Harbour inn in East Devon

My friend and I are locals and used to enjoy the food at the Harbour Inn. Unfortunately we went for Sunday lunch today and were very disappointed. My friend's roast beef was tough and as far as my stew, it was more watery gravy and very, very old cow's meat. The deserts were nice (bought in?) Sorry, but we wont come back again. We also objected to having the pleasure of hearing screams from other diners children running around.

Friendly staff and great cavery

Excellent carvery today, exceptionally busy which was lovely to see but this didn’t impact on the quality of food or service…. Melt in the mouth meats and delicious vegetables and so so much of it, shame no room for pudding.

Lovely carvery! Would highly recommend. Very cute pub too!

Stunning carvery!!! We left stuffed and the amount of veg available was exceptional! We'll be back again if we're ever in the area again

Really lovely food. Service excellent. Pleasantly surprised. Would go again. A bit quiet when we called, early evening but I'm sure that the atmosphere would be better later.

Came for a Sunday carvery - food was exceptional. Meat was gorgeous and tender, vegetables were delicious and the selection was hugely varied, and the Yorkshire puddings were huge! Will definitely be returning more regularly. If I could give 6 stars I would!

Excellent Sunday carvery, best I have had for a long time

Great Sunday lunch for our group of 15. Nothing was too much trouble. Christie and her team were brilliant!! Highly recommend.

We recently had out wedding reception at The Harbour Inn and I just had to write a review to say how AMAZING it was! Everything was wonderful, from the scrumptious food to the relaxed atmosphere and flexibility regarding arrangements. The staff were OUTSTANDING!! A big thank you to the whole team as everyone made us feel so at home, and could not do enough for us to make the day special. So many of the guests commented how much they appreciated the food- the quality was evident on every plate- much appreciated. We had a number of people with allergies/ food intolerances, including vegans, coeliac and a nut allergy and they accomodated all our requirements with ease and created an entirely vegetarian menu for us. I can heartily reccommend The Harbour Inn. The food, atmosphere and staff and wonderful. Thank you so much!!

Really good portions, service was excellent. Will be back soon

Enjoyed a nice pint of Stout by the log fire

Absolutely fab service and food

Fantastic service and utterly delicious meal. Highly recommend!

Lovely Inn and very comfortable place to enjoy drinks or meals. Vegetarian options weren't very inspiring and this was the reason our Christmas meal wasn't booked there. Overall, lovely staff, reasonable prices if you're a carnivore!!

Having had superb lunches at The Harbour for some years on a semi-regular basis, I decided to take a friend to celebrate her birthday. What a disaster! She chose the fish and chunky chips. The chips were skinny French fries, not chunky at all. I chose the belly pork because the fish pie I wanted was not available. The pork was stringy, the so called crackling was soft, pale, very soggy and inedible and the bubble & squeak was even soggier. I never found the apple fritter and the whole lot was drowned in a gallon of gravy. The waiter, who was doing his best, said he would tell the chef of my concerns but took it no further when I suggested they might knock a bit off the bill. I can only presume that the regular chef was on holiday and the meal was cooked by the cleaner! So I reluctantly paid up full price and couldn't wait to leave. I shan't be returning which is such a shame, because I have really enjoyed my previous visits and have recommended it to a number of people in the past.

Had lunch at the Harbour Inn on the 1st January 2024 as a party of 14. The building looked the part and the staff were really nice. I ordered the Game Pie, as did someone else in our party. The pie was cold in the middle. This was the same for the other person in our group. I’m not 100% sure that the pie had not been subjected to the dreaded microwave due to the response of my stomach later in the day! I did not complain about my pie as I feared that it would be heated in the microwave. I have an adverse reaction to food ‘cooked’ in such a way. Disappointing, but I take responsibility for not complaining.

Great food and beer, lovely atmosphere.

I’d like to be able to contribute to the positive reviews of this pub, but I can’t as they cancelled our booking… for Christmas Day!They cancelled all Christmas bookings, just four days before. There’s a reason why people book a pub for Christmas lunch, and it’s likely because they have no other choice. Letting people down at Christmas when they don’t have time to find alternative arrangements is awful.

We visited christmas eve for a christmas meal but there was a slight communication issue re the menu orders. The staff went above and beyond to make up for the error. We will go back. The food was excellent as was the service. The staff were lovely.

