Church Lane Tavistock in West Devon

The best pizza I’ve had in quite some time! Good varied menu, excellent service, good wine. Reasonably priced. Will definitely be returning.

First time for dining here and it won't be the last Dog friendly as well.

Hidden gem. Open in the evening for pizzas etc. Great choice of food and drinks. Very friendly service

Food was ok: we ordered a pizza which was reasonable and carbonara which wasn’t great. The service was mixed to say the least. What a shame, it’s a nice venue but wouldn’t recommend.

All good but chairlift out of action.

Regular customer. Service was good food was good. I walked past a day later and spotted 1 of the chefs outside looking like he hadn't showered for a week hair a mess smoking a cigarette. The young man with a beard couldn't even raise a smile. I suggest you have a word with your staff as I would hate for someone like that to cook my food. It definitely puts me off coming back to eat at your restaurant!!

Very nice waitress but as an older mother (90) and daughter we didn't feel entirely welcome when we walked in. There's a cycling theme to the place but otherwise it seems to be for everyone. Food OK, generous and fresh but I don't need tagliatelle to be cut up for me - just yet anyway! Nice building and central location just behind the main church in the centre of town.

Lovely food and local beers. Thank you

Wouldn’t return. The food was great, but the drinks were lacking and incredibly expensive (we only had soft drinks). The service was abysmal. It took more than 30mins for us to get a drink and nearly an hour to get the food. There was no apology from staff for the slow service despite it being relatively quiet. Their desserts consist mainly of crepes but their crepe machine was broken. We weren’t told this either, but overheard another table being told upon trying to order the crepes. The staff had left us with the menus to decide what to have but didnt feel necessary to point this out to us. We left after our mains and wouldn’t return in a hurry. Such a shame as visited a year ago for lunch and it was great.

Nice food. Seems to be turning into our go to when passing through Tavistock.

Ordered coffee & caramel shortbread. A long wait to be served. No serviette or knife & cake served on a saucer! Seriously!! Paid the bill to a waiter who didn’t speak or engage with us. Will not be returning.

Very cool place. Delicious food. We also tried their pizza, which was great. Overall, I highly recommend it!

Attended for a celebration. Marissa and Toby did not disappoint. Thank you for the brilliant experience. We’ll return surely.

The restaurant itself seems nice and was lively and busy on the evening of our visit. It was a pleasant atmosphere. However, the food and service were mediocre at best. The service staff seemed inexperienced and not very engaged. Our starter, a mixed starter platter mainly consisting of cold items, took ages and needed another reminder before it was served. The main courses then arrived more promptly, but the couscous of the lamb tagine was lumpy and dry; too little butter, too little stirred. It is very regrettable that guests arriving environmentally friendly by bike are automatically offered a 10% discount on their bill, but the staff refused to allow us this discount even though we had travelled 20 km on foot from Lydford (we were on a long-distance walk). There won't be too many guests who will travel such distances on foot; there's probably little risk of that becoming a financial problem. They can afford it for cyclists after all. It would have been a nice gesture. Perhaps the waiter simply didn't dare ask the management about our request and simply said no.

The restaurant itself makes a nice impression and on the evening of our visit it was lively and full of happy people, which created a pleasant atmosphere. However, the food and service were only mediocre. The service staff seemed primarily inexperienced and a bit lost. Our starter, a mixed starter platter with mainly cold elements, took forever and required further reminders before being served. The main course came more quickly, but the couscous of the lamb tagine was lumpy and dry; too little butter, not stirred enough. It is very unfortunate that the restaurant Guests who arrive by bike in an environmentally conscious way are automatically given a 10% discount on the bill, but refused to give us this discount even though we had walked 20km from Lydford (we were on a long distance hike). So many guests won't be able to walk such distances that it could turn into a financial problem. This discount is also available for cyclists. It would have been a nice gesture. Maybe the waiter simply didn't dare to clarify our request with management and simply said no.

