Torquay has always had a bit of a problem with seafront eateries.

British seaside resorts generally have the worst kind of outlets

imaginable; mainly grotty fish and chip shops and ice cream parlours,

with flaking paint and chipped tiles and a hideous stench of fetid

oil. Fortunately for anyone with a sense of taste, this has begun to

change over the last decade or so, but restaurants need to be pretty

damn good to survive the winter. When the tourists have all gone

home, there aren't many locals left who fancy taking a stroll along a

storm-bashed seafront looking for a bit to eat.

So I was quite heartened to see that Bar Cava was still going

over a year after its launch. In the summer, Abbey

Crescent—consisting mainly of the old and dilapidated Palm Court

Hotel—is a great place to sit in the shade and watch the world

go by. It's opposite the beach and the area is usually quite busy.

In the winter, though, it's the first area to close down, being a mile

or so from the harbour and most of the locals' hangouts. Most

businesses just don't survive the close season; Bar Cava

clearly had something going for it.

My brother and I thought we'd check it out on your behalf.

As you will have guessed by the name of the place, Bar Cava is

a Spanish-themed restaurant-bar, and Milliways has been to one of these before.

It's hardly a La Tasca, though; it's a small place, nicely

decorated and with a warm atmosphere that feels welcoming as soon as

you walk in.

Bar Cava's menu is split into four main sections. There is a

selection of tapas, a short list of paellas, a whole range of pizzas

and a few burger-and-chips type dishes, perhaps as a nod to the

seafront location. Fresh seafood features heavily, and it was great

to see that the owners had such a passion for the local catch. Having

travelled quite widely in Spain, I'm a bit of a tapas fan, and Ed

loves his rice, so we eschewed the pizzas and burgers (home-made, I

should point out in mitigation) in favour of something a little more

Iberian.

First the paella, which was a very substantial portion served in a

proper paella dish. It's very easy to make a mediocre paella, but

getting the consistency and blend of flavours exactly right takes a

fair amount of skill. Ed's chicken and chorizo paella really hit the

spot; it was moist without being soggy, and had a marvellous sharpness

offset well with the generous amounts of meat. It wasn't quite

flawless and was perhaps just a tad under-seasoned. As they say,

though, you can add more seasoning, but you can't take it out.

Impressive stuff.

Likewise the first of my tapas, patatas bravas with chorizo. It came

in a meaty, slightly spicy sauce that is characteristic of tapas, and

the dish instantly took me back. A simple dish done superbly. The

Greek salad I ordered to accompany it was also very good without

raising any 'ooh's or 'aah's, and the only letdown was the Spanish

omelette. This was just too thin and milky instead of eggy and,

instead of containing potatoes and onion, it simply had a few peppers

lain across the top. It was a shame that the quintessential Spanish

staple was done so badly; everything else was superb.

We later learned that they had been let down by their chef, and the

owners were cooking the meals themselves. It is quite probable that

the food is even better on most nights, but unfortunately the BBC

budget for Milliways doesn't stretch to repeat visits...

The meals were excellent value, at about a fiver for a generous-sized

tapa and less than a tenner for paella, while a pint of San Miguel was under £3.

It would be nice to have had a basket of bread at the start of the

meal (perhaps I expect it to be a little more authentic than is

financially possible), and the fact that they had run out of jacket

potatoes on the first night of a busy Bank Holiday weekend was rather

poor. Still, the paella and patatas bravas were good enough for us to

give the food a very respectable 8/10

The restaurant is clean and comfortable, and the owners clearly have

good taste in soft furnishings. It's a small place, but goes the way of 'intimate' rather than 'cramped'. Excellent 5/5

In a word—erratic. Now I'm fully aware that service does tend

to suffer when everyone is mucking in in the kitchen, but I can only

review what's in front of me. If a waiter sits on his haunches to

tell us the specials, forgets a main course, doesn't check we're

enjoying our meals, informs us he can't make cocktails, takes ten

minutes to bring the bill and another ten to take payment, I have a

right to feel a little disgruntled.1/5

It was a bold move to open a tapas bar on Abbey Crescent,

surrounded by more traditional seaside cafe-restaurants. It's one

that I hope is successful; it's rather nice to have a proper eatery

opposite the beach, the prices are reasonable, and the food and

service would probably both have been rather better had we caught them

on a good night. 7/10

This column is open to contributions from all members of

the h2g2 community. All submissions are accepted on the basis that

they are honest and unbiased, and all opinions expressed are those of

the reviewers, who may not be professional restaurant critics. Send

your reviews to the usual submissions address.

Our Man in Milliways

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