Reviews

Michael4321 - 07-08-2010

My wife and I visited Heskyn Mill last night (6/8/10) having booked at 9.30 that morning. Although I knew vaguely where the restaurant was, the well situated signs directed us straight to the venue - and very impressed we were too with the overall character and feel from the outside. On entering the establishment, we were greeted by Tony the owner who showed us to some comfortable sofas where we perused the menu over a drink. We had both opted for the 2-4-1 menu, and were offered a pleasing array of choices. I opted for the Creamy Mushrooms to start, Julie went for the Goats Cheese and chutney. We also placed our Main Course orders at the same time; Julie went for the Pan Fried Chicken in pink peppercorn sauce, myself for the 8oz steak (although there were plenty of more adventurous and appetising alternatives). Once our order was taken we were invited to make our way to the upstairs restaurant. It is worth pointing out that the venue has been very tastefully updated, but it does retain many of its original Mill 'workings'. Very kitsche, but do watch out for the odd low hung metal pole when on the first floor - it could catch you out! Both Julie and I were very impressed with the decor and chose a table tucked away in a corner. The restaurant is not overladen with tables, and even if it had been full (it was half full during our 90 minute stay), it would not have been to the detriment of the diners. First course was presented within 10 minutes of our order being placed. I also ordered a bottle of Chilean red (number 12 on the wine list). Both Julie and I gave the starters 10/10. The mushrooms were fantastic, and Julie had similarly good things to say about the grilled goats cheese. The accompanying wine was also a hit. Our waitress was first class, unobtrusive but on the ball, and within 5 minutes of finishing, she had cleared our plates in preparation for the Main, which arrived a pleasing 10 minutes later. Again, both dishes were piping hot and beautifully presented. My steak was cooked to perfection and tasted fantastic. Julies chicken was also a hit, the accompanying fries and vegetables served in seperate tureens were again, first class. We both gave the Main course 10/10. For our final course (Sweet), Julie opted for the Profiteroles and I the Eton Mess. Again, the deserts matched the rest of the evening, in that they both were presented beautifully and tasted fantastic. The only (very small) detraction from the evening is that when we went to pay at the end of the night (47.28 for x2 excellent 3 course meals and a sumptious bottle of wine) we told the owner that the meals were amongst the best we had (and we are quite accomplished diners!) to which he said 'thanks' and walked off leaving us to pay the bill with his assistant? Still, small beer on what was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, having been served THE best food we have had in our 20 years in the Liskeard area. Highly recommended. Mike&Julie

phill1234 - 27-06-2010

well i was traveling through tideford yesterday with my wife and saw two signs for heskyn mill and thought we would stop,as we drove into the car park we were lucky to get a space. as we entered the building we were greeted by tony and evey, they said they could accomodate us but as they were so busy there would be a half hour wait so they showed us to some sofas and gave us menus, they served us are drinks and gave us menus within 20 minutes they asked if we were ready to order and said there was a table free upstairs now,we only decided to have a couple of steaks 16oz tbone and 8 oz fillet but they were cooked to perfection we asked where they were from and was told that they were from paul bray and son in the village,they also said that they had a new chef called john and this was his 1st night, if we ever get down this way again we will be sure to drop in again.

tuckerclare12 - 21-06-2010

Oh dear! First impressions were good. We have not been to Heskyn Mill for about 5 years and were impressed with the new light airy decor. I'm afraid to say it was downhill from there and I can't agree with Wordsmith's review more. Food - overpriced and unimpressive. Some was actually poor quality. Service - waiters running up and down the stairs, not shown to the table, dumping food on the table with no recognition, staff shouting at each other across the restaurant, rushed through a 3 course meal in an hour The evening was actually An Audience with Tony (the owner). More pub landlord than restranteur, his over familiar presence just does not suit the expectations of the restaurant's price bracket. We regularly eat out in similar restaurants and have rarely been disappointed. I'm afraid to say that we were disappointed by Heskyn Mill.

