Candlelight Inn in South Somerset

We arrived a bit before opening at lunch, but we were warmly welcomed. Intended having coffee to warm up after a walk but ended up staying for lunch - delicious! Very friendly owners, warm atmosphere, plenty of parking

Amazing food, wine is delicious, crisp and cold, I had pinot grigio. I had the steak which was cooked to perfection, my partner had a burger which he said was the best burger he has had in a long time, really juicy! Highly recommended. The staff are really friendly and accommodating, especially with my food intolerance to dairy. We didn't book but there are only two of us. I think if I came again I would do. It seems very popular.

This is our third visit to the Candlelight which is now our favourite place to eat. The staff are extremely friendly, helpful and flexible and even when busy have time to welcome us and chat. The food is 5 star. We just had a family Sunday roast there with everything cooked to perfection and beautifully presented. The owners have created a very special relaxed friendly atmosphere. We look forward to many more visits.

We visited The Candlelight yesterday evening, and what a wonderful place. Gareth and Miranda are fantastic hosts and are really running the place well. The food was outstanding, I had the burger and my partner had the fish and chips, cooked to perfection. I would highly recommend a visit.

Great Atmosphere with a good sized menu, food was of good quality with a large array of beers and local ciders available in the bar. The venue itself was very well themed with many large open fires which created a cosy and warm atmosphere. The staff were very friendly and the service was quick and efficient. The venue was easy to find with plenty of free parking.

This is a great pub. Really lovely interior with three lovely fires. Great food and excellent Primitivo (which makes me assume their wine list is good overall) and both food and wine at a very good price point. The roast beef was excellent and plentiful. The vegetables were delicious. Good roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and cauliflower/broccoli cheese. We had dessert and coffee - all super. All in all, it was an excellent meal. The service was friendly and efficient. Hector dog was made a big fuss of with treats and welcome. Level access from the car park into the main pub and to the bar. It was appreciated that our table had been thoughtfully positioned with a chair removed to make space for my wheelchair. The only downside is currently an inaccessible loo, which all it needs is the door putting on to open the other way and a grab rail. But I was very impressed with the assurance this would be put right. 100% recommend. Thank you to the owners and staff 🙏

Beautiful setting for a country pub. The food was ok if I’m honest we were a bit disappointed we ordered the roasts. They took 45 mins just to take our order. The meat was beautifully cooked but the gravy and Yorkshire pudding’s were dripping in fat it really let it down. Disappointing to hear the owner bad mouth other local establishments and how others have copied “You” My advice to you would be, never slag of the competition especially to your customer even if they do provide a similar experience. Many pubs/ restaurants up and down the country are very much the same these days and marketed to this same level of service, atmosphere, local sourced food. Farm to fork all cooked to a certain standard. You are not alone in this. You should be supporting your fellow community not running it down.

Visited for lunch. Surprised to find there were only 2 other diners there. Food was lukewarm, pasta overcooked and only dressed with orange zest, mandarin segments and very dull piece of fish not good value for £25.00 Christmas pudding for £11.00 very small portion, rubbery texture and very little fruit in evidence, runny creme anglais with floury aftertaste Service very attentive What a shame as it’s a lovely pub

Excellent Sunday Roasts with good attention to detail on all constituent elements. This was the first visit since the new owners took over and we were pleased to note that there has been no fall off in standards or ambience - both owners and all their staff were friendly and responsive to requests.

Enjoyed tapas but not back til April and Xmas menu through December doesn't include turkey, strange decisions

First time we have visited since new people took over. Place is lovely, comfortable and friendly. We had the lunchtime tapas menu and thoroughly enjoyed it. Service was very good, charming young lady served us who was extremely knowledgeable even though she had only been there a week, a real asset to the place. We will definitely be back.

Lovely place brilliant waitress but unfortunately let down by the food, starters were im sure mixed up with a child’s portion and the main albeit very tasty was let down by being a little warm rather than hot! And the rice felt like microwave food, and the price didn’t really match the standard of the food. Sad to say our anniversary meal was a bit of a let down.

