Royal Oak, Overstratton

A rather third-rate wannabe-gastropub. Nice building but the cider is average at best, food is poor and the portions stingy in the extreme. Nasty aroma of hydrocarbons from the gas fire in the ancient inglenook! Oh, and watch out for the very amiable pub dog's droppings in the garden and car park... All in all, I cannot honestly recommend this place.

12 Feb 2019 06:50

The Bath Hotel, Lynmouth

No idea what the place used to be like, but I have eaten and drunk here twice this winter. The pub/restaurant now trades under the separate name "The Ancient Mariner", and has an interesting decor theme, from a 21-inch torpedo outside to old ship's bells, builders' plates and marine-based metal sculptures on the walls. It is odd but undeniably smart. Excellent Sandford Orchards coders on tap (I particularly liked the Devon Red). Food was exceedingly good too (I had an especially memorable king prawn and mussel linguine). Ignore outdated negative reviews - this site seems to be dying and the moderators are doing nothing to ensure balance isn't affected by a total lack of recent reviews.

12 Feb 2019 06:44

The William IV, Albury

All previous reviews to be disregarded - "George" is long gone (the landlord's name is Simon) and this is now a friendly pub with good food, good beer and lots of locals with dogs and muddy Land Rovers. The decor is a bit dull, and the bar area is small while the upstairs dining area is pretty big, but families are welcome and prices are reasonable.

16 Sep 2016 16:19