9 Best Restaurants in The West Country, England

One of England's foremost country-house hotels occupies an enclave of landscaped gardens and streams, reached via a lengthy, winding country lane and private drive at the edge of Dartmoor. Its pricey contemporary restaurant, directed by chef Chris Eden, has been showered with culinary awards, including a Michelin star, and you'll see why when you dig into the steamed turbot served with squash, caviar, and seaweed or the 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 (£135). 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 farther 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 closed on Sunday and Monday (except on bank holidays).

This dining-focused pub with bright, homey furnishings and a relaxed vibe looks past green fields to the ocean beyond. The frequently changing fixed-price menus (£40 or £48) feature fresh, inventively prepared meat and seafood dishes—look for hake with imam bayildi and garlic yogurt or lamb loin with potato and cheddar croquette and tender-stem broccoli. 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.

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 elements. A typical starter and main course might be ginger-cured salmon with mango, wasabi, and dill, followed by Creedy Carver duck breast with textures of shallot and pommes duchesse, while desserts include pumpkin crème brûlée with blackberry sorbet and spiced orange and blackberry. Alongside the à la carte two- or three-course lunch menu (£32 or £39) and the three-course dinner menu (£69), there's a six-course tasting menu (£85). A converted coach house and the main house contain 16 sumptuously furnished guest rooms. It's 3 miles west of Tavistock.

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 five-course set menu (£75, reservations essential) might include such antipasti as Tropean onion tatin or Forest Broth with Parmesan pudding, which you might follow with risotto ai funghi or tegliatelle alla Portofino, and such mains as dry-aged trout or guinea fowl with salt-baked beetroot. The desserts are equally enticing, such as strawberry and rhubarb and Exmoor Black Forest chocolate bomb. 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.

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 created a Michelin-starred showcase for his sophisticated and highly original recipes. The wow-factor starts the moment you arrive, with unforgettable estuary views—a fitting prelude to seasonal three- or four-course lunches (£85–£110), à la carte fixed-price dinners (£185), and multicourse tasting menus (£230 and £240) that might feature shellfish mousseline with langoustine bisque; steamed Cornish cod with Jerusalem artichoke and mussels; or chicken and smoked ham hock terrine with duck liver, pistachio, and truffle mayonnaise. The separate vegetarian and vegan menu has choices like roasted leek terrine with pickled mushrooms, hazelnut, and black garlic, while typical desserts include rhubarb soufflé with vanilla sorbet, and coffee parfait with candied almonds and white chocolate ice cream. For less formal dining and more modestly priced menus (£48 and £60), try the Pool House Restaurant and Bar, where tables overlook the outdoor pool. Luxurious accommodations are also available on site.

Seafood fans can indulge their passion at this unpretentious, convivial spot, where a location near the harbor, as well as wooden floors, colorful wall tiles, and maritime knickknacks, all set the mood. Fresh, locally caught fish is brought to your table for inspection before being simply but imaginatively prepared. The extensive menu offers dishes ranging from humble—but abundant and beautifully cooked—fish-and-chips to lobster and crab grilled with garlic and brandy. There's a wine bar upstairs for a pre- or postprandial drink.

Paul Ainsworth has been expanding his culinary presence in Padstow to rival that of Rick Stein, and, for many foodies, Ainsworth offers the better experience at this intimate bistro—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 (£160) for lunch and dinner might include smoked pike roe with pink grapefruit and Cornish jack crab to start, followed by pigeon with salted plum condiment and black cardamom or wild turbot with Iberian ham mousseline. Just be sure to leave room for dessert. The atmosphere is warm and lively, with swift, ultra-attentive staff.

Occupying a former police station, this modern, clean-lined restaurant affords serene views over the passing swans and boats. Upstairs, the more formal restaurant serves delicately cooked dishes like Brixham plaice with 'nduja butter, clams, and samphire, or local asparagus, pea, and fava risotto, while the lip-smacking desserts include passion fruit syllabub with marshmallow and macerated strawberries or ricotta mousse cheesecake with almonds. On the river level, the Pontoon Bar has a more rough-and-ready menu that includes mussels, pan-fried peppers, and burgers, and with its terrace seating, it also makes a great spot for a weekend brunch, afternoon coffee, or evening drinks.

Just steps from where boats unload their daily catches, Rick Stein's modern, airy flagship restaurant has built its reputation on the freshest fish and the highest culinary artistry in town, with everything from grilled Padstow lobster with herbs and stir-fried Singapore chili crab to meat and vegetarian dishes. Choose between sitting either formally at a table or on a stool at the Seafood Bar. In low season, you can order a three-course set-price lunch menu for £30. Guests at one of Stein's hotels can also book a table on the panoramic rooftop terrace—and a stay in one of the sunny, individually designed guest rooms overlooking the harbor is an enticing option if you don't feel like moving very far after your meal.