Custard

This first-floor 'English Diner' answers a very British nostalgia for traditional fare in our seaside resorts: potted shrimps, fish pie & apple crumble are typical players on the please-all menus. Traditional English breakfasts are served up before noon, after which a simple selection of sandwiches sits alongside the good value three-course menu. But Custard wears a smart frock with its slippers, & the cooking has a sophisticated edge. Lunch could include cauliflower soup with a poached egg & truffle oil followed by breast of lamb with autumn vegetables, rosemary & baby onions. An evening meal might open with belly pork – its fat as soft as toasted marshmallow – served with smoked eel & eaves doused in honey & mustard dressing, followed by grilled haddock with Cornish ale, cockles, bacon & colcannon. For dessert, the restaurant is as good as its name & serves excellent custard, plus other homely favourites such as bread & butter pudding. The setting is cute & just-kitsch-enough, with chintzy wallpaper, 1930s mirrors & spangly chandeliers, calmed by bare floors & simple furnishings. The interesting European wine list is well-structured & eloquently annotated.