Devon Restaurant Review: Bistrot Pierre, Torquay

I went to the new-ish Bistrot Pierre in Torquay last week.  The place was heaving on a Tuesday night and a reservation was needed.  The views from all tables of the fairy lights and sea were impressive as the windows are large.  Upstairs was buzzy, busy and had a good atmosphere.  

The food is French and delicious.  For starters, my husband and I decided to have a sharing platter (the assiette).  There was ample food on the assiette, although we did have to ask for some extra bread – very nice slices of baguette with a French butter called Lescure.  The mini chorizos cooked in honey had been recommended to me – they were good – but watch out, they do stop you talking for a few minutes!  The hummus, olives, sun dried tomatoes and brie were all good.  The tapenade tasted a little different to usual – I am not sure If they had added pesto or mayonnaise, but it seemed different to what I anticipated.

My husband had a rib eye steak with mushrooms, salad and fries which he enjoyed.  I had the Lamb Cassoulet which was served with wonderful Dauphinoise Potatoes, red cabbage, carrots and broccoli.  The cassoulet and the potatoes were outstanding.  The potatoes were served in a mini skillet with a small oven glove: a ‘handle glove’ The lamb was very tender and tasty.

I chose the Café Gourmand for dessert as I wanted to see how this restaurant performed for their sweet offerings.  I tried the following four (the restaurant chooses for you) and overall my fave was the Lemon Tart: Lemon Tart, Chocolate Fondant, Raspberry sorbet with crumbs, Tarte Tatin.  The apple tart was my least favourite, but that was just me being fussy.

 Downstairs, the ceiling is higher and there were fewer people and it had a calmer, quieter atmosphere.

The only problems were that I was a little chilly, we were sat by a closed window  – my husband was fine.  Plus it was noisy upstairs – some people might prefer the downstairs tables.  The wine list was OK but a bit unexciting.

There were also plenty of outdoor seats – I can imagine that brunch, or a morning coffee on the outdoor terrace in the sun would be amazing.  There is outdoor seating on the ground floor and first floor (balcony) level.    The location choices for this small chain of restaurants is interesting.  I think this Torquay branch is going to be deservedly popular.  High quality dishes, great service, buzzy atmosphere, sea views and very close to the Princess Theatre will all help make this place thrive.

Devon Pub Review: The Fat Pig, Exeter

We went as a family (two adults, a daughter aged 14 and a son aged 12) to the Fat Pig in Exeter for Sunday lunch a few days ago.

It was great!  A relaxing hang out serving some top notch micro brewed ales.  My other half had the Steam Hammer Ale and really enjoyed that.  We were intrigued by all the hanging pictures.  They did tell a few stories as we asked the waitress (owner, I'm not sure) about one and heard a wonderful story about the man portrayed.

We shared a Smoked Garlic with toast to start with.  All four of us enjoyed that.  Like everything, it was  served on a board.  There was a whole bulb of soft and smokey garlic and plenty of toast.  We should have ordered two portions really as we were hungry and there was plenty of grabbing going on! 

For main courses, two of us had the smoked prawns and chips (the prawns were recommended to me by Countrywoodsmoke, a local foodie and BBQ/Smoker expert), my daughter had the Roast Pork and my husband had the Smoked Pheasant.  The pub has recently acquired a new 'smoker' and is making the most of it.

The prawns were smoked, but not overly so.  They were served whole - so we had to peel them but my son loved doing this.  Personally I could have done with a debris bowl or dish as I was quite messy, but this is splitting hairs.  The large quantity of serviettes and finger bowls were appreciated and used.

My daughter enjoyed the Roast Pork - there are some reviews on Tripadvisor to say the Sunday roast isn't great - it was good for her.  Plenty of meat, veg and gravy.  The only weird thing was that the roast potatoes were enormous and could have been smaller - that is a small gripe.  The meat, veg and gravy were all fine.  My husband liked the pheasant - of which there was a large quantity - and when I had a small 'taster', I managed to get the only piece of 'shot' in the whole dish.  Typical.

