The New Angel

[debler]

OH , I'm so thankful my "new" thread got redirected to here!

I was able to read all the past goings on with the place!

We , here in Canuakian Ville, (Canada) Have just started to watch the new show on TV.

I lived in Lyme Regis along time ago, cook by trade, and would love to visit France...this would explain my fondness of Burton-Race.

Glad to here his rest is still going strong!

What's this copy of "French Leave"? Is it a book? I'll have to look for it on Amazon.

It'll be the first Rest I go to when I go back to Devon...hopefully soon!

LOL, Thx for the link Postcode!

Got lots of info there!

Edited May 23, 2005 by debler (log)

[Andy Lynes]

There's no other real reason to go to Devon to eat, other then The New Angel.

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While I struggle to imagine what might have prompted such an odd remark, here's a thread that offers an opposing view, backed up with examples and a cogent arguement.

[Basildog]

....and you have to go through Devon to get to lovely Cornwall!

[Mark Donnelly]

Managed to book a table for two adults and two children during regatta week (booked in May mind you) to coincide with family holiday to Devon.

The Restaurant

Two smallish sized dinning rooms fairly casually laid out (towards the gastro pub end of the scale). Great views over Dart and quayside. Reasonable amount of room between tables, but not overly generous. Tables and chairs showing signs of ware and tear. Overall impression was good as it it ws relaxed and informal (just what you want when on holiday).

The Menu

JBR's has gone out of his way to source and use local ingredients, with an obvious emphasis on seafood (although foie gras makes it onto the menu). Menu is varied, but not extensive. My wife started with crab salad. A very generous sized quenelle arrived (with some obligatory salad leaves and grapefruit segments. It was very good, but was served too cold. However, crab salad is a safe and secure option (a recurring theme in JBR's cooking). It stands up or falls down on the quality of the crab. This crab was very, very good.

I started with a scallop salad. Six of the plumpest, freshest scollaps arrived. Perfectly cooked. Salad was of imemorable leaves, but a nice verdent dressing.

For main courses, my wife chose roast pork. This, again, was a very generous portion of roast pork. Flavoursome and moist on the inside, with a crispy crackling on the outside. This came with diced sauted potatoes and black pudding. A dish not for the feint hearted.

I choose best end of lamb. A lot of the fat was left on, which spoiled it slightly, and it was under seasoned. It was of very high quality (in terms of plumpness and grain), but slightly lacked flavour. It came with crushed garden peas, a small fondant potatoe and jus roti. All three lacked flavour.

My son had pan fried (rib) beef with pomme puree and a red wine sauce. Like the lamb, the beef was of high quality, but was under seasoned and lacked flavour. The potatoes did not have enough butter or salt to make them anything memorable.

For desert we chose raspberry mousse and strawberry nougat. Both were very good. The raspberry mouse sat on a chocholate sponge base that was only a vehicle for colour. The mousse was very good and was topped with a deep red jelly film. Fresh raspberries "moistened" with some of their own coulis also came with the dish. These were the best raspberies I have ever tasted. Totally fantasitc.

The children had most (if not all) of the strawberry, so I can't report on how it was.

For wine we had a a couple of glasses of house Reisling and a bottle of Pasquera Ribera del Duero). This was excellent and at £35, a welcomed and reasonable appearance on the wine list. One thing to JBR's credit, the wine list covers all budgets with a fair selectio at the lower end.

Service was reasonable but lacked enthusiasum.

Prices for crab salad and scollaps were £12. Raost pork was £17, whilst the lamb and beef were £22. These are London prices and at the high end, especially since very little is done to them.

Overall, the quality of locally sourced ingredients is what shines through. In general the food is somewhat under seasoned and is accompanied by tried-and-tested vegetables. A little more imagination please.

However, I would make the detour and visit TNA again. I'd be happier if £2-£3 was shaved off of the prices of starters and £3 -£4 off of mains.

[erica graham]

Had lunch here on Sunday.

