Review
The Cottage Hotel, Hope Cove

In search of comfort food on a typically ‘seasonal’ day, we headed to the Cottage Hotel in Hope Cove and instantly felt warmed by its inviting, traditional charm.

We sat in the busy bar area, with its magnificent views down to the beach and across the rocky cliffs. The walls are covered with pictures and memorabilia from the Herzogin Cecilie, the enormous tall ship that met a tragic end in gales near Salcombe in 1937, having successfully completed and won an Australian Grain Race.

We shared a starter of crispy vegetable samosa and spring rolls with sweet chilli sauce, which were indeed crisp and light, with a generous slightly spiced filling. My main of steamed smoked haddock with a lightly curried pea and asparagus risotto was delicious – the haddock was cooked beautifully and flaked apart. The risotto was creamy and fresh, drizzled with a fragrant basil oil. It was served with a generous bowl of potatoes, cauliflower and carrots.

Nick plumped for a traditional scampi and chips, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Plump and juicy scampi matched with ‘brilliant’ chips. I may have ‘borrowed’ a couple of chips to confirm this: light and fluffy middles were encased by their crisp skin.

My oldest son sampled the fish goujons of the day with chips and peas, and declared them “really good!” The light batter contained very fresh white fish. My youngest son chose one of his favourite lunch snacks – a tuna mayo and sweetcorn sandwich, on freshly baked bread. Generously filled and accompanied by a side salad, son number one looked over at son number two’s plate and declared: “I can tell from here that is a good tuna mayo sandwich!”

We completed the meal with a berry roulade (plus four spoons!). The light, airy sponge had a generous berry filling, which was nicely tart and served with cream.

The Cottage Hotel works closely with local providers, ensuring the ingredients are as fresh as possible.

As we were admiring the view – and choosing from the sweet and cheese trollies, discussing our return to sample the evening menu – a seal treated us to a swimming display just off the beach! A perfect end to a comforting family lunch.