The Seahorse
Dartmouth, Devon
The Tonks family flagship is moored on the Dartmouth quayside, with co-owner Mitch's son Ben at the helm. It has always radiated a balmy sense of the Mediterranean, partly for the sunny good cheer with which the place is run, and partly for the orientation of the cooking. If the best preparations of the freshest fish are ever the simplest, the menus here offer an object-lesson in what is still a culinary discipline. Torbay scallops, charcoal-roasted and dressed with a lick of white port and garlic, are a favoured way to start. Wine performs its ancestral role in seasoning and enriching the dishes: fillet of cod is cooked in a paper packet, sauced with Lugana, and spiked with pepperoncini chillies, capers and basil, while Albariño is used as a curing medium for red mullet with pink peppercorns and grapes. A whomping £48 buys a whole Dover sole cooked on the bone, with nothing more complex than a meunière dressing. There are some steaks of beef or veal if you're not quite in the maritime mood, and desserts maintain the theme of elegant simplicity – perhaps salted honey ice cream dressed in Pedro Ximénez and sultanas or an almond tart with rum cream. An excellent Eurocentric wine list does justice to the food, with wines by the small glass from £6.75.
Dining Information:
Private dining room, Separate bar, Wheelchair access
5 South Embankment, Dartmouth, Devon TQ6 9BH
01803 835147
