The South Hams is well served with excellent places to eat and drink, and so it demands something special to stand out from the crowd.
I’d say the locals who live in and around the deep lanes surrounding the village of Landscove near Ashburton have hit lucky. Earlier this year the village pub, The Live and Let Live, reopened with a new owner, new team and new chef. Strictly speaking, chef Iain Dawson isn’t new, he was previously forging a culinary reputation and attracting his fan-base at foodie pub The Millbrook Inn in South Pool.
The Canadian-born chef is a master at cooking with fire, he understands how flavours work with extreme heat, and the unpredictability and the respect that this type of cooking demands; but he is also an experimental chef, creating some sensitively exciting dishes.
Chef also understands why using produce that’s available on your doorstep is so important and at The Live and Let Live he is making the most of meat from Dartmoor farms and vegetables from down the road – just as a village pub should do.
Cooking with fire feels like a more back to basics approach to food and this makes it very appealing. The menus satisfy all those pub food cravings – there are burgers, fish and chips, roast chicken and very popular sharing steaks; but what elevates it is that there’s so much more going on. Every accompaniment is a treat, from the rich peppercorn sauce that comes with a glazed beef short rib, to the triple mustard that’s the perfect addition to a smoked pork scotch egg starter, with its pork crackling crust. The ordinary is elevated – so a side salad comes with picked radishes and a punchy dressing and a helping of new potatoes has been cooked in a basket deep within a bed of charcoal.
Desserts are equally exciting in terms of flavour, like the cinnamon and cardamom panna cotta which is paired with a summery fruit compote, sharpened with rhubarb.
Eli Hession, one of the core team and leading front of house, is delighted to introduce every dish on the menu; her pride in these dishes and enthusiasm is infectious, adding to the overall feel-good experience.
She’s also a driver behind the cocktails; the team uses home-made syrups and infusions to make signature gins and vodkas and also twists on the classic cocktails and mocktails.
The pub itself sits up off the road. It has a sunny terrace out front and inside it feels very relaxed, a nice blend of old stone walls and parquet floors, eclectic tables and home-made candles. A big bookshelf greets you as you walk in and go round to the bar with its deep blue painted woodwork and packing crate shelving. The Live and Let Live is an old pub but with just the right amount of cosmopolitan bistro-feel – an atmosphere probably helped by the French cafe music playing when I visit. Thank you Eli!
So don’t let the Landscove locals keep this one to themselves, pop along, as you’ll be made very welcome and if you are travelling from further afield you’ll be delighted to know the pub has rooms where you can stay over.
liveandletlivepub.com