Rambo - 22-04-2010

We booked a lunch at Heskyn Mill and all six of us were delighted with the Quality of the food and choice of menue we found the staff friendly and really put them selves out for us. we be returning again very soon well worth a visit. the setting is really pretty. weel done Tony you are doing a good job 22.04.2010

01752julie - 29-03-2010

myself and six freinds enjoyed a superb meal here last night the owner and staff were very freindly and welcoming one of the nicest meals we have had for a long tme.

Wordsmith - 13-02-2010

Just been to Heskyn Mill and had a wonderfully surreal evening's entertainment. Tony the owner is fantastic in that he has no idea how to run a restaurant, no really, it's so bad it's funny. David Brent meets the Soprano's. One liner's from Del Boy and Rodney, or maybe Paul Calf. A bit of Basil Fawlty thrown in too. We waited for jeremy Beadle to arrive and say it's all been a joke, but no, we sit here confused and dazed, maybe it's post-traumatic Heskyn disorder. So, you really must go - £95 for two rounds of bland pub food at best. We considered complaining but we just knew he wouldn't understand. It started with us ordering a Rusty Nail and the barman saying he'd never heard of it, Then Tony taking my jacket but leaving it on the back of a chair with the classic line 'it'll be OK there nobody'll nick it or nuffink'. Then he asks to take our order but starts by saying 'I've lost my bloody glasses'. The table was situated under a massive iron mill wheel that you had to limbo under/around to get to the table, as did the waiter/waitress, you couldn't make it up nobody would believe you. Carrot and Coriander soup arrived as we sat down, I knew it was Carrot & Coriander because it said so on the menu, not because it tasted of it. We asked the waitress if we could have some wine she said 'yeah what do you want' - she's been on Tony's waitress course I thought to myself , perhaps it's called 'Tony's F*****g interpersonal skills & f*****g Customer Service' course'. Tony brought the wine menu and proclaimed ''you'll have to tell me the number of it'. Then he knelt down to adjust the wonky table leg and said 'it's alright I'm not proposing to her' and when I left to go to the toilet he said 'you got out of there like a gazelle'. Ricky Gervais modelled David Brent on this guy surely? Some people then sent their steak back because nobody asked how they wanted it cooked. Wonderful. A bit of Fawlty Towers that one. The garlic musrooms were a contradiction in terms in that they only looked like garlic mushrooms rather than tasted like them. The cod was so fresh that it was still swimming, albeit in a lake of mushroom sauce. I'm no Sherlock homes but when my sweet arrived I could tell that the chef clearly had a heavy cold, the sorbet was surrounded by some sort of compote around the edges of the plate which clearly had been sneezed there. Beats dabbing it arististically eh! Get this one - ME: 'can I have my coat please' Basil Fawlty/David Brent: 'Yes here it is, blimey that's heavy, what's in it a body?' Presumably a small but heavy body that'll fit in your coat pocket then? The whole surreal experience took 90 minutes for 4 courses, faster than KFC I reckon. We laughed all the way home. I've eaten out in restaurants for years, this was the worst meal I've ever had, but also the most entertaining. The owner Tony IS David Brent because he has NO self awareness but clearly thinks he offers a great experience, putting his hand on my shoulder at the end and saying 'thanks mate'. Priceless. At the end of the day how much would you pay for truly crap food and a rip off of a bill at the end, but great entertainment? Me, I'm just off to bang my head against the wall repeatedly just to make sure it all did really happen. Never again.

calmaidy phyllis - 27-04-2009

i think its amazing! the owner and his son are lovely. people are saying lots of bad things but that is all down to jealousy. i will defo eat there again and again.

ali - 06-04-2009

My family and i have had many meals over the past twelve months and enjoyed everyone . The staff cannot do enough to help and please you . The food is fantastic , the menu changes every month so its kept interesting . The three hundred year old building has been refurbished to a extremely high standard . Which leaves me wondering if the people that wrote some of these comments have actually ate at this restaurant or if they were just born to moan .

