Addington Restaurant Guide

In an “idyllic” farm setting, Spotted Pig star April Bloomfield and Pitt Cue Co. founder Tom Adams’s influential collab (guesthouse, barn-set dining room and bakery) is “such a fun place – both homely and sophisticated with great cooking”. The reservations-only venture offers a four-course set menu on Thursday to Saturday nights, or a three-course Sunday lunch. The focus throughout is on “locally sourced ingredients” from their own “amazing veg garden” (be it a “salad of dreams”, or “their fab bread and the best, creamiest butter ever tasted”). PS – “if you get to stay the night you’ll be treated to a fab breakfast too”.

“Delightful small restaurant opposite the church, serving delicious food and a carefully curated, fairly priced range of wines” – for fifteen years, Graham & Sally Cuthbertson’s elegant dining room has provided a “really outstanding all-round experience” (“we’ll definitely be back”).

2023 Review: Associated with London foodie hits Primeur and Westerns Laundry, this three-year-old favourite, which occupies a former bank, continues to inspire high ratings for its food. It’s a seasonal operation, which closes each year between late Autumn and mid Spring.

“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”.

“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”.

2023 Review: “A gorgeous spot to eat tasty food while watching the sea”, this former Victorian lifeboat station has been transformed under Sam Sixton, who launched his local dining empire at the age of 17, back in 1988 (his son Noah is now part of the team). The “casual” menu runs from “wonderful fresh fish and seafood” to “tasty pizzas with both traditional and unusual toppings”.

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.

“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.

“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”.

2023 Review: Down by the quayside, this cute pub is tipped for “fish that’s obviously as fresh as you can get, and an excellent seafood platter” from amongst its other more typically pub grub offerings.

“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”.