Very nice building and warm friendly young staff. I waited for nearly twenty minutes before I was given a menu. I ordered a Greek salad which was tasty but it wasn't really a Greek salad as Greek salad is usually tomatoes, feta cheese, black olives and lettuce with lots of really good olive oil. I think as it was towards the end of lunch service they had run out of some ingredients and rather than tell me and suggest I choose something else (or indeed said there would be a delay while someone ran down to Duke Street to Continental Fruit and Veg to buy top ups there) they made do. So there was one small tomato and a lot of sun-dried tomato, about two black olives with a lot of green cocktail tomatoes, lots of feta - but then it was drenched with balsamic vinegar which is not at all Greek! I did explain this to the waitress and I feel mean moaning about this but I was looking forward to eating some really good big summer tomatoes packed with flavour and drenched with great Greek olive oil and salt and pepper. Some times it's hard to do simple well and this is probably just a one off and is easy to tweak if this is a regular menu item. Anyway, I will certainly return and hope they won't be so busy then. (I visited in March and had a good meal.)

We liked the theme and are returning customers, we felt it was a relaxed cafe. We were welcomed by friendly chap, but the experience soon became unpleasant during the table being cleared. The other chap dropped the cutlery onto the table I went to pick up the biscuit wrapper, to be given an aggressive don't, I'll do it..whilst literally grabbed every bit of rubbish, cutlery plate scooping it into a pile like a child not wanting to share his sweets..snatching the fork I was putting onto the plate out of my hand, repeating I will do it aggressively! I've never had such rude, unprofessional, unpleasant or childish behaviour by doing such a simple thing to help..which it was not interfering by doing his job. Most would say thank you. The coffee was OK but I will not return or suggest this place.

It was just a coffee Milkshake and Millionaires shortbread ! Lovely

Worth a visit good service good food

Lovely restaurant in the heart of Tavistock. Pretty much everything you order is delicious, the service is excellent and courteous. The interior design is welcoming, warm and cosy. Highly recommended. Our favourite restaurant in the region.

Good range of very tasty food. Good coffee. Friendly service.

I went here for my birthday during the church lane fest and it was amazing! Food was lovely! I highly recommend their pizzas!

No food and a good service in a lovely setting, would recommend.

Have been here as a family with grown up children and as a couple so this is a review of about 4 or 5 visits. Staff are welcoming, efficient and friendly. We’ve sat outside and in, and we watched a wedding coming out of the church one afternoon which was nice. We have been for just drinks but twice decided to have a snack with it, there are small dishes/starter size dishes which are ideal for this. Think we had a mackerel terrine the last time. We’ve shared bottles of wine (Picpoul) and had mocktails and hot drinks over visits. This is now our favourite place for a drink in Tavistock. We’ve once had take away pizzas which were by far the best we’ve had in the local area and we’d have again. One of my children has sat in with friends and had pizzas and said it was excellent, they’re pescatarian. Nice location right by the big church in the middle of town, it’s clean and well maintained. The little birds in the terrace area are cute. Would recommend 😊

Banging bit of Pizza that and the staff were lovely too

Lovely coffee and cake in tavistock

Really nice place. Friendly and good food. You even get a 10% discount as a cyclist

We stumbled across this wonderful place hidden behind the church in town. We had a delicious pizza each, a quality glass of red wine and I had a cracking dark’n’stormy cocktail while I stared amazed at the wide selection of rums. Harry was an expert on all things rum and Scarlet was a friendly attentive waitress, helping me to choose the right pizza. We will be back! Hopefully in the summer to sit in the lovely garden….

It took 47 minutes for them to serve a ciabatta sandwich and a salad. The lunch when it eventually arrived was rather average provincial food with a London price tag. If the waiting staff had been slightly less disinterested in the customers it might have improved the experience. But it was not to be. Another concerning factor was the wooden boards much of the food appeared to be served on. Do wooden boards go in a dishwasher?

Enjoyed everything about this place

I picked up a takeaway pizza from here! It was excellent, the staff were lovely. Get the garlic dip - it's phenomenal! Will return and sit in, would love to try the desserts.

Wonderful, as always, and 10 per cent off for cyclists!

Beautiful and tasty food, with an inventive menu and stylish surroundings. I'd happily eat here again.

10 out of 10, absolutely flawless service, delicious fresh food, the sharing boards are a must and don't miss out on the cocktails and mocktails especially the mango mojito! Great for couples & if you turn up on a bike you get 10% off!

