Devon 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.

2023 Review: Beautifully situated on Dartmoor, this rural pub was consistently well-reviewed this year for its hearty and enjoyable bistro-style menu (it’s not a pub grub kind of place). There are nine bedrooms, too, and – if you stay – there’s the additional option of a lighter early bird supper.

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.

With its “totally delicious food, well presented with attentive and friendly service”, this family-run bistro close to the harbour is “difficult to fault” – its attractively priced menu is designed around daily fish and seafood deliveries from Brixham, with plenty of alternatives for fishphobes.

“Wonderful food and excellent service” are a given at this peaceful Georgian manor house near Barnstaple in north Devon that has been a hotel for more than 50 years. Richie Herkes joined as head chef in 2003 and later added the role of general manager, ensuring a rare consistency of performance that is reflected in the excellent ratings. Dinners of three courses for £55 per person or six courses for £70 per person are served in a dining room with murals; and there is an “interesting wine list presented by a sommelier who knows his stuff without being patronising”.

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”.

“What a remarkable find!” – “the freshest produce served in the most delicious and inventive ways” makes any meal at this canteen on the veg box operation’s south Devon farm “a very special occasion”. Established by Guy Singh-Watson 21 years ago, “the emphasis is on the fresh organic produce picked in the surrounding fields, possibly that same morning” – “every time you go there are more surprises, there’s more flavour, and more dishes that amaze meat-eaters and veggies alike”. (“I still miss the pre-Covid long tables with sharing bowls, and especially the pudding buffet” – but it’s “still very reasonably priced”).

2023 Review: “We love the Rockfish chain” – and “Exmouth is our favourite”, say fans of Mitch Tonks’s West Country seafood group, which had eight branches as we went to press, with two more (Salcombe and Topsham) about to open, along with an online seafood market and a pioneering canned-fish operation. Despite being a multiple, it offers “top seafood, and the staff seem really passionate about the subject”.

“Right by the beach with lovely sunset views across to Dartmoor” (particularly from the terrace), this is the place to “indulge yourself with a huge seafood platter of fresh crab and oysters”; these days it’s “no longer just a ‘shack’” as of yore (reflected in the prices, a perennial quibble), but is “now serving up a more sophisticated menu” spanning cocktails and roast lobster.

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.