Bideford Restaurant Guide

This cute seaside café run by “lovely people” hits the spot with its “great espresso” and “delicious” breakfast/brunch plates – “mushrooms on toast with a hint of garlic and dill... thick granary bread... my mouth is watering while I write this”.

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”.

A meal “never fails to please” – “there’s always something delicious and different on the menu” – at this small spa-hotel in a Georgian manor house on a hillside in north Devon. The long-term contribution of Richie Herkes is key to its success – he joined as head chef in 2003, assumed the dual role of general manager eight years later, and is behind the “great menu (with particularly good fish)” – which is notably good value for cooking of this quality, at £55.50 for 3 courses. Top Tip – “don’t skip canapes before a meal in the lounge with a log fire in winter”.