I've been a few times and it's a great pizza place. The pizza is excellent, probably the best that's in town and the sharing platters are good too. Prices are reasonable for the area and quality you get. The coffee is fine, middle of the road Italian style. Not exceptional but not bad at all. The biggest let down is the cake, needs improvement, bland and a little dry.

Fabulous tuna steak 😋 Staff very kind. Superb carrot cake . Latte was lukewarm disappointingly. Otherwise all good, Have been twice & will go again!

Went here for lunch today on a whim. We happened to walk past and thought it look good. Pizza was delicious. The base was cooked perfectly and tasted very good. Drinks were a little slow but the barman was making cocktails and doing his best. Service was polite and we were over all impressed. We would go again.

Lovely place to shelter from storm Ciara...

Sloppy service and very slow. Staff could not be bothered. We waited forty five minutes for two pizzas and it wasn’t particularly busy. The pizzas were undercooked and doughy - at least we expected them to be well cooked after waiting so long for them. We were there last summer and it was the same - so won’t be back.

I went to Church Lane last week with a friend, we’re not frequent visitors but have been quite allot in the past as it’s a nice location, and really like the atmosphere that church lane has to offer however our bad experience started when we got seated at a dirty table that had clearly not been cleaned, we raised this with a member of staff and they quickly came over and wiped the table we placed an order shortly after and the food was served very promptly which was nice as we were both hungry however both of the pizzas where soggy which made them unpleasant to eat and the “fresh basil” was brown and black in places. The friend that I was with said that you could get a better pizza from Lidl. Not once did a member of staff come and check in on us or check that the food was all good which I think is disappointing as it gave them no opportunity to fix the issue or explain why this happened. Nobody came to give us our bill either which is fine but really felt as if there wasn’t a presence from the waiters or waitresses at this point so we went to the bar to settle the bill and was expecting to be asked if everything was okay but just told that there is an option to add a gratuity fee if we would like. I left feeling very underwhelmed with the experience and hesitant to go back which is a shame because it is a really nice location.

Great place to enjoy a poetry evening and have a drink or two. Service with a smile! They do yummy food too.

I have eaten here before and the food was delicious so as a treat my husband and I decided to have lunch on Valentines day. We ordered a pizza and some wedges to share along with a latte and a diet coke. Decided we'd try and leave room for dessert! Everything arrived and we tucked in - delicious just like the last time. As I was eating my 3rd slice of pizza, I thought it tasted 'fishy'! I got my husband to smell the crust (we must of looked very strange!) He agreed he could indeed smell fish! Looked on the serving board and there were two large clumps of tuna/anchovy (looked more like tuna) which is obviously where the taste had come from. At this point I was nearly physically ill as I can not tolerate fish or even the smell! Writing this is even turning my stomach. Whether it had been on the board or was on the pizza cutter, we are unsure. We left the last two slices as we're completely put off and decided to leave without dessert. We mentioned it to the waiter who said he would tell the chef. When we went to pay the bill, they had as a good will gesture removed our drinks but sadly that is not enough to encourage us to go back again which is a real shame as their pizzas are delicious normally. Thankfully we are not allergic to fish but it is still making me feel ill thinking about it.

Food was sent back and came out in the same condition. Saving grace was the staff reaction, other meals in the party were fine but don't order anything with an egg

Lovely place with quirky decor and a really good atmosphere. Pizzas were very good and the aioli dip was maybe the best I’ve had (& I’ve had a lot!) Cocktails were lovely too and the staff super friendly. Couldn’t fault it

Ordered a pizza, a salad and some wedges to share between two. Food arrived after an hour despite enquiring after forty minutes. Considering this is predominantly a pizza restaurant, cheese on pizza was not melted and was it was luke warm. Salad and wedges were fine as was the cocktail. To be fair, we did mention the above to staff and received a ten percent discount. Eaten here several times before and not had these issues so not sure what went wrong this evening.

I won't eat here again. The 'Local Sharing Plate' is the one dish I wanted from the menu. I've had it before but lately the hogs pudding has been way too salty, and I found it uneatable. I've complained, but nothing changes. The wait staff tried to be helpful, but the guy in charge argued with me instead. A shame as it can be nice in the courtyard and otherwise good value, but it's not good value if you can't eat it.

