Stage
Exeter, Devon
It's a restaurant that feels like a permanent pop-up, tucked into a parade of shops in an unsuspecting residential part of Exeter. The Taco Boys, as were, built the place from scratch, negotiated the COVID restrictions with admirable ingenuity, and still manage to put on a show that impresses readers for its innovative energy and labour-intensive commitment to the locavore ideal. Home-grown vegetables, home-cured meats and butter churned in-house form the backbone of the operation, and if the place exudes a feeling of impetuous youth only befitting a university city, who's complaining? The high stools took 10 years off us. The drill is four courses at lunch, six at dinner, and from the first offering of torn-up bread with pickles and sriracha, the engine shifts straight into gear. Your five-a-day is pure pleasure when it produces carrot mousse with kimchi and soy-blitzed seeds to start. Whipped dressings are favoured, such as the ricotta version that accompanies salmon tartare in smoked maple syrup, while mains tend to be meaty and substantial – perhaps a duo of seared chop and braised shoulder of Cornish lamb with salsa verde and puréed cauliflower. An insistent savoury edge stops the desserts from being all dairy indulgence, so expect foraged sumac in the white chocolate soufflé or puffed rice and whisky caramel offsetting the ice cream made from koji berries. Perhaps pop an elderberry wine-gum to see you on your way. The drinks flights (£25 at lunch, £45 evenings) are definitely worth signing up for: kombuchas, pét-nats and fortified oddballs are merely the half of it.
Dining Information:
Counter seating, Dog friendly, Credit card required
31 Magdalen Road, Exeter, Devon EX2 4TA
01392 496700
