40 Best Restaurants in The West Country, England

One of England's foremost country-house hotels, Gidleigh Park occupies an enclave of landscaped gardens and streams, reached via a lengthy, winding country lane and private drive at the edge of Dartmoor. The pricey contemporary restaurant, directed by chef Chris Eden, has been showered with culinary awards, including two Michelin stars. You may see why when you dig into the steamed turbot served with squash, caviar, and seaweed, or 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 (£125). 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 further 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 currently closed on Sundays and Mondays.

This dining-focused pub with bright, homey furnishings and a relaxed ambience looks past green fields to the ocean beyond. The frequently changing fixed-price menus (£35 or £42) feature fresh, inventively prepared meat and seafood dishes; look for plaice and brown shrimps with capers in a samphire butter sauce or rump of beef with asparagus and polenta. 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.

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 four-course set menu (£70; booking essential) might include such antipasti as beef carpaccio with ginger, toasted sesame, and caramelized tomato, which you might follow with risotto alla Milanese or rigatoni amatriciana, and such mains as cedar-smoked salmon or cherry wood-smoked lamb cutlets. The desserts are equally enticing, such as the raspberry sorbet and chocolate mousse. 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.

Seafood fans can indulge their passion at this unpretentious, convivial spot near the harbor; wood floors, colorful wall tiles, and an array of maritime knickknacks 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 is gradually expanding his culinary presence in Padstow to rival that of Rick Stein, and for many foodies, Ainsworth offers the better experience. His innovative creations can best be sampled at this intimate bistro that was 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 (£135) for lunch and dinner might include scallop with acorn-fed ham and white wine velouté for starters, and for the main course, you might try the tallow aged beef fillet with short rib savarin and stuffed morels or wild turbot with mashed potato and onion gravy, as well as some astounding desserts. The atmosphere is warm and lively, with swift, amiable service.

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 pan-roasted hake with braised octopus and chorizo stew or spiced tomato lentils, polenta, and wild mushrooms, while the lip-smacking desserts include cherry parfait with marshmallow and macerated morello cherries or white chocolate mousse with berries. On the river level, the Pontoon bar has a more rough-and-ready menu that includes oysters, salads, and burgers, and with its terrace seating, it also makes a great spot for a weekend brunch, afternoon coffee, or evening drinks.

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 and Asian elements. A typical starter and main course might be seared scallops with cauliflower, cumin, and mango followed by Creedy Carver duck with baby leeks and Jerusalem artichokes, while desserts include warm rum baba with marinated pineapple, banana, and coconut. Alongside the three-course à la carte dinner menu (£60), there's a six-course tasting menu (£80), an à la carte "casual dining menu" available at lunchtime, and an "evening lounge menu." A converted coach house and the main house contain 16 sumptuously furnished guest rooms. It's 3 miles west of Tavistock.

Just steps away from where the boats unload their daily catches, Rick Stein's modern and airy flagship restaurant has built its reputation on the freshest fish and the highest culinary artistry in town. The menu includes 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. 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.

Within view of Mousehole's tiny harbor, you can dine on some of the area's freshest seafood in this popular bistro. The seasonal, Mediterranean-inspired menu takes in everything from crab soup with rouille (a sauce with breadcrumbs and garlic) and Parmesan toast to crumbed lemon sole fillets with minted pea purée. Meat eaters and vegetarians are also well catered to with dishes like venison ragu and a crispy aubergine burger with Monterey Jack and Korean barbecue sauce. The bright, white-walled dining room has a fresh, modern feel, and there are tables in the sheltered courtyard garden. The restaurant also offers delicious breakfasts and and operates a deli around the corner (No.1 Millpool Deli/Store) for takeout fresh picnic ingredients, pastries, and coffees. Self-catering accommodation is available, too.