Visited this cafe yesterday just before lunch. Beautiful decor and food was lovely. When we arrived we were offered a table by the door - a little cold but not a problem as we had a dog. We ordered and at no point were we advised that our table had a time limit on it. Not sure if new staff as first visit but when they spilt the milk for the drinks on the table, - which happens not an issue- we had to clean it up, no apology or offer to get a cloth. Then half way through our meal the server approached our table and the one next to ours stating they needed our tables and we’d have to leave. Not a “ sorry to rush you but we need these tables back in 10 mins” warning but “we need them back now!” We hadn’t finished eating nor had the table next to us. No alternate table offered or explanation as to why we were not pre warned. What should have been a good review was ruined by the customer service or lack of it.

Food is good, however it is very sad that they are trying to import the broken American tipping system with an “optional service charge starting from 10 % “

Church Lane is always our coffee cafe after Line dancing on Tuesday mornings. We are always welcomed and even though almost every coffee is different they serve us with a smile and the correct coffees. So we decided to have our Christmas Lunch there and we were not disappointed. Friendly excellent service and delicious food. Thank you so to all the lovely saff at Church Lane

This was the first time that my husband I have visited this restaurant, and we were truly impressed….the welcome from Marissa was fantastic, the service without fault, the ambience great. The menu was large and varied, however we both chose the soup, winter vegetables (delicious) which was served with warm focaccia….and can thoroughly recommend it … We paid the bill via Jake, who could not have been more friendly….my husband and I will definitely be returning here next time we are in Tavistock

We were in Tavistock for the Dickensian evening and wanted an early lunch before it got too busy. Popped in to Church Lane for a drink and a snack but ended up having one of the most delicious pizzas I've ever had. Who knew that smoked salmon, creme fraiche, guacamole and spinach pizza could be that gorgeous! My only complaint is that it was huge and I couldn't manage it all but I really tried. We ate in the Michelin starred Cornish Arms in the evening and the food there was so disappointing in comparison. We will definitely visit again, maybe go for the child's portion instead. Lovely friendly staff, lovely baileys hot chocolate. Very happy customers thank you x

Love this place, atmosphere is always welcoming and the food delicious, service was a bit slow today but when it arrived the curried cauliflower soup was excellent.

Thoroughly recommend this place. Great food and relaxed and good value

After a very wet and windy drive back home from the north Cornwall coast this was a perfect pitstop. Food was lovely, great choice of rums, the zombie cocktail was good. Lovely cakes and dog friendly. We'll be back again. Harry was lovely, very friendly and attentive.

Amazing food, lovely staff , great atmosphere... bonus that the dog was allowed in.

Road cycling themed restaurant with great food, good service and fair prices. Dogs allowed.

Good catch up with friends over a snack and cuppa .loved it as usual

Sharing fish platters...very nice but could have been more interesting. Prawn in marie rose Smoked salmon Mackerel Forcia bread

Delicious food 😋 great service. Very pleasant location. I would recommend it 👌 Added bonus, if you ride there on your bicycle, you get 10% discount 😉

Loved the food. It's worth a visit.

This should be a five star review as the food and coffee/tea are excellent. We are regular customers. On 9th September (a very hot day) we arrived at 10.30am just for coffee. We had noted 4 empty tables in the garden and a small table for two just vacating. It does say at the garden gate to 'check in inside' before taking a seat. I said to my husband take that small table (we are so courteous) as we never like to take a larger table that could accommodate a family or group of friends. We have never done this before and I explained to the two members of staff inside the cafe what I had done. What happened next I can only state was a verbal attack. I apologised profusely, but the lady and man on duty just kept coming at me (the lady was by far the most aggressive) I was informed that all the outside tables were reserved for customers waiting inside for them to become free. There was nobody waiting inside at all. I apologised again and said we would leave - their looks said everything - ie get out. I retrieved my husband and made up a reason we had to leave. The interesting point is, that on many occasions when we have been sitting in the garden, cyclists have come in through the garden gate. Most sit down at a table while one goes in to order. I doubt very much that they would have received the treatment I did. But then they are mostly large men and I am a very small female (an easy target) We went to Cafe Liaison had an outside seat and were served by one of their friendly staff. I wrote immediately to the Manager of Church Lane Cafe cafe explaining what had happened, the letter was sent first class to the correct address. I have given two weeks for a reply, but nothing. One thing I learnt in Business was to deal with a genuine complaint immediately. I was abused by these staff (most are lovely and very friendly) and then ignored by the Manager. Finally, a week later it was pouring with rain and I went into Cafe Liaison which was almost full, I managed to find the last small table. Afterwards I passed the Church Lane Cafe and it was empty - perhaps others have received the Treatment and decided not to return. We will never go in to Church Lane Cafe again.

