Colyton Restaurant Guide

It’s “well worth the journey along narrow Devon lanes” to this English-style agriturismo in a “stunning” setting (a Georgian vicarage overlooking the Coly Valley); co-owner Hugo Guest grew up on the property back when his parents ran it as a B&B and took over with wife Olivia in 2020, transforming it into a foodie haunt. Expect “original, inventive, wholesome” food (Italian-ish, but not just), with “Sunday lunch very good value, but better still stay the night and enjoy the full evening set menu” (overnight guests can also opt for more casual ‘Kitchen Suppers’); either way “you almost feel like you are a member of the family popping in for a bite to eat”.

It’s now part of the portfolio of the SW England-based St Austell Brewery group, but this thatched 14th-century inn has kept its charms (log fire, beamed ceilings) despite chain-ification. The pub classics on offer elicit solid ratings if muted commentary, with more unusual suspects like ‘crabby fries’ served alongside the usual burgers and steaks. A good choice for a staycation with your pooch, it’s an easy stroll to the equally dog-friendly Branscombe beach.

2024 Review: Try to nab a window seat – or in fine weather a place on the terrace – if you visit this brilliantly well-situated venue. All reports rate its “good fresh fish” from “rather a short menu” (which also features local beef as an alternative to the seafood). One supporter also muses that it’s “quite expensive – is it trading on its excellent position”?

This wine bar in a 400-year-old cellar provides a “relaxed ambience” for chef Harriet Mansell’s “truly original and special local food”, much of it based around foraged ingredients, with which she made her name at the much lamented Robin Wylde before it closed in 2023. She offers her full gastronomic experience at seasonal ‘Garden Table’ dinners.

2021 Review: “A friendly, well-run pub” that's “owned by the Otter brewery, so the beer is always well kept”. On the food front, it “maintains a steady standard” (“tapas in the downstairs bar are always interesting and the full menu is served upstairs in a non-fancy environment”).

A “fabulous setting” in an Elizabethan mansion adds to the joys of this “always fun” and “friendly” Otter Valley piglet – part of a now ten-strong litter, whose most recent branch, in the Cotswolds, was born in September 2024. As per their wider MO, this venue starts with a “lovely country-house hotel”, then adds a dose of cool via a spa and trendy albeit expensive food. Also as per the rest of the chain, and continuing a recent trend of average reports, the “expensive” victuals here can disappoint, but “at its best it’s good” and “original” too.

“In an area where good food options are still surprisingly rare”, this “lovely” 16th-century gastroboozer on the Devon/Dorset/Somerset border (also handy for the delights of the Jurassic Coast) shines all the more. Mirroring reports in previous years from its very dedicated fan club, “the prices might be getting a bit high” these days, but when the service and modern British food with a Euro twist “are always so good”, absolutely nobody seems to mind.

2023 Review: Two vintage railway carriages near the sea and harbour in the former West Bay station constitute this “delightful” venue. The cooking is sometimes seen as the weakest link (“they try hard, without really hitting the spot”), but most reports are upbeat, citing “above average food” in an “unusual and quirky setting”. Since our annual diners’ poll concluded, change is afoot with a new arrangement introduced in autumn 2022, which sees fine dining from chef Chris Chatfield’s seasonal menu in the newer ‘Beeching’ carriage, and relaxed dining in ‘Brunel’, from the First World War, with both menus available in the dog-friendly ‘Station House’.

2022 Review: This hip West Country tribute to East Asian casual dining serves “great food” in a “great atmosphere”, and is “even better with the new look post-lockdown”. The menu is constructed around dumplings filled with prime Dorset ingredients, backed up by a small selection of main and side dishes, and with sake options on the drinks list. It’s a formula that comes up trumps: “couldn’t get enough of the dumplings!”. (Note: despite the suggestion in the name, there’s no sushi on the menu.)

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.

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!”.

Opening in early 2025, the latest branch of this Devon-based fish and seafood specialist has taken over the site of Mark Hix’s Oyster and Fish House (which closed in December 2024). Expect a good range of fish supplied from Brixham, where founder Mitch Tonks has his own day boat.

2022 Review: Former River Cottage chef Dom Moldenhauer is now “cooking whatever he can source that day” and serving it in “very different” four-course evening set menus at this new venture, following on from a pop-up during the first lockdown. The venue is open Wed-Sat, and by all accounts the “food is superb!”.

2022 Review: “Like being on the Med, only with local IPAs and bitters” instead of a carafe of wine or Campari – an “excellent” two-year-old seafood restaurant (primarily) where diners can enjoy “friendly service”, “superb” sharing platters and the “most extravagant Niçoise ever!”. After a meal, make sure to check out the neighbouring arts hub Town Mill.

2024 Review: As the name suggests, “a great, intimate atmosphere” is found at this seventeenth-century village inn, which is “a cut above the usual for style and service”. Charlotte Vincent was crowned ‘pub chef of the year’ in the 2023 Great British Pub Awards – she sends out “a varied range of dishes, nearly all locally sourced and precisely cooked”, such as a bar snack of roasted marrow bone and Porlock Bay oyster with garlic butter and sourdough bread.