We were visiting after a very long gap of many years- when we last visited Joyce M. was in residence, I'd never heard of Ticklemore Cheeses and all of the pottery was mismatched and 70's- but it was still a very memorable meal .

Things- they sure have changed!!

Arrived at the very busy restaurant at the end of Sunday lunch service to be whisked upstairs. I found the noise levels very high (and I'm not an OAP) due to all the hard surfaces bouncing the chatter around the place. Settled in with a nice cold glass of Drappier labelled especially for the New Angel (I'm 100% sure it was Carte d'Or as it has a very peach hue, and a lovely flavour) served in an oversized Dartington Crystal champagne flute- everyone else had Fino.

We ordered, and sat back to relax with the wine list. (This was a celebration lunch, with one person being chauffeur so its going to sound alot more alcoholic than normal-honest!!)

Before we were able to order any wine or were offered any bread, water etc our starters arrived, much to the surprise of our waitress. We quickly got her attention and orderd Hugel Gewurtz followed by a bottle of Givry.

So starters- I had terrine of Wild Rabbit. I always without fail order rabbit whenever I see it on Menus, for the simple reason that it is always the best dish. This time it was surpassed by my husbands Foie Gras, mainly due to the fact that I was given an end piece (pet hate) which was colder than fridge cold, and the bacon wrapping still had rind attached (although none of the ubiquitous michelin starred clingfilm in sight!!). I sat back to let it warm up a bit and to wait for my wine to arrive. Wine arived when we were half way through, but was of the usual Hugel quality.

When the staff came to clear our starters, we asked to have a ten minute break as a) we wanted to enjoy our white wine and b) its our day off!! We weren't in any hurry. As we did so we saw our main vcourses hovering on a tray arround the corner to our table!! So they took them back, and we started to relax.

For main I had ordered an oldtime favourite of mine, Brill with Bearnaise. When it arrived the second time it was quite simply perfect! Fish cooed so it was firm but soft at the same time. I'm afraid I was so taken up with my food I completely neglected to take notice of what was going on with anybody elses plate, but needless to say simler mmm noises were to be heard from the other two participants.

So onto the cheese which was very nicely served at the table. We had a glass of Jurancon to go with this followed by my dessert of Apple Tarte Fine. The cheese were well kept and beautifully ripe, the tart just right.

We finished off with coffee to turn around and see that we were in fact the last table, so we asked for the bill, although I'd have been happy to sit longer with a digestif, my dining partnere were not made of such thick skin!! So we toddled arround the shops with the other grockles!

In summary, a really good meal was let down in places by timings and staff. The staff, all French were charming, but looked tired and harrassed, and to be honest as if they had their uniforms on from the night before. It had the feeling of churning the punters through, getting them out and getting on with a night off. Its not cheap- but quality food never is, I just felt a bit cheated on the being looked after front. The feeling is relaxed brasserie, not restaurant, but a brasserie that has not had a staff shift change in quite some time. We will go back, to be sure, only we will try to get there at the begining rather than end of the week.

Perhaps then we will not feel like herded sheep on a TV tour!!

[Pweaver1984]

Was on amazon earlier today and saw JBR is bringing out a new book Mad About Food in March.

I was just wondering if anyone has got his first Book he brought out? Any good? Are they restaurant dishes?

Paul

[Andy Lynes]

I was just wondering if anyone has got his first Book he brought out? Any good? Are they restaurant dishes?

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I bought it when it came out in 1994. All very serious restauranty stuff. The design looks a bit dated now but I've seen it going cheap in the remainder shops from time to time so it might be worth having a look. I really liked the recipes in French Leave and especially Coming Home which are more doable for the home cook.

Edited December 18, 2006 by Andy Lynes (log)

[bakerestates]

This thred got going before I knew of egullet.

