The Best Restaurant in The West Country, England

Background Illustration for Restaurants

The last several years have seen a food renaissance in England's West Country. In the top restaurants the accent is firmly on local and seasonal products. Seafood is the number one choice along the coasts, from Atlantic pollock to Helford River oysters, and it's available in places from haute restaurants to harborside fish shacks. Celebrity chefs have marked their pitch all over the region, including Michael Caines in Exeter and Dartmoor, the Tanner brothers in Plymouth, Rick Stein in Padstow and Falmouth, Mitch Tonks in Dartmouth, and Jamie Oliver in Newquay. Better-known establishments are often completely booked on Friday or Saturday, so reserve well in advance.

The Horn of Plenty

$$$$ Fodor's choice

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.