[Disclosure: We paid in full at Hevva!. They didn’t know I was a blogger]
When it comes to great places to eat in and around Falmouth, there’s no shortage. But you can also never have too many, right. And when a local tells you about a brand new place that’s just opened up, that’s ‘not in the touristy part of town’ and run by some local guys, you’d be a fool not to make a beeline for it.
A good job too, since on a Wednesday night Hevva! is pretty busy. Falmouth’s newest seafood spot, it leaves the big terraces and seaside vibe to other places and has gone down the neighbourhood restaurant root. Candlelit tables, a daily changing menu up on a blackboard on the wall, and a homely feel that has us relaxing the minute we walk through the door.
James appears to be a modern incarnation of superman, working alone front of house and doing so with more patience, enthusiasm and cheer than most of us on the first day of our holiday, let alone when you’re flat out looking after a busy restaurant.
The blackboard is a tempting array of freshly-caught fish – some small plates, other bigger dishes, so we can go conventional if we like, or just share everything. In place of the hackneyed options like olives, houmous and bread and oil, snacks are things like crab beignets and bagna cauda – a garlicky anchovy paste that I’ve never had before but will be seeking out wherever I go.
The beignets are golden, crispy balls of fluffy crab-laced dough. They’re sweet, light and moreish. While the bagna cauda is bold, brash and intense.
Scallops are served mornay style, the cheesy white sauce somehow not overwhelming the delicate flavour of the scallops themselves. But it’s a tranche of turbot with clam sauce that wins the day. The fish is cooked perfectly and Jamie declares the clam sauce the best fish sauce he’s had since the Porthilly Oyster sauce at Nathan Outlaw’s that he had over a decade ago and has talked about ever since.
High praise indeed. And I’m inclined to agree. Its depth of flavour is glorious, and the right fishy intensity to stand up to the turbot, which has also just shot up my list of favourite fishes thanks to this dish.
I can’t resist adding sides – because again there’s no generic after-thought feel to this menu. Tenderstem broccoli comes with hollandaise, and stuffed courgette flowers with a fragrant, heady salsa verde that’s as fresh and summery as it is full of flavour.
As we dine, quaffing a rather delightful bottle of Picpoul from a wine list that’s as perfectly put together as the menu, we watch as more and more people come to the door of the newest addition to Falmouth’s restaurant family in hope of a table. A few lose out – it’s small, and those who have bagged a table are in for the long haul. And no wonder.
Hevva! has everything a great restaurant should. It’s taking the bounty from its doorstep and showcasing it in the best way possible, with imagination, a break from the norm, simplicity, and a friendly smile. Better still, it’s doing all that at pretty reasonable prices (something they openly say they want to do), so everyone can get involved. And so they should.