We turned up on a busy Sunday lunchtime without a booking and the manager was fantastic. We wanted a table outside as we had two energetic, muddy labradors with us and it was a sunny day. They weren't doing food outside that day however the manager made an exception for us and bought the menus and the food himself. Brilliant 5 star service and much appreciated. The food was absolutely delicious too. Highly recommend and will definitely be back.

Late booking for Sunday lunch. Lots of veg, all very tasty. Not much beef sadly, and it was rather tough, but it was late in the afternoon. Lemon cake was lovely. Ordered a couple of flat whites - first time with cocoa sprinkled liberally on, not something I would order again!! In all, lovely place, good service and would definitely go back.

Recently had a meal here for my friends 30th, was served undercooked chicken, which we mentioned to the staff to only be offered a free drink, which has made myself very ill

Went for Sunday lunch our Granddaughter found this brilliant place, from the moment you step inside the experience was excellent. 4 persons in the party 2 had the Chicken and two had the pork, the lady that took our orders was new to this establishment but was excellent and friendly, The only downside to our meal was that we don't live closer to the pub to visit more regularly. Service,food,staff were excellent so if you live within 20 mile or more radius of the pub go there it really is worth a visit.

Great place and even better food.. I will return to explore the area some more soon.

A group of friends went to the Candlelight Inn 25 Sept for the fine dining experience. The new chef cooked an amazing meal. The atmosphere was great, which all made it a very enjoyable evening. Thanks to the whole team for a successful evening, down to the hard work.

If you want the genuine charm of a Countryside Pub and a retreat into tranquility then I recommend that you take the time to visit, you will be met with a warm welcome, amazing food and a charming and cosy venue. I'll come again, thank you for the wonderful evening!

After being recommended to visit the candlelight inn by friends speaking very highly of the sharing roast boards with cauliflower cheese. We were slightly disappointed by the average roast, no side order options. Also only one starter on the menu (Soup) which is probably the reason the pub only had about 10tables in. The pub building and decor is lovely.

This place for a roast dinner is up there with one of the best roast dinners I’ve had to date. The pub is lovely highly recommend you take a trip to try it if you are in the area. You would need to book in advance as this seems really popular.

Went with the family yesterday to try out the tapas. Was really impressed with the whole experience. The food was superb and the service was excellent. Highly recommended and thoroughly deserved of 5 stars for everything about the Candlelight Inn.

Lovely Sunday lunch. Limited menu but 3 choices of roast and 3 desserts to choose from. We had the roast beef, roast pork, tiramisu and lemon syllabub and all were very good. Staff were wonderful and service was good. Only thing I would like to see added is stuffing!

Well done to the new proprietors for taking on this wonderful property. Take no notice of shallow and entitled customers like JaneB, fortunately most out there are not so up themselves, is her name really Karen? Keep up the good work and welcome to the Candlelight, you are very welcome.

Had a wonderful Sunday lunch at The Candlelight yesterday, new owners are keen to offer food at sensible prices, I was however very dismayed to read a previous review from a so called local who berated them for not honouring a gift voucher from previous owners, leaving such a negative review is both damaging to the business and new owners, I for one will be recommending the pub to my friends and holiday guests and wish them a successful future, ‘if you don’t use it you loose it’ I love having a pub in my village.

We visited the Candlelight Inn for the new owners first Sunday roast serving and thoroughly enjoyed it. The food was beautifully cooked and the service was excellent. The salted caramel blondie was one of the best desserts I have ever had.

Visited last night with a £75 voucher from Xmas that was sold with a 12months expiry to be told we could not use it due to change of ownership . Find this very inhospitable not to even be offered half the value and won’t be visiting again or recommend to friend . Not a good way to start a village business with winter on the way and economy as it is 😩

Last minute plan to go out for dinner. Food was lovely and the service was great. Fish and chips had a lovely light batter.