All four of us enjoyed our meal and we will be back to try lunch on a different day of the week.  I liked the vibe, the ethos, the decor and the food.  The place was very busy by 1pm so it's worthwhile reserving at the weekend.  They have a great system of chalking the reservations on the actual wood of the tables.  I liked that.

I was a guest, but I was free to write what I wished.  

Devon Pub Review: Railway Inn, Honiton

The Railway Inn came warmly recommended from fellow Devon food blogger, Countrywoodsmoke.  After dropping off our lovely huge goldfish, Speedy, at his house (to keep as a pet for his kids allegedly....he'd better not end up in the smoker.....) we went to the pub.  

The Railway Inn is just slightly off the beaten track about 5 minutes walk from the main shopping street in Honiton and we had to ask twice for directions (it's not that tricky but the first lady pointed us in the wrong direction!)

It was a fairly busy Saturday lunchtime but the staff were doing an admirable job.  We were presented with a bottle of filtered water and freshly baked olive and herb bread with a bowl of oil and vinegar within a few minutes of arrival - the very soft, warm dough was beautifully squidgy and we were really hungry so it was needed.  All four of us, two adults and two children, had difficulty choosing the food as there was so much on the menu that we fancied.  And that is quite a result for two children who can be a bit choosy when they want to be (one won't eat cheese, the other won't eat potato).

We chose the pate and a bowl of chips to share as a starter for the table.  Aren't we classy?  The chef is French and he puts a French / Mediterranean twist on some great quality Devon and Somerset produce.

 I chose to have two starters as my main as I couldn't decide between the small Fritto Misto –  and the Fragrant chicken Vietnamese Salad -with beansprouts, chinese leaf, carrots, spring onion, mint, toasted almonds, confit ginger & spicy sesame dressing.

This salad was pretty good but the dressing was a bit too sweet and plentiful for my taste.

My 'starter size' fritto misto had a delicious fishcake, whitebait, a small piece of white fish and plenty of squid.  Loved it.

My son went for the Proper Fritto Misto –Trio of Crispy fried sustainable fish with proper chips (£12.95).  The fish were really well cooked and the batter was delicious, my son loved the King Prawn (or was it a langoustine - it was eaten so quickly it was hard to tell) and the white fish but wasn't so keen on the battered mackerel.  This photo makes it look quite small, but it wasn't!

 The other two had the award-winning pizzas (£10.95) and ate every morsel.  Pictured is the beef and chorizo version.

My personal favourites were the pate, the bread, the fried fish and the chips.  My tiny quibble was just that the chicken salad dressing was a bit too sweet and plentiful.

 We were sadly too full up for pudding, but we were given a handful of jelly babies on the saucer with the bill, which was a parting gift to make us all smile.

Great atmosphere, a chef and staff who know what they are doing with some great quality ingredients in a relaxed, family-friendly setting.

http://therailwayhoniton.co.uk/

Seville's Top Three Tapas Bars - How to Munch through the Credit Crunch

To celebrate my 40th birthday, I have just been treated to an amazing week of feasting on tapas and Rioja in Seville in the South of Spain.  We took the children despite our 14 year old preachy guidebook telling us that 'although Spaniards are very welcoming to children, you may want to consider whether Seville would be a more relaxing and romantic experience if you left the children behind.'  Made me laugh, and I was tempted for a while, but we brought the sprogs along regardless.

Eating in Seville is 90% tapas bars.  There are a couple of linen tablecloth-ed restaurants, but they look so starchy (and expensive) in comparison to the vibrancy of the bars.  Dining out in Seville proved to be surprisingly cheap.  Coffees were about 1.4 Euros and a glass of decent red wine about 2.5 Euros.  I was expecting the anchovies, tortilla, red peppers, patatas bravas, slices of ham and deep-fried croquettes of 14 years ago, and indeed there were plenty of these to be had in places like the wonderful Dos de Mayo.  