I went for lunch with my wife & 2 year old in April 2005. We were shown upstairs and seated at a corner table by the matre d' who appeared on TV. He stank of cigarette smoke which was off putting. However, he did get a high chair without being asked and as we were strapping our son down, he asked if we would like a drink. I asked for a glass of really cold, zippy, fresh white wine. He looked blank and dissappeared returning with a wine list.

As soon as we sat down and read the menu, we heard the magamouth of JBR who was seated at a window table drinking champagne and eating lobster salad. The conversation was pretty loud and by the sound of it, he was being interviewd by the look of her, a pretty reporter. With only 3 other occupied tables, and diana ross playing in the background, it was off-putting to say the least.

Liked the look of the menu and were looking forward to what was to come while drinking some Albarino from Bodegas Valminor which I had chosen (£39 - wholesale cost c. £8). Can't remember what my wife had but my rabbit terrine was fridge cold and tasteless and the the home made picallilli was crunchy but again, fridge cold so underwhelming.

For main course I had cod which was pan-roasted and served in a bowl-plate on a bed of mashed potato (potato puree) & spinach garnished with diced tomato. Nice but in a nice safe kind of way. My wife had turbot which did not come quite as advertised - smiliar components, cooking method and presentation to the cod with the addition of pasta and a unadvertised cream sauce. Again, same sort of nice but not quite what she was expecting and given the cream factor, annoying.

Ordered pudding and asked for coffee to come at the same time as our son was getting bored of the sound of JBR. Lemon Tart came and about 10 minutes and two requests later, our coffee. The place was not busy and I had to shift my chair at least 5 times to allow other people to pass on their way to the loo. Our table wobbled and all in all, the room was bland, though well finished.

When our bill came and on it, we were charged for two bottles of Albarino. As there were only about 4 other couples in the room, I was surprised but not offended. Pointed it out and it was corrected without apology which does piss me off.

Overall, it was okay but given the expectations I had and the price I paid (c. £120 wiht a £40 bottle of wine), I felt let down and a bit disheartened that I had made an effort to come here but it was not doing what it said on the tin (TV).

Being me, when I got home I penned my thoughts to JBR as politely as possible stating that if I had not seen the TV programe or known of JBR I would have found the experience a good one and would return. I also praised his use of local produce and his experiences on TV programe which I had caught while starting my own pub - I had felt a sense of epathy - new type of product for an area, local produce, high expectations of customers (though no TV program of self-promotion on my part)

His reply was short, sharp and quite frankly, a cop out. It said I lacked respect and and if I was such a great chef, why did I cook in a pub. I had not said what I did in my letter (which was printed on pub letterhead) and had not passed remark about the lack of quality of the cooking, I had infact praised the quality of the cooked elements.

As it happens, not being able to find a 'great chef' I do cook in my pub. I also use from time to time a fishmonger who supplied JBR at previous restaurants who recalled a story to me of a time when he turned up one evening with 12 lobsters that JBR had ordered, but given the terrible weather at the time and had been almost impossible to get. Proud of his find he entered the kitchen only to be met with a flying fry pan closely followed by the 12 lobsters on the grounds that JBR had ordered them a week ago. It made not difference to him that the lobster pots had been inaccessible due to bad weather and they were the only 12 lobsters around.

I recently learnt in a trade paper that he was going into the pub business to show what food pubs should be doing - shepherds pie. Its weried as regardless of ones view on gastropubs, I have never eaten or seen shepherds pie in a pub and given I wouldn't eat it at home, I certainly wouldn't go to a JBR pub to try one. Nor, in light of my experience buy his cook book to learn how to make one.

bakerestates

[Christopher Haatuft]

This thred got going before I knew of egullet.

I went for lunch with my wife & 2 year old in April 2005. We were shown upstairs and seated at a corner table by the matre d' who appeared on TV. He stank of cigarette smoke which was off putting. However, he did get a high chair without being asked and as we were strapping our son down, he asked if we would like a drink. I asked for a glass of really cold, zippy, fresh white wine. He looked blank and dissappeared returning with a wine list.

