I’m always a little wary
whenever anyone invites me to “Come and have meal with us if you need a good
place to write about” because I once dragged
Robert miles beyond Okehampton for Sunday Lunch, on the strength of the
landlord’s totally misguided belief that what he offered the general public to
eat
came under the heading of Good Food.
But when Philippa Hughes kindly extended an invitation to eat at
With
a history stretching back to the 11th century when it was one of the
‘domesday manors’, the building, not far from Buckfast Abbey, first opened
it’s doors in 1934 as a Temperance
Hotel. We arrived for lunch on a Tuesday in January and it shone out like a
handsome wedding cake in it’s spectacular
woodland setting. Greeted at the door by
a very friendly waitress, we were soon settled into the well stocked bar with
drinks and the menu to ponder over.
Good to see that locally sourced meat, fish and organic vegetables play a large
part on the bill of fare, along with a mention that mobile phones will be
placed in the ice bucket !!
Sitting
in this most comfortable of rooms, I only wished that we had been invited for a
week. The whole place is furnished in true country house style,
with sporting prints, an abundance of fresh flowers and plants, the daily
papers, all the right mags on hand to relax with, and that overall feeling of
hospitality
that one only ever finds in quality English hotels. Large hotel chains try to
copy this feel, and they miss it by miles. It’s got something to do with owners
and their
staff. A joint attitude they have in
genuinely wanting the customer to enjoy their stay. It’s got nothing to do with
class system. It has no Basil Fawlty
fawning about it.
But in the absolutely best hotels the customer truly feels that he or she is
welcome.
Ushered
into the dining room (snowy white cloths, the hotel’s own bottled still and
sparkling water on the table) my starter of Pan Fried Haddock with
Potato and grain mustard salad and Poached egg was perfect in every way. The
fish flaked at a touch, the egg was just right, and the potato salad was spot
on.
A meal in itself. Rob had chosen the
Jerusalem artichoke soup with toasted curry bread. In fact the 3 choices of
bread were all light and tasty and we overheard
the waitress pass on our praises to the kitchen staff as she carried the plates
in “…..and they especially like the bread” -
yes we did.
I
wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I’d ordered the Roast Belly Pork with
Balsamic Lentils and Prune and Black Pudding Stuffing.
If I cook belly pork at home I leave it in the aga for a large part of the day
to be sure of a tender result. When this
curled slice of pork arrived, it looked as
though it had been gently simmering for hours, and I’m happy to report it
tasted that way too. The cabbage leaves
surrounding the black pudding and
prune stuffing was slightly tough, but the mixture inside was a perfect foil
for the meat. The sweetness of the
prunes along with the almost gamey taste
of the black pudding - a wonderful lunch. Rob had chosen the Pan Fried Brixham
Cod for his main course. Smiles and nods
all round.
No
need to tell any regular reader that as ever, I was having the annual January
regrets about Yuletide overindulgence, and this fact alone
prevented me from ordering a pudding, but when Rob’s Chocolate Plate came to
the table, he had just nipped out to the car, and that dear sweet waitress
I told you about, suggested nay encouraged me to ‘have a little taste’..So
purely in the interest of the article, I did just that.
The banana and chocolate pudding was yummy, the white chocolate mousse was
delicious, and the chocolate and hazelnut ice cream
was chilled heaven, and then just when I thought I should taste all 3 again to
see which was my absolute favourite, Rob came back and spoilt my fun.
Most
of the hotel rooms have a fabulous view to the front of the hotel. The dining room does, and so does the sitting
room, where we were
invited to relax with coffee. We have promised ourselves a return visit in the
Summer when we shall be having our Birmingham foodie friends to stay,
and hopefully then we shall have time to enjoy a walk along the banks of the
River Dart which runs through the grounds.
An experienced team of gillies
are just one of the extras on offer for hotel guests along with fly fishing and
fishing courses for beginners. Batty, the hotel’s resident basset hound
actually
welcomes other dogs over the threshold, and the family are clearly batty about
her. She has her very own website at www.batty-basset.co.uk Do have a look – it’s fun.
Thank
you for inviting us Philippa. We
thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Sad news since I wrote
this review, Batty was involved in an accident
and
is no longer with us.
Ashburton.
TQ13 7NS
Tel
01364 631471
Dinner
£34.50
Luncheon Mon – Sat £20
Sunday
Lunch £25..