Premier Fish and Chips – Budleigh Salterton (4.6)

Now and again, you find chips that are undeniably the best that you are likely to taste anywhere, ever.  Well at least you think that for a short while until another place out does them or they start to slip.  For a long time, I thought that Hartop Fryer in Exmouth was the best place to get chips, but they soon started getting greasey and cold, so inevitably we found somewhere else.  That somewhere else is Premier Fish and Chips in Budleigh Salterton, just off the High Street but visable from the road.
It has a reputation, Saturday or Friday night it will be busy with punters queing.  Can a fish and chip shop be that good? Yes.  Everything is fried to order, you won’t find fish sitting getting cold in the compartments above the friers, although chips tend to be done the typical way your fish will be cooked to order.
The fat is changed regularly and this is evident in the quality of the chips.  They are hot, they are crispy and they are properly cooked.  The service is quick and polite and although the prices are slightly higher then average (£1.95 for large chips) this is worth it.
The only negatives that I can muster is that the waiting space is cramped and claustrophobic, on busy nights restaurant patrons have to squeeze past the throng of take away patrons which can be too close for comfort.  And although the prices are high, they do reflect the quality of these chips

Exe Shed (4.5)

So finally, after much debating to myself I went with some work colleagues to Exe Shed to see how veggie friendly they are.  Exe Shed is situated on a plaza in the new Princesshay shopping development in the centre of Exeter.  It is well lit and feels modern and clean inside, with lots of blue neons and halogens creating a friendly atmosphere as one walks in to the cocktail bar on the ground floor.

There are two levels to the restaurant, ground floor houses the bar with comfy seats and warm lighting and upstairs houses the main restaurant area with a full complement of waiting staff to ensure swift service.  Even though it feels like an A La Carte establishment, the prices are reasonable and with special offers (two courses at nine seventy seven before seven with free side order) then you would be foolish not to at least come and have a look!

We were seated  swiftly and after a brief wait we received our menus.  The service was constantly quick and polite, and though we did wait for quite a while for the food itself I was immensely impressed when it came.  Although the portions were a tad on the stingy side, I was reasonably impressed with the taste.  For starters I had a Red Pepper and Oyster Mushroom fritata which was really quite pathetic in size.  But, with Oyster mushrooms the taste is quite strong so I found this quite a good thing in the end.  The usual indiscriminate lettuce ruined it a bit, although it was fresh and good in taste.
Then the main course, a Thai Green Curry with a side order of Fries.  The portion size was generous and the green curry actually tasted of green curry, a magic mouth smash of flavour with all of the vegetables being cooked perfectly.  The rice was nicey done with a couple of poppadoms and what an aroma of coconut and mint!  The best thai curry I have ever had!

The vegetarian options are limited but the quality of the food and the tastes are really worth it.  It is a high brow, classy place but the food is quite exceptional.  The slowness of the food and the expensive beer overshadowed it a bit, but it really doesn’t matter when you realise it is worth waiting for!