Review
The Cridford Inn

Situated in the beautiful Teign Valley, which is popular with walkers and cyclists, The Cridford Inn is a picturesque Devon longhouse with its traditional charms intact.

A typical Sunday lunch attracts as many locals as it does visitors, some of whom arrive after spending an active morning enjoying the natural surroundings, before sitting down for a fine roast dinner. It’s just as well, since the generously sized portions, artistically arranged on the plate, are worthy of a good appetite.

Word gets around, so it’s no surprise that it tends to be fully booked. Once seated at our table, I opted for the arancini served with a truffle mayo to start – the ideal accompaniment to these wild mushroom risotto balls. They were crisp on the outside with a creamy centre, and the flavours lingered pleasantly on the palate.

Andrew went for the Asian pork belly bites, served with a Vietnamese-style salad, which he described as being “perfectly slow-roasted with fall-apart meat”.

For the main course, I ordered the John Dory from the à la carte menu, while Andrew had the traditional roast topside of beef. Fresh off the boat from Brixham, the fish was combined with a Sichuan salt and pepper coating, which worked a treat. This was served on a bed of onion braise, providing a soft sweet caramelised texture to offset the crispy crunch of the fried fish.

The roast had it all: local honey-roasted parsnips, garlic and thyme coated carrots, perfectly roast potatoes, tender meat served with a thick gravy and crowned with a giant Yorkshire pudding. Sunday roasts don’t get much better than this!