Levain Restaurant Ilfracombe — Restaurant in North Devon

We have been to Levain four times in the past year, and the standard has remained consistently good. Essentially a “small plates” tapas style restaurant with an emphasis on Mediterranean and North African style cuisine, the dishes are inventive, perfectly cooked and stylishly presented.There is usually a choice of two meat and two fish dishes, around eight vegetable based dishes (eg, delicious twice cooked spiced carrots and crispy Jerusalem artichokes with labneh and za’taar) as well as breads, nuts, olives and anchovies plus sharing boards. A range of home-made ice creams provide the perfect dessert.

There is a well chosen list of wines, and a range of both traditional and more unusual cocktails which are skilfully mixed. Service is friendly and helpful and the atmosphere is relaxed and comfortable, with a soundtrack of cool, laid back music that complements the atmosphere rather than dominating it.

There are frequent changes to the menu and cocktail list, so there is always something different to try.

Most of Ilfracombe’s restaurants are centred around the harbour, but there is now a gem of a restaurant in the High Street, that would not be out of place in a cosmopolitan city centre, or on the shores of the Mediterranean. Give it a try and help support the High Street at the same time, whether just for a drink and a couple of tapas dishes, or a full meal. At the time of writing (March) they are open Wednesday to Saturday. Give them a try mid-week when it is less busy and you may not need to book, and I think they are planning to have live music on Wednesdays. Highly...

We had a wonderful time at Levain celebrating our anniversary. It was our first time eating here and the food was fantastic, with lots of diverse and really interesting and well developed flavours. We ordered all of the veggie/vegan small plates from the menu (don't worry there is plenty on the menu for meat/fish eaters too) to share between us and we weren't disappointed. Sometimes just ordering small plates can be a little underwhelming, but not here! The carrot/pesto dish was perhaps our favourite. We had made the reservation in advance and so Glen knew that I am vegan and made an individual vegan batch of the pesto just for me! The ambiance in the restaurant is great, and Hannah is such a fantastic and friendly host. We enjoyed chatting with her when she wasn't attending to other tables. She makes a mean cocktail too! We were so glad that we chose to celebrate our anniversary at Levain, it really does feel like...

Believe the reviews this restaurant is fantastic. We were visiting Ilfracombe for a few days and booked for dinner based on the reviews, we were not disappointed. We were greeted by Glenn at the door and immediately you could see the passion he has for his food as he talked us through some of the dishes. Hannah is a legend with a cocktail shaker, best margarita I have ever had!!! The food was incredible, well seasoned and each dish well balanced, the watermelon and mint salad that the seared tuna was served on was a revelation, tuna was outstanding. Glenn recommended an incredible Rioja to go with our dishes he knows his wines!!! The only thing we are gutted about is that this amazing restaurant is too far away from us but I hope we get to visit again in the future. Hannah and Glenn have created a wonderful atmosphere, great cocktails and amazing...