This is the 'racion' (medium sized) portion of the alternative Spanish Omelette , this one contained red, green peppers and ham.

Marinaded chargrilled peppers

Marinaded slices of tender calves liver with spring onion

After a few days we discovered the joys of 'modern tapas' at Eslava and Lumbreras e.g. a barely set egg yolk quivering on top of a 'mushroom cake' or a meltingly tender solomillo fillet steak atop a smear of fresh mushroom cream - these were exquisite high-end restaurant standard dishes - and no photos as they were snaffled so quickly.  The fillet steak was the most expensive dish we had at 6 Euros, oh yes, and a huge dish of garlic butter clams for 8 Euros, but for the most part, they came in at 2-3 Euros a plateful.  As a family of four, we lived like kings and ate and drank to our hearts' content, and the bill was often a remarkable 25 - 35 Euros.

Here's a picture of the wonderful Dos de Mayo tapas bar, just behind the main Il Corte Ingles department store on the Plaza de Duque de Victoria.  It was a frenetic den of activity - I have no idea how the barmen kept track of everyone's pint-size tapas orders.  They did call me 'Casey' which we found amusing.

This was the children's favourite, churros with hot chocolate at a corner breakfast cafe.  Cheap, calorific, filling and delicious.  NB, there is a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice in the top right hand corner in a vain attempt to make the meal have a nutritional value.

Our favourite tapas bars in Seville were:

Eslava (lots more photos of their food on this website)

Dos de Mayo

Lumbreras (they don't have their own website - so this is a link to Tripadvisor)

Who Serves the Best Cream Tea in Devon?

NB - 
Update Summer 2013
Dartmoor Tearooms is now for sale!  I visited Angels in Torquay the other day and stand by what I said a year ago - fabulous cream tea!

Update Summer 2012
Dartmoor Tearooms are not opening this year due to refurbishment.  They will re-open in Spring 2013.  In the meantime try Angels, Babbacombe, Torquay for an amazing cream tea.  You won't be disappointed!

A cream tea with thick clotted cream and deep red jam served atop plump doughy scones is one of the delights of going out in the afternoon in Devon and Cornwall.  In my time, I have had many a cream tea, a surprising number of which have proved disappointing.  All too often, there is insufficient cream, average jam or a tiny two day old scone.  I have been hearing great things about the Dartmoor Tea Rooms in Moretonhampstead, Devon (longest unhyphenated place name in England I believe).  It was lunchtime, but we all decided to have sweet stuff instead.  Daughter had a chocolate brownie with ice cream and raspberry sauce which she said was delicious.  Husband and I shared a Classic Cream Tea (two scones) plus an in-house homemade toasted teacake.  The tea cake was absolutely wonderful – slathered in butter, just the right amount of dried fruit and peel and a lovely sweet sugar crust on the top.  Divine. 

Tea was of high quality.  I love the ‘FORLIFE’ tea pots that they and lots of cafes are using at the moment (e.g Twenty Six in Teignmouth).  They have an inbuilt strainer inside the main body, so the brew is perfect, no fiddly strainer and presumably easier to clean up afterwards.  They are for sale in the cafe at a good price of £20 – I have seen them for sale online for £22-£25.  Looking forward to receiving one for my birthday (hint, hint).

Everything in the cafe was so clean – I loved the way the crockery, the milk jug, the tray and the cutlery were all so gleaming.  It was a very welcoming environment, friendly waiting staff, fresh flowers on the tables and lots of bits and bobs to look at and admire.

But the burning question - was this the Best Cream Tea in Devon?

Well, I give Dartmoor Tea Rooms a resounding ten out of ten for the fabulous teacake and for the fine pot of tea.  The cream and jam were very good and were just about the right quantity.  The scones were large, just warm (felt very 'fresh' warm rather than re-heated warm) homemade, light and tasty and certainly enjoyable.  But......I have such high standards as I have my own resident scone-maker in my home, and hers are perfection, and have a slightly more buttery golden texture (secret ingredient being yoghurt).  So, outside of my own home, this is probably as near as dammit, one of the Best Cream Teas in Devon.  But of course the quest is ceaseless and I must carry on in my search to find the Ultimate Devon Cream Tea.  This one is jolly good and is definitely on the short list.

