Elephant, The Reviews

Simon Hulstone's delicious and creative cooking is an experience not to be missed. Today my husband and I had lunch in the Brasserie. We had a journey of just over an hour from our home to The Elephant but it was well worth our effort. We savoured each and every lovely mouthful of food. All dishes were beautifully presented and our waiter was able to answer our enthusiastic questions about recipes and food sourcing. We live near to Exeter and frequently have lunch at Michael Caines, Abode. The Elephant was, perhaps, even better than that worthy establishment. We look forward to our next visit.

My partner and I selected the tasting menu and were not disappointed. The Paignton crab with the watermelon salad and pink grapefruit jelly was delicate and delicious but it was the low temperature cooked duck egg with ham and a salted toffee pea soup that stole the show. The mains were Torbay brill - my favourite- it’s just fantastic, and a venison dish, which was a little too rich for me although the haunch and pumpkin pie was really good. Amongst the desserts I preferred the glazed lemon and passion fruit tart, one of the best I have been served with a luscious banana and passion fruit sorbet, the chocolate fondant again on the rich side for me. All in all the whole experience was fantastic and would recommend to anyone. The lady who served us was very friendly, knowledgeable and kindly assisted with the wine choices considering our likes and dislikes and not just what is best for the dish. It's good value; we can’t wait for next time.

We have eaten there many times and it used to be a fabulous place, however they have changed the menu and availability. You can now get ‘fine dining’ upstairs in a small selected area. The rest of the tables throughout the establishment only serve a ‘brasserie’ menu which, was not much better than common pub food, but carries a high price to boot.

My friends and I went to the restaurant last week for a hen party lunch and the food was exceptionally tasty and the service was excellent. We will be back again for more ladies lunches and champagne. Thanks!

Had high hopes and it didn't disappoint in lots of areas. The interior was lovely and contemporary, the service pleasant and professional. One of our party was delighted with his lobster but alas not all dishes were up to the standard. I had ordered air dried ham, which came very plainly presented and to be honest there wasn't much of it. But it was my shellfish and lobster risotto, which disappointed the most. Plenty of shellfish but no lobster whatsoever in the dish. The chef explained that there was no actual lobster meat in the dish but that it was cooked in lobster stock. I felt totally cheated out of my main course. Yes, the food tastes good, but there wasn't much of it and a few corners were cut at the expense of the customers' expectations.

I went for a meal there tonight with my best friend and her boyfriend, I personally had read good reviews, but the food was in our opinion amazing, from the starter to the dessert, which we had to have as they sounded lovely. The atmosphere was nice and relaxed and never rushed, we sat finishing our bottles of wine for an hour and the service was second to none. All in all I say well worth a visit.