Jo Rees discovers a Falmouth restaurant dishing up feelgood feasting at the water’s edge
What’s the draw?
A buzzy restaurant with huge windows and a terrace overlooking the glassy waters of Falmouth Harbour.
Despite its shoreside setting, Indidog is hidden away: you’d only stumble upon it by wandering down a lane to Fish Strand Quay or parking at the car park next door. That makes it a bit of an insider’s find, so consider this your heads up on a restaurant that delivers feelgood feasting with waterside views.
Who’s cooking?
Head of theatre in Indidog’s large open kitchen – entirely visible to diners – is Alfie Hazlitt. Indidog owner Vanessa Clark says Alfie provides the customers with plenty of behind-the-pass entertainment.
‘I often notice diners watching the kitchen team,’ she says. ‘They love it, especially when Alfie’s giving orders to the brigade and there’s a lot of shouting of “yes chef!”.’
Vanessa and her husband Simon have an instinct for reading a room, and spend their evenings gliding from one table to another, charming customers with personal attention. Indidog was almost full on the Wednesday night in early June that we visited, so they’re clearly doing something right.
What to order?
The menu has the same crowd-pleasing credentials as the front-of-house approach and features favourites such as Mylor scallops with green-chilli jam, apple, lemon and daikon, presented elegantly in the half shell.
House dishes include a daily changing cut of locally caught fish treated to the boisterous flavours of chorizo and bouillabaisse, and a meaty hunk of miso-glazed monkfish in a fragrant broth with sauteed napa cabbage, coriander and daikon.
Despite the marine setting, carnivores are well looked after and treated to dishes made from locally reared cuts such as Redruth lamb rump, which is served with rosemary and potato rosti, leek and anchovy.
Careful sourcing is at the core of the menu and showcased in uber-local ingredients such as the pristine salad leaves grown at Soul Farm across the harbour at Flushing.
Smart multi-element desserts like a lemon parfait with flavours of apricot, honey and whisky, cut by the clean tang of yogurt sorbet, are top drawer. However, it would be a shame to forego the simple joy of an affogato of Callestick Farm vanilla ice cream served in a vintage-style coup glass with one shot of Origin espresso and another of Grand Marnier. Solve the problem by filing it under ‘coffee’ and do dessert twice.
Need to know
Book a window seat – inside or out – to savour the exceptional harbour views. And arrive hungry so you can add an appetiser of smoked cod’s roe with lacy sourdough crisps and a glass of chilled Veuve Clicquot to the experience.
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