I do love a seaside cafe especially one that doubles up as a Greasy Spoon. You just know that it will be filled full of characters eating their scran and sipping their teas and cofffes without a care in the world

The Seaview Diner in Teignmouth is just that sort of place serving up all the cafe classics like an All Day Breakfast, Cottage Pie, Liver and Onions, and off course some Fish and Chips.

We could not resist popping in when we stumbled across this place while bimbling around the town

OK so maybe it was well past breakfast time, more like tea time really but if a place offers an All Day Breakfast then I reckon that it is fair enough to have one for your dinner!

I did just that ordering The Big Breakfast & Mug for £10.95, this was nothing to do with that Channel 4 breakfast program! no this was a classic large breakfast plate listed on the menu as ‘2 rashers bacon, 2 sausages, 2 eggs, mushrooms, baked beans, tomatoes, fried bread and toast‘ and off course just as the name suggests it comes with a big Mug of Tea

THE BIG BREAKFAST & MUG

So if I am truly honest I my thoughts were that there was nothing outstanding quality wise on the plate but there was everything that one hopes and dreams for at a greasy spoon style seaside cafe.

It was a joy to find absolutely no egg, bean, tomato separation and not a ramekin in sight. The rules of plating encouraged by so many breakfast pundits needs to be broken and I thought that they had laid this meal out perfectly.

I was treated to two extremely dubious catering level sausages, what many might call ‘tubes of woe’ and in this category they were truly fabulous. Cooked so that the crisped meat pops out of the end of the skin. In honesty these ones were less meaty than I might have hoped and only just solid enough to be cut by a knife

The bacon had plenty of fat left on it both rind wise and from the fryer which I enjoyed, the two eggs had decent runny yolks and very solid whites.

I even quite enjoyed the tinned plum tomatoes 🤔 and I think that perhaps my tastebuds are finally acclimating to this particular joy. I find that they mix well with the beans and make for a good rustic sauce

All in all this meal was a huge plateful of breakfast fodder all belly busting and most importantly filling!

Elsewhere on the menu it was pleasing to find the word ‘Homemade’ feature so extensively with chicken stew, bolognaise, chili, stew and many more all on offer.

I think that even though some did not have that word in the description that they probably were also made from scratch out in the small kitchen we could see out back

It was from this menu that my dining companion picked, initially planning for the Cottage Pie but then at the last minute switching for the Chicken Breast. Was that a wise move? lets find out

CHICKEN BREAST

The Chicken Breast came with chips and peas and that simple description matched what was served on the plate. There were a lot of pieces of fried chicken breast alongside a pile of frozen chips and a pile of frozen peas but in fairness a decent portion for £8.50

Was it particularly exciting? perhaps not, should they have got the Cottage Pie? I thought so but that’s just from what I could see in front of them and considering that I was scoffing that massive breakfast I feel that had chosen best and that I won dinner today 😎😋

OK so perhaps I have poked a little fun at some of the dishes we ate here at the Seaview Diner but I do it out of love for places like these. I love eating at them and I know it is not fine dining and I know that they are not trying to be either.

I would rather eat here with the common man or woman that eat cheaply at the local spoons. There is so much more character to be found in your traditional cafe and so much more enjoyment just taking a chance on a place like this where anything goes. The food is always honest and always real!

Just a final word and bonus points for seating and tables fixed to the floor so that if you are too fat to fit? your belly is folded over the table! This seemed a common problem for todays clientele, myself included. Obviously I have had one or two many breakfasts over the years but it has been worth it

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The Seaview Diner is located at 32 Regent Street, Teignmouth TQ14 8SJ and it is just a short walk from the promenade also located right next to the bus stop where most people seem to be waiting to leave town