My Husband and I made a special trip to dine at Finnygook when we travelled from Cornwall to Plymouth. I read up on Finnygook and liked their mission statements regarding food and their menu looked appealing. Locally sourced ingredients for classic pub meals that were innovative sounded like a great combination. Upon arrival, we were welcomed to have a pint at the bar. The service staff was hospitable. The ambience was that of familiar warmth of the local pub. We were seated by the window with a lovely view of the water despite it being a dark and rainy afternoon. My Husband ordered the mushroom soup and I ordered the shrimp and crayfish cocktail. The soup was absolutely stunning but my cocktail, though exactly as described did not have any spectacular high notes. Because we made the special trip to dine at Finnygook, we ordered three mains to try out as much as we could. We had the Ribeye with grilled vine tomatoes with an added peppercorn sauce, the fish pie and the lamb shin. Overall the food was prepared sufficiently but there lacked any real distinct flavors from the ingredients or seasoning. The steak though well prepared in doneness would have lacked any flavors without the addition of peppercorn sauce. There was no satisfying juicy meaty flavor, no sunkissed sweetness from the tomatoes that tasted more commercially grown than locally sourced. The crustless fish pie was smothered in a generous layer of potatoes, again with no distinguishing flavors in the filling. The accompanying vegetable medley tasted like it was boiled in plain water then drained for service. The lamb shin was the most disappointing. The lamb shin appeared quite majestically on the plate again with a side of indistinguishable and lackluster vegetable pile. The meat fell off the bone beautifully but other than the subtle gaminess of the protein, the dish had no flavor. I think the vegetables should have been seasoned to start but preferably roasted instead of boiled until disintegration so that you could identify them. We ordered the sticky toffee pudding and the white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake for dessert. The sticky toffee was as expected, sweet and sticky but with a nice mild ginger flavor. The raspberry cheesecake filling was tasty but there were unexpected crunchy white chocolate chips within the filling that ruined the textural experience of each bite. The bottom crust was too thick and quite hard which meant each time you cut into it with your fork, you risk making a terrible sound on the slate plate or chancing that the crust will go flying across the room. The blood orange sorbet smelled and tasted soapy and was an odd combination with the cheesecake flanked by two chocolate tuiles. The desert seemed pretentious without a clear direction. In summary, Finnygook lived up to its mission statement of providing classic pub food, perhaps even more as classic stereotypical British foodfare devoid of any real seasoning and flavors. It is important to note that we still enjoyed our meal because the experience of being there was a pleasant one. We most likely will not revisit Finnygook Inn for another meal, not because we live thousands of miles away but because it isn't worth travelling from thousands of miles away again to eat a meal that didn't satisfy the tastebuds. I will insist that for a local pub, it is an amazing place which no doubt many others will enjoy. read more