Massive portions, no kids menu unfortunately.

Amazing food, amazing service. Give this place a go! We had the fried chicken, pizza and Ribs and all of it was beautiful!

Three of us dined in the restaurant, two of us had the half of chicken and the other had the fish pie The chicken was not cooked properly, the chicken was raw-in the middle and the skin was normal chicken colour and not roasted on the top so had to be sent back and the fish pie was cold in the middle also sent back, finally we got our food and it Wes cooked through and the was nicely roasted and the fish pie was cooked through. The other thing was a dog wining with a loud squeaky sound all through the meal every few seconds not a nice sound and not very nice for the customers. It’s a shame as it a lovely pub with normally good food but this time it was very disappointing. We were charged full price , I did expect a small discount.

Food was amazing 😍 as always possibly could of been a tad warmer but was delicious 😋

Splendid service, delicious food, cosy and warm atmosphere, will be back 😋

I would just like to thank each and everyone of the staff at this amazing pub , they went above and beyond for my daughters 15th birthday, complementary starters which was a nice surprise , food was amazing big shout out to the chefs for an amazing meal , front of house service excellent, Thankyou Chrissy and her lovely team , went above and beyond I can’t Thank each and everyone of you enough for making my little girls birthday extra special, big shout out do Shawn absolute legend, much love ❤️❤️❤️

I've been popping in this pub for years on and off for years as a ' tourist ' I just wanted a snack with a lunchtime beer, I saw pork crackling, perfect... I bid farewell to my £5-50 and was looking forward to my pork crackling with paprika salt on a bed of apple. I got half a packet of near stale pork crunch on some cold apple sauce... The lovely lady who served me looked embarrassed to put it on the table. I don't usually do reviews like this but sometimes I feel I have to.. come on Harbour inn... really!! ... One of the previous times I was there I found a slug in my lettuce ... The guy who was working there at the time reimbursed me, I don't know his name but he was in there this lunch time, I believe he, and/or his partner works at the picture house. .. I'm not trying to go out of my way to make an issue but just commenting on my experiences in there ..

Just what we needed after a blustery damp walk around the estuary. Nice and chilled this lunchtime the staff are friendly and the food was delicious!

Thoroughly enjoyed our visit here. Really nice inside with lots of different areas to sit. There had been a load of balloon Halloween decorations put up which looked great dotted around the old features of the place. Service was great throughout our evening (from drinking drinks by the bar, to eating in the restaurant areas). Good choice of foods and it was great to have a gluten free fish and chips option after a trip to the beach at Seaton. My husband’s pizza and the dirty fries were delicious, plentiful and well cooked. The only downside was that it was a little cool in the area of the restaurant we were in (away from the fires). Would definitely return in future.

A really good pub with great fresh food. Perfect after going to the Seaton wetlands. it's a good family pub.

A really lovely village pub. The staff were really friendly and helpful. A good selection of drinks and a good menu. We had the venison cottage pie with sides of mac n cheese homemade slaw and Parmesan chips. All cooked and presented very well indeed. We can highly recommend this lovely pub. Thank you and keep up the good work.

A really lovely village pub. The staff were really friendly and helpful. A good selection of drinks and a good menu. We had the venison cottage pie with sides of mac n cheese homemade slaw and Parmesan chips. All cooked and presented very well indeed. We can highly recommend this lovely pub. Thank you and keep up the good work.

The service was very good, but food was mediocre and expensive. There was a band playing and were very good.

Very friendly traditional pub .

Lovely family meal. Great pub. Only minutes away from Seaton.

Excellent Sunday afternoon lunch. Good choice of roasts and other dishes, served quickly and in good portions. If you like Guinness, try the Badger Outland stout - it's superb. Great service and a mix up with a dessert was sorted quickly and with a smile - nice staff team who were very welcoming. Recommended.

Even though it was a peak time, and they were down on staff numbers, a good experience. Helpful staff, and great quality Sunday lunch. Overall great!

We used the Harbour inn several times while staying in the village. It has a great atmosphere with friendly efficient staff. The food was fresh and tasty and the draught Fursty Ferret hit the spot too. Our little JRT was also given a warm welcome so we would definitely go back if we passed through again.

Lovely place, friendly staff, do advertise a chicken shack but when I asked for chicken they had none.

