The Elephant Restaurant in Torquay ranked 41st in the UK National Restaurant Awards 2010 and is the holder of a Michelin star. Chef Patron Simon Hulstone meanwhile has a personal string of awards under his belt while also leading the UK team at Bocuse d'Or. We're intrigued.
The Elephant is in fact divided into a downstairs Brasserie and the upstairs fine dining area called The Room (as in The Elephant in the Room though technically of course it's The Room in The Elephant). Both the upstairs and the downstairs dining rooms have stunning views over the the quay and it's a very comfortable environment to enjoy a meal.
And before moving on to the food, we must comment on how genuinely warm and friendly front of house manager Jason is, he's perfect in the role and enhances the overall customer experience. He also has an excellent knowledge of the wine list and did a great job assembling the tasting menu wine flights.
Looking at the menu, we breathe a sigh of relief noting the absence of foie gras on the tasting menu itself, rather, the food looks contemporary and exciting, revealing while not giving up all its secrets ahead of receiving the plate. We're already happy.
The first plate to arrive is Beets and Curds, Elderflower, Tansy and samosa: visually, it stimulates our appetite, we're moved to eat it. Golden beetroot and Cheltenham beetroot are used, the samosas contain goats cheese, and then there's elderflower, elderflower curd and an elderflower dressing. A good fresh start to the meal. The next course to arrive is simply stunning as the picture below shows: Brixham crab, lovage gel, compressed watermelon, cucumber ketchup. A separate bowl of brown meat crab balls with tartare sauce is placed in the middle of the table. It's hard not to be impressed with the precision and care with which this dish has been constructed, it is to look and taste, beautiful. The brown meat crab balls are also absolutely awesome, packed with flavour, would have been a worthy course in its own right. Two courses in, we already feel won over.
The Elephant is in fact divided into a downstairs Brasserie and the upstairs fine dining area called The Room (as in The Elephant in the Room though technically of course it's The Room in The Elephant). Both the upstairs and the downstairs dining rooms have stunning views over the the quay and it's a very comfortable environment to enjoy a meal.
And before moving on to the food, we must comment on how genuinely warm and friendly front of house manager Jason is, he's perfect in the role and enhances the overall customer experience. He also has an excellent knowledge of the wine list and did a great job assembling the tasting menu wine flights.
Looking at the menu, we breathe a sigh of relief noting the absence of foie gras on the tasting menu itself, rather, the food looks contemporary and exciting, revealing while not giving up all its secrets ahead of receiving the plate. We're already happy.
The first plate to arrive is Beets and Curds, Elderflower, Tansy and samosa: visually, it stimulates our appetite, we're moved to eat it. Golden beetroot and Cheltenham beetroot are used, the samosas contain goats cheese, and then there's elderflower, elderflower curd and an elderflower dressing. A good fresh start to the meal. The next course to arrive is simply stunning as the picture below shows: Brixham crab, lovage gel, compressed watermelon, cucumber ketchup. A separate bowl of brown meat crab balls with tartare sauce is placed in the middle of the table. It's hard not to be impressed with the precision and care with which this dish has been constructed, it is to look and taste, beautiful. The brown meat crab balls are also absolutely awesome, packed with flavour, would have been a worthy course in its own right. Two courses in, we already feel won over.
Beets and Curds, Elderflower, Tansy and samosa
Brixham crab, lovage gel, compressed, watermelon, cucumber ketchup
crab balls and tartare sauce
Two more starter dishes to come. First, Bay scallop, lemon & cabbage risotto, mussel foam and borage. For the scallop, the Bay in question is the one you can see outside the window, and with the again pristine presentation plus a great and original scallop pot, this blows away rival dishes including the insipid sea scallop and pea we were recently served at the more lauded 3 star Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester. Finally, it is Ham Hock tortellini, celery and chive flowers, crispy pecans and a pea and toffee soup. The pea and toffee soup is stand out, a wonderful and surprising addition, a happy marvel.
Bay scallop, lemon, cabbage, risotto, mussel and borage
The fish course mains next: halibut with lardo, dill pollen, parsnips, verjus, spring onion and golden sultanas, and Sea bass, clams, cod cheek, pickled shallot and olive oil. The idea with the two courses is that we swap half way through but we are each so enamoured with the plate in front of us that we refuse to swap. Had we been served the other plate, the same would most probably have been true also for again, these are great plates with local fish. There's also a 'surprise' element in the dish such as the halibut being served with sweetbreads, not an obvious choice but it works with both flavours and texture, transferring the 'burden' of the fryer away from the fish but still giving a nod to it on the plate. As for sea bass, cod cheek and clams, when expertly cooked, always going to be a winner.
halibut with lardo, dill pollen, parsnips, verjus, spring onion and golden sultanas
Sea bass, clams, cod cheek, pickled shallot and olive oil
For the meat mains, the duck with pak choi and celeriac puree also came with a duck tongue salad and quince while the Beef came with the unusual mix of ramsoms, cuttlefish, oxtail and daikon and a (surprise) salad of crispy squid. Again, both perfectly cooked, the duck an exemplar of the kind, tender to cut and yielding full flavours in the mouth. The beef meanwhile with the cuttlefish and oxtail was super intense and offered a great example of how the best produce can still be enhanced by a chef's touch.
Beef, ramsoms, cuttlefish, oxtail and daikon
crispy squid salad
duck with pak choi
duck tongue salad
We pass on the cheese, we're simply getting too full and we embark upon desserts: passion fruit cheesecake, citrus, honey and chantilly, and Chocolate fondant, banana, salted butter ice cream. Both excellent, both a little more mainstream than perhaps the earlier courses though the salted butter ice cream is declared 'to die for' and the crunchy tuiles are suitably addictive. In a world of neglected desserts (generally by most restaurants in our view), these were an excellent finish to an excellent meal.
passion fruit cheesecake, citrus, honey and chantilly
Chocolate fondant, banana, salted butter ice cream
Chef Simon Hulstone in The Room
Overall, this was a great meal with no weak links. It achieved real highs, real surprises, had finesse and demonstrated care, but never tried to over reach leaving the food honest and us impressed. The Elephant might not own its own farm like L'enclume but it has a sufficiently close and exclusive relationship with one local farm that the connection to the land is evident in the food. As such, there's also a strong connection between the menus of the two establishments even if they have their own very different styles; either way, we love both.
The Elephant in the room then is that the best and most enjoyable food offerings right now in the UK seem to be coming from restaurants with neither multiple stars nor Mayfair postcodes, rather, regional restaurants where there's passion and talent behind the stove. Allied that with great ingredients, cared for by the chef and the diner's guaranteed a good time. We've talked a lot about 'safe' menus and 'me-too' menus but also that great chefs are doing their own thing and so it is that Chef Hulstone is doing his own thing: it works. We loved our meal at The Elephant and for anyone planning to be in or around Devon this summer, The Elephant should be a definite fixture on your list.
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The Elephant in the room then is that the best and most enjoyable food offerings right now in the UK seem to be coming from restaurants with neither multiple stars nor Mayfair postcodes, rather, regional restaurants where there's passion and talent behind the stove. Allied that with great ingredients, cared for by the chef and the diner's guaranteed a good time. We've talked a lot about 'safe' menus and 'me-too' menus but also that great chefs are doing their own thing and so it is that Chef Hulstone is doing his own thing: it works. We loved our meal at The Elephant and for anyone planning to be in or around Devon this summer, The Elephant should be a definite fixture on your list.
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