In prime position on the Strand overlooking Dawlish Lawn is Le Cygne, a cosy café serving Australian-style brunch.

Opened by husband and wife team Mark and Souhela in July 2018, the café is named 'Le Cygne', French for 'The Swan', after the town's resident black swans.

Mark said: "You hear some interesting pronunciations of it: 'SIG-NAY', 'SIG-NEE', or 'La Cygne'. But it's great because it's a conversation-starter."

Managing top restaurants in London and Paris

Mark, from Devon, and Souhela, from France, both have experience of managing top restaurants in London and Paris.

Mark said: "We ended up managing a lot of the restaurants in Covent Garden, from Maxwell's, to Clos Maggiore, to Cafe Pacifico, to Tuttons.

"We've also run restaurants in Paris, and we're big fans of the Sydney and Melbourne brunch scene, so that whole ethos of people coming and having coffee, having breakfast and brunch and sitting out, eating good food, we love."

Why they chose Dawlish

They later came to Devon, and Souhela worked at Darts Farm near Topsham for 18 years before the pair opened their café.

When they came to Dawlish, they looked out over the Lawn inside what was to become Le Cygne, and made their decision to open a café within a couple of hours.

Mark said: "We saw this view, we saw the Lawn and it was such a beautiful view and we were sold. We pretty much made the decision within a couple of hours."

Souhela added: "I always wanted to open my own business. I saw the opportunity to come here and we came to Dawlish. I liked Dawlish, we found it quite charming.†

What makes Le Cygne unique

Mark and Souhela have created an Australian-style brunch cafe with some French influences, and also take pride in their high standard of customer service.

Souhela said: "We like to use a little bit of French [style], but not going crazy. The Australians are the king of cafés, it's all based on brunch, breakfast, the best coffee, the best-presented thing.

"We always follow the rules of service from start to finish. When somebody comes to the door, you look after them until they leave the door. We learned from the old school, we've been taught by the best in London, that never goes away."

Mark added: "In our background, and particularly Sou with her French background, catering and hospitality are treated as a profession. 

"It's something that people are so proud of, and you can see how people run their streetside cafés, their restaurants, how their waiters are, how all the staff are, and they absolutely love it; they're all part of the family. And that's the kind of feeling that we want."

What's next?

Mark and Souhela are also looking to open a deli soon in the town. Watch this space!

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SEE ALSO: Food review: Le Cygne, Dawlish | Opinion

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