Nice old building with caricature and fresh good food

Fantastic place for a pizza and cocktails the Gerald Herault is fantastic for spicy pizza lovers and many other excellent choices on the menu. Discount if you arrive by pushbike and excellent outside dining space while lots of good rooms for indoor dining. Definitely will return.

Sat outside with the dogs. Excellent sharing seafood platter. Will go back later in week to try a dessert.

Love this place! Every time we are in Tavi, this place is a for sure to eat, drink at. Pizzas are awesome, and so are their cocktails:)

Lovely building just to one side of Tavistock with a pleasant patio at the back where you can take in Tavistock and people watch. Food was ‘OK’ - very pleasant starter platters. Pizza is a bit odd - undercooked and a bit dry tbh with some odd combinations of flavours that were just trying a bit hard. Certainly not to the standard you’d get in a good Italian bistro or even Pizza Express. Waiting staff, as others have said, we’re the biggest problem. Others have said ‘kids’ in their reviews which is a bit unkind. I would say young adults without the appropriate training in hospitality and with no visible management to maintain standards. Everything took forever, things were forgotten. Even basics like bringing cutlery out with food and not knowing what they’d run out of. Not cheap, a bit grubby and tired in places and generally lacking a bit of love, professionalism and attention to detail IMHO. I want to like the place, I really do - it could be amazing!

A wonderful gem of a place Many quirky areas to sit and enjoy a range of great food types and drink choices Very attentive staff All round excellent Another great visit yesterday this time for dinner Two more great dishes made with a perfect combination of fresh ingredients so tasty you really should try it out you will not be disappointed

cute place with good food and some truly AMAZING garlic + rosemary chips!! interesting vegan options - including TWO different vegan pizzas!! nothing too special but pleasantly surprised by all the food and the atmosphere here. worth a visit if passing by!

Excellent food, and lovely patio overlooking historic church grounds. We ordered drinks and a cheese board. Portion was large and quality was excellent.

Busy evening here because it was the day the schools broke up for summer.Glad I hadn’t booked an outside table as it was really chaotic out there… I enjoyed our meal service was quite intrusive though we kept being interrupted for various reasons and actually it wasn’t needed.Food good … Pizza as usual .Perhaps there need to be specials to make it all a little more interesting.However a good Tavistock restaurat.

Decided to have a breakfast and after looking at a good menu tried this out. As a cyclist I loved the cycle themed decor and the relaxed atmosphere. I had eggs and bacon on toast, a humble meal extremely well prepared. Along with a fine coffee I really enjoyed my visit. The wife had a variation of the same and was equally impressed. Definitely worth a stop.

We visit here often for coffee and occasionally to eat. The pizza is the star of the menu. Incredibly tasty. Staff very friendly and the space at the back to sit out gives the place a continental feel.

This is a. Regular haunt of ours, always for coffee, breakfast twice a week, great pancakes and the vegan breakfast (with halloumi) is excellent. Often drop in for cocktails and a pizza as well. Would highly recommend it due to the food and especially the staff.

Absolutely top notch . Quality of service and meals was excellent. Called one Sunday evening and staff went out of their way to accommodate my partner and myself. First class.

Superb lunch at this restaurant, with discount for those who arrive on bikes. The service was splendid and despite not having booked, we were given a table outside which lovely in the warm weather. The gluten free pizza was excellent with generous topping and I can highly recommend the vegetarian sharing platter. This was a second visit and definitely worth coming back to.

My wife had been here, with one of our daughter's for pizzas yesterday and both were very impressed. So decided to have breakfast here. It's a lovely setting and as the sun was shining, we sat outside, with our Whippet in tow as always. Wonderful...

Ate here twice, actually. First just my wife and I had pizza; very good. Returned a week later with our tour group and had fish. Very good.

