Dulverton is a charming but tiny country town at the foot of Exmoor, which despite outraging my animal-loving wife by advertising ‘duck racing’ at the local fête, provided an exceptional evening at an unexpectedly good restaurant. Woods is great: a rustic bar at one end(complete with wise-cracking locals) and a restaurant at the other with a good British menu(eg ‘samphire’) of very high-class food. I had a delicious green salad(an infallible test) and a Cornish lobster that was unusually succulent. My wife’s dish of plaice was constructed in the approved ‘on a bed of’ form and was perfect. I was also able to scrounge enough of my nephew’s steak to know that it one of the best pieces of meat I have had in ages. The wine list showed an unusual range including some of my favourite Central Otago Pinots. We had the Carrick(2003) and it was absolutely delicious. But the astonishing highlight of the night was being given quite the best Calvados I have ever tasted — Reserve d’Adrien from Adrien Camut. It was worth driving the 200 miles from London just to snuffle some up!