The pub itself is very lovely surroundings and seating. The staff are friendly and pleasant. The wine was excellent, but very overpriced. My husband and I both had the hanger steak. We found the meat stringy and tough. There was hardly any steak, which was overcompensated for by a rich and unpleasant sauce. The portions were extremely small. The chip portion consisted of very thin and tiny amount of chips. The ice cream was pleasant, but again very small scoops.

Trying to be as fair as possible. Start with the pluses. 1, nice decor and clean. Looks refurbished. 2, good atmosphere plenty of people. 3, Staff are polite although lacking experience. 4, The food does have flavour. Now the negatives. 1, Pull the age old trick of would you wait at the bar while we get your table ready (it’s already available they just want to try and squeeze an extra drink out of you). 2, staff although polite lack any real confidence and experience. This would not be a problem if its pub prices they are pitching almost London pricing in Chard. 3, Although the food has flavour and well cooked the portion sizes are frankly ridiculous. I wanted a meal out, not two mouthfuls for a starter and four for main. 4, I dine out a lot. I live in the South Easy and frequent London regularly. The prices they charge for the quality and portion size is shocking. They are trying to be a Michelin Star restaurant without understanding what it takes to be one. Further more it’s marketed as a pub / restaurant which clearly is not the case. The 2 bite starter, 4 bite main and a pint of beer set me back just over £45 I left bemused, still hungry and frankly angry. I would like to say it’s a place to take loved ones for a special meal but sadly it’s not that good 🤷🏼‍♂️ It okay tasting, small portions and expensive along with a restrictive uninspiring menu. I would give it 2.5 stars out of five but I can’t so rounded up to three instead of rounding down to try and be as fair as possible.

Can highly recommend the Sunday roast! I had the beef and my partner had the pork; both were decent portions and tasted perfect.

Fantastic little find, the decor was really good and inviting. The service was impeccable and the food was exceptional, will definitely go again.

Don’t let the word “Inn” fool you; this place is a restaurant thinly disguised as a pub. Very average selection of drinks. Didn’t eat, so can’t comment on the food - although prices were more Surrey, than Somerset.

Not a great choice on the menu and on the expensive side - £21 for a burger and chips! It was tasty though and the chips were nice but not worth that much.

Lovely Inn, recently refurbished. Great staff, very friendly. My husband grilled plaice, which he loved with cheese & biscuits to follow. His comment was "delicious, couldn't fault it!" I had the veg curry and chocolate/cherry dessert which was yummy.

Great restaurant. lovely people. Will come back again when in the area.

Delicious ceviche starter. Burger was fine but I've had better. The best thing were the two waiters, very charming lads, providing a friendly and excellent service.

Absolutely fantastic !! If you haven't been then you must !! Excellent food ,and service from the moment we stepped In, and great music from John Prescott, we will be back !!!

Lovely afternoon at the Candlelight Inn. The food was delicious, the atmosphere lively and the staff were friendly. We would highly recommend 😊

What a wonderful birthday lunch. Food was perfect. Hadn’t been for a while but Mike and Simon remembered us and greeted with a hug. Food just fabulous as always. Extra treat having John Prescott there. Memorable music food and great atmosphere xx coming back soon Sharleen and Peter(and Joey the spaniel - star of the dance floor)

What a shame! We have been many times and the food has always been fantastic. The “new” menu is a huge disappointment. Very much a pub grub menu now, the food was average and the vibe has totally changed. Unfortunately we also had slow and forgetful service by the staff.

Great food, great atmosphere, great location.

We came for my partner's birthday lunch. We had planned to go somewhere else but was fully booked so tried here. It did not disappoint! Genuinely dog friendly which is essential for us. We loved the decor & ambiance, very inviting. The food was perfect. Portions just right and everything was extremely tasty and well presented. Service was also swift and friendly. I wish I had this place on my doorstep, but unfortunately we live far away. Highly recommended :)

The Sunday roast is a joke. £25 for roast beef and I was underwhelm to say the least. The portion sizes were minuscule, now I can understand if it was a fine dining Michelin star restaurant however this was not! The food was mediocre at best nothing to write home about. Average potatoes one carrot and some greens with a slither of beef. Won’t be returning for overpriced low quality food.

