The Pepermill

40 St John’s Street

Devizes SN10 1BL

Tel: (01380) 710407

I ARRANGED to catch up with an old friend at The Peppermill, as I enjoyed it on a previous visit and Anna hadn’t been there before.

It was an extremely wet and miserable Wednesday evening and Anna had been delayed, so I sat in the bar (offering over 80 different wines) while I waited and was warmly welcomed by owner, former estate agent, Philip O’Shea, who came over and had a chat.

The building is one of the oldest in Devizes (c1452) but has a contemporary feel, while retaining its original features.

The menu is not especially large, there is a choice of eight to 10 dishes, plus a specials board, and is changed regularly.

For starters, I was tempted by the monkfish wrapped in Parma ham, with sundried tomatoes and rocket (£7.95), but as I had decided to have fish as my main course, I opted for the sour dough bread with balsamic vinegar & olive oil (£2.95).

Fortunately for me, Anna chose the monkfish and she let me sample a piece, which was absolutely divine, with the meaty texture of the monkfish complementing the salty Parma ham.

For mains, I chose the Cornish hake with chargrilled vegetables, humous, rocket and pesto (£16.50), which is not a combination I would have thought of, but delicious.

Anna chose the fillet of wild stone bass, creamed peas and bacon with wilted gem lettuce (£18) for her main course, which she said was very good. We also had a side order of triple cooked chips which were just how a good chip should be – crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

We didn’t have any space left for a for pudding, which looked very enticing, finishing off our meal with a coffee.

Our bill, for two courses (plus the chips), a white wine, a cider and coffee, came to £59.35.

The food was superb (they have been awarded two rosettes by the AA for culinary excellence) with an interesting menu. The atmosphere was friendly, staff attentive and I would highly recommend The Peppermill.

SUE COCKREM