Local Folk - 29-03-2009

Gorgeous place & delicious food,such a shame that the atmosphere is very uncomfortable.The owner (Tony \'Soprano\')pacing the floor & nervous waiting staff have put us off eating there again.

Sue M - 22-11-2008

My friends and I had a really superb meal at Heskyn Mill, great Sunday lunch, well cooked, fresh and interesting vegetables, full of flavour. The setting is delightful, old corn mill tastefully refurbished with plenty of parking, very nice in the summer I imagine as there is room for outside dining. We will definately be back. The young man who served us did a really good job, friendly and informative and I have no hesitation in recommending a visit.

victoria harris - 19-10-2008

My sister and I completely concur with Steve Taylor's review! On visiting the Heskyn Mill for a cream tea on a quiet Tuesday lunch time we did think the manager quite strange. He hovered around our table, made chit chat about the renovations he'd done and wanted to do, and showed us the Christmas and New Year menus. Frankly we'd have been happier to have been left alone to chat in peace together. He then proceeded to comment on us going to the toilets 'in shifts' which we thought very odd, but eventually he got the hint and drifted away. Finally our cream teas arrived thanks to the hands of an apparently mute waiter. As they were placed in front of us we looked instantly disappointed at each other. The scones were more like 1cm high biscuits than the voluptious home made scones I have come to love in a traditional Cornish cream tea, the jam was an E number filled bright orangey red, and the pot of tea was barely big enough for one. My sister requested a pot of water as well in the hope that we could then stretch the tea between us, and again the waiter returned it to us without a sound. We looked at the cream tea in front of us and contemplated just walking out, but we were so hungry we decided just to get on with it and not to visit again. The scones were a bit hard and were gone in literally 2 mouthfulls, and as we finished them, still with rumblings in our tummies (something that should never happen after a cream tea!) we decided to just pay up and leave. The price was £9.90 and we happily paid. But I did just want to let the waiter know that we weren’t completely happy with the cream tea and politely mentioned that we thought the scones to be a bit of a disappointment. Had we been greeted with an ‘I’m sorry madam, I’ll let the manager know’ we’d have left quite happily. Instead the boy walked away from me as I was talking to him. Asking him not to walk away from me and be so rude he fled further and disappeared into the kitchen. We then decided to wait for the manager, not even worried about letting him know of small scones anymore, but just of the rudeness of his staff. The manager’s reaction was that he hadn’t been there so couldn’t comment and that the waiter was his son. He was instantly on the defensive and proceeded to lecture us on the fact that in 25 years in the industry he’d never had any complaints and all his customers returned time and time again. We didn’t really care about the other customers thoughts, we just cared about our own but couldn’t voice them as he kept talking over us with not one word of an apology and eventually told us we were still ‘harping on’ Deciding that were fighting a losing battle we decided just to go as clearly there was no talking to the man, but as we calmly left he followed us out shouting at us to ‘harp on outside’ and continued to do so from the door as we made our way to our car. In a way it was quite funny but so surreal as we had never seen a manager behave that way ever before. We were relieved to read Steve Taylors review as that was exactly the way he’d behaved with us – everyone else loved the place and if we didn’t then we didn’t need to return. Well we shalln’t be returning, neither will any of our friends or family and we can’t see the place being there long if the man can’t take one small piece of criticism politely put! My advice – eat there if you can promise yourself you won’t send anything back no matter what you are served, otherwise please find somewhere else as I fear the manager is slightly unstable!

