Good Pub Guide Recommended
Comfortably relaxed and mildly upmarket in a country way, this bustling place always has a good mix of both locals and visitors and a good balance between drinkers and diners. It's run by a particularly charming landlord and his genuinely helpful and friendly staff who will open any of their 400 wines for just a glass from a quite extraordinarily good list; there's also an unlisted collection of about 500 well aged, new world wines which Mr Groves will happily chat about. St Austell Dartmoor Best, Otter Head and a changing guest beer tapped from the cask, a farm cider, many sherries and some unusual spirits. As the pub is on the edge of Exmoor, there are plenty of good sporting prints on the salmon pink walls, some antlers, other hunting trophies, stuffed birds and a couple of salmon rods. There are bare boards on the left by the bar counter and daily papers to read, tables partly separated by stable-style timbering and masonry dividers and a bit on the right which is carpeted and has a woodburning stove in the big fireplace; maybe unobjectionable piped music. Big windows keep you in touch with what's going on out in the quiet town centre (or you can sit out on the pavement at a couple of metal tables). A small suntrap back courtyard has a few picnic-sets.
Good Pub Guide Food
They breed their own pigs and chickens for the excellent food and as well as fair value light lunches like filled ciabatta rolls, honey-roast ham and egg, a good cheeseburger and seared steak with crispy bacon, the more pricey, restauranty choices include ballotine of chicken with confit leg rillettes and poultry sauce, lamb rump with slow-roast loin, crispy sweetbreads and thyme sauce, and skate wing with caper nut brown butter.








Reader Comments
seamus45
Tuesday 01 March 2011 8:29:21 am
exmoor
Thursday 07 October 2010 12:36:26 pm
sally9
Wednesday 28 July 2010 1:46:27 pm
Jon Boy
Saturday 17 April 2010 10:29:19 am
mads
Thursday 26 November 2009 8:28:38 pm
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