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It might not be the height of culinary decadence, but I do like an ‘all you can eat’ Chinese. And it’s an easy sell to Ross, so on our final night we traipsed up a big hill to get to the Oriental Touch which has been trading from here for over 15 years. Before it became a restaurant, it was the Top of the Town pub.

We arrived a bit earlier in the evening to try and avoid the rush, but it was already packed primarily with larger groups. We waited in the queue for around five minutes before we were called forwards as although we didn’t have a reservation, they did have a table for two. It was slightly cramped, but you don’t really come to a restaurant like this for the surroundings. The ordering process requires advance payment before being seated, which does speed matters up at the end of the meal. I felt sorry for the waiter who was helpful but had three groups complain that the wrong drinks had been brought over. It transpired, as I listened in, that all three groups had actually ordered incorrectly but the waiter was endlessly patient.

What was it that Jay Rayner said about the best foods being brown? He’s right, here’s chicken cooked in various different ways and what more could I want?

The two counters of hot food.

The desserts section.

There we go, there’s some green to add to the arrangement. It’s called seaweed, although I think this one was just salted fried cabbage. I ordered a Tiger to go with the meal, which was smooth, light and all that. The quality of the food was generally high, the meat was tender and everything was at the appropriate hot temperature.

The height of fine dining……

I’ve never quite understood why more restaurants don’t operate on this model as it makes it much easier for the kitchen to just bring out food when it’s done and there’s a reduced demand on waiting staff. I accept the huge cost of ingredients, but looking around, most people were relatively restrained. It’s obviously working for this restaurant given how long they’ve been here and seeing how busy it was on a Thursday evening. There’s a sign that the restaurant reserves the right to charge for food which is left, but I suspect that’s a warning shot rather than something that they actually try and do. The wastage must be challenging for the owners to deal with, I suspect it’s relatively high and perhaps one of the reasons that there aren’t more restaurant like this.

There’s the odd complaint such as:

“Cold food, chaotic experience and multiple things that could actually HARM PEOPLE! My wife is a Chef and she said there are multiple things that could be harmful, like the unrefrigerated profiteroles because of the warmed up cream.”

The venue is five star food hygiene rated and I’m more concerned that a chef thinks that profiteroles can’t stand in a cold refrigerated area and the speed in which they were eaten meant that they were hardly there for long. I didn’t see anything that harmed me at least….

The meal cost £16, which I thought was rather agreeable although I found that the portion sizes were too large but I can’t really blame the restaurant for that. The on-line reviews are very positive for a restaurant set-up like this, with the service being highly regarded as well as the value for money. Although we got lucky, I think it would be sensible to book a table in advance here given its popularity. All rather lovely.

The outside of the Apple & Parrot, known for its live music and sports that are shown on the TV, which has been trading since 2010. The venue has door staff it seems on most evenings, but they’re open until 03:00 every day of the week which explains their frequent presence. The venue was previously known as the Royal Vic Lounge and then it became the rather decadent and fancy Cafe Royal in the 1980s.

I’m always happy with this, especially when there’s an orange slice in it. There aren’t any real ales available, but there’s been a sort of effort made to have a variety of keg beers on. The service was friendly and polite, with everything feeling clean and well managed.

The stage area where there’s a fair amount of live music played. There’s a pool table down the stairs and more space upstairs, so it felt quite spacious, although that was when it was a quiet weekday evening in February. They don’t offer food themselves, but they have an arrangement with a nearby third party which specialises in chicken related items, the same provider as the nearby Yates. The on-line reviews are a bit mixed, there seem to be a lot of issues with their door staff, although there are usually two sides to stories relating to those.

I rather liked this venue, it felt safe and had a certain amount of atmosphere without getting too vibrant. The drinks range was reasonable, the service was friendly and things felt generally clean and organised.

I can’t recall eating at a Harvester before and after checking, there aren’t any in Norfolk with the nearest being in Lowestoft and Ipswich. And, when I heard that every meal comes with a free all you can eat salad bar I was entirely sold and it didn’t much to persuade Ross who eats too much salad.

