Tanners Restaurant

Christopher & James Tanner could well be Plymouth’s answer to the Roux Brothers (they have both spent time training in the Roux pupilage) & James has racked up quite a fan club since appearing on Ready Steady Cook & Saturday Kitchen. Since they set up their restaurant in one of Plymouth’s oldest surviving buildings in July 1999, it’s been full steam ahead. Its sea port location means plenty of fresh fish makes its way onto the menu – steamed lemon sole (with crushed sea-salt potatoes, watercress salad & fennel creme fraiche), or roast fillet of halibut (with mussels, clams, cucumber tagliatelle & vermouth sauce) – as do hearty meat dishes such as char-grilled lamb chump with ratatouille, fondant potatoes, tomato & olive jus. The Tanners have also opened a brasserie in Plymouth, the Barbican Kitchen, in the old Plymouth Gin distillery (01752 604448).