NB I think Dartmoor Tea Rooms may be shutting at the beginning of July for a week or two, so do check before going there; but DO go there, it's a great place.  Open Weds-Sundays from April - November.

Ring of Bells - Pub Review - North Bovey, Devon

This is the Ring of Bells, North Bovey and this is just how a pub should be in Devon.

Attractive, thatched, quiet village, space to sit outside, well-decorated with modern 'murky' shades of paint, but not 'gastro-pub'-ed to within an inch of its life, great local beers, a warm welcome, a woodburning stove, dogs welcome, tasty homemade food at affordable prices.

We had a simple lunch: soup for me (roasted garlic + celeriac with croutons), sardines on toast with roasted vine tomatoes and a ploughman's - all done fantastically well.

Their unpretentious formula for success is proving a hit - getting a table for Thurs - Sat night can be tricky - phone well ahead.  Thoroughly recommended.

NORTH BOVEY, DARTMOOR, DEVON TQ13 8RB
Tel: 01647 440375 W: www.ringofbells.net E: mail@ringofbells.net

Gidleigh Park, Chagford, Devon - Restaurant Review

I realise that I may have to change my profile description that says I enjoy eating at 'unpretentious' and 'good value' places.  Gidleigh Park does not exactly fulfil either of those criteria.  This was an incredibly special treat - a gift to my husband for his fortieth birthday. I said I wouldn't blog about it, but then out came the camera and, yep, in true food blogger style, I wasn't taking pictures of my husband (attractive as he may be), but of the beautiful food.

Gidleigh Park is a posh country house hotel par excellence: two Michelin stars, Executive chef is Michael Caines MBE, and number one in the Sunday Times Best Restaurant List 2010 - it feels as if you're eating in a National Trust property.

Drinks in the lounge....oops before we knew it, no we weren't sticking to our 'local food' credentials and ordering some Luscombe apple juice or Camel Valley sparkling wine.  For me a glass of Champagne (NV, thank the Lord) and for him, a Vodka Martini.  I almost guffawed.  So not a Peroni then. 

The service was wonderful - not at all stuffy.  The staff were friendly, chatty, knowledgeable and so enthusiastic about the food and wine.  Special mention to the cheery 'cheese waiter'  (apparently they're called cheese sommeliers in the States) who brought round the fantastic cheese trolley resplendent with many Devon and Cornish cheeses, plus some oozing French ones.

We chose the five course Seasonal Tasting menu with a couple of glasses of appropriate wines.  My first taste of the amuse-bouches and I was in heaven:  a crispy morsel of Cornish sea bream with a Thai froth on the top (far right of picture below).  It was a riot of flavours and made me smile to know that I was going to have such a gourmet evening.  The middle one was an aubergine mousse and on the left a piece of foie gras with a Sauternes jelly.

Matthewsfoodblog has asked me to comment on the bread (one of his fave things about eating in high-end establishments.)  A basket of three types of home-baked , incredibly fresh bread:  a small rustic French-style roll with pointed ends was delicious, my favourite was a small brown round roll containing honey and burnt 'bran' or 'prawn' or 'brown'- (after asking the waitress to repeat the phrase three times, I gave up), and a slice of sun-dried tomato bread which was very nice on its own but so full of flavour that it wasn't good to accompany the delicate food.

The food was superb:

Confit of Salmon, followed by Boudin of pheasant with foie gras, couscous and bouillon (pictured below)

.....then Langoustines with leeks and truffle, Lamb with Boulangere potatotes, Chocolate and Orange Three Ways, Coffee and Petits Fours.