I had downloaded the app in advance of the visit and it was this offer that tempted us. It’s advertised in the venue itself, but they do need to see the app to be able to scan the code which I can imagine annoys a few people. Fortunately, I was prepared and ready…. We were seated promptly but our order wasn’t taken for over ten minutes, which seemed a lifetime when the thought of all you can eat lettuce was on my mind.

The salad bar and there was also bread, butter, dressings and most importantly of all, olives. Indeed, I managed to get through all the olives in the container which I was quite pleased with, I like to complete things. Now, if there were pickles as well then this might have gone up just another notch…..

My third salad bowl with some of the olives all covered in a Caesar dressing.

The main event, the half roast chicken with fries and sweetcorn fritter type things. I had the naga chilli dip as I like a bit of spice, but I also just brought the bottle over as well to add to the whole arrangement. The chicken was tender, moist and plentiful, with the fritter things adding texture to the meal. The chips were also firm on the exterior and fluffy on the inside, with everything at the appropriate temperature. I went for a pint of Stowford Press as some variety from having beer. It wasn’t the best cider I’ve had, but it was entirely drinkable.

Looking at the on-line reviews, they’re high for a chain restaurant, so it seems that most customers leave happy and content. I had a little look through the reviews and there was one customer that was apparently near to a panic attack because of the service…. Anyway, I liked the restaurant’s reply:

“I am very sorry to read that you did not enjoy your visit with us and even more sorry than you felt you couldn’t either ask to speak to the manager to discuss your concerns or contact us directly after leaving rather than posting your comments on, not just 1 but 2 social media platforms.”

They have a point….

“Today, after my family had dinner, Jamie started sorting out our plates. While he was stacking up the plates, he asked me if I could put my leftovers on top of the plates. And I was like, “Sorry?” He just repeated what he said and added “because I don’t want to touch it (pointing on my leftovers).” He already sorted out our used utensils, so I had no choice but to pick up my leftovers barehandedly… I just felt like it was rude”

That’s sub-optimal to be fair to the customer….

“Was greeted by a very stuffy, sarcastic member of staff who enquired as to whether I had booked. I said I hadn’t and did not realise that you needed too as I just walk in my local Harvester. With a snort, she retorted well Torquay is a major holiday destination in the summer and you can’t just walk in. No problem, I’ll walk right out again.”

I suspect the restaurant wasn’t too concerned….

“Told staff allergic to jalapenos make sure none on nachos still found one hiding under salsa brought it up with waitress she couldn’t have cared less complete joke !!!! Rest of food was of good quality. Maybe they should show an interest in customers food requitmrenents as eating this jalepeno would have put one of us in hospital”

Highly undesirable, although the restaurant was hugely apologetic.

The team member apologised that she forgot the checkback (pro-actively, I didn’t complain) but I think she was Polish, so I decided that she was inevitably forgiven for that as I’m just a bit pro-Polish. The surroundings were generally clean and the venue was surprisingly busy for a weekday lunchtime, so they’re clearly doing quite a lot right. And because the salad bar had all the olives I could eat, I was entirely happy. I’d go again, the whole set-up was actually better than I expected and it’s a much more popular venue than I had anticipated.

This was one of the highest on-line rated Indian (I’ve defined this as Indian, but I accept that they also describe themselves as a Bangladeshi restaurant) restaurants in Torquay, located in the Torre area of the town. We were welcomed warmly when arriving and although there’s limited seating inside, we were offered a larger table between the two of us, which I always think is a nice gesture. Although, other than the two diners already there when we arrived, there were no-one else dining inside for the rest of the evening and I had thought it might be a little busier, even on a drizzly Wednesday evening in February. In recent years, this has gone through all manner of name changes and it’s been Lucky Choice Chinese, the Hong Kong Express, the Thai Kitchen, Kim’s Kitchen, Thai Chef and then from early 2024, Biryani House.

The menu.

