Topsham, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

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.

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.

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!”.

One of the better Pigs! – an Elizabethan mansion where the menu is “not haute cuisine”, admittedly, but where the solid cooking (much sourced from the “terrific kitchen garden”), and “brilliant breakfasts” (“the full works is a plateful”) mostly “deliver on expectation”, even given the considerable hype attached to the chain. The most hard-hearted review this year says: “It’s nice enough, and in an area of weak competition it’s worth the trip, but if the setting wasn’t so great, I don’t think the food would taste as nice!”. In autumn 2026, the litter is to expand to eleven with the birth of the Pig at Groombridge, Tunbridge Wells.

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.

“Convivial” 14th-century pub-with-rooms in a picturesque village – “cosy in winter and very pleasant outside in the summer” – whose charms of a thatched roof and log fires have been boosted by a £2million refurb from newish owner, the St Austell Brewery. The “traditional pub food” is “very well cooked”, and the “great staff” guarantee a “warm welcome”.

“Moved from a nearby location into the cliff-top space formerly occupied by Hamilton’s” – this relaunched venue “is a new ‘Top Gun for the retirees of Babbacombe”. Too few ratings so far for a rating, but such feedback as we have is promising, regarding its conventional but well-prepared cuisine which can be enjoyed up till Thursday with a prix-fixe deal (two courses for £30, three courses for £34 – at weekends the same dishes are ordered à la carte). Top Menu Tips – “Creedy Carver duck breast, and the accompanying blackberry purée and duck jus was enriching and affirming. Creamy, rich and heart-warming gratin potatoes, with assertive nutmeg. Beef cheek braised in Guinness, with bubble and squeak, topped with beef fat crumb was submissive, crumbly meat with intense umami flavors embracing the starch and vegetable crack-house addictiveness of bubble ’n’ squeak”.