The Elephant by Simon Hulstone
Torquay, Devon
Now within striking distance of its 20th anniversary, the Elephant remains the mightiest beast in the placid landscape of the English Riviera. Nowhere else that has come and gone in the vicinity has attained its level of professional polish, or the degree of consistency that helped it weather the lockdowns by offering takeouts three times a week. Simon Hulstone has maintained his role as a hands-on chef, developing young local talent, and offering an ambience of spacious civility a little way up from Torquay's yacht-packed marina. If the acoustics can get a little raw on a sizzling Saturday night, that can be accounted testament to the level of excitement the food generates. Dishes have an artfully compact air, but with plenty of pronounced local flavours arrayed in subtle compositions. Toasted Orkney scallops, their yielding texture offset with a disc of rösti, the sweetness emphasised with pumpkin and date chutney, all brought into focus with sherry vinegar jus, makes a bracing opener. Mains reliably offer 28-day aged Devon beef fillet with its braised short rib, but fish dishes are equally bold, as when a crisped fillet of stone bass appears with a slew of white beans and diced squid in mussel cream, with a taco of ceviche on the side. Only the smoked almonds seemed to belong to another dish. For dessert, a rum baba is hewn in two, properly doused, and served with vanilla cream and a slice of blood orange. The fixed-price lunch remains a bargain. Serviceable wines open with a seasonal selection that is always worth a look.