The poppadoms which met my expectations, I very much like pickles in the little selection of dips, exciting options such as lime pickle are missing from this line-up too often. So, as I’m easily distracted, I asked Google what dips and chutneys should be served in an Indian restaurant and it came back with:

“Mango Chutney: This sweet and tangy chutney is a classic pairing with poppadoms. Its fruity flavour balances the crispiness of the poppadoms.  
Mint Raita (or Mint Sauce): A cooling and refreshing dip made with yogurt, mint, and sometimes coriander. It provides a nice contrast to spicy dishes.  
Onion Chutney: This often features finely chopped red onions, and it can vary from sweet and tangy to spicy. It adds a sharp and flavourful element.
Lime Pickle: This is a very strong and spicy pickle, that adds a very powerful sour and hot flavour to the poppadoms.”

This is effectively what this restaurant offered, hence my satisfaction.

It’s always handy to have vinegar to hand in an Indian restaurant. I fully understand their practical benefits, but I didn’t much like the plastic covering over the tablecloth. I had thought that this traditional look was because they’d been here for years, but this is all newly set out as they only relatively recently took over.

There was some Bollywood entertainment going on. The Tiger beer tasted as expected, it always feels more acceptable when having south Asian food.

I went for the chicken jalfrezi, coconut rice and plain naan. The portion size of the curry was generous, with plenty of tender pieces of chicken breast. There was some spice in it, although for my own taste I would have liked more, and it had a depth of flavour, a very serviceable curry. The rice was fluffy and coconuty, but the naan bread was a bit moist and seemed more microwaved than cooked in a traditional Tandoor oven. Not that I’m expecting a small restaurant in a Torquay suburb to have a large Tandoor oven going, but it should have perhaps been a bit firmer.

The interior of the restaurant and it’s fair to say that they haven’t aimed to be on-trend here. Although we hardly stretched the kitchen with our order, they did get a couple of delivery orders through when we were there.

There was a free Sambuca shot at the end, which I of course accepted, and I was surprised that Ross did as well rather willingly. The couple at the table next to us had struggled through theirs and I heard them comment privately it tasted cheap, but I thought it was quite smooth.

Anyway, I thought this was a competent restaurant and I very much liked the welcome which I thought was authentic and warm. Ross was less impressed when the owner tried to help him put his coat on, but I know other people who would have liked that very much. One other positive is that they open during lunchtimes, something that seems to be quite rare at Indian restaurants in the UK. Anyway, all rather lovely and I hope that they do well.

And yet again apologies for the poor photos, they’re from my old phone and matters have since improved….. Anyway, this pub is located next to the Hole in the Wall (visible to the rear of the photo) which is a potential challenge (and opportunity) for the Devon Arms as its neighbour is the oldest in Torquay, it’s Good Beer Guide listed and seems a genuinely brilliant pub. We visited it, so more on that pub soon.

Not easily readable as it’s a bit blurry…. Luckily Google AI is here to help.

“The Devon Arms

Torquay’s original and oldest liquor selling establishment, historically a Gin house/Beer House/Public House.

The Bird in the Hand was the oldest pub in Torquay.

Since its closure Devon Arms can lay claim to that title.

The has been visited by:

Mary Shelley (Frankenstein)
Edward Bulwer-Lytton (The Hunters & the Hunted)
Charles Dickens (Christmas Carol)
Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)
Richard King (Tales of Horror)
Trevor Ravenscroft (The Spear of Destiny)
Robert Louis Stevenson (Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde)
T.S. Eliot (The Waste Land)
Oscar Wilde (Dorian Gray)
Brian Lumley (Necroscope)
Donovan (Singer)
Ruby Murray (Singer)
Henry (Our resident Ghost)

Torquay’s Weirdest Resident of the 19th century – Lord Lytton

First major building in Torquay – 1196 Torre Abbey
Torbay’s 1st mayor: H.D.F. Splatt 1892
1915 – King George & Queen Mary visited
1939 – Evacuees arrive at Torquay Station
Sept 4th 1942 – 31 killed. FW198 shot down on the beach by anti-
aircraft gunfire from the shore. Targets included part of Chelston
near Torre Abbey, the Regal Cinema & Tor Hill Road.
Last air raid during WWII – May 29th 1944.
23000 men left from Torquay. The 4th Infantry left for Utah beach.
The US troops who left for Utah Beach drank in the Devon Arms
3 days before departure.
1948 – Water sports for the Olympics held in Torquay
Scrumpy Bums – Was the real Torquay underground of the 1960’s.”