We had a lovely lunch well presented. Pleasant staff, we hadn't booked but they got us a table, probably better to book in advance.

Nice food but on the expensive side. Lovely place but watch the wine prices. Other pubs £22 Harbour Inn £29:95.

This was our 2nd visit, the day before the kitchen was being deep cleaned and we wanted to return to try the food so we came back for a late lunch, early dinner. The service here is excellent and our doggy was made a fuss of which was really sweet. As we weren't particularly hungry we just shared a portion of the Scotch Egg and the Scallops with bacon and truffle sauce. Both were excellent. This is a lovely pub, lots of nooks and crannies and a really lovely atmosphere. Would definitely return if we're in the area again.

Lovely welcome from staff on duty. A beautifully looked after, real pub, in this small village. Situation is ideal with beautiful views across the estuary. Our meal was beautiful. Thank you.

We ate here on both nights of our stay in Axmouth. We had their delicious fresh pizza's the first night, which were lovely. On our second night, I had the fish pie (one of the best ones I have had) served with a lovely selection of fresh veg and some of the nicest new potatoes I've ever eaten! The staff were all super friendly and helpful. We'll definitely be returning the next time we're visiting Axmouth.

We drove over an hour specifically for the chicken menu that was advertised on the website and outside the pub. Very disappointed when we arrived to be told this wasn't available. Edit - I did email the pub after the response below to organise a chat, but did not get a response so don't feel I'm able to amend my review.

A very excellent pub. Food superb,staff efficient and friendly,I would definitely recommend this place.

It was a nice place. Friendly pub dog! Food was nice, but £24 for 5 bits of ravioli and some garlic bread...... It's just too overpriced. Eating there regularly would be impossible at those prices sadly. seafood on menu and other meat stuff, not much for vegetarians.

Great food, staff are amazing. Hope to be back one day. Thanks all

Food was nice, but, we we're a party of 7, 5 were served their meals at the same time, the 6th after 1/4hr and the 7th after 1/2 hour. We were told everything is cooked fresh and if they run out of something it needs to be cooked. We then ordered dessert and were told they'd run out of certain items and then had to wait for what was available. The pub wasn't even that busy. We've been coming here for more years than we can remember but doubt we'll eat here again.

Phone to confirm menu before you turn up , otherwise you may be as disappointed as I was.

Called in for lunch with my wife. Nice setting with pleasant staff. The food we had was really nice , freshly prepared and well presented. Will certainly be going again!

Friendly welcome, excellent and quick service ( not particularly busy so that helped) We ate the venison pie and fish pie, served with lovely fresh veg - all very tasty! The creme brulee was 👌. Lovely ,characterful pub - would highly recommend.

Went on a recommendation (the best steak ever), had the Sunday lunch with roast beef truly the best I have ever had, many thanks 🙏

Last year it was so good we came back. Disappointed. We were not allowed to order a drink at the bar but shown to a table in a corner cupboard, Table legs made sitting comfortably impossible. Drinks came 10 min later then the food which was poor after last year. Return unlikely!

Great pub with a fantastic garden and view. Lovely fish pie!

We popped in for a drink as we were staying close by. Served by a friendly young woman and made to feel welcome. Decided to stay for Sunday lunch. Two of us had roast beef (excellent they said), two of us had roast lamb (we both thought we’d have preferred it cooked a bit more) and one of us fish pie (would give it a miss he said). Vegetable were plentiful and not over cooked. For five of us it cost under £100 which we thought was good value.

Food was great ,service was excellent and considering we had such a big table there were no mistakes on any of the orders.The lad that served our table was super efficient and a credit to the pub/restaurant.

A lovely place to stop and grab a drink. Always friendly staff and a nice, peaceful garden. They take cash too!

Sat in garden under an old twisted Silver Birch Perfrct

Great food and drinks. Beautiful pub with a lovely atmosphere. Couldn't ask for more.

This pub has real potential to be very good, I hope these recent reviews help improve it. Pub was busy, which was nice but think they may have been understaffed or with new untrained staff. Noone to greet us for a while, had to track someone down and ask for menus. Had to go find someone to order drinks, which didn't arrive for 20mins. Food was ok, roast was nice but had some random blended swede that was like baby food. Fish pie was overpriced for the small lacking amount of fish, seemed to be cheap frozen fish with lots of potate and spring onion. Drinks order was wrong, so asked about resolving it and the waitress just never came back. The manager was good and took it off the bill when I then asked. Some more staff, high training and this place could be good.

