No Advert for Salcombe!

I came across this article in the Daily Mail whilst sat in a Cafe Nero in London (away with work) and thought; "aaah excellent some good coverage for Salcombe". How wrong I was. Now I know I should not expect much more from the Daily Mail and here I'd like to make it clear that it was left in the cafe and I DID NOT BUY IT!

The entire article does Salcombe a complete disservice and puts it in a light that none of us wants to see it put in. The whole tone of the article is pompous and arrogant. The South Sands hotel comes out of it ok but the rest of it makes Salcombe sound like a an idiots enclave.

I love the fact that Salcombe attracts all types but the image of upper class wannabees clad in v-neck sweaters and polo shirts is ridiculous and untrue, the journalist is getting us confused with Thurlstone! And if I was "Moonraker Mike" (do people really call him that?) I would be suing the journalist for me making me look like an utter tit.

If anyone is reading this blog after reading the Daily Mail article I urge you to ignore it and come and see what Salcombe is really like; I can guarantee you that it isn't remotely like this article makes out.

What next for Dusters?

So what next for Salcombe's Dusters restaurant? Any takers?

£50k seems incredibly cheap for this prominent and well established restaurant? In my view it isn't what it used to be back in days of Harry and his jazz trio or the far distant days of MH, but it still gets packed out in the summer.

I am sure that someone with focus and/or a background as a restaurateur could take the turnover above the current £150k (£36k profit) and make a decent living? Granted the winter months are tough but get it right and it could be busy Thurs through Saturday surely?

Restaurant aside what would you like to see Dusters become? Salcombe could probably do with another clothes shop or an over priced tat shop...

For me, I'd love to see it become a family friendly restaurant that does the basics well and doesn't leave you feeling ripped off or short changed.

and you...what would you like to see it become?

Salcombe History Society

This is a great site for seeing the past characters and history of Salcombe. Originally started on Facebook there were so many photos that it spawned The Salcombe History Society.

This is well worth an hour of so of scrolling through the photos and seeing how Salcombe has changed over the years.

Enjoy!

So Disappointing...

I was excited in the run up...I had a table booked, the tide would be in and I'd heard good things about The Island Street Bar...

I arrived and the bar looked stylish and very different for Salcombe, the view across the water to the meadows and beyond was great, I had a lovely cold beer and the menu looked exciting.

My excitement was gradually sucked away...the service was absolutely appalling, we waited over 50 minutes between starters and main courses and it wasn't even that busy. Our wine just about managed to be served with our main courses, but we were almost finished. A steak had to be sent back as it was "blue" when it should have been "medium"...

As for my food, the starter was fantastic, Crab Chowder, very very good! But that is where the praise stops. My main was, at best, average and it was most definitely an utter rip off; Sea Bass, £17.50...OK I agree that is what you would pay in most places these days, however, in most places you would get the whole fish or 2 or 3 fillets but Salcombe being Salcombe I got 1(!!) exceedingly small fillet. I was gobsmacked, 1 fillet and a few green beans for £17.50! What nonsense.

The final disappointment was not being able to fit in a desert and coffee despite being there for 2 hours...in the end we gave up got the bill and left.

My enthusiasm for what should have been a great restaurant had disappeared and I was left feeling, that the food was over priced, the service was utter rubbish but most importantly I was still HUNGRY!