As soon as we sat down and read the menu, we heard the magamouth of JBR who was seated at a window table drinking champagne and eating lobster salad. The conversation was pretty loud and by the sound of it, he was being interviewd by the look of her, a pretty reporter. With only 3 other occupied tables, and diana ross playing in the background, it was off-putting to say the least.

Liked the look of the menu and were looking forward to what was to come while drinking some Albarino from Bodegas Valminor which I had chosen (£39 - wholesale cost c. £8). Can't remember what my wife had but my rabbit terrine was fridge cold and tasteless and the the home made picallilli was crunchy but again, fridge cold so underwhelming.

For main course I had cod which was pan-roasted and served in a bowl-plate on a bed of mashed potato (potato puree) & spinach garnished with diced tomato. Nice but in a nice safe kind of way. My wife had turbot which did not come quite as advertised - smiliar components, cooking method and presentation to the cod with the addition of pasta and a unadvertised cream sauce. Again, same sort of nice but not quite what she was expecting and given the cream factor, annoying.

Ordered pudding and asked for coffee to come at the same time as our son was getting bored of the sound of JBR. Lemon Tart came and about 10 minutes and two requests later, our coffee. The place was not busy and I had to shift my chair at least 5 times to allow other people to pass on their way to the loo. Our table wobbled and all in all, the room was bland, though well finished.

When our bill came and on it, we were charged for two bottles of Albarino. As there were only about 4 other couples in the room, I was surprised but not offended. Pointed it out and it was corrected without apology which does piss me off.

Overall, it was okay but given the expectations I had and the price I paid (c. £120 wiht a £40 bottle of wine), I felt let down and a bit disheartened that I had made an effort to come here but it was not doing what it said on the tin (TV).

Being me, when I got home I penned my thoughts to JBR as politely as possible stating that if I had not seen the TV programe or known of JBR I would have found the experience a good one and would return. I also praised his use of local produce and his experiences on TV programe which I had caught while starting my own pub -  I had felt a sense of epathy - new type of product for an area, local produce, high expectations of customers (though no TV program of self-promotion on my part)

His reply was short, sharp and quite frankly, a cop out. It said I lacked respect and and if I was such a great chef, why did I cook in a pub. I had not said what I did in my letter (which was printed on pub letterhead) and had not passed remark about the lack of quality of the cooking, I had infact praised the quality of the cooked elements.

As it happens, not being able to find a 'great chef' I do cook in my pub. I also use from time to time a fishmonger who supplied JBR at previous restaurants who recalled a story to me of a time when he turned up one evening with 12 lobsters that JBR had ordered, but given the terrible weather at the time and had been almost impossible to get. Proud of his find he entered the kitchen only to be met with a flying fry pan closely followed by the 12 lobsters on the grounds that JBR had ordered them a week ago. It made not difference to him that the lobster pots had been inaccessible due to bad weather and they were the only 12 lobsters around.

I recently learnt in a trade paper that he was going into the pub business to show what food pubs should be doing - shepherds pie. Its weried as regardless of ones view on gastropubs, I have never eaten or seen shepherds pie in a pub and given I wouldn't eat it at home, I certainly wouldn't go to a JBR pub to try one. Nor, in light of my experience buy his cook book to learn how to make one.

bakerestates

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wow! thats......interesting, to say the least.

[MobyP]

This thred got going before I knew of egullet.

It said I lacked respect and and if I was such a great chef, why did I cook in a pub.

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You should have replied, what, you mean like Heston Blumenthal? Or is that Michel Roux?

Lacked respect. What a fucking idiot.

[bishwells]

don't let it get you down bakerestates. I've eaten at his place and yours recently.

Your pub is the place I'm looking forward to returning.

[bakerestates]

don't let it get you down bakerestates.  I've eaten at his place and yours recently.

Your pub is the place I'm looking forward to returning.

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thanks bishwells, it won't. We must be the only two who have!