Thai Smile Cafe

Thai Smile Cafe is a small, family-run restaurant tucked into Waterloo Street in Teignmouth, only a few minutes from the seafront. It keeps modest hours - Wednesday to Saturday, lunch at midday and dinner in the early evening - and the room itself is unfussy, more home kitchen than dining room, which is part of the appeal. Booking ahead is worth it, since there are only a handful of tables and it fills up on weekends.

The kitchen cooks proper Thai food rather than a westernised version of it: prawn crackers and spring rolls to start, chicken curry and grilled salmon among the mains, with vegan options running through the menu alongside the meat and fish dishes. Regulars talk about the punch and balance in the flavours - chilli, lime and fish sauce doing what they're supposed to - rather than the surroundings. It's cash-only, does both dine-in and takeaway, and has built a loyal following through word of mouth and consistently good cooking rather than any marketing push.