Devon, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“What a relief… the departure of Chris Eden in late 2024 doesn’t seem to have rocked the boat” according to reports on this famous culinary destination, which seems finally to have regained a more impressive culinary stride in recent years. As one regular notes, “Michelin must have thought so, too in continuing in 2025 the (deserved) one star award after the appointment of Ian Webber [in February 2025] as the new chef – who fortuitously trained at Gidleigh in the Michael Caines days – and who the hotel knew would be a set of very capable hands”. Down a narrow lane on the edge of Dartmoor, you turn a corner to suddenly find yourself in this “gorgeous” ‘Tudorbethan’ mansion in scenic grounds by the moor. “It’s a thoroughly professional but relaxed operation” with service that’s “friendly and attentive without being overdone” and whose “imaginative and assured cooking matches the surroundings”. And, you don’t have to indulge in tedious tasting menus either with the menu format here being a good ol’ fashioned three course à la carte, be it at lunch for £75 per person; or dinner for £135 per person.

This ancient thatched pub next to the village church is “loved by the locals, adored by foodies, enjoyed by everyone!” – “lots of love and hard work have gone into making it so special”, and “the food keeps pushing the boundaries of flavour and imagination”, most of it sourced like the beer and cider from local suppliers and small-holdings.

An “Exeter classic” that celebrates its 20th anniversary this year – this “hugely enjoyable” basement winebar/restaurant in the city centre is “a most reliable” option in the area for a catch-up with friends over a meal and a glass of wine. “There are two dining rooms, one is warm and has a buzz, the overspill is cooler and less characterful”, while in the summer the walled gardens make an ideal hideaway.

“This old coaching inn on Dartmoor” has thrived under the ownership since 2019 of Jay & Tess Barker-Jones (she first worked here as a kitchen porter 20 years ago), and is “best described as a restaurant with a bar offering reliable, honest food” – although the fact that it’s busy through the winter is testament to its popularity with locals. “Grilled meats are the focus: select a cut and view the prep/cooking from your table”. Top Menu Tip – “ploughman’s lunch is a tour de force”.

The seven-course ‘celebration of seafood’ tasting menu is “a great experience” at this rather splendid restaurant-with-rooms – an early 18th-century coaching inn rescued from dereliction 15 years ago. Gidleigh-trained chef-patron Tom Williams-Hawkes is a fish specialist who also runs wet fish deli Salt at the front of the building. They also serve light lunches and afternoon teas.

It’s all change at this well-known Exeter pub and restaurant (handy for the M5) where, in April 2024, longtime owner Paul Parnell, who ran the venture with his wife Judy for over three decades, handed over the keys to young couple Craig & Miranda Griffin. Easing the transition, Craig was head chef under the former regime for several years (his wife serving as pub manager) so we’ve retained the venue’s rating despite the change of ownership. According to the new website, “pub grub classics are given a delicious kick up the backside”, and there’s also a £65 per person tasting menu.

2024 Review: “Located in a charming chocolate box north Devon village”, this “quintessential country pub” in a thirteenth-century cottage is “well worth the outing” by all accounts. Chef Mark Dodson, formerly of the famed Waterside Inn, is in charge of the seasonal food, which a couple of reports note is still “worthy of its Michelin star”. “If the cuisine isn’t wow wow in its originality, the whole package is what you want from a place like this”: an “all-round special experience” that spans everything from the “warm welcome” to the “fabric of the building itself” to “a great selection of dishes, all lovely”.

2023 Review: Landlord James Garnham took over this lovely thatched pub in his boyhood village with his wife Charlie five years ago, building an excellent reputation for its food and hospitality. “We have now visited 3 times in as many weeks – which says it all!”.

“A great pub with good things happening in the kitchen”, which “makes excellent use of local produce, particularly venison from local stalkers and other meat from local farmers” – “still clearly a pub rather than restaurant, it has good local ales as well as a decent wine list”. Chef owner John Hooker and his wife Emma, who arrived in 2013, took over the Blacksmiths Arms in nearby Lamerton a couple of years ago.

2022 Review: “Good all round” – the consistent ratings at this famous sporting hotel on the edge of Dartmoor have not been ruffled by its 2020 sale by the Fox-Edwards family that owned and ran it for 60 years to new custodians and former guests Simon Village & Arabella Monro. The 300-year-old former coaching inn has 20 miles of private riverbank and a fly-fishing school established in the 1930, and also caters for game shooting and deer-stalking parties. Meals are served in the dining room and bar, and there is a new deli providing picnic hampers.

“Fabulous and tasty sustainable local food” takes centre stage at this revamped boozer from ‘ethical publican’ Geetie Singh-Watson, one half of an organic food power-couple (husband Guy Singh-Watson founded veg box outfit Riverford). The “delicious and interesting dishes” on the menu follow her ‘Nine No-Bull Rules To Dine By’, focusing on supplier-led seasonal and organic ingredients. Top Menu Tip – “the no-waste cod’s head and cheeks”.

“This outstanding hotel overlooking the Tamar Valley on the border of Devon and Cornwall is a joy and the restaurant is one of its selling points” – another being the country pile’s “magnificent views”. One reporter who last visited in its heyday (in the 1980s) found it a little more average these days, but other diners praise its “well presented and tasty cooking” at “fair prices”.

“A totally dependable Torquay fine dining stalwart, located within English Sparkling wine cork’s popping distance from the marina and practically next door to the very smart yacht club”. “It has held a Michelin Star for years, and deservedly so” say fans thanks to the “sophisticated and imaginative cooking beautifully served in a fine dining room”. “Suits both a special occasion dinner or a nice, and extremely good value, lunch be it for business or pleasure”.

“What you would expect of an upmarket country hotel”, particularly one that’s part of the mother-and-daughter-run Polizzi Collection, and profits from an “exquisite setting” overlooking the Tamar Valley. Although the menus and cooking “do not scale the heights, they are perfectly satisfying”, and it remains an “idyllic spot to enjoy a stroll before dinner” through the 100-acre grounds, or to enjoy an “afternoon tea of sophistication as it should be served” – the latter being a major attraction in its own right, much praised in numerous reports for its “lovely cakes”, and offering the perfect alibi to visit the “perfect Devon location”.

One of the better Pigs! – an Elizabethan mansion where the menu is “not haute cuisine”, admittedly, but where the solid cooking (much sourced from the “terrific kitchen garden”), and “brilliant breakfasts” (“the full works is a plateful”) mostly “deliver on expectation”, even given the considerable hype attached to the chain. The most hard-hearted review this year says: “It’s nice enough, and in an area of weak competition it’s worth the trip, but if the setting wasn’t so great, I don’t think the food would taste as nice!”. In autumn 2026, the litter is to expand to eleven with the birth of the Pig at Groombridge, Tunbridge Wells.

2022 Review: “A lovely estuary view” accompanies a visit to this 400-year-old pub right on the water at this scenic fishing village – “a great find” to the uninitiated with a “very good” traditional pub menu.

“A pub that understands its customers well and caters for all preferences” – this ancient hostelry was elegantly revamped by Michael & Xochi Birch in 2018 as part of a growing Collective at Woolsery (also including farm, post office and chippy): “the food really is down-to-earth but of great quality and using local ingredients”.