Review on Elephant Restaurant and Brasserie
Banish any thoughts of Fawlty Towers: Torquay has come of age. The curiously named Elephant is causing quite a stir on the English Riviera and beyond: it's even snapped up a Michelin star, thanks to Simon Hulstone's culinary talents.
The restaurant is hidden away from the main drag and avoids most of the boisterous goings-on you might expect from an English seaside town. Views over the harbour are a plus, and the interior has been given the full motif treatment with pictures of eponymous heavyweight beasts dotted all around.
There have been big changes here in recent months: upstairs has been transformed into a new fine dining restaurant (The Room), while the ground floor bar now doubles as a brasserie. Devon meat and West Country fish are still the mainstays of the regularly changing menus, although the style is much more populist: for instance, Paignton crab claw salad with watermelon and soy dressing now rubs shoulders with 'classic' prawn cocktail.
Main courses are equally varied, spanning everything from diver-caught Start Bay scallops with English rhubarb and hazelnuts to 'Posh and Becks' burgers (the former with foie gras and 'skinny' chips). Desserts are simple offerings like sticky toffee pudding or elderflower and raspberry jelly with lemon verbena ice cream, and the lively wine list has strong contingents from France and Italy.
Elephant Restaurant and Brasserie is also featured in: Michelin Guide, Good Food Guide, Hardens, AA Guide
Rate this RestaurantCuisine
Modern British
Chef
Simon Hulstone
Restaurant Opening Times
Lunch: 12.00 - 2.00pm Tue-Sat
Dinner: 6.30 - 9.00pm Tue-Sat
Accepted credit cards
Visa, Master Card
