Elements Italian Restaurant, Widemouth Bay, Cornwall

On the first night of our recent yurting adventure to Cornwall, we decided to drive to the local town of Bude. The strong winds, however, got the better of us and we decided to drive back and stop for our evening meal at a restaurant that had caught our eye on the way. Elements is very glossy looking; mostly white with pink and lime green highlights - not what I would choose, and not what I'd expect of an Italian restaurant, but it looked modern and squeaky clean. It has a fantastic location with sea views overlooking Widemouth Bay, and I'm sure we could have taken advantage of the tranquil outdoor eating area... had the weather not looked like this: 

Gav enjoying the Stella 4 on tap

After a couple of laps around the building looking for the door (due to the wind the main door wasn't safe, so we had to use a small entrance round the back) we were welcomed in by smiley staff, and truly beautiful smells wafting around the place. Their smiles fell though when we admitted we hadn't booked. I always forget to think about this when on holiday, because we'll often just choose on the day, usually less than an hour beforehand. They said that unfortunately we'd have to wait until around half 9 (over 2 hours away) or they could offer us a seat at the bar. We were willing to sit at the bar until a waiter dashed over and said they could squeeze us onto a table for two as long as we were finished by half 8. This was fine by us and it was really nice of them to make the effort for us, considering how busy they were.

We had already sneaked a look on the menu when travelling (what did we do before iPhones?) so could order quickly. I had bruschetta to start; very traditional with firm juicy tomatoes, sharp red onions and good quality balsamic. There was a little too much olive oil for me, as you can see it was practically swimming in a pool of it. Not a major problem though, so a light and fresh start to the meal.

For my main course I had Chicken Saltimbocca which was a chicken breast wrapped in prosciutto ham and stuffed with mozzarella and sage, in a marsala and cream sauce. I chose this despite having previously not enjoyed a marsala based tomatoey sauce in a restaurant back home. Thankfully this sauce was much better; rich and buttery, and complimented the chicken well.

We retired to the bar area to finish our drinks in case they wanted our table earlier. The service throughout was really friendly and helpful and the food seemed authentic and made with care. Definitely recommended if you're in the area, just make sure you book if it's the weekend.