G.Rmand - 17-10-2008

Never having been to the Heskyn Mill I am of course ideally placed to voice an opinion unclouded by having to have been a patron, or, having been obliged to allow a morsel of food to have passed my lips. The very name Heskyn Mill immediately conjures a vision of rural mediocrity...and one cannot claim disappoint at all. Reading, as is my wont, the opinions of others, less fortunate than myself...less fortunate as they have endured a conversation with \"mine host\", I am able to extrapolate the voices of others and describe their true feelings. Nobody, \"au courant\" as we say in the trade, would trouble themselves to venture into the wilds of Cornwall in search of \"fine food\"...creme caramel produced in less than a week is something to behold...simply it cannot be done... Only in Plymouth can one expect a gourmet experience. I allude, naturellement, to Capn Jaspers, probably one of the finest \"eateries\" known to matelots the oceans over. It should come as no surprise the ONLY reason the Royal Navy maintains a presence in the old port of Plymouth, or more accurately for those navigators or navigatrices intrepid enough to navigate past the shallows a of St Germans...Devonport. It is owing to the epicurean edifice on the old fish quay, only a stagger away from the Edinburgh Woolen Mill, or some similar name...it matters not. I digress, Heslyn Milly, by anyone\'s standards should be patronised without delay. It would appear \"mine host\" is a raconteur \"non pareille\" and greatly adds to the floor show or \"caberet\" by his pithy observations, albeit focused on his own, admitted, financial acumen in the sometimes mirky world of catering to the masses. So experience the Helden Milk, expect nothing better than you would expect and you will not be disappointed.

linda - 01-08-2008

As we have been on a weeks leave this week it has done nothing but rain everyday so my husband and decided to go out for a meal one evening.We decided to go to the Heskyn Mill restaurant at tideford where we had a Sunday roast once before which was delicous. The service then was excellent so we knew we would enjoy ourselves once again. On arrival we were greeted with a wonderful welcome which you dont often get these days. We were offered a drink and asked when and where we would like to eat.After having a drink and a chat we choose our table but could not decide what to have for our meal because of the exquisite and unusual selection on the menu. My husband ordered the rabbit with honey and mustard sauce and I chose chicken in cherry and cointreau sauce. The table was beautifully laid to a high standard in fact the whole building was.After finishing our meal which was very very tasty we were offered desert but enjoyed the main meal so much we felt we had enough so we chose another drink instead. We stayed for quite a while chatting to the other people in the restaurant as there was no rush to leave. We will be returning again in due course and will be telling our frends to come here. Good luck to Tony and his staff they deserve to do well.

G T Galton - 17-07-2008

Awful place - don't bother! The food is boring and stuck in the eighties. The veg are overcooked. The menu's completely unimaginative. THe wine list's as boring as the food, and the service is over attentive to the point of being downright annoying.

PW - 30-06-2008

What a really, really excellent dining experience! Went for Sunday lunch yesterday and the food was absolutely excellent. They were incredibly busy and I can see why. Melt in the mouth job. Great stuff.

Dunn - 21-06-2008

I was delighted to see Heskyn Mill was open again, so went in one late afternoon for a coffee with a relative. Very pleasant staff. Excellent coffee. I was impressed so went back again a week later with my husband for a Sunday lunch. It was the best Sunday lunch I have had at a restaurant. Again very friendly owner and staff. My husband and I returned 10 days later with an elderly relative. All 3 of us had an excellent meal. Going back again tomorrow and have booked for a group of friends to go next week. I would recommend this restaurant.

