Caledoniyya

Some meals are meant to be guzzled, some talked over, and some savoured in a whirl of taste-ecstasy.

Still others are meant to be savoured so well that the waiters are in danger of being slapped with a slilver spoon on the forehead if they even attempt to prise the licked plate from your death grip, so good is the meal.

And it is here that The Galley fits as snugly as its quirkily cosy sea-food restaurant, in the Devon town of Topsham.

Tucked away in a corner of the fishing village, itself stowed in the corner of bucolic England, The Galley is more than just a fish’n'chip joint.

It is sea-food culinary at its most stupendously fine.

As an avid sea-food lover I have munched my way around much of the Mediterranean and while the mere thought of Italian calamari still brings a bubble of salivation to my mouth, the dishes crafted by chef Paul Da-Costa-Greaves turn me into a dribbling fool.

Despite the drizzle and gloom, I headed to The Galley yesterday with stout resolution and eager anticipation, though the memory of my last trip had by now become hazy.

I anticipated goodness, but I received heavenliness.

Ordering the Duo Scallops and Prawns, the tagliatelle was cooked to perfection – neither sticky nor gloopy – while the sauce, ah! The sauce was divine.

Ordinarily an utter beast when it comes to eating on an empty stomach, I found myself willing the dish never to end, savouring each burst of taste and every morsel of scallop and prawn.

Using only local produce, the menu is determined by the catches of the day, which means there are no frozen or dodgy looking critters in either the salad nor the shells.

With each chew the scallops released a salty yet juicy taste of the sea, while the sauce complimented it with smatterings of ginger, lemongrass, and a collection of spices and herbs that defied even my food-obsessed imagination.

Accompanied by a side salad worthy of equal attention – combining strawberries, grapes, starfruit, and passion fruit with mixed leaves and a fruity dressing – the meal is not so much an event, as an experience.

Yet it is not the food alone that makes the restaurant: the jovial and cheeky banter maintained by Mark Wright ensures that the meal is as enjoyable socially as it is delicious.

Opening with the cheery words of “Would you like it soft or naughty? [pause for dramatic effect] Your drinks, I mean…” is followed by a singular service facilitated by the diminutive nature of the restaurant.

Equally wonderful is the décor: with murals, paintings, lanterns, and giant dolls in the most unlikely of places, the experience is carried from the table to the hall to the bathroom and the accommodation offered.

In conclusion then, for a sea-food meal that would definitely rest on top of my list of condemned-woman’s-last-meals list, you can do no worse – and possibly no better – than The Galley.

And it never repeats, which always scores bonus points in my book.