One of the town's most famous inns, the 17th-century Admiral Benbow was once a smugglers' pub—look for the figure of a smuggler on the roof, and (if it's not too busy) ask to see the tunnel used for contraband. There's a good selection of West Country ales, and in the family-friendly dining room, decorated to resemble a ship's officers' mess, you can enjoy pizzas, seafood, and steaks. Seafaring memorabilia, a brass cannon, model ships, and figureheads fill the place.

This tiny backstreet burger joint consistently draws enthusiastic crowds for its delicious burgers made of pure Cornish beef or vegan and vegetarian ingredients. The lightly toasted buns are baked with sesame seeds (there are gluten-free alternatives), toppings include field mushrooms and wilted spinach, and the skin-on fries are hand-cut. Organic wines and local beers and ciders are also available. There's normally a line outside, but you can phone ahead with your order, and if the limited seating outside is occupied, carry your burgers to the nearby beach—just watch out for the marauding gulls.

The finest of a slew of restaurants and cafés clustered in Bristol's trendy, newly developed Wapping Wharf harborside district, this compact venue might be squeezed into a shipping container, but punches way above what its diminutive dimensions might suggest. The seasonally changing menu is also on the small side, but every dish is startlingly original, and each is a winner. Smoked trout with Jersey Royal potatoes, buttermilk, and horseradish, for example, is an excellent start to such mains as rump of lamb, borlotti beans, and charred radicchio. Desserts are also fabulous, and you can watch it all taking shape in the open kitchen. Dishes on the seven-course taster menu (£50; request when booking) are unspecified—it may surprise but will not disappoint. The restaurant is steps away from the Floating Harbour and M Shed, and there are tables outside on the deck for warm days.

Here's a change from the usual food in Exeter: a Portuguese bistro in the heart of pedestrianized Gandy Street, offering an authentic menu of Iberian specialties. The extensive menu includes such traditional dishes as frango à brás (chicken with chopped potatoes and onions, sprinkled with olives and parsley), francesinha (a steak sandwich from Porto, with spicy sausage, ham, cheese, and a salty beer gravy), and polvo à lagareiro (confit garlic octopus with crushed new potatoes). There's an impressive choice of vegetarian alternatives, and among the numerous desserts, you'll find an assortment of dangerously delicious pastéis de nata (egg custard tarts), accompanied with coffee, liqueur, ice cream, or just served plain. The decor in the two bright, neat rooms features the cork and tiles of the restaurant's name, enhanced by modern Portuguese art. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly.

Locals and visitors alike make a beeline for this gastro-pub in a 16th-century building with a number of small dining spaces done in spare, contemporary country style. The elegantly presented dishes may include dry-aged moorland sirloin in a peppercorn sauce, beer-battered hake, or butternut squash risotto with salsa verde. Set-price menus are sometimes available, and there's a separate vegan and vegetarian menu. If you don't want to go the whole hog at lunchtime, wholesome sandwiches are also served every day but Sunday). Three spacious guest rooms make it possible to linger.

This little restaurant near the cathedral adds a continental touch to quiet Wells. French and Mediterranean influences are at the forefront of the lunch and dinner menus, which showcase seafood dishes such as crayfish salad, tuna carpaccio, grilled sea bass with asparagus, and roast fillet of hake with couscous. Other choices include roast duck breast with stir-fried vegetables and Lebanese spiced minced lamb. Desserts intersperse French patisserie items (like choux bun with Chantilly cream) with such enticements as affogato and pistachio frangipane and strawberry tart. There are set-price lunch and dinner menus too, including a five-course seafood menu (£65).

For glorious views of Bristol's most iconic sight, this restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Avon Gorge and Clifton Suspension Bridge can't be beaten. The menu is unapologetically carnivorous, specializing in steaks and smoked meats such as pastrami and ribs, though you can also enjoy spiced cauliflower steak, braised veal cheek, poached monkfish, and burgers. Sited inside the Avon Gorge Hotel and part of the Hotel du Vin group, it is named after the two legendary giants whose competition for the hand of the beautiful Avona led to the carving of the gorge. Enjoy pre- or post-prandial drinks on the broad outdoor terrace of the adjacent White Lion bar (also a lunch option for when the restaurant is closed).

