With a picturesque rocky coast, stunning ocean views, and quaint seaside charm, Bearskin Neck in Rockport Massachusetts is a New England postcard come to life. And all the way out at the end of the Neck, sits a spectacular restaurant that takes full advantage of it all. Without a doubt, My Place by the Sea lays claim to one of the prettiest locations a restaurant could ever ask for.

Kathy Milbury – Chef/Co-owner, My Place by the Sea: “My Place by the Sea has been referred to as the end of the world. You have a view of the ocean, 360 degree. It’s stunning. I mean, people stop dead in their tracks. ‘Oh my God, this place is just magnificent.’ There is no place anywhere in the world like this.”

For more than two decades, Kathy Milbury and her partner Barbara Stavropoulos have called My Place their place. Inside, this two story spot is cozy, with a French farmhouse feel, and big windows all around. Outside, the deck offers up seats with jaw dropping views, making any meal feel more like vacation.

Kathy Milbury – Chef/Co-owner, My Place by the Sea: “When you come here, it’s like your place, My Place is your place. You just immediately take a deep breath and just relax. And it’s like no other place in the world.”

Whether you’re here for a leisurely lunch or romantic dinner, seafood is most certainly what you should be eating, because it simply doesn’t get any fresher.

Kathy Milbury – Chef/Co-owner, My Place by the Sea: “You’re gonna eat the best, most pristine seafood, I can offer you. I mean, the lobsters are being plucked right in front of you. The Haddock is caught right in Gloucester on the fishing boats. The scallops are right here. I mean we’ve been local since the day we got here, and that’s what we feature and that’s what we like to cook best is all the local seafood.”

And you can sample a little bit of it all when you start your meal with one of the Chef’s Daily Seafood Tastings, featuring a platter of chilled shellfish, or a selection of warm treats including plump crab cakes. Then there’s the classic New England Clam Chowder, a recipe Kathy is quite proud of.

Kathy Milbury – Chef/Co-owner, My Place by the Sea: “I would put my reputation behind our clam chowder. It is made with a lot of love, which is what separates it from other chowders. Full of flavor, full of clams, potatoes, and it’s finished with a little clarified butter and paprika.”

And while most restaurants claim that their chowder is ‘World Famous’, at My Place it’s this dish they crow about: “Sam Smith’s World Famous BBQ Shrimp”, created for, and named after, the Grammy Award winning singer himself.

Kathy Milbury – Chef/Co-owner, My Place by the Sea: “Sam Smith, the musician has come here several times actually. And has boasted that this is his favorite restaurant in the world. When he came, he was on a strict diet and he wanted something without any carbohydrates, and he wanted something with shrimp. And so I created this dish of barbecue shrimp for him. And ever since then we put it on the menu as Sam Smith’s World Famous Barbecue Shrimp. And he came here last year and he looked at it and he was with his mother and he said ‘Hey, Mom, look at this, it’s Sam Smith Barbecue Shrimp.’ So we’ve had a lot of fun with that.”

The seafood showcase continues with entrees like a traditional Steamed Lobster with corn on the cob and red bliss potatoes, and a fiery and filling Portuguese Fisherman’s Stew.

Kathy Milbury – Chef/Co-owner, My Place by the Sea: “You need a big appetite for it because it has potatoes, linguica, shrimp, fish, clams, tomato broth. It’s a formidable dish for sure.”

But of everything on the menu, the best dish might be the Signature My Place Lobster Taco.

Kathy Milbury – Chef/Co-owner, My Place by the Sea: “It’s really not a taco that you pick up and eat, it’s more of a fork and knife type taco. It is two corn tortilla shells and it’s filled with a chiffonade of Napa cabbage, some diced heirloom tomato and then it’s finished with a little dollop of chipotle mayonnaise, and then we take five and a half ounces of freshly shucked lobster salad, we dip in a little Old Bay seasoning with olive oil and we grill it. And the presentation usually garners a lot of oohs and ahs as it comes out of the dining room. For the person that wants to have lobster, doesn’t want to deal with the mess of cracking a lobster shell, but really wants to have something unique to My Place By the Sea, that’s certainly the dish you’d want to have.”

If seafood simply isn’t your thing, My Place can still be your kind of place, with dishes like Grilled Pizza with Prosciutto, Leeks and Gruyère, a rich and hearty slow simmered Bolognese, and a Grilled Garlic Rubbed Black Angus Sirloin.

For dessert, there’s a delicious Brazilian Coconut Cake topped with Vanilla Ice Cream. And if you’re in the mood for something chocolate, then just order the menu item named “Something” Chocolate.

Kathy Milbury – Chef/Co-owner, My Place by the Sea: “Something Chocolate could be anything. Tonight we’re featuring the Chocolate Trifle. It’s chocolate ice cream with a Valrhona chocolate cake that we make here with a Valrhona hot fudge sauce. It’s finished with caramel sauce, some crisp caramel pearls, which gives it a little bit of crunch, and some just willowy whipped cream to top it off. Those combinations of flavors, just a great way to end the meal.”

And you’re guaranteed a great meal, with an even greater view, when you visit My Place by the Sea.

Kathy Milbury – Chef/Co-owner, My Place by the Sea: “It’s a unique place. It has our heart and soul here. After being here for 23 years, I can honestly say that there’s no place in the world that I’ve ever been that compares to My Place.”