The food was exciting, full of flavour, beautiful on the plate and felt like a culinary adventure.  I could go on about the individual dishes but will just mention the highlights:  the sweetness of the langoustines with the backnotes of a truffled sauce, the melting tastiness of the tender, herbed lamb, the bitter orange sorbet served in a dark chocolate shell and the caramel chocolates served as part of the petits fours.  

My Dad joined us for coffee and petits fours in front of the fire in the lounge (thanks for the lift home, Dad!).  The entire bill came to.......ahem..... £352 (without tip) which is the most I have ever (and will ever) pay for a meal in my life.  We will need some post-traumatic counselling to deal with that.  The coffee and petits fours cost £6.  And there's the 'good value' part of my review.  You get three mini desserts on a wooden platter, plus a handful of chocolates and a pot of coffee or tea, that you don't have to strain your wrist to pour for yourself, for six quid.  A superb end to a memorable meal.  It wasn't just a meal, it was an event that we will remember.  

Paignton, Devon: The Boathouse Cafe Review

Preston seafront was looking lovely on 9 Jan 2011.  The sea looked mirror calm and the rare appearance of the sunshine had strangers stopping to remark on it to each other.

My daughter and I went for a stroll along the waterfront and then decided it was time for hot chocolate and tea.  I had heard that The Boathouse was a decent cafe, but I was a little put off by this:

Well, it's out-of-season in Devon and I guess businesses need to drum up custom, but still....

Despite cheery greetings from the waiter, an overpowering stench of bleach, peeling paintwork and filthy sticky bits under the wooden table slats made me realise that this place must be primarily a Fri / Sat night bar rather than a gourmet cafe hangout.

The morning pastries didn't look very appetising under their cellophane wrappers so we had tea and a hot chocolate with all the trimmings.  Except one.

I'm not keen on tea in a glass (unless I'm in Spain or France where I don't care cos I'm on holiday), but I really do care about getting a carton of UHT milk with my tea.  Yuk.  That's what I would expect at a motorway service station or.....I'm not sure where....on a budget airline, but not in a beachside cafe that has a fully functioning fridge and everything.

This cafe was not really my sort of place at all.  The UHT did it for me. It was out-of-season and needing a bit of a revamp  - it looked lovely outside, so that's where we went!

Sorry, Boathouse, get well soon!

New Teignmouth Cafe - twentysix

We mourned the loss of the Michaelmas Goose cafe in Teignmouth - we loved the Goose's relaxed, bustling vibe with super-cheery waitresses and a couple of sofas and magazines - you felt you could go there on your own and just chill and eat cake.  It closed down in the summer and we now have twentysix in its place.  I am a little cynical about calling a place by a word-number - it's not too snappy and people don't automatically know what you're talking about.  As this is owned and run by a really good chef, Denise Tarriela, I would have preferred it to be called something more personal and showing its high quality home-cooking credentials.  It's also hard to find on the internet - this is their website, but I had to go via Tripadvisor to find it.

That is all the negative stuff I have to say!  
What a lovely place and what attention to detail.  My tea (pear and caramel tea - sounds weird but tasted delicious) arrived with an egg timer and a request to let it brew for three minutes.  I love that kind of gimmick.  The two of us ordered 'Croques' - his was pear and blue cheese on granary bread and mine was brie, crispy bacon with fig relish on white topped with aged Gruyere.  Both were £6.95 which sounds a little high for a sandwich (especially in Teignmouth), but they were full of excellent quality ingredients and presented well with a delicious green salad dressed with lemon oil, proper crisps and aioli.  I enjoyed every mouthful and can highly recommend a visit.  


I gawped at the cakes but didn't have time for one - they are all homemade and look quite incredible - definitely posh restaurant standard and a little bit different: New York baked cheesecake, a beautiful iced blueberry cake and Valrhona chocolate brownies plus the amazing pear, pistachio and creme anglaise cake - I want one of those!

