The Treby Arms, near Plympton in Devon is run by husband and wife team Anton and Clare Piotrowski. Some may remember Anton from the 2012 masterchef series which he won in style, and since then has gone on to bigger and better things, gaining a michelin star at his Devon pub. I booked this as a treat to celebrate the last night of our holiday back in May as well as a belated celebration for Lee’s birthday.
The pub is really quaint and the interior done out in a really sympathetic style. The bar area is very homely just like a local pub should be. We started off with some of their bread including an unusual charcoal bread which was all of great quality. I liked that they served it with oil as well as butter.
For my starter I chose the King Crab, Gin & Tonic Cucumber, Radish & Chive Emulsion. The crab itself was perfectly done and I liked it with the peppery radish. For me the G&T flavor in the cucumber didn’t really come through very strongly, but it was a light and fresh starter that was very pleasant to eat.
Lee decided on the Five Spiced Fois Gras, Hoisin Glazed Duck Hearts, Compressed cucumber, mooli and coriander. He loved the meaty parts of the dish alongisde the sharpness of the mooli of which he wanted more, but again the cucumber he felt was a let down due to a lack of intensity of the flavor. Maybe its just hard to make a cucumber shine, or we both just have palates that prefer bolder flavours.
Moving on to the mains, Lee chose Pork Tenderloin ~ Iberico neck sandwich, pork cheek, Wild Asparagus and Apple Sauce. Again he felt this was a dish with great elements and some not as great – he adored the cheek and the apple sauce.
I went for the Beer battered Haddock with chip shop treats. Not something you’d expect to find on a michelin star menu necessarily, so I was intrigued to see how it would be made a bit more jazzy. I really loved the presentation in a plate that was akin to a takeaway box, and all the little extras – mushy peas, curry sauce, pickled onion and cockles. The chips were fantastic and the fish perfect, dotted with malt vinegar gel and vinegar powder. My only complaint was that I could have done with more of the vinegar elements to counter the huge bit of fish!
For dessert Lee went for the Treby’s Gone Carrots which is what Anton cooked on masterchef apparently – we didn’t really get the hype of this as we don’t watch masterchef! (I know, I know, a sin for a foodie but i just can’t stand that Greg Wallace!) It was very dramatic with the dry ice and decent flavours Lee thought but not as speical as the presentation.
I went for the Spiced pineapple ~ Coconut, nutmeg ice cream & aerated pineapple weed. I’m loving desserts with tropical flavours at the moment but this wasn’t the best I’ve had. The nutmeg icecream was superb but the other tastes like the spiced pineapple were a bit too subtle for my palate.
Overall, although we liked the Treby Arms, there were some fantastic flavours and imaginative elements, but it didn’t quite blow us away like we thought it might.
Disclosure: Paid in Full