We had a lovely meal here at lunchtime. It was nice to sit inside as it was a very hot day. It was very nice.

Nice lunch in the garden, only spoiled by far too much salt in the mussels sauce.

Lovely freshly made Sunday lunch. Sat in the beer garden which was very pleasant. Did think it was slightly overpriced at £17.00 would normally expect to pay about £14.00 for the size and quality.

Nice place if you're down here try it

Best fish and chips I’ve had in years

Very good food and friendly waitresses. We had a lovely evening:)

Lovely typical English pub, small but very nice menu. Food was delicious and great fun after the Seaton/Colyton tram ride

Been coming here for the last 10 years whilst holidaying in the area. Always good food and a differing selection on the menu each time we visit. In common with other restaurants, food prices have increased quite a bit. Our most recent visit the menu prices were a little bit higher than expected. However we were OK to pay £18.50 for a version cottage pie and £23.50 for a fish fillet. As expected the food tasted excellent. The downside is the portion size was very small and didn't reflect what I paid. I felt very short changed compared with similar establishments. I left feeling hungry. Perhaps this pricing would explain why staff out numbered diners? I didn't like being ripped off and won't be going back.

Beautiful authentic pub, shame there's no lunchtime sandwiches on the menu. Appart from that, the food is very good 👍 😋.

Unfortunately can't leave a good review. We booked the table in advance. We arrived on time to be met by confused staff. We were sat down. And we asked if pizzas were being made. Just as we had fussy children. Unfortunately they sent the chef home. So all of us had to go find somewhere else to eat. The waitress wasnt bothered. Her attitude was to say I should have asked if they were available before booking the table. I gave a few stars for the aesthetic of the restaurant as I can't fault the decor and design as it's lovely.

Service a little chaotic, atmosphere loud, not the place for a quiet lunch, but the food was very good although not warned about the small portion of scallops.

Great place fantastic staff, highly recommend for stag dos and Beer festivals

Lovely pub near the river, friendly service and good food. Has a dog friendly garden.

First time I've eaten at The Harbour and it will be the last. Had a roast with family today and while the food tasted good, there wasn't a lot of it for £18!!! The chicken roast cost £17.95 and consisted of half a small chicken breast, a drumstick and a thigh (so the cheaper parts of the chicken), with 3 roast potatoes, and a yorkshire. Between 7 of us, we had 3 tiny little plates of veg, and actually had to ask the waiter for more veg as there wasn't enough to go around. The service also left something to be desired. We were asked to leave about 5 minutes after finishing our food because they needed the table. The chap at the bar also seemed quite put out by the fact we all wanted to pay separately.

I've eaten here 12 mths ago, and the food and service was excellent, but it's gone downhill sense then. You don't get as much for your money and the service was terrible, we were asked to finish up after an hr because they needed the table, there was 7 of us and we only just finished eating! Won't be going again!

Historical pub with gorgeous real fire. Recently taken over. Lovely staff who are friendly and engaging. Great food but a little expensive. Beautiful décor. Kids welcome, and wheelchair accessible. Great parking, and good garden. Brilliant position if you use the campsite. Less than 100m to the estuary. Definitely worth visiting.

Great little pub quite expensive and flat beer

Wow what an amazing pub nice and big old amazing place with lovley hudge open fireplace so lovley and welcoming and the bar man spencer was such an amazing houst and wonderful guy so nice and cool we will definitely be coming back and stopping off here on our travels again well worth a visit

The food and service were good. We went on Easter Sunday, and unfortunately, they got so busy our desert order got lost. After 20 minutes of waiting, we decided to leave.

Very expensive!!! The most I've ever paid for a pint!!!

Very friendly staff and really good food. Some of the best pizza I have ever eaten!

A nice pub with in a lovely location. The food was very nice and there is a wide range of drinks available. Tight parking if busy so head there early.

