Headlines Featuring Weekend Classics / 9 Of The Most Exciting Devon Restaurants To Visit in 2026

Since the Trencherman’s Guide was established in 1992, it has built a rock-solid reputation as the gourmet’s definitive passport to the most exquisite dining experiences in the South West. 

Rick Stein describes it as ‘a guide with teeth’ due to the strict entry criteria that restaurants must meet in order to be included.

Trencherman’s editor Abi Manning and team have eaten their way across the region in search of the most authentic, creative and innovative restaurants. Here are nine of the best restaurants in Devon they recommend all discerning diners should visit.

Dream dining pub

The Farmers Arms, Woolsery, EX39 5QS

The Birch Farm tasting menu by chef Toby Neal provides a seasonal showcase of the produce and meat from The Collective’s 150-acre farm and surrounding producers

Imagine the dream dining pub: a creative chef crafting sublime dishes; its own farm supplying the homegrown, reared and foraged produce; and an innovative drinks line-up utilising handcrafted cordials and own-infused spirits.

And it’s all complemented by Michelin Key-rated accommodation that mixes vintage glamour with modern luxury.

A visit to The Farmers Arms (part of The Collective at Woolsery, a curation of village enterprises from tech entrepreneurs Michael and Xochi Birch) turns this wishlist into reality.

The Birch Farm tasting menu by chef Toby Neal provides a seasonal showcase of the produce and meat from The Collective’s 150-acre farm and surrounding producers. Delights include the likes of ‘Gorse’, a pudding of sweet cicely, woodruff and cultured yogurt.

Coastal treasure

Gara Rock, East Portlemouth, near Salcombe, TQ8 8FA

At Restaurant at Gara, the focus is on locally sourced seafood from Devon and Cornwall, expertly prepared and ultra fresh

Head down winding rural lanes in lush, coastal south Devon to discover Gara Rock, a destination hotel with a stunning clifftop restaurant serving smart seasonal dishes

.Floor-to-ceiling windows showcase unrivalled views of the waves below, making this a feast for the eyes as well as the belly. At Restaurant at Gara, the focus is on locally sourced seafood from Devon and Cornwall, expertly prepared and ultra fresh.

Delicacies such as Cornish red mullet with wild garlic chimichurri are elevated by seasonal ingredients sourced from the hotel’s kitchen garden.Zero-waste practices are also followed, with leftover ingredients used to create inventive concoctions when infused in spirits.

Pub with prestigious chef

The Millbrook Inn, South Pool, Kingsbridge, TQ7 2RW

Elly Wentworth, the executive chef, has represented the South West three times on the BBC’s Great British Menu

This pub, in the pretty village of South Pool, has recently announced the arrival of Elly Wentworth as its executive chef.

Elly most recently headed up The Angel of Dartmouth and has worked at prestigious establishments including Restaurant Hywel Jones at Lucknam Park.

She has also represented the South West three times on the BBC’s Great British Menu. Elly has incredible produce to work with at the Millbrook, as the pub’s sister business Fowlescombe Farm (she also heads up its Refectory restaurant) supplies meat from native and rare British breeds.

Her precise, produce-led approach centres on provenance; the kitchen takes its cue from what’s reared on the regeneratively tended land, as well as what’s landed on the nearby coast.

Foodie fusion

Salumi Bar and Eatery, 18 Millbay Road, Plymouth, PL1 3LH

Salumi has established itself as a go-to spot for Plymouth residents, thanks to its flexible dining approach and ultra-friendly service

Salumi has established itself as a go-to spot for Plymouth residents, thanks to its flexible dining approach and ultra-friendly service. 

Turquoise-painted tables, chairs and fittings contrast with oak beams and exposed brick wallsto create a rustic-cool vibe. Seating is split across multiple levels, plus there’s the opportunity to dine alfresco in Salumi’s Garden of Dreams – a large outdoor courtyard area with wooden benches and a fire kitchen, where many of the dishes are prepared.

Chefs Dave Jenkins and Jake Hardington have created menus to suit any whim. Highlights on the à la carte menu include Dartmoor lamb rump with courgette and aubergine puree, and pork chop served with ‘nduja croquette, salsa verde, crackling and chips.

Star quality

Lympstone Manor, Courtlands Lane, Exmouth, EX8 3NZ

Lympstone Manor’s star status remains steadfast, having been awarded five AA rosettes, two prestigious Michelin Keys, a Michelin star and an AA Notable Wine List Award

Lympstone Manor’s star status remains steadfast, having been awarded five AA rosettes, two prestigious Michelin Keys, a Michelin star and an AA Notable Wine List Award, plus being named on La Liste World’s Best Restaurants.