They are open 9-5:30 every day, plus they serve evening meals as special bookable events at weekends - the cafe is holding New Orleans Cuisine and Jazz evenings this weekend )19-21 Nov with delicious items such as Drunken Prawns with Cajun Butter Sauce, Blackened Fillet of Marlin and Chocolate Pecan Pie.  There is also a Thanksgiving meal on 25 Nov, a Local Game evening on 27th Nov and Christmas events too.

Polpeor Cafe, The Lizard, Doughnut with Clotted Cream

This is my guilitiest pleasure in the whole world.  The Most Southerly Cafe in England is Polpeor Cafe, perched on the clifftop at the point of The Lizard in Cornwall.  They serve all sorts of wicked goodies, including the Cornish Heava Cake (full of fruit and doughy).  My sinful indulgence is the freshly fried doughnuts served hot with strawberry jam and a huge dollop of clotters on the top.  This is the most calorific food imaginable and should really only be consumed by Michael Phelps and marathon runners.  And me.

This is their knickerbocker glory, conjured up by visiting fairies:

The views from this cafe are awesome.  Sitting here is a real spiritual tonic - you feel renewed by the sea air and the expanse of ocean - it's also quite exciting feeling that at any point you might be the MOST southerly person on the English mainland.  The dramatic cliffs slope down to white-flecked turquoize waters (if you're lucky enough to be there on a sunny day).  From the cafe seating area you can sight the rare chough (similar to a crow, with a red beak and feet) that first started renesting within a few hundred yards of the cafe a couple of years ago.  There are currently thought to be eight of them.  Twitchers with binoculars abound.  Seals are frequent visitors to the waters below and we have spotted them several times while tucking into doughnuts and knickerbocker glories.  One day when we got down to the beach after a trip to the cafe, the seal approached us like a friendly dog - he was as curious about us as we were about him - sadly, no pictures!

Shaldon Coffee Rush Cafe, Devon

Shaldon Coffee Rush is in the quaint, yes I use the word unashamedly, fishing village of Shaldon (good pubs, pleasant enough beach, lovely clifftop walks, crab fishing, a couple of local shops, a pitch and putt golf course and a Wildlife Trust mini zoo with rare species).  You can easily spend a day or two in this place.

The cafe is beautifully painted with soothing colours, it (sometimes) has free parking outside, it has friendly, welcoming staff, a buzzing atmosphere with plenty of locals popping in, appealing food and is just everything you would want in a cafe.  A great place to meet a friend and have a catch-up.

 They allow dogs in the back room (two comfy sofas with magazines) which isn't great for me as I'm really allergic to them, so I've learnt to sit at the front of the cafe which is lighter and airier anyway.

My biggest thumbs up is for their tea: real tea leaves in one of those clever teapots that doesn't require a tea strainer.  They managed to serve it with fresh slices of lemon - just the thing for Earl Grey.  We resisted the cakes, but the fresh croissants and Danish pastries looked superb.  This cafe has the feel of a proper village cafe for locals and visitors alike.  We heart Shaldon Coffee Rush - and we're not the only ones - they were Runners Up in 2009 Devon Life (magazine) Best Devon Coffee Shop!

Am I ever going to write a negative review of a cafe?  I have realised that my blog postings, up until now, have been entirely upbeat, and positively glowing recommendations and yet, I pride myself on my honesty and independence.  The problem being that I'm not really tempted to go into cafes that look overly fusty, musty or serving tired old pre-packed, factory-prepared food.  And usually these first impressions from the outside, the decor, menu, the look and feel of the place - the customer's gut instinct are usually proven to be right.

My  negative feedback about a local cafe will be directed at Global Aroma in Teignmouth.  This is a singularly uninspiring place.  Radio music in the background, uncomfortable seats, unattractive lighting and decor, a really substandard toilet and food that it is unappealing and unimaginative.  I won't be going back there.  There, I have made a negative comment.  I feel a bit uncomfortable about doing it, but hey, it's just one person's feeling.  There are often plenty of people in that cafe, so others must disagree with me.