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restaurant review GARA ROCK East Portlemouth, Salcombe


SURELY THE GLORIOUS PANORAMA FROM GARA ROCK MUST HEAD ANY LIST OF ICONIC SEASCAPES? With that as our table view, we


were thoroughly spoilt by the Gara Rock team who bubble over with enthusiasm; clearly enjoy what they do; are eager to please; proud of their standards; friendly, knowledgeable … our principal server Fabi(enne), delightful. So, too, the Thienot Champagne


we sipped whilst choosing. From a contemporary champagne house founded near Reims in 1985, this was crisp as a spring morning; a beautifully balanced, complex fizz with a finish to savour long after the final bubbles burst. Rarely do house champagnes available by the glass offer such finesse. The menu is sufficiently varied to


be interesting, not overwhelming, with an excellent selection of dishes catering for dietary restrictions; it draws from both our spectacular local larders of land and sea – an exception, the dry-aged, grass-fed Scotch beef from the Buccleuch Estate specifically chosen for its intense flavour and tenderness. Su ordered, with delight, one of her favourite dishes as a starter –stuffed garlic and herb shellfish gratin - declaring the decadently rich platter of Queen scallop, mussels and clams oozing pungent garlic butter ‘as good, if not better, as any I have ever had in France’


BY AMANDA BLOOMER


(and she has had a lot!). My carpaccio of Devonshire cured


beef bresaola was reassuringly dark, almost purple. Caperberries adding a pretty, piquant twist to its classic


Our visit was a


masterclass in the new normal – and we can’t wait to return.


dressing of rocket, parmesan and basil, it was as lean and tender as it should be. Regular readers may recall Su’s


partner rears his own pigs, hence her very rarely choosing pork when


dining out but Pugh’s Farm piglet ‘suckling pig’ proved irresistible. A stonking slice of rolled belly slow roasted overnight so all the fat runs out, encased within perfectly crunchy crackling, arrived with a Devon Blue stuffed roasted fig (‘I cannot tell you how wonderful this fig is’), confit carrot, caramelised onion and silky-smooth sage soubise. The final morsel of that delectable meat defeated her on a plate otherwise devoured and savoured, to the very last drop of the delicate sauce.


I was there later when she


admitted to her partner that the ‘pig’ was every bit as succulent, flavoursome, moist and tender as


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