John Hopcroft - 09-06-2008

I have had the pleasure of dinning at the Heskyn Mill restaurant on a number of , occasions since it re-opened in April 2008 ( after many years of closure ). I found the food to be of a very good quality, the staff friendly and the building restored to what must be said a very high standard. Congratulations to Tony and his staff who must have put in a lot of time, effort and money to achieve the finished product. Good luck for the future. As a result of my own experience at Heskyn Mill, I was amazed to read the comments of Steven Paul Taylor posted on the internet dated April 2008. I do not confess to be a chef or a connoisseur of food or wine but I do enjoy good food. I do agree with Steven that it would probably take longer than 30 Minutes to make a crème brulee, sounds like an over enthusiastic owner trying to please a customer (something not often seen in this day and age). Back to Steven’s comments, by his own admission he comes from Bradford and is not familiar with west country speak. From Plymouth we go down to Cornwall and up to the rest of the country. Therefore the chef has come down to the Heskyn Mill. It would appear from Steven’s letter that he was not satisfied with the service, and yet he visits 4 times highly complementing the food on a number of occasions including once at the Rod and Line in Tideford. He accepts a free bottle of Pinot Grigio , then ordered another bottle this time Rioja then complained it was a bit thin, and expressed his surprise that St Austell Brewery would sell a wine of such low quality.(sounds to me that Steve complains about everything) He goes on saying that the potatoes served with sliced mushrooms were served with what looks like dirty dishwater. No mention of sending it back to chef, so I assume ( something maybe I should not do) that it was eaten and enjoyed by what he said in previous comments. Then finally the most serious accusation of all, Allegedly, about Steven and I quote “ being the wrong colour “ followed by the comment “and so it continues.” What exactly do that mean. (Sounds to me like comments of a very bitter person.) No mention of complaint to the authorities, no leaving the restaurant in protest until the meal and free bottle of wine were finished. Therefore I would have to question the validity of the so called accusation. I would say to Steven and his partner Phill (is that Phillip or Phyllis) that maybe the free bottle of wine along with the attention from Tony was misunderstood by Steven. As this does not sound like the comments of a former Michelin star manager, but more like that of a spoilt child who can’t have his own way or a bitter and jealous lover. Please do not judge the Heskyn Mill on mine or Steven’s comments. First read the local directory for St Germans,Deviock, and Sheviock dated June 2008. Go along, try it, then judge for yourself. John & Ann