For views and location, this breezy beachside eatery with a crisp, modern interior and deck seating can't be beat. On the menu you'll find hearty breakfasts and a judicious balance of meat, seafood, and vegetarian dishes for lunch and dinner, from salads, sandwiches, and burgers to smoked fish trio and pork belly ribs. There are barbecues in summer, and live music on Sunday evening.

Seafood is the main event in the two small, pink-toned rooms of this restaurant off Market Jew Street. The menu showcases whatever the boats bring, though crab Florentine, grilled on a bed of spinach with a cheese sauce, is usually available. Meat dishes might include noisettes of Cornish lamb with fennel puree and rosemary sauce in spring and summer or breast of guinea fowl or venison loin in winter. The restaurant is small—just six tables—and the semiformal style is intimate, elegant, and traditional.

This friendly bistro with wooden floors and simple tables has been at the heart of Exeter's vegetarian and vegan scene for more than 30 years. It's an ideal spot for unwinding over leisurely conversation and enjoying such dishes as spinach and mushroom lasagna; a jackfruit, beet, and bean burger; kari sayur (a Malaysian-style curry with split peas, butternut squash, peppers, and sugar snaps); or carrot and cashew nutloaf with a wild mushroom sauce. Leave room for such scrumptious desserts as "Heaven in Devon" (fudge ice cream with chocolate brownie and a vanilla sauce). All the wines are organic, too.

Overlooking Swanpool Beach a mile south of Falmouth, this popular eatery has a lively buzz and a menu that showcases the best seafood to be found in Cornish waters. Plump and juicy scallops from Falmouth Bay, mussels served with baked focaccia, wild prawns in 'nduja sauce, lobster with garlic and herb butter, crab risotto, and plain old fish-and-chips are among the favorite items on the family-friendly menu, while cocktails and mocktails can be ordered at the table or in the adjoining alfresco bar. Staff are young and enthusiastic, and the ambience is relaxed. Book a table on the outdoor terrace for the best experience—Pendennis Castle is visible just across the bay. Swanpool Beach is a stop on the Falmouth Coaster bus route.

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 installed three separate dining rooms to showcase his highly original recipes. The wow-factor starts the moment you arrive, with unforgettable estuary views forming a fitting prelude to the gastronomic feast to follow. The seasonal four-course lunch menu (£95), à la carte fixed-price menu (£155), and multicourse tasting menus (£180 and £195) might include such dishes as shellfish ravioli with langoustine bisque, salted Newlyn cod with lemon purée, Lyme Bay crab, samphire, and chorizo, and poached chicken with Wye Valley asparagus and wild garlic. There is a separate vegetarian and vegan menu that has choices like herb and nettle risotto with aged Parmesan cheese, while typical desserts include apple mousse with green apple jelly, apple sorbet, and vanilla foam, and mango and lime soufflé. Luxurious accommodations are also available on site.

Intimate and elegant, this restaurant located within a luxury guesthouse is an ideal hideaway if you want some respite from the crowds swirling around St. Ives. Everything on the seven-course tasting menu (£49 or £69) is locally sourced and seasonal, and the chef will take the time to talk you through each dish; the menu's highlights might include lobster bolognese cannelloni with a caramelly lobster sauce, duck with Puy lentils and smoked carrot, or guinea fowl terrine with celeriac and pickled mushroom. With its boldly patterned wallpaper, the restaurant enlivens its classic style with modern decor, and there are superb views over Porthminster beach and the sea.

