Ford Restaurant Guide

“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 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.

“What could be more romantic than an excursion to this tiny island housing a glamorous hotel, brimful of atmosphere?” The hotel, restored to its Art Deco glory, is “a venue to die for” with two main dining options, the Nettlefold restaurant and the black-tie-only Grand Ballroom, where “good food, rather better service and live music top off the experience”. Our feedback from our annual diners’ poll is uniformly upbeat this year… in contrast to the autumn 2025 review from the FT’s Jay Rayner, who arrived at the Nettlefold full of anticipation for its evocation of the 1930s, but found instead an “unwitting reminder of the 1970s, overpriced, poorly executed food‚ delivered with ludicrously performative service”. (Maybe his visit was too soon after the appointment of new head chef Charlotte Vincent).

“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”.

You need to plan your route according to the tide if you visit this thirty-year-old venture on a site that used to host an oyster farm. Nowadays you dine either indoors or at plastic tables below an awning. Oysters are of course at the heart of the menu, but there’s also locally sourced crab and lobster as well as a BBQ catch of the day. (In fact there are also burgers, hot dogs, BBQ tofu, you name it).

“What a fantastic new restaurant in Plymouth!” Chef Lee Calver made his November 2023 debut as patron alongside partner Chloe Lillicrap in the venue formerly occupied by well-known Rock Salt Cafe and Brasserie (RIP). The former Navy chef is aiming to provide ‘relaxed fine dining’ with an affordable brasserie-style menu. Fans say they “should be very proud of what they’re doing: the food is excellent, obviously a lot of thought goes into their menu and attention to detail is wonderful”. Top Tip – “Sunday lunches are outstanding value and delicious”.

“A wine bar with amazing character and great food” – Zoe Brodie & Fitz Spencer’s wine shop/deli overlooking Sutton Harbour offers some “fantastic small plates and sharing boards” – including ‘Fitzy’s Fat Boy Board’, which comprises pretty well the whole menu for £130.

“Stunning” harbour views elevate a visit to this “very large and busy restaurant right on the waterfront” – a refreshingly “unpretentious” spot that was set up by local lad Benjamin Palmer in 2018. The small or big plates feature some “excellent fish cookery”, but really everything (including the Sunday roast) is just “so tasty”.