Merry Harriers in Torridge

Fantastic food and service! Hidden gem of a pub which I know the locals won’t want anyone knowing! Best burger I’ve had in a long long time :)

We have heard that a new chef is just starting work here. Perhaps this explains our sorry excuse for a meal. For the record we have had several excellent if pricey meals at this restaurant. This meal was pricey but a million miles from excellent. There was a weird-tasting buttersquash soup oddly paired with a far from fresh hard pork pie apparently found in the freezer, a tiny square of cheese and a portion of chutney. Did they run out of bread? Apparently knives were also in short supply because we ended up sharing one between us. There was an oddly flavoured sausage roll type thing with almost raw cabbage, fried carrots in skins and a separate dish from which three lonely roast potatoes contemplated this culinary car crash - and which were the only pleasantly edible items. All this in a restaurant formerly well-regarded for its excellent home-grown vegetables. We felt ill afterwards. We noted during our visit although the gardens were quite busy with family visitors few of them chose to eat in the restaurant. We did wonder why - and now we know. Rosemoor is not a cheap day out and hard-pressed families are not going to add to the expense of visiting the gardens with a bad expensive meal. Other restaurants are available and sadly we can't consider coming back unless we see clear evidence of improvement in Tripadvisor reviews.

The van runs a generator all day to power the van, noisy and polluting. must be a greener way to run a business.

Ate here twice. Food is reasonably priced. However, no fish in the fish pie and I am 100% sure that our fish n chips came from the local chippy. No way was this cooked on site. Another meal had totally different chips served. And I definitely wouldn’t order from whatever chippy it was! Staff v nice, service good and some music we heard was absolutely fantastic. We would return but will be selective in what we order.

A cosy, traditional Devon country pub serving a good Sunday lunch. The staff were very welcoming and the locals charming to chat with. We enjoyed a roast beef lunch with the trimmings, and a delicious bowl of bread pudding and custard. Good value at under £20 each and a lovely place to be on a rainy winters day. Car park just across the road on the A386, don't drive by, stop and decide what you think.