New café opens in Sidmouth

A new café opened on High Street in Sidmouth on Monday this week (25 July).

The Wild Plum Café and Restaurant is owned by married couple Balazs Toth and Virag Joljart, and Dalma Varga, all of whom are Hungarian and live in the town.

The name is inspired by a famous plum brandy from Hungary, pálinka, which is often used in the local cuisine. The trio also did all of the interior design themselves.

L to R: Owners Dalma, Balazs, and Virag (Nub News, Will Goddard)

The café serves mostly British fare, such as Full English breakfasts, sandwiches, and afternoon tea, along with regular Hungarian specials.

Balazs said: "Before the pandemic we wanted to open a café. At the time Dalma and me were working in the Belmont Hotel, and my wife [Virag] was a carer.

"We didn't luckily... but it was always on the table. After these bad times, we thought that maybe this is the time to open a little café.

The interior (Nub News, Will Goddard)

"The aim is to introduce international cuisine for people. The idea is to have one or two meals every day which is something new or interesting, but we want to still keep the traditional British menu.

"The next special we want bring in will be a plum soup which is cold and served with ice cream and is really refreshing. Everyone has this at home at least once a month in Hungary."

They have also brought handmade and hand-painted jugs and cups from Hungary to use while serving traditional English afternoon tea.

Handmade and hand-painted Hungarian crockery (Nub News, Will Goddard)

The café aims to open from 8am to 5pm after Folk Week.

You can find The Wild Plum Café and Restaurant at 106 High Street in Sidmouth and here on Google Maps.