The Windwhistle Inn is large pub and restaurant between Cricket St Thomas and Crewkerne. It has a…read morelarge car park with one of the best views you are likely to get of the sweeping Somerset countryside. The Windwhistle is a large Inn, with a variety of different types of seating, form the spacious sun-soaked tables of the Orangery, that leads to outside tables that maximise the magnificent view, to the more classical pub tables in the bar. It even has its own forty seater restaurant and function room, this is a big place. Wanting a decent meal, after a dining disaster the previous evening, we would not be disappointed. Friendly and helpful staff, that seemed genuinely interested in what we had to say, was a promising start, as was the wide ranging menu and well stocked bar. The menu had a good range of dishes, from standard dishes like scampi and curry, to the daily specials, above the fireplace. My wife and I plumped for the special of prawn and monkfish Thai Curry. When the curry arrived I was staggered by the portion size, over ten sizeable chunks of monkfish, huge tiger prawns, sticky rice, a spicy Thai curry sauce and a huge bowl of noodles. It tasted as good as it looked, full of flavour, a hearty filling meal, just what we wanted. It was fairly pricey at around £14, but worth every penny. The strawberry pavlova dessert to follow was equally generous and very tasty. Rounding of the meal a good strong cup of coffee, I was tempted to give the Windwhistle five stars for the overall blend of great service, wonderful food and a brilliant setting, but that would require further visits; just wished we didn't live so far away!

One visit only so brief review. Food was very good, nicely…read morepresented and fair value. Menu was about right in terms of variety without excess. Nice dining/bar areas. Orangery looked a bit soulless but it wasn't in use at the time. Good selection of interesting local ales. Only missteps were the food seemed to take too long to get to the table given it was such a quiet lunch (40 minutes), and service was friendly but a bit uneven. Nice young ladies who might benefit from a little more guidance around customer service.

Arrived in the rain... with some help from the iphone map. walked through the door and were greeted…read moreby a friendly waiter. how did he know we had walked through the door? the place is small but well decorated, it has the feeling of a french mason, med villa and english eating room. the dinning room has seating for about 20 people served by 2 people and a matron. the service was good, friendly. if you are pretentious about service, pretty waitresses (it is waiters) and the london style then this service will probably not match your style. the menu is set with a range of about 8 options for each courses. the food was beautiful, and well balanced flavours and tastes. the wine was good and the bill was came in under estimate. £45 head including tip, drink, 3 courses and port. I will be returning.

So. After a long time coming, I made it to the Willow Tree last night. It was the final restaurant…read morein Taunton that I hadn't been to, so I was excited as well as disappointed that I'd gone through them all. We had a warm welcome in there and we were shown to our table right away. We were a table of six - four chefs and two publicans. It's tiny in here, but that really adds to the ambience and charm of the place. I'd imagine that I'd feel a bit self conscious if I was on a date with a hot lady, the tables seem pretty close.. An awkward silence would be noticed by all the other diners. As for the food though, it was really good. I had a game terrine to start. Roast duck with dauphinoise for mains and a sticky chocolate cake for pud. We had a measly bit of delicious home made bread as well, I like to be in charge of my own bread, not be offered one slice, however delicious is it. We went on a Wednesday, so it was under £30 for three courses. That's great value if you think about it. A duck breast would cost maybe £16-17 elsewhere, then split the other two courses between the rest. We spent a fortune, but we had lots of wine. All in all a very nice place, and something Taunton needs to hang on to before it is totally overrun with faux Italian joints. I'll go again for sure. Cheers.

Rediscovered this place the other night…read more Every bit as good as I remember, with great atmosphere and brilliant food. Service was relaxed but pretty good in general - this isn't the sort of place to rush things. The menu always looks pretty tasty, and manages be interesting and fresh. It's quite easy for gastropubs to fall into an unimaginative rut with their food. Totally forgot to borrow one of their menus at the end of the evening as it had some great ideas for dishes. I think the thing which put us off in the past was the slightly aloof service. I'm glad to say that the staff on that night were great - clearly from the pashmina and white jeans brigade, but very good none the less.

I was staying in Long Load and we drove at least 25 minutes to get to the Pub. My hosts had heard…read moreabout it from friends. Our party was 3 adults and two kids, age 7 and 9. We were there end of May 2012, at about 7 in the evening. At the same time we arrived, a local farmer pulled up in his tractor. He had stopped in for a pint on his way to feed his cattle. I thought that was a good sign. Nice atmosphere inside, but we had such good weather we sat in the garden. There was a decent selection of beer on tap. I was offered tastes of several so that i could make up my mind. Kids had macaroni & cheese with a bucket of chips to share. The fillet and mushroom dish was divine. Creme Brulee was rich, and we shared a cheese plate as well. Yummy. Staff was cheerful and offered to take pictures for us, which turned out well. We all enjoyed the garden. Some patrons brought their dogs which were not unwelcome. I felt like I was at the home of a frien, who happened to be a fantastic cook!

The Devonshire Arms is a Pub come Restaurant come Hotel that sits beautifully in the centre of Long…read moreSutton, just off the village green. The old inn has been recently spruced up and is perhaps a little too modern for my likely, but the olde world touches to the restaurant, bar and hotel are it's saving grace. I went here for a big birthday lunch with the family and the food was excellent. I certainly couldn't fault it, even if the furniture, menu presentation and other aspects reminded me a little tooo much of All Bar One. The hotel is perfect for a Somerset visit, being in the middle of many great attractions, from Glastonbury to Montacute House, Cheddar Gorge and much, much, more. If you are looking for a weekend getaway then this is as good a spot as any, and although the rooms are on the pricier side, you can certainly tell the difference between the Devonshire and other pub hotels in the area.

