Urban Beach, its sister restaurant Urban Reef and the newly opened cafe Urban Renaissance, have been an important part of the regeneration of Boscombe.

Since opening Urban Beach, a hotel, bar and bistro, in 2006, owner Mark Cribb has collected many awards and represented the area on TV, too. It says a lot for the business that it has won awards as a hotel AND as a bar and is seems to successfully walk the tightrope between being ‘cool’ while also being friendly and relaxing.

While Boscombe is certainly on the up, Urban Beach remains a bit of a trek from the town centre or for those who live elsewhere in the area. It is a short stroll from Boscombe pier, however, so ideal for a post-beach, early evening bite.

It’s an interesting time for the ‘Beach with the introduction of a new manager – Helen, who interestingly started as a waitress back in 2006 – and the introduction of a new summer menu. In addition, the outdoor decking area has had a makeover and there is live music some evenings, too, for an added dimension to the dining.

But back to the menu. By day, the bar keeps things simple with an eight-item menu of crowd-pleasers such as burgers (beef or vege), steak, caesar salad, roast chicken, simple fish (seabass or fish and chips), or a vegetarian tart. By night, the menu is more elaborate.

I visited on a Thursday evening and easily secured a table for two outside, although it did get busier as the night went on.

My friend and I were so busy chatting we were asked for our order three times! But with a massive menu of almost 20 items, plus daily specials – three starters, four mains – featuring seasonal food and locally caught fish, it took some time to decide.

A pint of Sandford Orchards – a gloriously sweet Devon cider – helped us make up our minds.

I went for one of the specials, a courgette, mushroom and feta cheese parcel with potatoes and tomato sauce. I’m not vegetarian but I was interested by the flavour blend.

When it came, the dish was beautifully presented and the tomato sauce had a lovely zing.

The vegetables in the parcel were fresh with a bit of a crunch but, if I had to criticise, there was maybe too much black pepper in the parcel and the potatoes needed a tad longer in the oven.

Overall though, it was a creative and tasty dish.

My friend had more basic tastes, you may think, and ordered the West country beef burger, served with cheese and bacon and chunky chips.

It looked simply fantastic and I’m reliably informed it tasted great too – quality beef, perfectly cooked, with fluffy fat chips.

Service was attentive but a little muddled.

We counted three people serving us, which meant we were asked if everything was okay not once, not twice, but thrice! Nice but veering towards overkill.

As always, the atmosphere was laid back luxe, very relaxing with just enough of a sense of occasion.

Manager Helen has risen through the ranks and knows the business inside out. It’s clear she knows what her customers want, too.

Urban Beach, 23 Argyll Rd Bournemouth, Dorset BH5 1EB 01202 301509