Veggie food review - HH Restaurant (Broadclyst, Exeter)

Naturally, I like to think of myself as a brilliant wife - a total goddess in fact. But I have to admit that taking my husband for our surprise Anniversary meal to our local fine dining restaurant on February 5th (4 months after said anniversary) that I felt a tad guilty and perhaps that I should (temporarily, at least) be demoted to a demi-goddess...

ooops...

So I crossed my fingers that HH Restaurant (Broadclyst, nr Exeter) would deliver something sumptuous so that I could be promoted again.

On the menu:

hot bread basket with dipping oil

baked goats cheese with micro herbs + Gruyere and red onion tart

4 cheese penne with sunblush tomatoes + wild mushroom and cauliflower lasagne

apricot bread and butter pudding with clotted cream + sticky toffee pudding with clotted cream

£55.60 including 2 drinks.

There is nothing quite as wonderful as freshly baked bread - so the little basket that came to us - freshly baked, was a real treat as we watched the hail thunder down outside! Some griddled ciabatta and two individual loaves cut in half - crisp on the outside and warm and soft inside - smelling deliciously yeasty and tasting even better with the homemade butter. (great start)

My starter of a tartlet wasn't on the menu - but was offered to me as a different option once the waitress had informed the chef that I was vegetarian. Its was a clever dish to offer. It was made with light puff pastry, perfectly baked and perfectly tasty. I worry when I see micro herbs that a huge mound of them will be overpowering for any food - but in fact these were incredibly delicate in flavour. In fact i might say that they were not robust enough to add much to the tartlet which strongly tasted of caramelised red onion and with the balsamic reduction too, their delicacy was a little lost.

(Dave loved his goats cheese - even more promising).

The lasagne main course that I had chosen sounded unusual and I was very curious to see how it would be executed. As you can see from the photo the presentation was lovely. Indeed it was a lasagne of sorts and the layers of mushroom were a bit like a pate or duxelle. One layer was of cauliflower and there were some florets on the plate with some slices of mushroom and a veloute (I think). The seasoning was perfect but I think the texture and the overall flavour might be an acquired taste. The presentation made it look a little like a slice of gateau and because of the way the filling had been done it was the texture of a moist sponge in a way and so I think this confused my brain a little - it felt wrong to taste savoury! Dave loved it and I have to say I probably would have preferred the pasta. The pasta was perfectly cooked and in the richest cheesiest sauce. Rich comfort food at its best (I could feel myself nearing goddess perfection again).

My other negative is not unique to my rantings about food when I eat out, in that there were no vegetables to be seen. This is so common now in many restaurants. Rich food like this is crying out for some colour and crunch from some salad and veg!

Pud - well, it had to be done really. Having lived in Scotland for years where the old sticky toffee is a staple, Me and my hips like to think of ourselves as something of a connoisseur. This one was 10/10.

I knew the bread and butter pud was good too, because Dave stopped talking and I didn't get offered any. Job done. I was a fabulous wife again.

To drink I would add that Dave had a Peroni and I had a lemonade with mint (?) weird but refreshing. We looked at wine but they were still in the process of confirming which wines were vegetarian (quite a few as it turns out and they really cared, which was great.)

Overall, HH is a little unexpected oasis that is well worth a visit for either lunch or for dinner. Its also incredible value as you can pay this amount for mediocre pub food. Their lunchtime special (2 or 3 courses) can be served in just 40 minutes if you are pushed for time. The waitress Sally is a gem - absolutely perfect for the understated elegance of this contemporary haven. Although it was a Tuesday there was only one other table of people in and its such a shame. This restaurant should be full 24/7 and we're certainly going to try and go more often to make sure it stays.

They always have a vegetarian option on the menu, the lunch menu changes weekly or so and the a la carte every 6 weeks. But they were keen to add that if we either called ahead or asked for something different they would always be willing to create something special. They will be annotating their wine menu with (v) to denote veggie wines. You couldn't ask for more than that.

The food and the service at HH is wonderful. And it's official, I am a wonderful wife (or at least that's what I keep telling Dave...)

Chantal xx