Should’ve informed a manager but we were furious and took our business elsewhere!! Couldn’t believe the attitude from the waiter! We ordered 3 overpriced mocktails that took over 30 mins to arrive we ordered simple, basic and quite standard mocktails expecting them to take 5-10...

Visited here on at 8.45pm on a Saturday evening, expecting it to be fairly busy (it wasn't!). Ordered a couple of deserts and drinks. My husbands dessert came fairly quickly, but mine never arrived! There was three members of staff stood around, with what appeared...

Just had the most amazing evening at Church Lane Tavistock. We were 8 friends having a lovely meal out. Nothing was too much trouble from drinks, the gorgeous food, to music. We had our own little room to have a lovely meal and celebration. The...

Will be leaving a 1 star review today, a brown coloured star at that. Food was ok though bland and took an age. An update for those would be customers who do not know of their baby fed hipster staffing issues. Simply put - more...

Couldn’t fault a thing here at Church Lane, we’re visiting the area and it was the first restaurant that took our fancy. Fair prices, amazing staff and lovely food and drinks. Our server had all the patience in the world - we were so busy...

We had the locals sharing board this evening…it was absolutely lovely. The waiter recommended the Locals Board choice having listened to our feeling rather lack lustre with the Nachos sharing board. (Bit dry and floppy!) Our replacement was yummy, lovely thick fresh cut slices of...

Lovely food, great atmosphere, the perfect venue, thoroughly enjoyed breakfast at Church Lane after cycling up from Plymouth. Highly Recommended ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lovely meal and v friendly staff - nice location- we can walk - u can park near by tavi great -children meal option is good

Almost Excellent Everything, whole experience was a treat from start to finish. I walked into sober looking Church House and was met by a friendly Bar Professional who invited me in warmly and took me to the outside terrace. I already felt like an old...

lovely place to eat food was 10/10, i ate very well for a vegetarian nice prices too probably was the only place in tavistock which looked appealing. highly highly recommend only thing I would say is that the lighting was a bit harsh at the...

On Sunday, my son, wife and their baby daughter arranged for my husband and me to have a birthday tea to celebrate my 65th Birthday. Wow! It was fantastic! My daughter-in-law requires a gluten free menu and they came up trumps. Not everywhere does.... Everything...

Friendly staff food looks great, we only called in for a drink, had to wait a while for the drinks but not the end of the world.

I Loved the cycling theme named pizzas and they are good crisp base lots of topping. The staff are young but very good and there is a great atmosphere. we didn't get chance as we were on holiday near Tavistock but I would defiantly eat...

This was our third visit but this year we noticed the price was higher than expected. Vegetarian pizza was tasty and service good.

Called in for an evening meal on a bike riding trip across Devon. Fantastic tagliatelle with pesto sauce and a great goats cheese salad. I asked for toasted pine nuts on the salad and it arrived covered in them. My wife and I split meals...

Friendly, attentive staff. Tasty and varied menu (majority pizza) but with other light choices. Didn’t have to wait to be seated and were served in a reasonable time. Interesting cocktail choices - rum based predominantly. Visited on a Saturday lunch time and never felt rushed...

Yummy food, decent portions, nice atmosphere and friendly staff. I would definitely recommend going for lunch

Lovely location Nice atmosphere inside, we sat upstairs Very well designed seating areas in rooms with different styles. Friendly staff Pork was excellent as was the pizza Not cheap but you get what you pay for...quality.

Rang to arrange some pizzas for takeaway. Was rudely told that they have no slots available for collect. Not even able to fit us in at the end of the evening. This is after they had advertised a 50% off offer on Facebook so they...

It’s such a shame Church Lane have decided to hike prices. We were charged £8 for two oat milk coffees - £2 more than most other places. We used to like going here, but not any more.

Not the first time visiting Church Lane, as usual the food was top tier and the vibes are always good even on a Wednesday night! Always get a pizza, ANY pizza and you won’t regret it, also sides and dips are really good. A warm...

We were strolling round the area and happened across their little outside seating area, the smells of other people's food drew us in. We were not disappointed I had the salmon, pesto and guacamole pizza and it was utterly delicious. My partner had something vegetarian...

very pleasant and relaxing lunch fair prices friendly staff