Bristol's former stock exchange has found a new role as an atmospheric Indian eatery. It's the perfect setting for classic and innovative Indian dishes such as nilgiri korma (chicken or lamb in a creamy almond sauce with rose petals) and machi mazadaar (salmon with mustard seeds and tamarind water). All the opulent trimmings have been restored, including the mahogany paneling, rich drapes, tiled staircase, and elegant statuary.

One of the country's foremost chefs, Nathan Outlaw, has established a base in Port Isaac, where he has two top-notch seafood restaurants. The Fish Kitchen, right on the quay, is the more casual of the two, occupying a 15th-century fisherman’s cottage with just eight tables and the three-course fixed-price menu (£88 per person) features the freshest seafood available, all creatively prepared and sustainably sourced. Your meal might include monkfish satay with peanuts and lime or cured gurnard with sweet potato, chili, and coriander. The smarter, roomier, and pricier Outlaw's New Road at the top of the village also serves a set seafood menu for lunch and dinner at £105 per person (Tuesday through Saturday). No children under 10 are allowed in either restaurant.

This thatched pub on a creek 4 miles north of Falmouth is a great retreat, with both a patio and a moored pontoon for summer dining. The menu features standard pub grub—for example, a half-pint of prawns with lemon mayonnaise and pork and leek sausages—but you may be satisfied with just a local ale or a West Country organic wine by the waterside. Maritime memorabilia and fresh flowers provide decoration, and there's a blazing fire in winter. You can sit in the bar, in the oak-beamed room upstairs, or outside.

Unbeatable for its location alone—on the broad, golden sands of Porthminster Beach—this sleek, modern eatery prepares imaginative lunches and evening meals that you can savor while you take in the marvelous vista across the bay. The accent is on Mediterranean and Asian seafood dishes, and typical choices include sea bass fillet with local asparagus and a sauce vierge, Indonesian monkfish curry, and roasted duck breast with baked beetroot, burnt orange, and gin sauce. There's a gin bar and outdoor kitchen too—a tempting stop on a sunny day for breakfast, a snack, or just a drink—and two sister restaurants (Porthminster Kitchen on the harborside and Porthgwidden Beach Restaurant, in the Downalong neighborhood) have smaller and cheaper menus that are equally strong on seafood.

Fresh seafood landed at the nearby quays, such as sea bass and hake, features high on the menu at this Barbican eatery, but you will also find pastas, risottos, steaks, and slow-cooked duck-leg confit. Cornish mussels or grilled scallops make an ideal light lunch, while desserts include crème brûlée served with salted caramel ice cream or raspberry and Champagne sorbet. The modern decor in the two dining areas—upstairs and downstairs—is crisply white, the service is enthusiastic, and the atmosphere is warm and friendly.

A 14th-century inn and a row of thatched cottages make up this pub-restaurant with great views over the Bristol Channel. The kitchen mixes local cuisine with European influences, so expect dishes like Exmoor rib-eye steak and roasted artichoke, tomato, and black olive Provençal tart. There's fresh seafood year-round, and a superb game menu in winter. Booking ahead is advisable for the restaurant; otherwise, just show up for the bar menu, which features such snacks as soused mackerel fillet and crab sandwiches. In the attached hotel, corridors and creaking staircases lead to cozy guest rooms decorated in stylish print or solid fabrics.

This small and buzzing bistro has a rock-and-roll flavor, thanks to the walls adorned with posters of music icons. Diners squeeze onto benches and into booths to savor dishes made with local seafood, including a majestic bouillabaisse, or just a simple "Samburger." Steaks and "super salads" are also on the menu. You may have to wait for a table, but there's a slinky lounge-bar upstairs for a preprandial drink.

Around the corner from the cathedral, you can lift a tankard of bitter in the very rooms where Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh enjoyed their ale. The pub dishes out casual bar fare, from sandwiches and grills to steaks and ale pies, either in the bar or in the beamed and paneled upstairs restaurant. Drake, in fact, once wrote, "Next to mine own shippe, I do most love that old ‘Shippe' in Exon."