Nice staff, good service Plenty of nice fresh vegetables but the meat was a little disappointing, plenty but not very tender

Ate here a few times now and thoroughly enjoyed it. Sunday was really good amazing roast and lovely atmosphere The pub was busy which is always a good sign means they are doing something right

Wonderful bar manager, very kind and helpful. Food was amazing

Food was delicious and the young man serving us was so helpful and polite definitely be back

We booked online for a table of 4 for Saturday night at 7.15pm. The restaurant was almost empty as we walked in, which we thought was surprising, and we were shown to our table. The waiter gave us the menus and took our drinks order. The waiter returned 5 minutes later to take our order. 2 of the party ordered the lemon sole. The waiter said that the kitchen had “run out” of lemon sole. He went on to say that the kitchen had run out of sirloin steak and fish pie too! He then remembered that the kitchen had replaced the sea bass with sea bream! We could not believe our ears. This was a disappointment to one member of the party as they were going to order the sea bass. This was a Saturday night!!! It would have been very helpful if the waiter had told us about the changes to the menu when he first gave us the menus! Feeling very frustrated, and indeed very disappointed and annoyed not to have our chosen meals, we all decided on fish and chips. It arrived and despite the batter looking very anaemic and not crisp, 3 of the party managed to eat theirs as they were hungry. However, one member of the party found the batter was very soggy, the cod was over cooked and the peas were undercooked. It was almost inedible. This was mentioned to the waiter when he cleared the plates. We also advised him that the glass of wine chosen by one member of the party was not at all pleasant. It was very unpalatable and only a couple of sips were managed. He said he would advise the chef and the manager about this situation. We waited and waited, but there was no offer of another different glass of wine or indeed another dish to replace the dreadful fish and chips! 2 of the party then had a dessert, again nothing special at all. We asked the waiter if the desserts were cooked in-house, or were they “brought in” . He replied “I think so” but was unsure!!! We asked for the bill. It was paid, very reluctantly in full. The four of us were looking forward to our meal having looked at the website several times to admire all the photos of some of the dishes on offer and enjoyed reading the details of the head chef’s “Michelin star training”!!! We thought we were going to be “wowed”. The dishes we chose came no way near looking like the similar presentation of some of the dishes shown on the website. Our expectations were not fulfilled at all. A very unsatisfactory evening indeed. We will not be returning and we will certainly not be recommending the Harbour Inn to any of our friends. Sent from my IPad

Warm and welcoming staff, good food and beer, and dog friendly 👍

Booked Sunday lunch for 9 of us after doing the dalwood 3 hills trail race . All 9 roasts turned up together on hot plates. Lamb /pork and beef Roasts Nice big plate of tasty food just what you need after a 10mile run washed down with a nice pint of thirsty ferret. Great pub and friendly staff.

Lovely service, a little too sweet in places , with the meal seasoning. When asked, if everything is ok, didn't feel I could say, as others were listening. Didn't want to seem as complaining. As I was ok with meal overall. As a regular of pub roasts all round.

Very welcoming pub - super friendly staff. Would recommend 👌👍

Poor service. Took nearly 45 mins to get a burger, and a pork chop (which wasn't a pork chop!). There were only 5 other people eating in the pub, so I hate to think what the service is like when it's busy!! Food not good. Both dishes had a burnt taste to them. Also, didn't appreciate the pub dog begging at our table, when we did eventually get our food. Won't be returning .

Èxcellent meal and service. Will definitely visit again.

Lovely pub, very friendly staff, great service and tasty food...

Great spot near the river.Oldy wordly pub of the nice kind.Been here many years ago for a meal.

We came for the highly recommended Sunday roast and I can honestly say it's the best roast we've ever had dining out. Thank you Harbour Inn it was delicious.

Great pub, serving great food and local beers.

Popped in for a quick drink & a bowl of chips after walking the dogs . The place was very busy but the staff were very attentive & extremely welcoming. Standard are clearly set high …… as a matter of course with every glass being checked for cleanliness before a drink is poured. Every single staff member was courteous smiley & even though probably shattered after the festive period never let their professionalism down for 1 minute . The pub has an amazing open fire great atmosphere & an overall good vibe . All this could be so different with a different staff attitude. So to conclude keep on doing what you do because you are smashing it . As for the customer, be prepared to be spoilt .

Lovely old pub serving great food. Very dog friendly. We live a few miles away and aim to eat here regularly. Good menu given the quieter winter period, Good selection of wines by the glass. Great service and cheerful clientele. Food is prompt and good. What more can you ask for?