Many of you will know that I’ve been vegetarian for all of my life, mainly because my family brought me up that way, but with this journey of discovery I’m on, of all-things-foodie, I’ve begun to try meat and fish. And so it was that I was invited to The Captains in St Martin to try their renown tiger prawns and scallops. It was a very worthwhile journey. A really important thing for me is the texture of food, as well as the taste, and I was somewhat apprehensive about the scallops, but I didn’t need to be. Like all good food, the way they are cooked, and what they’re combined with served to quickly dispel any fears I had. I’m a scallop junkie now.
Ali de la Mare is a real hands-on proprietor, and her personality shows through in all aspects of her hotel – in the menu, the decor, the warmth of the service, and the transformation of the new upstairs bar and lounge – Ali has put her own personal stamp on it all, and she knows what she’s doing.
Of course, they have something to delight the vegetarian pallet as well, and Ali tells us some of her regular visitors from the UK are very keen each year to see what she has on offer.
Ali’s son George has his own fishing boat, so when local restaurants talk of fish being fresh from the line onto the plate The Captains really does have a legitimate claim to being close to the front of the queue, as George almost exclusively supplies his mum. Actually, it’s a lovely story, and you can hear from George on the video interview we did with him.
I enjoyed it all. The Captains holds few pretensions, and Ali says her menu is just a list of good, honest food. There’s everything from some typical english meals to quite exotic fish or meat, and more than a fair share of comfort food, but the quality is excellent. Ali’s down to earth stance on the hotel and restaurant business has made The Captains into a real gem in the hidden lanes of this corner of Guernsey, and well worth a visit.