Corbyn Head Hotel & Orchid Restaurant

There's an undeniable Riviera touch to this hotel with its jaunty lines and green canopied façade, and the views alone, stretching from Torquay to Berry Head at Brixham, are worth the visit. The formal fine-dining Orchid restaurant not only gets those amazing vistas framed in large half-moon picture windows from its first-floor vantage point, but the room is easy on the eye too, done out in creamy toffee hues with plush velvet seats and well-distanced linen-clothed tables. An unmistakably Gallic accent is present both in the politely correct service and the techniques at the foundations of the refined modern cuisine. The pick of local produce appears in dishes of elegant simplicity, showing the confident restraint of a mature kitchen team. Textures and flavours are in perfect balance in a tian of cock crab with sweetcorn velouté and Avruga caviar; next, a main course of pork medallions, black pudding fritter, parsley potatoes and Dijon foam produces well-rested meat and well-paired ingredients. At dessert, kaffir lime leaves lend an Asian edge to a textbook crème brûlée, cleverly accompanied by a creamy coconut sorbet. All the peripheral bits and pieces such as amuse-bouche, breads and petits fours are produced with the same care as main courses, and the detailed wine list lays out an impressive spread with plenty of choice by the glass.

Follow signs to Torquay seafront, turn right on seafront. Hotel on right with green canopies
Nearest station: Torquay

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