It is very much a dog friendly, family friendly, walker friendly establishment. You do not have to walk, you do not have to climb the stairs, there is the wheelchair friendly, child friendly option of the lift of course, accessed from the cliff-top. If you come in Spring/Summer there are thousands of sea birds nesting in the cliffs and rocks.
It is a stunning spot that is not packed by any stretch of the imagination. What better way to walk off a lovely meal with drinks than to step literally just outside and straight onto the beach.
We shall definitely go back, the menu was extensive and full of choice, especially sea food. I had a steak cooked to perfection and there was also a seafood flatbread with delicious sauces, crab meat and cod strips. There are no masses here it seems, I thought there would be, but it is wonderfully pleasant. sat within the cave it was lovely and quiet too.
We had walked along the cliffs and beaches so we had earned our refreshment. The bar area above is hard to believe literally just off on open and gorgeous beach, but then you can pass through the old cave openings and into an open dining area within the caves, within the cliffs. Since then it has passed through various hotel and pub chains but stands proud today as a very different yet wonderful place to eat and drink. In 1898, Vaux Breweries took over the grotto, extended it out the from from the caves and added a lift… No, you don’t have to take the steep steps, if you don’t want. Nestled in the depths of Villa Brown, the fashionable Cave Bar in Jerusalem once served as the 19th-century residences water cistern. Later in the 19th Century it was bought by Harton Coal Company who whilst profiting allowed the grotto to come into disrepair somewhat. He had grand plans and made it a 15 room dwelling with ballroom and all. It then passed on in the early 19th Century to a local pub landlord named Peter Allen. Visitors came to see the place and that led to refreshments being sold even then. Of course this was an unusual place to live even in those days. The steep zig-zag stairs that you may use to get down to the beach and grotto are also thought to have been built by Jack. He got some dynamite from a local quarry and literally blew themselves a home in the cliffs. Story has it that he and his wife, Jessie, moved into the area and refused to pay rents they could not afford. Well, it all starts way back in 1782 and a man known as Jack the Blaster. Sat on the heated terrace, watching the waves roll in on the beach I wondered more about the history and how it came to be.