Steve Taylor - 09-05-2008

Driving down the A38 into Tideford in April 2008, my partner and I noticed new signs for Heskyn Mill Restaurant. Located in a three-hundred year-old grain mill, Heskyn has had a number of largely unsuccessful incarnations as a restaurant, and we were excited that it had re-opened, not least in order to give us another option for eating out. The signs which, admittedly, look cheap and hand painted, referred to Heskyn as a bar and restaurant and so, one evening, we stopped by for a pint. Apart from the laminate wood flooring on the ground floor, the décor isn’t bad at all, and the beer is cheap (50p cheaper than the local pub). Tony, the owner, is the only person there apart from Yvonne, his girlfriend, and the chef. He’s recently moved back from Spain (too many immigrants, apparently, which is odd given that he’s British and Yvonne’s Polish) and has bought Heskyn outright. He’s spent a small fortune doing the place up, but it doesn’t matter whether or not it works because he doesn’t owe anyone a penny. He owns it outright. And never fails to remind us of this at every opportunity. It quickly dawned on us that despite the beer being cheap, a ‘quiet pint’ just isn’t going to happen at Heskyn. We left after a few pints and decided to go back sometime for a meal. We returned for food on a Sunday night. Once again, apart from Tony, Yvonne and the chef, the place was deserted. Perusing the menu, we asked if all the meat was local. “Oh yes,” Tony told us, “all apart from the bacon, which is from Brake Brothers”. The fish was all local too. I ordered a game pate to start and we both ordered a Smoked Haddock main course, and a bottle of Torres’ Vina Esmerelda, a light Spanish white wine. He searched around in vain for the wine and, after five minutes, found a bottle. It transpired he thought it was Chilean and not Spanish – given Torres’ position at the top of the Spanish wine industry, it’s surprising that someone who claims to have owned bars in Spain has never heard of it. Half way through our starters, Tony appears at our table, apologising that he only has one bottle of the Esmerelda (we haven’t ordered another) and gives us a bottle of Pinot Grigio to compensate. Very generous, if not slightly odd to be giving wine away. From that point onwards, having a quiet meal, alone, becomes impossible. The only time that Tony spends away from our table is when he’s in the kitchen collecting our food. He’s telling us (again) how he’s bought the place outright and it doesn’t matter if it works or not and how the chef had moved down to work there (he’d already told us he was from Plymouth). On discovering that I was born in Bradford, he makes some bigoted comment about me being the ‘wrong colour’. And so it continues. To be fair, the food was good. It was well cooked and nicely presented. The potatoes – sliced with mushrooms and then boiled and served in what looked like dirty dishwater – looked disgusting. I mentioned that it was quite unusual to find potatoes and mushrooms together as standard, given that a lot of people don’t like mushrooms. “Well everyone else like it. It’s only you that doesn’t.” Oops. Sorry for speaking. We drank the Esmerelda, and the finished off the complimentary Pinot Grigio. We then order a bottle of Rioja which, I commented, was a bit thin and watery. I expressed surprise that St Austell Brewery – known for it’s good wine business – would sell what appeared to be such a low quality wine. Once again I was told that I was wrong; everyone else really liked it. We paid, we left. We went to the Rod & Line (Tideford’s original pub which, incidentally, serves excellent food) and spread the word: the food’s good, the service is poor, but it’s worth suffering the latter to experience the former. A week later, after eating at the Hayloft in Menheniot, we called in at Heskyn for a pint. As soon as we were through the door he was thanking us for spreading the word and generating business for him. He’d had lots of people who said they were there because Steve and Phill had told them to try it. Again, though, we were the only guests. Tony showed us the new menu, due to begin the following day. It featured ‘Mackrel’ [sic], ‘Ali Ole’ [sic], and a ‘Heskyn Tower of Chicken’. We helped him out with some corrections and said that the Heskyn Tower sounded like it belonged on the menu at Kentucky Fried Chicken, not at a country restaurant. He thanked us for our feedback. Last night, neither of us could be bothered to cook, so we headed back down to Heskyn, to try the new menu. The downstairs was deserted – though he was quick to tell us how busy he had been and that he was struggling to fit everyone in on Saturday night. This didn’t seem to ring true, though, as the open diary showed only three bookings. Two people were dining upstairs. After gin and tonic, we went up to the restaurant. We had both ordered the Lamb Shank which, as promised by the menu, fell off the bone. The sauté potatoes were lovely but would have been lovelier had fresh herbs been used. The huge bowl of mange tout weren’t too fresh, and the leek and stilton slop could have been presented better. But, sensing the pointlessness of complaining given that everyone else likes this stuff, we said nothing. He clears the table, piling all the dishes on top of one another in front of us, café style. We ordered two crème brulée as desert, and Tony nipped into the kitchen, returning to tell us that chef’s not happy with the brulée that are already prepared and so he’s going to make two fresh ones. I said that that’s not possible; Crème Brulée takes at least three hours to cook as it needs to set in the fridge. But no, Tony insists it can be done. So we order and wait. After a 30 minute wait, the arrive. Tony tells us to wait 15 minutes before eating them to allow them to set. But Phill can’t wait and tucks in with gusto, to find that it’s more like a synthetic vanilla flavoured soup. Served with an almond shortbread, he can’t resist dunking it like a boiled egg and soldier. I wait fifteen minutes, as instructed, to find that it’s still like soup. I pour it onto the plate to demonstrate. Tony comes over. I said that this wasn’t Crème Brulée and that it really can’t be made in 15 minutes – I’d made some for a dinner party a fortnight ago and they’d taken a good 4 hours to set. “That is a Crème Brulée,” he insists. I suggested that real vanilla leaves dark spots in the mixture, noticeably absent from the Heskyn concoction. “I don’t know what’s in it. I’m not a chef. I pay the chef.” As he walks towards the kitchen with the rejected vanilla flavoured soups, he looks back, and says that he’s sick of our complaining, and would be happier if we just “paid up and f**ked off and never came back”. Everyone else, apparently, loves what we don’t like. It’s just us. We’re a pain. We pay; we leave. So, after telling us that he appreciates our feedback (one of us used to manage a Michelin starred restaurant), that he’s straight talking, and that above all he’s very appreciative of our spreading the good word about Heskyn, he kicks us – probably his most regular customers – out, simply for complaining that the Crème Brulée is dreadful. If you want good food in Tideford, go to the Rod & Line. If you want a ‘proper’ restaurant, try the Hayloft at Menheniot, or Webbs in Liskeard. But if you want to be given food that you must enjoy or be kicked out, served by an over-eager owner who can’t clear a table properly and knows nothing about wine because he’s tee-total, then do try Heskyn Mill.

Kristian Sharpe - 04-05-2007

Stunning location to dine...!

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