Le Bistrot Pierre

Gary and I went to a new restaurant in Torquay, Le Bistrot Pierre, a French-style bistro.
It's a lovely two-floor restaurant located on the sea front of Torre Abbey decorated as a French bistro with lots of vintage-styled wooden furniture and a fully stocked high bar.

The food is amazing!
They have different menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner with lots of intriguing, tasty food. We went for dinner, and we'll definitely be going again.
I had the Saucisse de Toulouse for starter, a poached egg on slices of Toulouse sausage with a warm tomato dressing, was delicious. Gary had the Moules au Roquefort, mussels in a Roquefort sauce, he said they're the best mussels in Torquay, he was very impressed.
For main I had Gratin de Pates et Fromage, a macaroni and cauliflower cheese gratin, it was gorgeous! You can choose a side from skinny fries, salad or potatoes and vegetables. Gary had the Cassoulet d'agneau, lamb with a 'cassoulet' of bacon, beans and tomatoes, which he loved as well. We tried a bit of each others, all the flavours were rich and moorish, haven't had great food like this in a while.
We shared a Macaron for dessert as we were both a bit full. The macaroon and ice cream were nice, but I'm not a fan of fruit compotes, so I found that a bit too rich with the dessert. I really want to try the creme brulee next time.
We both can't wait to go again, we want to share the camembert, and I want to try the St Marcellin cheese and the mushroom brioche and the mini chorizos roasted in honey, and then mains I want to try chicken dish, and the pork, and the burger, oh I really can't wait to go back! Especially when they've given us a loyalty card where you collect stamps to get a free two course meal!

They also do 'Dine with Wine' and 'Soiree Gastronomique' evenings, where they have a set menu for a set price. We have one booked for next month, really can't wait, it's gonna be yummy.
I'm also trying to convince work about having our Christmas meal here, I've not really given them much choice about it though as I've only brought in the one menu! It's definitely worth coming here though!

Trip Around the Bay

On mine and Gary's day off, we decided to have a wander around Torbay. We've been meaning to get the ferry over to Brixham all summer, as not only is it cheaper than the bus, it's a lovely little journey across the bay.

I thought it would be nice to go to Totnes though, as we haven't been there for years. So we got the bus from Torquay to Paignton and had a look round the shops until the bus came for Totnes.

We had a lovely lunch in the Dartmouth Inn where they had Morris dancers outside, it sounded like a regular thing and made the pub quite busy.

Most of the shops were closed unfortunately as it was a Sunday, but they had a lovely food market at the top of the hill that had all sorts, such as Thai, paella, falafel, cheese and meat stalls and loads more. I'll take my Mum over one Sunday as she loves things like that.

Gary then suggested we get the bus over to Brixham anyways and get the ferry home. I had joked that morning that it was probably too windy for the ferry to be running as that had stopped it before.

And yes, I was right, it wasn't running. 

In Lanzarote and Majorca the catamarans we went on swayed madly on the huge waves and yet this day the sea looked calm and peaceful.

It was nice to have a walk around the harbour waiting for the next bus though, and to see Sir Francis Drake's boat, the Golden Hind, previously known as the Pelican (something I learned on the Chase).

It's also great to have such nice weather, we wouldn't normally be able to consider a boat trip near the end of September!

An Afternoon in Sunny Torquay

After dancing away the hours last night and spending all morning recovering, Gary and I finally went out to enjoy the sunshine.

I've been so lucky with the weather for my first week off work, hopefully next week is going to be just as nice.

This afternoon we went for a few drinks at Below Decks on Torquay Harbour, a lovely little bar/cafe that sits among the docked boats. It's situated away from the road making it a quiet little spot to enjoy watching the sunset.

I couldn't resist getting a few photos, hope you like them.

Gary got a little tired though sitting in the sun and decided to have a lie down on the way home.