October flew by with only a few outings, and whilst we weren’t prepared for it, a busy November swiftly filled our diaries and tummies with delights. So here’s a buffet of two months mouthwatering munching and sipping…

North Devon Adventures

New Coast Kitchen, Croyde

Early October, Lauren ventured to North Devon for a friends birthday dinner and headed to New Coast Kitchen. A group of 8 of them enjoyed the modern British cuisine offering, along with excellent service. Laurn enjoyed tempura oysters with wasabi mayo to start, Exmoor ribeye steak with hasselback potatoes, glazed shallots, and red wine jus and an epic finale of chocolate mousse with raspberry coulis. It was all delicious, but the stand out was the oysters – fresh, meaty yet melt in the mouth and the mousse was actually surrounded by a dome of tempered chocolate which revealed the coulis as you cracked into it, accompanied by a palate pleasing raspberry ice cream. Along with wine and excellent espresso martinis, a delightful evening was had by all!

Broomhill Estate

Chris recently visited Broomhill Estate (full blog post here) and explored his way through the gorgeous grounds and their excellent food offering. With seven luxurious, super king, boutique bedrooms bedecked in glorious soft furnishings with en-suite facilities providing Temple Spa products, each room is themed on an arthouse or cult film. With a custom fragance that matches the room’s aesthetic, a stay at Broomhill is a fully immersive experience.

It comprises of 103 acres of ancient woodland and amongst it, is located one of the UK’s finest sculpture parks and the home of the National Sculpture Prize – it is a sanctuary for the fine arts.

Visitors can either grab a coffee and relax at The Terrace Cafe before exploring the extensive sculpture garden, or take things further by dining at their restaurant that provides a la carte dining and a regularly changing menu which stays in sync with the seasons and fresh local ingredients Head Chef Dan Tugwell uses in his exceptional culinary creations.

Also look out for the Broomhill Artisanal Market happening on the 11th December!

Seacliff Restaurant, Ilfracombe

Read our full review here. Perched on a cliff overlooking the Bristol Channel, The Sandy Cove Hotel has an amazing view over the sea. Their fine dining offering is The Seacliff Restaurant which offers diners a tasting menu with wine flight, created by Head Chef Carla Jones.

Using local ingredients and taking inspiration from memories and nature, Pierre Hoffman scholar student, Carla has developed a creative and exciting tasting menu that is putting this new restaurant on the map.

With a perfectly matched wine flight, we experienced a varied and creative journey that took us from the depths of the rock pools to the bounding rolling Exmoor hills within a relaxed and comfortable environment.

New Openings in Exeter

The Botanist, Queen St Dining

Lauren attended the press and influencer evening at The Botanist.

Situated in the Queen St Dining at Guildhall Shopping Exeter, she went along to the launch night for dinner and it was pretty tasty. The winter menu is in full swing so includes some comforting options on the menu plus their famous hanging kebabs (which although I find a little unattractive, was very yummy). Lots of great drinks options too. The top floor is a bar with fire pits on the alfresco terrace! Take a peek at our stories to see a short video. Check out the menu online, especially if you have allergies or dietary needs, you can filter the menu to see what you can have.

Castle Street Kitchen

Dining Devon attended an event at the newly opened Castle Street Kitchen, which is located just below the historic Exeter Castle. We got to try some of the offerings including some melt-in-the-mouth steak, mighty burgers and a whole realm of other excellent tasters.

From the great minds that created The Pink Moon, this popular location is now home to one of Exeter’s newest independent eateries.

The Castle Steet Kitchen is also bringing an extensive grill menu, but the first place (to my knowledge) in Exeter to offer ‘unlimited steak’ – a flat iron steak with a choice of homemade sauces. If food isn’t your bag, then there is entertainment, live music and sports as well. Check out the website for more info (link on the title).

Luciano’s, Princesshay

Lauren’s latest write up for Exeter Living Magazine is about Luciano’s which recently opened in Princesshay, it can be read online here.

Other Tasty Endeavours

The Bucket and Spade, Shaldon

Lauren visited The Bucket & Spade Shaldon, on the back of their Food Drink Devon awards spree, and a tasty #invite she couldn’t refuse. It’s the perfect place to take the kids during school downtime, or any time for that matter. Indeed for any occasion, or mix of group, including your fur babies as they are dog friendly! With plenty of options on offer – a breakfast menu, lunch includes sandwiches, paninis, small plates plus an all day burger menu, dedicated children’s menu and an evening gastro menu including even more delicious local produce including seafood. Then there’s Sunday lunch – which she got to experience, it was super delicious and high quality. Gluten free and vegan options are clearly marked and in fact most of the desserts are vegan anyway – we can confirm the ones we had were yummy!

She enjoyed:

• Roast beef with ALL the trimmings (the garlicky cabbage and tender meat – oh my!)
• Halibut with sundried tomato and spinach risotto and a mega prawn!
• Creme brulee (son pretty much said it was the best he’d ever had)
• Chocolate Brownie with vegan ice cream – the light coconut ice cream worked well with the brownie.

