Andy Cooper visits a restaurant in Cornwall run by a familiar name and gets a delightful sense of déjà vu when it comes to the experience
How many of Michael Caines are there out there? One? Two? Six? I ask because I know how busy the top chef is with growing and developing his superb luxury hotel and restaurant Lympstone Manor near Exeter which, to me, seems pretty much like a full-time job. Add in the Mickey’s Beach Bar and restaurant development in Exmouth and you wonder when he gets to actually sleep.
So when I travelled down to Cornwall to sample one of Michael’s two Kernow restaurants, I suppose I did so wondering if it could quite the hit the mark when compared to his places closer to home. Silly me. The Cove at Maenporth has ‘MC’ running through it like a stick of rock.
It scores highly on the locale from the get-go. Just set back from the stunning beach at Maenporth, an iconic Cornish cove, it is cleverly situated on the first floor to allow diners to experience the best of views across the bay.
There’s plenty of room inside for when the weather is doing its worst, but on the day I visited with one of my oldest pals it was one of those beautiful sunny lunchtimes when the outlook starts to take on the impression of a classic postcard view of a Cornwall holiday. As families frolicked and had fun on the beach, we feasted our eyes on the menu and awaited our lunch with anticipation.
A bottle of chilled Sancerre Domaine Sautereau was uncorked by our friendly and knowledgeable wine waiter, and we took in the view and awaited our starters.
Of course, the view can be as good as you like, but if the food and service doesn’t match up then the experience can be only partially enjoyable, but I am pleased to report on both fronts The Cove is a Cornish cracker.
The team was efficient and attentive, smartly presented and clearly well-trained in the whys and wherefores of hospitality. On a sweltering hot day, they kept their cool and kept us topped up with refreshment and attention.
And so to the food. I opted for the pan-fried scallops, compressed watermelon, cauliflower puree, black pudding and bacon crumb and while two scallops did maybe run the risk of leaving me feeling a little short on my plate, the combination of tastes and textures I encountered soon made up for that.
My pal’s flame-grilled Cornish mackerel with spiced aubergine, tomato and fennel salad had obviously hit the spot as I couldn’t get a word out of him - other than adjectives about his dish - for ten minutes.
We did have the option of the seven-course tasting menu which offers diners the chance to really dive in and max out on all The Cove has to offer, but when the two of us saw lobster on the specials menu that was where our attention went. The lobster was expertly cooked – tender, dripping in aromatic and flavoursome butter – and presented with all a man should ever need with it: chips and salad. Historically good.
Dessert choices resulted in a diplomatic stand-off over who had what and so to avoid any further debate we opted to share, in this case between a lime and mango mousse with mango sorbet, bitter chocolate and passionfruit jam, plus a dark chocolate mousse with cherry kirsch gel, honeycomb and Cornish clotted cream ice cream. I genuinely cannot split them when it comes to a favourite: both lovingly created and almost too good to dip into on arrival. I’m glad we did though: they tasted sensational.
You can dine at The Cove all day and there’s a danger if I hadn’t had to catch a train back to Devon I might have stayed for dinner. Certainly, in the I Spy Book of Dining I want to tick off that one day I have been back there in the evening as I’d imagine sunset there accompanied by the Caines-inspired artistry and magic on plates would be a memorable occasion indeed.
