Culinary adventures at Talland Bay Hotel
Dining at Talland Bay Hotel is a must for anyone visiting or living in Cornwall that loves their food. The experience is nothing short of a show-stopping culinary adventure. With many different components and performers contributing to the final dishes appearing on the plate. From the fishermen in Looe to the neighbouring farmer, the wild mushroom forager and Cornish cheese makers. Not to mention the hours of toil committed by Glen and the team in the kitchen.
To eat at the hotel is to go on a sensory journey. The evening starts in the bar, where appetites are whet with a pre-dinner tipple and intricately crafted canapés. Before moving through to the restaurant where the amuse-bouche sets the tone for the hotel’s modern take on classic British dishes. A potato terrine with parmesan crisps, mustard mayo, steak tartare and pickled mushrooms provides a playful spin on steak and chips.
Seasonal highlights amongst the starters might include a heritage tomato salad with gazpacho and a crunchy sesame cracker or John Dory with fragrant curry oil, toasted macadamia, cauliflower and bittersweet chicory. All dishes are beautifully presented, colourful and moreish.
For summertime mains, Glen cites the melt in the mouth fillet of beef with beer-braised beef cheek and glazed carrot amongst his favourites. Although the Westcountry duck breast, Looe sea bass with crab and mango salsa or the hake with citrus chilli couscous wrapped in the most delicate strips of courgette will also have you coming back for more. Unashamedly meat and fish heavy, when the menu turns to vegetarian options it does so with aplomb: The goats’ cheese and aubergine tortellini being an undoubted star of the show.
A dainty pre-dessert peach melba with raspberry sorbet teases the switch to sweet treats. The dessert menu is where the young pastry chef Alisha gets to shine, carefully pairing palette-pleasing sorbets with a delicate strawberry mille-feuille or a black forest dark chocolate delice. While cheese-lovers can opt to take a taste tour around the county via Bude, Redruth, Padstow and the Helford.
Our top recommendation: Add a wine flight for the full experience.
There is also the regularly changing Specials Menu, which works to the mantra ‘when they’re gone, they’re gone.’ Expect to see the likes of freshly landed Looe lobster with skinny fries, fritto misto with Harissa mayonnaise and the most decadent dark chocolate brownie.
What is abundantly clear is that there is a good deal of love gone into the execution of every dish. That such a small team can turn out such exquisite fare is a delightful surprise, that simply has to be enjoyed first-hand to be believed.