As can be noted, the Devon Arms is disputing that their neighbour is the town’s oldest pub, although I’m not sure that anyone actually knows. It was a gin house in the nineteenth century and it’s thought to date to around the 1740s.

I’m slightly puzzled by this as the Devon Arms isn’t that near Fleet Street (although a later advert corrects it to Victoria Parade), but this 1901 advert came as the venue had fallen into disrepair and become dilapidated. An attempt was made in 1902 to convert the premises into a temperance hotel and cafe after it was reconstructed. And below is an article from that summer:

“With Miss Toseland, a prominent member of the Torquay Women’s Total Abstinence Union, originated the idea of the Sailors’ Night Rest and refreshment rooms, which have been opened for the use of the men of the Fleet at the old Devon Arms, and 33, Victoria Parade. The former has been turned into a high-class “doss” house, containing about 75 beds. Each bed consists of a comfortable mattress laid on the floor with a good pillow and rug. In the large room there are forty-five of these mattresses stretched side by side, whilst in the smaller rooms there are three four or even half-a-dozen. Jack is inclined to imbibe rather freely when he gets ashore, and he frequently oversteps the mark. For such as indulge to excess, provision has been made in other rooms with straw beds. At 33, Victoria Parade, there are another 25 beds. All the mattresses have been purchased at a cost of 8s. each, and the sailors will be expected to pay 6d. per night for their bed. At Victoria Parade they will be enabled to get the very best of refreshments at most reasonable prices, and at the Devon Arms tea and coffee will be ready when the sailors come in, and by the time they wish to leave again in the morning. Mr. Hosking is catering for the whole of the refreshments. The Devon Arms Night Rest will be open from nine o’clock until midnight, and the Victoria Parade refreshment room practically all day and night. At the latter place a tea will be given to the sailors on Sunday afternoon, and there will be on the premises a small library of books, a bagatelle board, games of other descriptions, a piano, periodicals, and daily papers. At both places, rooms have been set aside in which Jack can make his ablutions.”

Certainly a noble idea, but there were substantial arguments within the temperance movement within months (perhaps sailors wanted more than coffee) and in the following year, it returned to being a pub.

I went for a pint of Guinness which tasted as it should and Ross was pleased with whatever generic lager he went for. As can sort of be seen in the background, there’s a pool table to excite and delight the locals.

The interior decoration. The service was polite, although I was nearly over-charged (two pints is really not going to be nearly £13), but this was corrected when I queried it to back down to around £8, but the mistake did appear to be entirely genuine. The atmosphere in the pub itself was, er, very lively. I will say no more.

The zoom on my old phone was a bit worn out, but the food options were toasted ciabattas (£4.50), hot Cornish pasties (£4.50) and soup (£4.00).

It’s very much a sports bar, but it’s well reviewed and clearly has a loyal clientele. The pub had rather a lived-in feel to it and it was rustic in numerous senses of the word, but it provided something of a contrast to their neighbouring pub. It’s got an interesting history and I suspect it has something of a different character and atmosphere in the summer when the tourists come flocking in.

Photos from my old phone, so once again apologies about the quality. I’m not posting these visits in the order that we visited them which isn’t very purist of me. This is the former JD Wetherspoon outlet, the London Inn, which they closed in 2016 and it was taken over by Yates. They do have another pub in the town, the Green Ginger, although I suspect from seeing how busy that one is that there’s still potential for them to justify opening another. It’s now operated by Stonegate and is one of their Craft Union bars.

I’m not sure, but I think it’s the white building in the bottom centre-right in the above image. This is a grand Georgian building that was once the Royal Hotel (between 1833 to 1997), which replaced the London Inn (the name that JD Wetherspoon brought back) in the early nineteenth century. It was named the Royal in honour of a visit in 1833 by Princess Victoria, later Queen Victoria. She was so delighted by her visit to Torquay that she never visited again. The visit she did make was slightly sub-optimal as there was a boot-maker with the surname of Dart who was so excited to see the Princess that he broke the cordon to give her a pair of boots. A member of the coastguard stabbed him in the eye with his bayonet, although to be fair, the Duchess of Kent (the mother of Victoria) felt a bit guilty about this and paid for his medical expenses and some annual funding since he was half-blinded.

