Bayside Social, 1 Beach Parade, Worthing BN11 2FG (01903 867050; baysidesocial.co.uk). Small plates £4-£13, desserts £7-£8, wines from £21
English seaside towns off-season are often said to be romantic places of sweet desolation and benign neglect. There is nothing romantic about Worthing today. Instead, my relationship with the town feels hotly dysfunctional, like it’s strapped me to the wall bars and is calling me filthy names. A wolf of a gale attempts to strip the clothes off my back, the rain slaps me about the chops and, beyond the beach, an angry sea seems to merge with a sky the colour of the bags beneath my eyes after too many late nights. I came to Worthing for lunch; instead, I am now seeking refuge.
