits a mile inland from the sea and the Cleveland Way National Trail, which means the setting is genuinely remote. There is no other meaningful dining destination within easy walking distance. If you are travelling from outside the region, [our full Port Mulgrave restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/port-mulgrave) covers the broader picture, and you will want to plan accommodation in advance , [our full Port Mulgrave hotels guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/hotels/port-mulgrave) is a useful starting point. For those combining the trip with the Cleveland Way or the North Yorkshire coast more broadly, [our full Port Mulgrave experiences guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/experiences/port-mulgrave) has relevant context.
Booking difficulty is moderate given the 24-cover room and the Michelin recognition. The restaurant operates without a published website or phone number in the standard directories, which means the booking route requires a little more effort to establish , direct contact via the address or through local accommodation recommendations is the most reliable path. Allow at least two to three weeks for a weekend booking, more during summer when the coastal walking routes bring visitors to the area. Weekday bookings are more achievable at shorter notice.
At the £££ price point, Number 20 sits in the range where you are paying for ingredient quality and cooking precision rather than room size, service theatrics, or extensive wine infrastructure. That is an honest trade. For the food-focused traveller who wants a serious dinner in a genuinely personal setting, the value is clear. For anyone expecting the full-service architecture of a destination restaurant , extensive wine list, multiple courses, elaborate mise en place , this is the wrong venue. It is also worth noting that the format has not chased trends: no tasting menus, no sharing plates, no pre-desserts. That consistency over time is itself a signal of confidence. The Michelin Plate two years running at a 24-seat room in a village this size is not an accident.
For context on what else the UK's independent seafood-focused restaurants are doing at comparable and higher price points, [hide and fox in Saltwood](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/hide-and-fox-saltwood-restaurant) offers a useful comparison further south, and [Moor Hall in Aughton](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/moor-hall-aughton-restaurant) represents the next tier up in the north of England. Internationally, the Italian seafood tradition that informs Number 20's kitchen is well represented at [Gambero Rosso in Marina di Gioiosa Ionica](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/gambero-rosso-marina-di-gioiosa-ionica-restaurant) and [Alici Restaurant on the Amalfi Coast](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/alici-restaurant-amalfi-coast-restaurant), both of which give useful reference points for the culinary tradition Number 20 is drawing on.
Address: 20 Rosedale Lane, Port Mulgrave, Saltburn-by-the-Sea TS13 5JZ. No published website or phone number; approach via local accommodation or direct enquiry. Book two to three weeks out for weekends; weekday availability is better. The room holds 24 covers only , if your party is larger than six, confirm early. Port Mulgrave has no public transport links to speak of, so driving or a pre-arranged taxi from Whitby or Saltburn is the practical approach. For bars and drinks before or after, [our full Port Mulgrave bars guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/bars/port-mulgrave) covers what is available locally.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number 20 | Having previously run the nearby Fox & Hounds, Jason and Sue opened this homely little restaurant in the small coastal village of Port Mulgrave. Their concise, daily changing menus have a seasonal bent and a seafood bias, with Italian cuisine the guiding inspiration for many of the dishes. The result is a fresh, unfussy cooking style, which often incorporates produce prepared on the Josper grill.; Owned and run by Sue and Jason Davies, this small, simple but outstandingly good restaurant sits in little Port Mulgrave, a hamlet one mile inland from the sea and the Cleveland Way National Trail. It comprises just one room and 24 covers in what was the village pub and has never been drawn into the vogue for tasting menus, sharing plates or pre-desserts – the couple have their own distinctive way of doing things, it's a formula that works and long may it continue. Sue commands things front of house, Jason works from the open kitchen, producing a short but perfectly executed menu – three starters, three mains – where top-quality ingredients are treated simply and their elements are allowed to shine. Situated so near the coast, fish is a strong suit here, perhaps wild sea bass carpaccio with olive oil, lemon and chilli, seared scallops on grilled polenta and spinach with a piquant anchovy and rosemary sauce, or a rich crab risotto. The Josper grill gets a good workout too, with fabulous steak (fillet with smoked potatoes, charred cabbage and horseradish cream; ribeye with borlotti beans and a herby salsa) and seasonal game (spatchcocked partridge from the North York Moors, grilled with lemon and thyme, say). For dessert, it might be panna cotta, a sorbet made from fragrant Fregola grapes or a delicate burnt Basque cheesecake. The cheeseboard is invariably a single, perfectly ripe specimen (maybe Young Buck or Lincolnshire Poacher) accompanied by quince cheese, grapes and oatcakes. Service is spot-on, with Sue efficiently working all the tables herself and advising knowledgeably on wine.; Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | £££ | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| The Ledbury | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Number 20 and alternatives.
Yes, at £££ per head this is strong value for a Michelin Plate restaurant. You're getting a short, precisely executed seasonal menu in a 24-cover room with solo front-of-house service from Sue Davies — that level of care at this price point is difficult to find on the Yorkshire coast or anywhere comparable. The format suits people who want focused, ingredient-led cooking without paying London tasting-menu prices.
It works well for solo diners. The single-room, 24-cover setup and the open kitchen give you something to watch, and Sue's attentive but unfussy service means solo guests don't feel overlooked. Given the small room size, booking ahead matters more for solo visits — last-minute availability is limited across all group sizes.
The menu runs to three starters and three mains, so you're ordering the full card rather than curating from a long list. Seafood is the standout format — dishes such as wild sea bass carpaccio, seared scallops on grilled polenta, and crab risotto reflect the kitchen's strongest work. The Josper grill also handles steaks and seasonal game from the North York Moors, so non-fish options are well considered. The cheeseboard — typically a single ripe specimen like Young Buck or Lincolnshire Poacher — is worth finishing on.
Book as early as possible. There is no published website or phone number; the route in is via local accommodation recommendations or direct local enquiry. With only 24 covers and a menu that changes daily, tables are finite and the restaurant does not appear to take walk-ins as standard. Treat this like booking a small chef's table: plan several weeks ahead if you're travelling specifically for it.
There is no tasting menu at Number 20 — and that's a selling point. The kitchen has deliberately avoided the tasting-menu format, running a concise three-starter, three-main structure instead. If you want an extended multi-course progression, this isn't the right venue. If you find tasting menus exhausting or overpriced, Number 20's format is a direct alternative worth booking.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