The bar area and I was surprised how large the venue was and how quiet it was. There was a sign on the door saying that they no longer have a food menu available, so they’re having to make all their money from drinks sales. I was quite amused by the press release from Yates about their investment here in the summer of 2024:

“Exterior and Interior Décor: The pub has undergone minor exterior decorative works to create a fresh and inviting look. Inside, various areas have been redecorated to provide a clean and welcoming atmosphere throughout.

Enhanced Amenities: To cater to our customers’ love for games, we’ve added a new pool table and a darts board at the rear of the pub. This provides a perfect setting for friendly competitions.

Bar Area Improvements: The main bar area has been revamped by removing the overbars to improve visibility and accessibility for customers. The back fitting has also been updated, allowing Tracie to showcase premium products more effectively.

Viewing Experience: Already benefiting from good quality viewing areas, Yates Torquay now features additional large TVs in the rear area, enhancing the viewing experience for all our patrons.”

In short, they’ve done some painting, shoved in a pool table, removed the overbars to make drink service slower and installed a TV. I thought this sounded like a £5k investment, but apparently Stonegate spent £97,000 on all this work.

They do have a menu from a nearby third party venue to at least have some choice as Craft Union pubs don’t usually offer food. A few reviewers have said that they also allow customers to bring their own food and takeaways in. They allow dogs in as well, which perhaps takes some trade away from Wetherspoons who don’t allow them as part of a national policy, albeit one which I’ve long considered to be entirely sensible for what it’s worth.

The John Smiths was cheap at under £3 a pint and it tasted as it’s meant to. The beer range consisted of standard national brands, although there were a few real ales available.

I remembers Yates in Norwich and that was back in around 2001 when they were growing quickly and starting to rival JD Wetherspoons, but that battle has long been lost by them, not least as they went bust in 2008. Without sounding critical (or at least, no more than normal) it feels a waste of a building to be used by Yates, they’ve got this historic location which JD Wetherspoon made considerable efforts to at least make feel traditional and it now looks like a new build pub in a retail park. The on-line reviews are broadly positive although a team member apparently told someone not breastfeed last year which led to an exciting response to the inevitable ngative review:

“Charlene Smith, we regret to hear that you had this experience with us. I was told about this incident just moments ago and I am ashamed of that member of staff and have severely corrected him. I can assure you this is not any form of policy nor standard practice. I am disgusted that he took it upon himself to do this. I hope you are still in Torquay to return for a personal apology not only from him but also from me on behalf of all of us that this happened to you. I would like to treat you to a complimentary meal by way of sincere sorry too. If you are unable to come back, please contact me via email so I can offer you an apology and make this right. Kind Regards Jay General Manager”

Anyway, for me, it’s all a bit soulless, but it’s a clean and comfortable environment which is spacious and has plenty of seating. I can see the attraction of the place, it’s welcoming, non-threatening and peaceful (at least in the day, I think that the music ramps up in the evening). The prices are firmly towards the lower end of the scale and the service was timely and polite, with Stonegate at least taking on the pub to ensure that this rather lovely building doesn’t stand empty. But, if I’m being honest, I can’t help thinking it’s a shame that JD Wetherspoon didn’t keep it, but I won’t labour that point….

I felt the need to walk by the Abbey Sands hotel en route back to the hotel.

Best known, to me at least, as where Channel 4’s Hotel was filmed. This image is from Google Streetview from 16 years ago. I still follow Mark Jenkins on Facebook and look back on those episodes with some fondness, he was a true entertainer. I haven’t lined the photos up very well, but Google Streetview confirmed that the location I had worked out was right.

Not much to see here now….

However, back in the day, this is where the restaurant attached to the hotel was located, down some steps.

Anyway, it was good to see where the filming took place, it’s not quite where I imagined the hotel to be for some reason. The frontage has changed a little bit, but it’ll always be the Grosvenor to me. There have been a few owners since Mark Jenkins left it, with some considerable money spent on restorations and refurbishments. The hotel market in Torquay isn’t what it was, so it took some bravery to make such a large investment. I did decide to watch a couple of episodes of the programme over the last week, to remind myself of the past glories.