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The Cleave Inn at Lustleigh food review

Food review of The Cleave Inn at Lustleigh, Dartmoor on 1st November 2009. Telephone 01647 277223

How very glad I am that James Smith the manager at the Cleave asked me to re-review the food since the arrival
of new head chef Mark Lloyd. How glad we decided to give the pub another trial, and most of all how thrilled they
must be that they now have a chef on board who produces such ambrosia for their lucky customers. In April this
year I had written a lukewarm account of a visit that Rob and I had paid with friends June and Kenneth, in
which the main grievance was that the average food was letting down the above average serving staff.
James had e-mailed extolling the virtues of new man at the helm Mark Lloyd. Going on to mention that the pub has
been awarded a silver award in the Taste of The West Gastro Pub category and that ‘he is a high profile chef ....
now a lead ambassador for the food movement Slow Food UK that promotes the sourcing and cooking of food with a minimum impact on the environment.’ Now even I know that the current buzz word is traceability, which is crazy
really because I have been banging on for well over 10 years about how we should all be think and act locally.
When I ran the tourist information shop in Chagford for 3 years we had a slip of a girl trot in from the nearby
Courtyard café, which is closely aligned to Proper Job the fantastic recycling centre in Chagford, where, by the way
Rob is the biggest and most ardent customer. I was just tucking a banana skin into a finished off lunchbox ready to
take home when she leaned towards me and told me in no uncertain terms that I ‘should get myself a compost
bin for that banana skin’. I looked back at her and asked her how old she was….. she deferred ever so slightly and
told me that she was 18. To which I responded “Both of my compost heaps are older than you are” So, when I hear that someone has become an ambassador for locally sourced produce, I want to respond with ‘ …and what took you so
long then ?’ Sorry James.... anyway....My role in all this
is to give each place that I visit the once over from the
punter’s point of view. What is the service like ? Is
the food good ? Is it reasonably priced ? and above all,
the overriding question… would I want to go there again ?

With this in mind, the same four of us arrived at The Cleave to give their Sunday Lunch a fresh going over, and noticed
on getting out of the car that a new brush had indeed been sweeping clean. New signage and a much tidier garden.

The Biffa bins were still in place, but at a later telephone conversation with
James I understand that he is in a Mohammed and mountain situation trying
his level best to get that little niggle sorted as best he can.
On in through the pub doorway to be met by a charming young girl, one of 3, who
all danced attendance splendidly.The best news to report is that they have opened
up a large room immediately to the left inside the front door, and it has become
a very pleasant place to eat, with sea grass underfoot, a contemporary slant to the décor and a slightly random mix of tables and chairs. No further standardisation please. This is just the right level. Perfect for the inside a thatched country pub.

As we walk past a table of older diners, one of the ladies is stacking the finished plates ready for the waitress to collect. I catch the conversation, and they are
waxing lyrical about the meal they have just eaten. “Oh I’m so glad we came,
I did enjoy that!” I make a mental note.

Our waitress is not at all fazed when I ask if we might swap our reserved table to one away from the window.
Photos taken in bright sunshine can be a bit tricky….”Not a problem at all, where would you prefer?” We middle
aged women do so appreciate obliging staff. They score extra points over and over in any establishment.
Beef, pork, venison and roasted squash were the main meals on offer for our latest Sunday lunch. We decline
the starters, scallop and clam salad, black pudding and sauté potatoes or ham hock terrine both at £6.50 or ginger,
chilli and pumpkin soup at £4.95, knowing that the chaps
always take a pudding. As there were four of us and four
choices, we selected them all, my fellow diners promising
me forkfuls of their meals in exchange for my veggie option.
I occasionally like purely vegetable options. My chilli and
honey roasted squash was ‘okay’. It came within a spicy
red lentil casserole rather than in roasted form as I
expected, (see pic) and was served with a dollop of
(chervil ? ) yoghurt and two small cumin flat breads.
Robert went into ooh, this is to die for mode and passed his
plate for me to take a taste of the slow roast venison
and I immediately wished I had chosen that instead.

Dark gamey meat, slow cooked and full of flavour “drat I
should have picked that”.Then June passed her plate for
me to sample the pork, again slow roasted and this time with
apple compote “No, I should have gone for that, its absolutely yummy”.And then Kenneth let me have one of the four pieces
of topside from his plate. This is how roast beef should be,
tender enough for a baby to chew and so very very tasty.
“What was I thinking about missing the chance for a plateful
of this ?????”All three of them closely guarded their roast potatoes. I'm sure that Kenneth kept a knife resting on his Yorkshire pudding.
They all sampled a mouthful of my squash and
lentil choice and smugly agreed that this was indeed the
foodie equivalent of the short straw “Poor you”.

So WHEN WE RETURN for Sunday lunches throughout the winter, and we will; then I shall spurn the veggie choice and enjoy what Mark quite clearly does very well, slow cooked meat with all trimmings. The only comment that Kenneth did make was that the carrots on the veg plate where slightly underdone and we all agreed that petit pois would be an improvement on the bullet sized peas. Check out the picture above. For pudding Rob choose a warm chocolate brownie with dark chocolate mousse .“10/10, both very good indeed”. And Kenneth took an apple crumble which again took much praise. Two coffees and two teas, one round of drinks, the bill served with mint imperials came to a shade under £70.00. The mains priced at £9.95.
Now getting back to the older guests I had overheard on the way in. As we waited for our meal, I took advantage of the time to take a few shots of the place. The senior party spotted me and one of the ladies commented that it was such a shame that she had not brought her camera. I asked why and she told me that they were to celebrate her pals’ 57th Wedding Anniversary that very day. Without further ado we nipped outside and I took their picture to add to their enjoyment. I have since sent the photos to the celebrating couple,

a Mr and Mrs Teague of Crackington Haven, who were delighted. Naturally I took advantage of the situation and
well away from the building I asked them what they thought of their meals? “Beautiful, lovely, delicious, if only this
pub was closer to where we live… we’d have our Sunday dinner here every week!…” declared Mrs Teague.
I have to agree with her. They’d be hard pressed to find a better meal on Dartmoor on any Sunday.

A high standard, much improved surroundings and once again friendly staff.
As ever the question would we go again? Answer: we will go again WE ALL LOVED IT !

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