WOW! That's the best word to describe our visit last week…read more We were a disparate group of 12, ranging from 9 months to 76 years with a couple of food allergies thrown in for good measure. We had a very friendly reception when we arrived, shown straight to our table and drinks order taken. Then the food order. As touched on above, we had a two members of our party that are intolerant to both gluten and dairy (henceforth referred to as "the Two" for the sake of brevity); our waiter went to the kitchen to check what would be suitable (this is where it gets good), he came back and explained that more-or-less every dish on the menu, was either suitable or could be adjusted to suit. My Wife (one of the intolerant ones, love saying that!) would have been speechless, had she not been overwhelmed by having a choice, not something she's used to these days (her "choice" is normally limited to ham, egg & chips). The usual bread and butter was served, with gluten free bread and little dishes of balsamic vinegar and olive oil for "the Two"; Amazing! My grand-daughter ( 4 years old) decided she would like fish and a Yorkshire pudding, which you will not be surprised to hear is not a standard menu option, but it was duly served and enjoyed. I have reviewed this place before, and I must just mention that the interior has had a revamp since our last visit and very nice it is too, but to get back to the food: Exemplary. Cooked to perfection. I did specifically comment on the vegetables last time and I will do so again; after the event I always remember the fantastic way the vegetables are cooked, but the memory does not do them justice. To taste them again surpasses the recollection. And "The two" had a good range of sorbets to choose from; I had the Chocolate Torte with praline ice cream. If you haven't got my drift yet, I would totally recommend this place. Please do give it a try.

No welcome , no explanation of ordering, no one to talk to until you order if you go to the…read morebar.Service almost nonexistent , which makes it appear unfriendly. Order at bar or online so can't individualize order as cashier didn't listen and had to be sent back twice. They seemed perturbed. Typical pub food, not bad not great. Peas with Sausage and mash were old and dry. Can't shake that unfriendly feeling as silverware and napkins are not readily available. Skimped on ice cream on the fresh fruit dessert but lots of fruit. Crumble and custard are great! I'd return.

Nice establishment and relatively clean and busy. Similar…read moreto most pubs you order at the counter and they bring your food out. Food is priced reasonably and they have a good range of beers and other beverages. While nothing was off for this visit, nothing excited me either. Food was rather mediocre and some bits a little soggy. I'm sure this would be a more fun place to visit with a bunch of friends and if there were more drinking involved. Unfortunately for us we had driven so we couldn't drink and one person drinking alone is not fun. Would I come here again knowing what I know now? Sure, if other unique places were too busy this is a safe pub to come to. However, its not something you would go out of your way to find. More if you lived closer to the area.

Unfortunately, a very average meal at the hotel-based restaurant. We started our meal with a…read moreshared sampler platter, and then I choice the flat-iron chicken for my dinner. The sampler platter appetizer was confusing and missed the mark on all fronts. There was no "theme" to it, and each dish was off in some way like the garlic spread on toast (almost too spicy due to pure garlic). I had the flat-iron chicken as my main and it was okay, but the chicken could have been cooked a little longer (not a big fan of improperly cooked meats) and the presentation left a bit to be desired. Was hoping for a better experience than this, and the others at my table were a bit disappointed as well.

Been to The Swan a couple of times now, usually impressed but tonight was a bit, off par. The food…read morethey serve ranges from the imaginative to the great british classics. Tonight I had a smoked ham & black pudding hash to start, a nice idea, slightly overcooked hash and some bone in one of them - not a great start. Waitress didn't really show much attention to the table and when presenting the wine-list it was just thrown down on the table (not great.) Main course was a beautifully cooked shin of beef with a saffron risstoo - great combo, slightly bland. Lovely bottle of Malbec and a fantastic setting, interior design. I would recommended, just had a bit of bad luck tonight.

My husband says this is the best Sunday lunch he's ever had in a pub. Nuff said!…read moreIf u want a bit more detail, it's a friendly, light and cosy place serving great food with efficient service. Kids are offered small plates of the adult menu - although if pushed,can rustle up a fishcake or scampi and chips. On Sundays there is a choice of 3 roasts with all the trimmings, a veggie option and a fish dish. The roast pork loin was tender and delicious and the slow roast lamb lean and falling apart. For 7 adults x2 courses plus a kids portion, 6 puddings, wine, beer and cider plus a coffee came to £148 - about £20 pp. Outstanding value and a great foodie destination!

Lovely place to stay!! The location is beautiful, the room is very charming, breakfast is…read moreoutstanding. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. Check in was easy and they provided a flask of milk for tea. After a long journey it was a treat to be able to make a proper cup of tea in the room. I stayed for 4 nights and could not be happier with my choice to stay at the Kingsdon Inn.

Called in for lunch on Saturday,Fairly quiet just after mid-day so easily got a seat.Menu is…read moreextensive and on a 2 for 1 basis.I had a double butterfly chicken breast with bacon and cheese and 1lb of chips {with small green side salad} for £11.75 and my wife had chicken in aBBQ sauce with rice and garlic bread for nothing. Very friendly and attentive staff ,good clean and welcoming surroundings.Also a large specials board with wide range.A Marstons pub so always a good standard.Well worth a visit.