BOAT CUISINE

The English Riviera has a new restaurant for boaters. Phil Sampson headed west to be one of the first through its doors

- Phil Sampson

OTTO 

TORQUAY

First impressions last, it is often said, and it’s true – for when I look back at the photos of the facade of Otto, MDL’s new restaurant in its Torquay Marina, I still can’t help but think of King Tut’s tomb. Inside, just for a moment, I felt the antiquities theme might continue as the concrete floor where you wait to be seated looked as if it had last been painted around the time the pharaoh was interred. That blemish aside, the rest of the news is good – Otto is a great place for an informal bite.

The restaurant takes its name from the Italian for ‘eight’. That’s because it’s located at Unit 8 on Vaughan Road, adjacent to the marina, and its management wanted to reflect the Mediterranean feel of their cuisine. Incidentally, the same team own and operate the well-regarded Twenty1 restaurant on the opposite side of the harbour, which was established five years ago and was going great guns the day we visited.