Had a fantastic meal last night!. All eight of us couldn’t stop talking about tasty dishes that were beautifully presented. The majority of us had the onglet of beef which was perfectly cooked and melted in our mouths. Others loved the twists on the pub classics. Whilst there was plenty of food to fill our bellies we couldn’t leave until we finished with dessert. Hubby was very happy with the local real ale- a tasty fresh pint that went down very easy. Service was impeccable. Well done team Candle. We will be back.

We were looking for somewhere a bit more special that was also dog friendly, so the Candlelight Inn seemed a good fit. We sat in the "new" section which was simply decorated and they immediately brought over a dog bowl. Service was friendly and warm. What was the stand out from our experience however was the food. It is priced slightly on the more expensive end but worth every penny. I had beetroot for starter, Hertfordshire beef for main and the caramel and pear dessert, every single course was delicious. I would go as far as saying it is the best pub food we have ever had. Highly recommend!

We came here again recently for a long lunch with friends and family. We had a big party and we were accommodated perfectly. Service was friendly and quick- thanks to Lou who had the difficult job of coordinating our table! Food was exquisite - the bao bun was an absolute hit. Even better they had the grand national showing. Another great visit.

Excellent food. A lovely menu. Very good service. Would recommend and we will be visiting again. Very thoughtful decor

Lovely pub, very friendly hosts, good selection of beers, some really good options on the menu and the food was excellent.

Oh wow, what a fabulous place. So tastefully refurbished. The food is excellent, staff friendly and efficient. Great menu - I like the fact that you serve small plates as well as mains. Fresh food cooked to a high standard.

X Adore this place. Everything about it is perfect in my view.

Absolutely stunning! The food, the staff, the environment. Had a lovely meal, it was the best food my partner and I have had in a long time. The service was friendly and attentive and the bar is simple, yet sophisticated and comfortable. A lovely atmosphere and value for money. Will definitely be returning. Thank you.

What a wonderful place! Service and atmosphere perfect. X

Great meal. Love being able to buy any wine by the glass. The service was excellent.

Stunning venue, excellent food, will return again and again

3 mins off the A303 - lovely pub and restaurant with great food, beautifully presented - and dog friendly!

Best place ever in the Blackdowns… the owners are amazing, place is amazing, staff are amazing in all ways the pub and restaurant are amazing, and the famous sunny car is amazing too, thank you 😊

My favorite in the Blackdowns 💕

Absolutely superb. Lovely Saturday dinner date with my wife. We enjoyed a really great meal and the atmosphere was nice too. Not cheap but we really appreciated the quality for the price. I have no negative feedback at all.

This is a shame to write but when you charge £30 for roast beef you have to deliver a good plate of food, yes I know it’s a gastro pub and size/portion can be on the small side at times and that wasn’t the problem in fact I was happy with the amount. The problem is the price for what you get. The beef was very average(I felt over cooked) not a great cut or quality and as for the roast potatoes they didn’t taste good and were very boring. The veg selection was also average, surely this should be an exciting part of this dish? A good veg selection and something different(you are a gastro pub!)Then unfortunately the dinner was covered in very watery average gravy, the chef must of wanted to leave people wondering how they made it so tasty? The front of house is superb and always welcoming and well presented but you can’t charge £30 for that roast dinner, if I’m honest any roast dinner but if it was special you except it but it was far far from that! There are pubs smashing roast dinners local to this for £20/£25 and tasting a lot better. I’ve had roast dinner here many times and this is way way below any of those times. Such a shame.

Good food and excellent service, looks like it had just had a makeover However don't visit if your disabled, one step to get in but worst than that, no disabled toilet. Such a pity yet another establishment who don't care about inclusion of disabled people.

Another excellent meal and great service, thanks you

Always fantastic food and a cosy atmosphere. Our go-to place for special occasion dinners.

