Dartington Restaurant Guide

“Very relaxed but with always interesting food” – this organic and ethical pub-with-rooms won the Sustainable Restaurant Association’s coveted Sustainability Award last year – recognition of the efforts made by the team led by founder Geetie Singh-Watson, a self-styled ethical publican who sold her flat in London to rescue what had been a run-down local boozer. The locally sourced food does not just tick the sustainability box: “the local ingredients are varied and excellent, in intriguing combinations. eg. beetroot and sheep’s curd starter is simple, yet tasty and on a recent visit a cod’s head was on the menu”.

“Just wow! This is vegetables supreme” – eating in the canteen at the organic veg box operation’s farm guarantees a “variety and intensity of flavours that’s a feast for both the eyes and palate”. “The last time I came to Riverford I thought it had lost its mojo – but on this occasion its mojo has returned!” – “Covid means you no longer share large bowls of food on long tables and the dessert buffet is no more, so it’s more like a traditional restaurant – but you’re here for the interesting salads and veg, freshly harvested from the farm”. Top Tip – “in the summer, eating on the terrace with the smells from the surrounding hen garden is a delight”.