What a great little find! Cute place! Lovely service. Beautiful gardens. Clean bathrooms, and most…read moreimportantly, fabulous food. I wasn't expecting much, but left delighted.

From the owner: Quaint and traditional 16th century pub and restaurant on the edge of Dartmoor, offering great…read moreales, Ciders. Only 10 miles from Exeter and 15 miles from Okehampton. Only 1 minute off the A30 Devon to Cornwall road.

This place is a little gem, well worth the detour from Tiverton if you are passing through Devon or…read moreSomerset. The staff were really friendly and welcoming when we arrived and encouraged us to try some locally sourced ciders and gin. There were three menu options - a la carte, an extensive specials menu and a set three course weekend lunch. The food has a fine dining feel in a relaxed, casual setting. The duck two ways was a real highlight.

The UK is literally littered with country pubs, and in many cases it's sad to say, but…read moreappropriately phrased perhaps, that what they serve up as food is pretty rubbish. The phrase 'home cooked' seems to have been superceded my the concept of 'van delivered' all too often. Thankfully that's not the case at the Five Bells in Clyst Hydon. It's one of the very first places I visited when I moved to Devon many years ago, as a friend recommended it, and I've been returning ever since. It's the kind of place you turn to where you just know you won't be disappointed, a foodies rock in an otherwise tempestuous chain pub ocean. The pub's one many awards over the years, so I won't go on about how tasty the food is, but I will say that one of the nice things I've always liked about it is that they are still experimenting. Sure you can get your english staples there like steak & kidney pudding, game pate, treacle pudding, etc., but also other treats such as mediterranean tarts. The chef here is one of those increasingly rare beasts, someone who really knows what to buy and how to cook it. It's not some kind of reinvented gastro pub either - it's just a good pub with good food - why is that so hard to manage anymore? I should say they also stock a fine range of drinks, including the Otter beers, once of Devon's best breweries. Then there's the location and the pub itself. Buried deep in the heart of Devon, near some great woods (with some interesting mushrooms to hunt), wonderful gardens outside and an interior that just seems to keep on going, full of nooks and crannies, games to play, old books to read and much more. I once took a friend and his (very small) three girls for lunch there and the owners and staff didn't blink an eye. Sure they made sure we were tucked around the corner a bit but the girls didn't mind and all loved the food! If that isn't enough to tempt you then how about the fact that Clyst Hydon itself has it's very own lido just round the corner from the pub? Just check the Google map and you'll see it just next door. All in all this place is a gem. A little hard to find perhaps but if you can find it, then you deserve it. P.S. There's a two course lunch menu at £7.95 available from Monday - Thursday and Saturday. This is my favourite as I never know what I'm getting till I turn up at the pub.

I just stayed here for a wedding. Decent sized parking area with a very nice garden. Beautiful…read moreplace. It was very welcoming and clean with all new bathrooms with cozy robes, complimentary beer, fizzy water, biscuits, and we enjoyed some great food. Breakfast was included. Also very dog friendly! They provided a dog bed for the family dog. Oh and very lovely beer brewed on side! Will be back for sure!

An absolute gem of a pub in one of Devon's prettiest, most tucked away coastal villages. The…read moreMason's Arms is, quite simply, a fantastic place in every sense of the word. I've stopped off for a snack or a quick drink a couple of times, and it's always really impressed me, and the lunch my parents and I had recently ranks as one of the best pub dinners the Andrews family can remember. Their crab sandwiches were fresh, as were the fish in their delicious creamy leek fish stew, while the ploughmans was huge. Desserts of chocolate and pecan brownie and banana fritters with toffee sauce were gobbled up. Ok, it's not cheap for a Devon pub, but the food is worth every penny - there was hardly anything on the menu I didn't want to scoff down. The pub itself is a charming sprawl of wooden rooms, and a small seating area out the front. It's homely and although the staff run a slick operation, they're still friendly and helpful. The pub was recently taken over by St Austell Brewery, so there's a good range of their beers, plus a couple of guest ales. This includes one local beer brewed in Branscombe. It's quaint, delicious, comfy and sits in one of the most stunning areas of the Devon coast. It is, quite simply, a perfect pub.

Good food, friendly service and nice atmosphere at a fair price. Went at a busy time so food took…read morea bit longer, but overall a good spot.

very friendly staff, dogs welcome, very nice food and very reasonably priced. would highly…read morereccomend to friends / family.