Chef-owner Michael Caines and his kitchen brigade craft tasting and à la carte menus loaded with local flavours from land and sea. Immaculately plated dishes include the likes of chicken and truffle mousseline with WyeValley asparagus, Scottish girolles and Madeira cream sauce. 

Complete the experience with artfully matched sips from the world-class cellar. Enjoy numerous other delights such as a stay in a beautiful room, suite or shepherd’s hut, a game of tennis or a wander through the sculpture garden.

Foraged fare

Gather, 50 Fore Street, Totnes, TQ9 5RP

For chefs Harrison Brockington and Oli Rosier, showcasing the unique flavours of Devon’s fields, shoreline, rivers and hedgerows is the underlying principle of everything they do

Any chef worth their salt knows where their produce comes from, yet the zealous team at this Totnes restaurant go the extra mile by foraging many of the ingredients on their menu.

Their produce-led practices have seen Gather feature on Channel 4’s Remarkable Places to Eat and receive two AA rosettes. For chefs Harrison Brockington and Oli Rosier, showcasing the unique flavours of Devon’s fields, shoreline, rivers and hedgerows is the underlying principle of everything they do. 

Constant refinement and unshackled creativity result in dishes that appeal to the culinarily curious. Milk and honey parfait, for example, is crafted using locally sourced Buckfast Abbey honey and topped with wild flowers under an architectural tuile dome.

Superior steaks

Restaurant Kensington, 1 Castle Hill, Lynton, EX35 6JA

Lynton’s most exciting new culinary addition mixes up steak suppers with fine fish dishes and smart puds for a delicious night out on Exmoor

Lynton’s most exciting new culinary addition mixes up steak suppers with fine fish dishes and smart puds for a delicious night out on Exmoor.

Exmoor-reared beef is showcased in a top-drawer menu featuring unusual sharing cuts such as chateaubriand, tomahawk and porterhouse, as well as the more commonly found fillet, rump and sirloin.

The beef is treated with reverence by head chef Matthew Rutter and paired with a plethora of sauces and sides like buttery smoked mash, beef-fat carrots and bacon-jam mac and cheese.

 The desserts are particularly beautiful; the chocolate delice is recommended for its malty homemade ice cream, smooth cocoa delice and crisp shard of praline.

Old-school glamour

Bovey Castle, North Bovey, TQ13 8RE

Head chef Mark Budd makes the most of the estate’s abundant produce, which includes seasonal vegetables, locally reared beef and game, and produce from the kitchen garden

From the sweeping driveway leading to this neo-Elizabethan manor house to the warm welcome from tweed-clad porters, a visit to award-winning Bovey Castle always starts in style.

The impressive venue is set on the edge of Dartmoor within 275 acres of lush countryside, where guests can indulge in an array of traditional English country pursuits –from clay pigeon shooting and off-road driving to fly fishing and falconry.

There’s also an 18-hole championship golf course. After an action-packed day of activities (or a more leisurely stint of pampering in the Elan Spa), the three-AA-rosette Great Western Grill awaits. 

Head chef Mark Budd makes the most of the estate’s abundant produce, which includes seasonal vegetables, locally reared beef and game, and produce from the kitchen garden. 

Begin the dining adventure in style with an aperitif at the glamorous Champagne Bar.

Contemporary cool

Circa, 26 High Street, Totnes, TQ9 5RY

Inside the four walls of a historical Grade II-listed building in Totnes, chef Rob Weeks makes light work of contemporary cooking using unusual ingredients

Inside the four walls of a historical Grade II-listed building in Totnes, chef Rob Weeks makes light work of contemporary cooking using unusual ingredients.

The small plates emphasise sharing cuts and ferments. The kitchen crew also favour cooking over open flame, which takes grilled foods next-level – especially Sundays’ sharing-cut roasts.

The team are constantly looking to improve their zero-waste systems. A market garden is flourishing, while developments include a mushroom grow-room and a dry store to expand the fermenting operation.

Try such innovations as the lion’s mane kebab of homemade sourdough flatbread, pan-roasted Dartington lion’s mane mushrooms, hay butter, cider, spent-coffee glaze and shiitake mushroom served three ways (a decadent foam, preserved and raw).

Discover more of the best restaurants in Devon and the South West of England by purchasing the Trencherman’s Guide edition 33 at trenchermans-guide.com.

All imagery supplied by Trencherman’s Guide