Absolutely outstanding food, service, ambience and environment. Thank you for a wonderful evening and my compliments to the chef and the whole team for making the evening perfect!

We had a delicious, leisurely lunch. The staff kindly catered for my no fat diet without any problems. Highly recommended

We had a good meal - four dishes well cooked and presented, in a nice location, with good service. Good selection of beers and ciders, including excellent Burrow Hill cider. Only downside was the prices for meals, and coffees - felt rather overpriced, eg £20 for fish&chips, £18.50 for a burger, £32 for a small portion of sliced steak, £3.80 for americano coffee. Would recommend, but be prepared for the bill!

Poor Christmas choice menu, no roast course, very expensive for the set Christmas menu and still hungry after the meal. Lamb very under cooked, no atmosphere which was a shame and very few people in the restaurant and bar, which should have been a red flag. I have been to The Candlelight a number of times and the bar menu is good, this Christmas menu was very disappointing, not even roast turkey on offer and very limited pudding choice, sorry Candlelight, hopefully this will help you improve for next year

A lovely presented place. Staff were polite and helpful. The food was also nicely presented. The only negative for us was the people with small children that allowed them to run around and scream as though it was a soft play area.

An outstanding location for great food, great drinks selection and fantastic Jazz. Exceptional service and and an all round winner evening. We will be back!

Had lunch today, I chose where to go and we loved it. We shared 2 starters the crab 🦀 😋 and the prawns and the fish and chips, delicious all of it, great presentation, really good service very friendly. Highly recommend 👌

Beautiful restaurant with a warm and cosy vibe for this time of year. The food was excellent and the staff were excellent. We were staying in a cottage nearby so easy to get to. I needed to amend my table booking (a couple of times) due to unfortunate circumstances, and they were very accommodating and helpful

Honestly the nicest time i've had in a long time! The staff are incredibly friendly and go above and beyond. The food was unreal alongside feel good music seranding us. Perfecf Sunday afternoon. Thankyou 😊

Absolutely amazing place, from location, the building, the front of house to the food. Great seasonal and local food cooked and presented to perfection.

This is a very nice pub which has been updated to a very high standard so expect lovely surroundings. The staff are very good although a few are quite young so still learning. The food is good but quite expensive so expect to pay £75+ for dinner without too many drinks! If they reduced the prices, just a little, it would be 5 star but I feel it is a little expensive at the moment but good luck to them.

Not a bad price, for the food, as this was A1. And the staff were supper friendly.

We popped in without a dinner reservation, we were seated within 5 mins. Service was quick, food was out of this world. We had the duck, the cod and chips and creme brulee for dessert. The creme brulee was amazing, we were totally satisfied with our meal.

Gorgeous venue, and really yummy food. Only issue was the meat free Sunday roast didn't have any proper protein substitute. Colliflower cheese doesn't seem like a decent swap for beef or chicken and it's not filling. The portions were medium so we all had a desert because we were still hungry. Great that there's no food waste but I'm going away still not feeling full.

One of the nicest pubs near Taunton and surrounding areas.

I loved everything about our visit to The Candlelight Inn. One of my favourite things to do is eat in high end/Michelin starred restaurants. Having worked in kitchens and front of house in restaurants, albeit many moons ago, I can't help but find fault, however the only fault I could find during our visit for a 3 hour romantic anniversary dinner was that the candle on our table burned out and wasn't replaced! The service from start to finish was attentive, welcoming and friendly. The atmosphere was exactly what I was hoping for with beamed ceilings and a roaring fire in a rustic but gently sophisticated restaurant, and the food was nothing short of truely outstanding and wonderful. The Candlelight Inn is definitely in my top 5 dining experiences and I am already excited to return!

Deliciously amazing food, great atmosphere on jazz night.