They have lots of windows and a terrace to enjoy the sea views, and even on a grouchy weather day like ours, you’ll feel cocooned in their delicious smelling and cool eatery (with super comfy leather bucket seats, we didn’t want to move!)About 30 seconds up the road from Shaldon Zoo, based in Coast View Holiday Park, there is plenty of parking and just a few steps up and you’re inside! Feed the family, then head to the estuary or beach to burn their energy – win, win!Definitely one for your bucket (and spade) list!

Dr Ink’s Curiosities and Dark Bar Drinks launch

One of Exeter’s favourite cocktails destinations is now back open for business. Only recently opening after a long period of rest and recouping, Dr Ink’s has opened it’s doors again with a refreshed look and a brand new product that could be a game changer for the hospitality industry.

We were introduced to Dark Bar Drinks (Dark Bar coming from the term ‘dark kitchen’, which is a term that describes kitchens that create food to be shipped out to restarants or delivered) which has been created to supply hospitality venues who want quality cocktails but who might not have the skilled staff or capacity for a mixologist.

Setting themselves apart from pre-made cocktails by using high quality ingredients – and created by company with a heritage for cocktails handmade with skill, passion and an encyclopaedic knowledge for all things mixological – they are available to hospitality venues who are welcome to use their own bottles or ones provided. They provide a sustainable, refillable solution.

Winslade Manor

The Early Bird catches the worm… Lauren was #invited to dine at Winslade Manor, Clyst St Mary to experience their Early Bird dining offer.

Wednesday to Saturday evenings, you can dine on their delicious local menu, but at a more pocket friendly price (to be fair the menu is already a good deal for the quality), you can enjoy 2 courses for £30, including a complimentary appetiser plus coffee and petit fours to finish. Just book your table for arrival between 4pm and 5:30pm, finishing your dining experience at 7pm… but never fear, you’re welcome to move into the lounge or bar area to continue your evening with some top-notch local drinks, mocktails and cocktails.

The 19th Century, listed building has been gorgeously restored – not stuffy or posh, but warm and stylish, with hearty yet skilfully put together dishes by Chef Director Matt Mason. With a warm glow, velvety soft ‘bucket-seat’ furniture, quirky touches to the interiors – the venue is a must visit! The bread alone was incredible, never mind the… curried goat samosa appetiser, beef braesola and crab risotto starters, specials of venison loin with all the earthy and luxurious trimmings, plaice in a brown caper and shrimp butter, and then the desserts… buttermilk brulee with doughnut sticks and chocolate and peanut butter delice! Boom!

She enjoyed organic prosecco, apple and elderflower nojito mocktail and a pomme fizz cocktail. Sitting in the bar area was a theatrical experience on its own… a wonderful way to end the evening. So next time you call your date or friends to arrange your next outing, tell them to meet you at the Manor….Here’s a taster of what you can expect… (she took sooo many photos, see more on our Instagram reel here).

Rockfish – tinned!

Lauren was #gifted a tasty package from Mitch Tonks and Rockfish newest fishtastic project. Wonderfully local, flavoursome, plump, preserved tinned seafood, all caught off the South Coast!

She enjoyed the mussels on toasted sourdough and the cuttlefish calamari in squid ink stirred through warm pasta. Yet to dive into the mackerel and sardines, but no doubt they will feature during a weekend breakfast. The gift box makes a wonderful present for any seafood lover (perfect timing for Christmas too!)

You can buy them online here: https://therockfish.co.uk/collections/rockfish-tinned-seafood

Official info here (as we don’t want to miss out all the important details!)

“A uniquely British product made using fresh seafood sourced directly from the South Coast of England, it is the next step on the UK’s journey to rediscovering traditional methods of food preservation, giving shoppers a British option for the increasingly popular cupboard staple.

Landed at its prime, the seafood is frozen at the Rockfish facilities just metres from Brixham Market, in order to preserve the quality and benefits of the fish. What’s more, by using this method Mitch and his team are able to reduce waste by using fish that otherwise would go unsold due to varying demand and natural seasonal gluts – with sustainability being at the heart of all of his ventures.Each tin is beautifully packaged – designed by artist and Mitch’s wife, Penny Tonks, the packaging uses colourful artworks to represent the fish on the inside. Inside the tins, a selection of traditional oils and sauces infuse the seafood with extra flavour.”

We wish you a happy and healthy December ahead, full of festive cheer whether it’s all-out celebration or low key, do what works for you in these odd times. We have a few exciting outings planned, so keep an eye on our socials, and remember…. if you can, support local.

2021 © Disclosure – all images, unless otherwise stated are copyright of Dining Devon. For some of our visits we are #invited or products are #gifted, and are noted as such. This means we have been given something complimentary in exchange for our views in the hope of us sharing on our socials. This does not affect our opinions which are not seen or pre approved by venues before we publish or share our experiences.