230 miles away from London is a small seaside town called Woolacombe which is situated in North Devon. My family and I have been going there every year in August, since I was six years old, and it is what I would call my happy place. Over the years it has been brilliant to see the growth and development of new restaurants opening in the town given how the last few years have been for small businesses. One of these being ‘Beach House’.
‘Beach House’ is a small family run seafood restaurant run by Scott and Marianne who have been working in the restaurant industry for many years before managing to buy their own. The couple insist on only serving the freshest food which fits perfectly with Scott’s favourite quote ‘There’s no substitute for freshness’.
My mum, stepdad and I recently visited in the middle of March this year. We started off with the ‘Pan seared scallops, pickled fennel, pancetta tuille, orange beurre blanc’. They were so soft and delicate – the sauce was pure perfection. We were given some additional garlic toasted sourdough to mop up the rest of the sauce from the chef!
Moving on to mains we had the ‘Linguine pasta with tiger prawns and mussels, white wine, chilli, garlic and rocket salad’, ‘Pan fried 10oz Sirloin steak, tenderstem broccoli, port jus’ and ‘Lightly spiced Appledore cod fillet, roasted sweet potatoes, Thai coconut and curry broth.’ The pasta was buttery, full of garlic but still felt light with all the seafood. The steak was cooked beautifully and the combination of the fish with the coconut and curry broth was delicious! To quote Chef Scott it’s ‘honest food’ and I couldn’t agree more.
We will definitely be going back again (this would be our 4th time), not just for the amazing food but for the lovely hospitality that ‘Beach House’ has to offer.