Just a quick entry about our weekend in Dartmouth. Y picked me up from cooking school in Ashburton, Devon and, after showing her around my kitchen classroom and getting the nod of approval from Chef Rob for the restaurant we had booked in Dartmouth, we were on our way for the 50 minute drive through pouring rain to the charming Non-Such House, in Kingswear, the opposite side of the river mouth to Dartmouth village.
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We were greeted like long lost friends by our hosts Penny and her husband Kit. They have the most amazing house with views of the river and Dartmouth from most rooms (above, the view from our room). There are 4 rooms for guests, a lounge area with roaring log fire, and a conservatory to enjoy the great breakfasts and (only a couple of times a week) the brilliant 3 course dinner prepared by Kit. It felt like staying with your parents, if your parents are a little bit posh (in a fabulous, not a snooty, way), have excellent taste in furnishings, own a gorgeous house, know when to leave you alone, can cook, and are happy to hand over a glass of wine (which you can bring yourself and which they happily keep cold in their fridge and provide olives to enjoy it with) or tea and cake whenever you look slightly parched (so really, not like staying with your parents at all [the exception would be my parents of course]). Other than an exploration of the village (below, which was great for some Christmas shopping and crossing a few things off my wish list from cooking school) we installed ourselves in front of the log fire and didn't leave for most of Saturday afternoon.
Saturday night we left the comfort of what we wished was our home, to have dinner in Dartmouth at Seahorse. Friday night however, we stayed in and enjoyed a lovely meal made by Chef Kit. We started with gorgeous smoked haddock soup, followed by pan fried lemon sole with seasonal vegetables (my second meal of lemon sole that day, having filleted and cooked it earlier for lunch at cooking school!), and finished with lemon syllabub. To say we rolled out of the dining room would be an understatement (the food was too good to show any restraint).
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Seahorse had actually been reviewed (and given the thumbs up) by Giles Coren in the Times the same day we were there (Y is always one step ahead of these things). It was so popular that we could only get in for a 9pm sitting. The first thing that hits you when you walk in is the smell of garlic, olive oil and fish - the former two are used with reckless abandon and the latter cooked to perfection in a kitchen with a big glass window so you can see the action. Seahorse has a really great atmosphere and feels like a little French bistro that you rather wish to keep secret. We very much enjoyed our starters of scallops and whitebait with aioli, and our mains of mullet roasted in African spices and sea bream cooked in a bag with garlic and rosemary.
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I haven't taken photos of either meal, not only because my photo journalistic streak was worn out from a week at cooking school, but because both Non-Such House and Seahorse felt so intimate and special, that quite frankly whipping a camera out every course seemed rather crass and probably would have spoiled the extremely slow pace at which we chose to spend the weekend. I recommend both places highly, particularly Non-Such House - Y decided that next time I go to cooking school, she will be staying with Penny & Kit and being spoilt the entire week.
.
We were greeted like long lost friends by our hosts Penny and her husband Kit. They have the most amazing house with views of the river and Dartmouth from most rooms (above, the view from our room). There are 4 rooms for guests, a lounge area with roaring log fire, and a conservatory to enjoy the great breakfasts and (only a couple of times a week) the brilliant 3 course dinner prepared by Kit. It felt like staying with your parents, if your parents are a little bit posh (in a fabulous, not a snooty, way), have excellent taste in furnishings, own a gorgeous house, know when to leave you alone, can cook, and are happy to hand over a glass of wine (which you can bring yourself and which they happily keep cold in their fridge and provide olives to enjoy it with) or tea and cake whenever you look slightly parched (so really, not like staying with your parents at all [the exception would be my parents of course]). Other than an exploration of the village (below, which was great for some Christmas shopping and crossing a few things off my wish list from cooking school) we installed ourselves in front of the log fire and didn't leave for most of Saturday afternoon.
Saturday night we left the comfort of what we wished was our home, to have dinner in Dartmouth at Seahorse. Friday night however, we stayed in and enjoyed a lovely meal made by Chef Kit. We started with gorgeous smoked haddock soup, followed by pan fried lemon sole with seasonal vegetables (my second meal of lemon sole that day, having filleted and cooked it earlier for lunch at cooking school!), and finished with lemon syllabub. To say we rolled out of the dining room would be an understatement (the food was too good to show any restraint)..
Seahorse had actually been reviewed (and given the thumbs up) by Giles Coren in the Times the same day we were there (Y is always one step ahead of these things). It was so popular that we could only get in for a 9pm sitting. The first thing that hits you when you walk in is the smell of garlic, olive oil and fish - the former two are used with reckless abandon and the latter cooked to perfection in a kitchen with a big glass window so you can see the action. Seahorse has a really great atmosphere and feels like a little French bistro that you rather wish to keep secret. We very much enjoyed our starters of scallops and whitebait with aioli, and our mains of mullet roasted in African spices and sea bream cooked in a bag with garlic and rosemary.
.
I haven't taken photos of either meal, not only because my photo journalistic streak was worn out from a week at cooking school, but because both Non-Such House and Seahorse felt so intimate and special, that quite frankly whipping a camera out every course seemed rather crass and probably would have spoiled the extremely slow pace at which we chose to spend the weekend. I recommend both places highly, particularly Non-Such House - Y decided that next time I go to cooking school, she will be staying with Penny & Kit and being spoilt the entire week.
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