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One of England's foremost country-house hotels, Gidleigh Park occupies an enclave of landscaped gardens and streams, reached via a lengthy, winding country lane and private drive at the edge of Dartmoor. The pricey contemporary restaurant, directed by chef Chris Eden, has been showered with culinary awards, including two Michelin stars. You may see why when you dig into the steamed turbot served with squash, caviar, and seaweed, or aged fillet of beef cooked over coals, with smoked bone marrow, garlic, and spinach—two of the choices you might find on the three-course prix-fixe dinner menu (£125). There's also a "lounge menu," served in the lounges or on the terrace, which includes such starters as cheese soufflé and smoked salmon, and beef sirloin and gnocchi as main courses. The wine list is formidable, and the locally pumped spring water is like no other. If you're not up to a full meal, wholesome sandwiches are offered all day. You can also order a luxury picnic hamper (£125 for two) containing an array of cold meats, cheeses, bread, salad, sweet treats, and wine, which can be enjoyed at any time and anywhere in the house, within the grounds of Gidleigh Park, or further afield. Inside the long, half-timber building, built in 1928 in Tudor style, you'll find antiques in the public rooms and in the 24 luxurious guest rooms. Note, however, that the hotel and restaurant are currently closed on Sundays and Mondays.
Gidleigh Park, Chagford, Devon, TQ13 8HH, England
Known For
- Top-notch dining experience
- Range of menu options
- Excellent wine list
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon., Reservations essential
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This dining-focused pub with bright, homey furnishings and a relaxed ambience looks past green fields to the ocean beyond. The frequently changing fixed-price menus (£35 or £42) feature fresh, inventively prepared meat and seafood dishes; look for plaice and brown shrimps with capers in a samphire butter sauce or rump of beef with asparagus and polenta. Leave room for some enticing desserts. Eight smallish rooms provide guest accommodations. The inn sits near the curvy coast road 6 miles west of St. Ives.
B3306, Treen, Cornwall, TR26 3DE, England
Known For
- Unusual dishes alongside old English favorites
- Cozy decor
- Peaceful rural location
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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Set in a sea-facing Georgian building on one of the West Country's most enchanting stretches of coast, this restaurant with rooms run by an Anglo-Italian husband-and-wife team offers modern reinventions of classic Italian dishes executed with consummate artistry and originality. The four-course set menu (£70; booking essential) might include such antipasti as beef carpaccio with ginger, toasted sesame, and caramelized tomato, which you might follow with risotto alla Milanese or rigatoni amatriciana, and such mains as cedar-smoked salmon or cherry wood-smoked lamb cutlets. The desserts are equally enticing, such as the raspberry sorbet and chocolate mousse. All dietary preferences are catered for, and there's a fine Italian wine list. The dining rooms are hung with flamboyant modern art, while upstairs, the four guest rooms display the same flair, combining a traditional style with modern design and restful hues.
Porlock Weir, Somerset, TA24 8PB, England
Known For
- High-quality Italian cuisine using local ingredients
- Graceful surrroundings and serene sea views
- Enthusiastic, friendly service
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Jan. and Feb. No lunch, Reservations essential
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Paul Ainsworth is gradually expanding his culinary presence in Padstow to rival that of Rick Stein, and for many foodies, Ainsworth offers the better experience. His innovative creations can best be sampled at this intimate bistro that was his original foothold in the town, where diners seated in a series of small, stylish rooms feast on ingeniously concocted dishes that make the most of local and seasonal produce. The four-course set-price menus (£135) for lunch and dinner might include scallop with acorn-fed ham and white wine velouté for starters, and for the main course, you might try the tallow aged beef fillet with short rib savarin and stuffed morels or wild turbot with mashed potato and onion gravy, as well as some astounding desserts. The atmosphere is warm and lively, with swift, amiable service.
6 Middle St., Padstow, Cornwall, PL28 8AP, England
Known For
- Exciting, creative cuisine
- Friendly and approachable staff
- Vivacious atmosphere
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun., Mon., and mid-Jan.–early Feb.
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The restaurant within this Georgian house has magnificent views across the wooded, rhododendron-filled Tamar Valley and a sophisticated menu featuring traditional British cuisine with French and Asian elements. A typical starter and main course might be seared scallops with cauliflower, cumin, and mango followed by Creedy Carver duck with baby leeks and Jerusalem artichokes, while desserts include warm rum baba with marinated pineapple, banana, and coconut. Alongside the three-course à la carte dinner menu (£60), there's a six-course tasting menu (£80), an à la carte "casual dining menu" available at lunchtime, and an "evening lounge menu." A converted coach house and the main house contain 16 sumptuously furnished guest rooms. It's 3 miles west of Tavistock.
A390, Gulworthy, Devon, PL19 8JD, England
Known For
- Sophisticated fine dining
- Stunning views
- Menus to suit all pockets
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch Tues. and Wed. for non-hotel guests
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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The finest of a slew of restaurants and cafés clustered in Bristol's trendy, newly developed Wapping Wharf harborside district, this compact venue might be squeezed into a shipping container, but punches way above what its diminutive dimensions might suggest. The seasonally changing menu is also on the small side, but every dish is startlingly original, and each is a winner. Smoked trout with Jersey Royal potatoes, buttermilk, and horseradish, for example, is an excellent start to such mains as rump of lamb, borlotti beans, and charred radicchio. Desserts are also fabulous, and you can watch it all taking shape in the open kitchen. Dishes on the seven-course taster menu (£50; request when booking) are unspecified—it may surprise but will not disappoint. The restaurant is steps away from the Floating Harbour and M Shed, and there are tables outside on the deck for warm days.