A mixed review Nice friendly staff in a well appointed bar / Restaurant A small concise menu offered a good balanced choice . The liver parfait was well made ,smooth and nicely garnished , perhaps a few shards of Maldon ,salt and a few sprigs of deep fried tarragon would lift it to another level . The scallop dish was excellent and the 2 year old at the table consumed them with relish , Main dishes were well presented and nicely seasoned The only dish to miss the mark was the rib eye , not enough sear to give any flavour and a little overcooked , The glass of Rioja could have benefited in the bottle being decanted as a great amount of sediment was discharged into the glass spoiling the wine

If I could rate the Sunday roast more than 5 I would! Quite simply the best meal out in ages. Thank you.

Lovely place, food a little disappointing. Roast potatoes were the opposite of crisp and fluffy, beef was very sinuous and Yorkshire pudding were cold and soft. The pork was delicious as was the mint sauce. Reasonable price and good portions but overall not the best roast I’ve had which is a shame as I was really looking forward to it. I don’t think we would return for the tomahawk streak as previously planed to do so

Beautiful place, food was really good however I don’t think it’s quite worth the price. Very limited parking

We had a Sunday roast. It was delicious. The staff were friendly and helpful. Loved that the vegetarian roast was as good as the meat roasts.

The service was refreshingly good

As always you can rely upon the Candlelight Inn to give you a superb experience, especially if you are wanting to celebrate a special occasion with good food and excellent wines ,which we were. All the staff were very welcoming but a special thank you to Michaela who was very efficient and went over and above to make sure our every need was met. A person of this calibre is very hard to come across in this day and age. Thank you for giving us a memorable day. Brian and Angela.

Very nice lunch with wine pairings. A little gem!

Service was perfect , food was out of this world . Yes it is pricey but it’s certainly worth it . Beautiful place

Wonderful food with good service and a nice atmosphere.

Lovely Pub restaurant. Fitted us in at short notice for Sunday lunch. Excellent food, service and atmosphere....Thank you.

Fantastic local pub. Ideal for a special occasion meal. Great food service and beautifully decorated.

Lovely experience. We stayed overnight in our motorhome, free as long as we dined at the pub. Excellent food and service

On the more expensive side but worth every penny

We have wanted to go to the Candlelight for a while and we’re just waiting for a special occasion, kids getting exam results gave us perfect excuse. We had a table is the new bar extension which is really nice, decoration is lovely, beautiful lighting and nice mixture of contemporary and traditional country pub. Menu had a good range of seasonal dishes, it isn’t cheap but for the quality there are some good value options and some menu choices for those less adventurous. Highlights were the duck breast and the harissa carrot but everything was absolutely faultless. We went for mains and desserts and my Crème brûlée was excellent. Staff were attentive, friendly and helpful and overall we had a really special evening. Will have to come back for A level results but might have to find another excuse before then.

Wonderful restaurant in a lovely village, with a cracking menu. They have motorhome parking for two vehicles too. Book ahead to avoid disappointment. Dog friendly in the restaurant too as an added bonus. 5 🌟 rating across the board.

Visited the Candlelight Inn three times last week. Thursday Night for a couple of drinks after the drive down from London, a few swift ones on Friday evening after work and then a full lunch on Saturday day time. All three experiences were top notch and could not fault anything. Bar service was extremely prompt and ensured we were never sitting with empty glasses. Staff were also a delight and very friendly. Décor is beautiful and cosy. Saturday, we were given the semi-private dining room as we had 2 young kids with us and this was perfect. Food was incredibly tasty and arrived quickly. We were dying to come back on Sunday for more if we had the time. So good was the experience that we then took our drinks outside afterwards to enjoy the stunning beer garden and all it has to offer. Will be my first point of call next time I am in the area. Big shout out to the 2 owners who we met on our first night who were extremely welcoming and ensured we enjoyed our time at the Candlelight Inn.

Nice to see old faces and enjoy a drink thank you

Great food and very good friendly service. Really helpfull with our 2 year old - super quick service for kids food in advance of the adults which was a god send. Highly recommend.

Stunning food served in a relaxed environment with excellent service, can't fault it...