Duende - Taunton Deane

I v just arrived home from THE MOST DELICIOUS dinner, if you’re in the area or not , add this to your bucket list, fabulous!

Little Wiveliscombe has a real gem in Duende, but it's well worth the drive wherever you live. We received a warm welcome to this quirkily decorated and moodily lit restaurant, where the ambience is friendly and relaxed. We chose the five course tasting menu and...enjoyed every dish so much that we really couldn't choose a favourite. We started with tasty goats curd with beetroot. The second course provided the best piece of mackerel I have ever eaten. A main of sliced sirloin steak on a bed of the creamiest of creamed potatoes. The rhubarb accompanying a creamy panna cotta was cooked to perfection (and thank you, chef, for the instructions A piece of soft Bath cheese was drizzled with the most delicious honey (I meant to ask for the supplier, but forgot) and sprinkled with crumbs with a subtle hint of fennel. Each course was a confection of layers of flavour and texture. We chose a nice bottle of Tempranillo to accompany, which at was good value by restaurant standards. It was a lovely evening in all regards and we will be returning soon. It's worth saying that having read some previous reviews which mentioned small portions, I wondered if I should eat a large lunch. In fact, my day was so busy that I'd hardly eaten at all. I still left Duende feeling fully sated, and didn't even eat breakfast the next day. And I would consider myself to be a fairly greedy person. I think some people confuse quality and quantity. To my mind, quality is the more important factor, but Duende certainly left this greedy girl very happy in both respects.

I went in last Saturday night to have a meal with my friends and family and I could not have asked for a more pleasant environment or a higher standard of food. The service was excellent with one waitress in particular being extremely knowledgeable and...friendly. The food was of the highest standard and extremely delicious and the presentation was beautiful. Also the selection of wine and beer was admirable with again, very quick service. The atmosphere was bubbly and very charismatic without being too loud. I would be very quick to recommend it to anyone that asked for a lovely place to eat at with a very reasonable price for such a high standard of food.

This is our first visit to Duende and won't be our last. We had a lovely lunch in this small and friendly restaurant. The place was buzzing and full on a Friday lunchtime, admittedly it was during the Exmoor Food Festival period but still a...good sign. The tables are rustic, with canteen type cutlery and glasses but that didn't detract from the meal. Staff were friendly, efficient and we were made to feel very welcome. The food was excellent, full of flavour and nicely presented. We had the cured salmon, with lots of small flavours hits to go with it, it was light a really tasty. My husband had the Mediterranean vegetable terrine, which was bursting with fresh flavours. I had the confit duck with a very crispy skin, the meat fell off the bone and was lovely with the wilted spinach and fondant potato. We both finished with the chocolate delice and vanilla parfait....yum, the chocolate was a smooth, mouth-watering rich flavour. Altogether a very enjoyable lunch.

Chef tim zekki, came out of his restaurant to cook nine of us in the beautiful scheune that we had rented in milverton to the birthday of my mannes. he created a five cursor menu that was beyond my expectations. every cure was delicious .total superb, I have eaten in many Michelin star restaurants, this incredible dinner was up there with the best. I would have expected that I would pay more for these skills creativity. I really wish we lived closer to dunde, it would be my way into the restaurant every time. thanks tim linda for organizing such an unforgettable evening for us.