Gas Ferry Steps, Wapping Wharf, Bristol, Bristol, BS1 6WP, England
Known For
- Cutting-edge menus
- Unusual (and very small) setting
- Hipster clientele
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.–Tues. No lunch Wed.
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Exeter-born master chef Michael Caines has breathed new life into this elegant Georgian mansion overlooking the Exe estuary 5 miles south of Exeter, where he has installed three separate dining rooms to showcase his highly original recipes. The wow-factor starts the moment you arrive, with unforgettable estuary views forming a fitting prelude to the gastronomic feast to follow. The seasonal four-course lunch menu (£95), à la carte fixed-price menu (£155), and multicourse tasting menus (£180 and £195) might include such dishes as shellfish ravioli with langoustine bisque, salted Newlyn cod with lemon purée, Lyme Bay crab, samphire, and chorizo, and poached chicken with Wye Valley asparagus and wild garlic. There is a separate vegetarian and vegan menu that has choices like herb and nettle risotto with aged Parmesan cheese, while typical desserts include apple mousse with green apple jelly, apple sorbet, and vanilla foam, and mango and lime soufflé. Luxurious accommodations are also available on site.
Courtlands La., Exeter, Devon, EX8 3NZ, England
Known For
- Fabulous location
- Stylishly presented and eclectic gourmet cuisine
- Frequently changing fixed-price menus and tasting menus
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch Mon. and Tues.
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Intimate and elegant, this restaurant located within a luxury guesthouse is an ideal hideaway if you want some respite from the crowds swirling around St. Ives. Everything on the seven-course tasting menu (£49 or £69) is locally sourced and seasonal, and the chef will take the time to talk you through each dish; the menu's highlights might include lobster bolognese cannelloni with a caramelly lobster sauce, duck with Puy lentils and smoked carrot, or guinea fowl terrine with celeriac and pickled mushroom. With its boldly patterned wallpaper, the restaurant enlivens its classic style with modern decor, and there are superb views over Porthminster beach and the sea.
27 The Terrace, St. Ives, Cornwall, TR26 2BP, England
Known For
- Fine dining away from the crowds
- Inventive tasting menus
- Wonderful sea views
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. in Jun.–Sept. and Sun.–Wed. in Oct.–May. No lunch
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One of the country's foremost chefs, Nathan Outlaw, has established a base in Port Isaac, where he has two top-notch seafood restaurants. The Fish Kitchen, right on the quay, is the more casual of the two, occupying a 15th-century fisherman’s cottage with just eight tables and the three-course fixed-price menu (£88 per person) features the freshest seafood available, all creatively prepared and sustainably sourced. Your meal might include monkfish satay with peanuts and lime or cured gurnard with sweet potato, chili, and coriander. The smarter, roomier, and pricier Outlaw's New Road at the top of the village also serves a set seafood menu for lunch and dinner at £105 per person (Tuesday through Saturday). No children under 10 are allowed in either restaurant.
1 Middle St., Port Isaac, Cornwall, PL29 3RH, England
Known For
- Sophisticated preparations of fresh local seafood
- Cozy but cramped ambience
- Friendly, informative staff
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and mid-Dec.–Jan.
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Housed within the historic Plymouth Gin Distillery in the heart of the Barbican, this restaurant owned by a distinguished local culinary duo is a cheerful spot for a quick lunch or a more leisurely evening meal. The menu might include locally caught hake with Shetland Isle mussels and potato gnocchi; pea and mascarpone risotto with goat's cheese; or a steak from the charcoal grill. To finish, try one of the toothsome desserts, perhaps the whipped vanilla cheesecake with strawberries. There are good set-price menus at lunchtime and early evening, and you can sample gin cocktails in the Refectory Bar on the same premises, made with the Plymouth Gin distilled on site.
60 Southside St., Plymouth, Plymouth, PL1 2LQ, England
Known For
- Buzzy atmosphere
- Cool distillery location (with plenty of house-made gin on the menu)
- Friendly staff
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon. No lunch Tues.
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Set back from Torquay's harbor, this elegant eatery offers sophisticated but relaxed dining, with views over Torbay from its Georgian windows. The innovative menus offer such starters as Brixham crab with sour apple jelly or hand-dived scallops with whey-butter sauce and pickled grapes, and, among the mains, you might find rump of lamb with Provençal-style vegetables or roasted monkfish with ravioli of salsify and fennel. The highly skilled kitchen is matched by the pleasant and attentive wait staff. At lunch, you can choose between the set menu (£28–£32) or a set-price à la carte menu (£53 or £68), which is also available in the evening alongside a multicourse tasting menu (£90).
3-4 Beacon Terr., Torquay, Torbay, TQ1 2BH, England
Known For
- First-class service
- Delectable dishes
- Fixed-price menus
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed late Dec.–mid-Jan. and Sun.–Tues. in early Sept.–early Apr.