Devon is not on top of its yelp game, so I'm out to review all the places I've been to help it out…read more I've been to Jack twice now, both times on business dinners. First off, you need to call and book a table in advance. You arrive close to your time of booking, but don't plan to eat at that time. You take a seat in the social waiting lounge. A server will bring you menus and get you a local beer while you look over the menu. When you're ready to order, you do so from the waiting area. Once your order is stated by the kitchen, you get a table. This is such a great system for socializing. It's much nicer to sit on a comfy chair in a group versus being stuck at a dinner table. The food is quite delicious, but the menu is very limited. I've had the grilled goat cheese*, a roasted chicken dish, the seasonal vegetable side, and the posh prawn cocktail. All was delicious, but on the last visit I really wanted something light and lean, but they don't have that. I was thinking a pretty simple salad with some grilled chicken. Not an option here. It's a gastropub and they only do that style of food. *If you order the grilled goat cheese as a main you will get 2x the goat cheese and some potatoes. That isn't clear on the menu, but that's what happens. Still, the food they turn out is mostly local and they donate a portion of certain food (I think the fish and chips) to a local charity. It's definitely a great option in the Exeter area. I must leave you with one final note. Although I'm not a fan of sweets, Most of my colleagues and customers order their sticky toffee pudding. It is apparently one of the better ones in the area.

This place was just a couple of miles away from my office - and it was nice to come here for a…read moretreat on a lunchtime! THe lunch menu is very good - the home-made soups and breads are great. The food is very good quality - I didn't get to another pub in the vicinity that was anywhere near as good in terms of quality. It's well worth the effort to come out here if you're Exeter based.

very nice establishment which has recently been renovated and is…read morevery cozy inside. food is mid range in price. very welcoming host who makes an effort to remeber ones name.

Great place. Very good food, friendly service, well kept, good booze, clean, big fire, not pushy…read more Pretty near the perfect pub.

Beautiful place to sit and be with nature and watch the river and world go by, lovely cream teas…read moreand meals. Lovely setting lovely place to walk the dog.

we were on a walking trip and had dinner at this restaurant. it was pouring rain and we walked a…read moremile to it. totally worth it! excellent food and service in a charming place, also their house wine was great. very reasonable. the owner heard us saying that we needed to finish our food quickly as we didn't want it to get too dark to walk back to where we were staying. she very kindly left her restaurant at a very busy time and gave us a lift back, saving us a walk in the dark and rain! a big thank you!

Having been to the UK 2x before, I was still waiting to be wowed by any of the food. So this 3rd…read moretrip was a holiday in Devon with my lady. Our cottage in Chulmleigh had a brief paragraph about the Masons Arms and mentioned it was Michelin's 2010 Pub of the Year. Off we went. Stopped by in the afternoon to make reservations for that evening. Enjoyed a nice Cotleigh Tawny bitter while we perused the menu ahead of time. We were delighted with our options from starter to dessert. Couldn't wait for the evening! We arrived for dinner and ordered a drink at the bar. The place is very cozy and staff professional - smiles all around. They are all happy to be there and it really makes the place enjoyable. The Masons Arms was one of my favorite dinner experiences ever. We were brought into a comfy side room with our drinks and handed the menus to review while we munched on complimentary olives, etc. A few minutes later we placed our orders and were left to conversation - which was essentially wondering what would be happening next. The waitress came back and brought us to our little table along the window - where our wine and starter were brought almost as soon as we sat down. Interesting and effective way to do things. Is that common over in the UK? Who cares! Starters: I had the smoked haddock leek and potato soup and she had the chicken liver parfait with chili jam and brioche toast. Both were just sooo astonishingly good. Main: I had the John Dory with clams, butter beans and chive ravioli. Delicious but I think I liked her prosciutto-wrapped monkfish loin with creamed potato in an orange/balsamic sauce. We couldn't stop talking about how good they were. Dessert: We ordered the roasted pineapple pannacotta and the special - chocolate ganache with lime jelly. Both were good and a great end to a great meal. I am not big on sweets but a good dark chocolate hits the spot every time - and the special was really nice. The triangles of lime jelly were a pleasant and delicious surprise, as I didn't think I would care for them. Overall - great meal. Great meal worth every penny - on the high side but well worth it. Of course, we might have gone overboard but it was our holiday! Service was excellent - not one of those places where staff comes by so often it's annoying. They were attentive at just the right times. I will certainly be back should I ever venture anywhere near the Masons Arms again. Great job Mark, Sarah and staff!

New Fountain in Whimple has had a huge overhaul and looks amazing inside and out! Had a wonderful…read morelunch yesterday, with huge portions and very reasonably priced. Great welcoming atmosphere, new layout of the pub works really well, can't wait to come back!!

We had Christmas dinner at the New Fountain Inn in Whimple yesterday. What a fab fab day. Meal was…read morelovely. We were with good friends . Didn't feel rushed at all just a really lovely atmosphere and very relaxed. Thank you to Domanic, paddy and Jules And all the other staff. You all I did us proud. Really looking forward to breakfasts too n the new year.