If you’re a bit of a foodie, you’ll know how important it is to choose the right destination for your next break. Luckily, if you’re thinking of heading to one of our luxury cottages in Devon you won’t have anything to worry about because the Devon food scene is next-level. It’s the perfect place to indulge your inner foodie, and if you’re stuck on where to start your gastronomic odyssey just check out recommendations on some of the best foodie experiences in some of the best restaurants in Devon (with a few sneaky non-restaurants)!
The street food craze has well and truly hit the UK and the university town of Exeter has embraced this trend for speedy yet wholesome food. The weekly street food market takes over the town centre every weekend. Choose between tapas, classic American dishes and even Egyptian food among many others tasty options. You can watch it all get cooked in front of you, before eating it on the go or resting in one of the pop-up seating areas. Best of all, these modestly priced quick yet quality meals won’t put any strain on the holiday budget.
Price Range: £
Location: Various Including, The Quay Exeter EX2 4AN, The Piazza Exeter EX2 8GY and Exeter Street Food Market, Guildhall Shopping Centre, Exeter City Centre, Exeter EX4 3HP
Sustainability and ecology are at the forefront of Ode, a restaurant that crafts mouth-watering meals from locally sourced, ethically-farmed ingredients. Flavours don’t get much more local than crab and sea lettuce found at a neighbouring cove, or wild deer from the moors of Devon served on a bed of celeriac and potatoes from a local farm. Every ingredient can be traced to its original origins and the result is a selection of delectable gourmet dishes that come with an extra feel-good factor.
While rich, creamy cheeses are an English speciality, wine is less often associated with the UK, yet at Sharpham both are crafted to an exceptionally high standard. Visit the estate to see how they are made and take the guided Vine to Wine tour to learn about what makes these English wines – regarded to be among the best in Britain – different to their foreign counterparts. Tasting sessions offer the chance for you to sample the wine and delicious, full-flavoured cheeses for yourself.
Price Range: Tasting sessions start from £8
Location: Sharpham Estate Totnes South Devon TQ9 7UT
Rustic staples are given a gourmet twist in Plympton’s Michelin-starred inn. The menu is filled with time-honoured dishes straight from the county’s rural past like roast pigeon, venison haunch or even battered fish and chips. Yet the attention to detail, meticulously sourced ingredients and aesthetic flair have earned the restaurant plaudits from the culinary world. Even the snacks you can buy from the bar are elevated to haute cuisine; expect smoked eel fishcakes and dill-crusted duck hearts to taste alongside your chosen glass from the varied wine list.
Price Range: ££
Location: The Treby Arms Sparkwell, Plympton PL7 5DD
Bookings: Call 01752 837363 or book online The Treby Arms
It’s all very well dining on the best food Devon has to offer while on holiday, but you can also take some newly acquired cooking skills home with you thanks to the Mason Arms. The restaurant regularly lets visitors in on the secrets that have earned it a Michelin star. Contact the chef in advance for bespoke masterclasses for groups of eight or more; the celebrated maestro will talk you through the dishes and techniques of your choosing. Lunch with wine follows the morning’s hard work.
Price Range: Two-course à la carte menu from £24.50
Location: The Masons Arms, Knowstone, South Molton, Devon ex36 4ry
Take home a unique souvenir from your time in Devon in the form of your very own handcrafted bottle of gin. Tours of Plymouth’s distillery unveil the processes behind distilling and flavouring one of Britain’s favourite spirits. Book the Master Distiller’s tour to have a go at blending your own recipe, which you can then take back to enjoy later at your Devon holiday home. Go for the Gin Connoisseur tour for a special tasting, during which the distillery’s resident gin experts talk you through the different styles of gin that they make.
Price Range: Tours from £11
Location: Black Friars Distillery, 60 Southside Street, The Barbican, Plymouth pl1 2lq
At the Elephant you can choose between the formal class of the Michelin-starred restaurant on the upper level or the more laid-back quality of the brasserie on the ground floor; delicious wholesome food is guaranteed in both. Splash out on the indulgent tasting menu that the first floor offers, enjoying intricately prepared seafood fresh from the English Channel, with sensational wines to match. Alternatively, the à la carte menu offers quality dishes based around locally sourced produce in a more casual environment. Both are excellent options. The menu is regularly changing to reflect the best of local produce.
Price Range: Two-course lunch set menu starting from £24.50
Don’t let the name deceive you; although this may be a shack with an informal atmosphere, the food is high quality, local and fresh. Fans of seafood will relish menus that offer platters overflowing with crab, shell-on prawns, crevettes and, of course, oysters. For the biggest appetites, the Oyster Shack also provides the coastal classic of a surf’n’turf, steak served with lobster – a filling and flavoursome lunch. Alternatively, you can just work your way through the dish that gives the restaurant its name, a plate of oysters cooked in the sauce of your choosing.
Price Range: ££
Location: The Oyster Shack Milburn Orchard Farm Stakes Hill Bigbury Devon TQ7 4BE
Riverford Organic Farms have made a name for themselves selling ethical, local produce in recipe boxes with all the ingredients you need for a tasty meal. It makes sense, then, that their restaurant would be the place to go for fresh organic food that rolls with the seasons. The menus change depending on what time of year you visit. Autumn, for example, promises hearty stews of chicken and chorizo and roasted root vegetables. It’s unfussy, filling and very popular – booking is essential.
Price Range: Set lunch menu is £28pp/Set supper menu is £32pp
The Rockfish started in 2010 and has since expanded with several sister sites across the county. Their bustling Brixham restaurant is located directly next to the fish market where they source all of their main ingredients. Their menu is built around the freshest seafood, most popularly served in the form of that beloved British classic: battered fish and chips.
Price Range: ££
Location: Rockfish Restaurant, Brixham Fish Market, Brixham, TQ5 8AJ
Hopefully this post has got you ready for all that the Devon food scene has to offer! Get in touch with our concierge team if you’re looking for somewhere to stay during your culinary odyssey, and we can even help you arrange extras and amenities to suit you and your group! Looking for more travel inspiration? Our blog can sort you out! You can read more foodie experiences, or see our list of the best group activities in Devon. That’s not all, we’ve listed the best kid activities in Devon, if you’re thinking of travelling with the family!
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