Smith's Brasserie at Bovey Castle in Teignbridge

Visited BOVEY Castle celebrating our 50th anniversary year Chose to eat at Smith’s Brasserie - a great choice Good menu with excellent choices All of our selections were perfect What made our visit extra special and memorable was the attentiveness of our waitress Danielle She was friendly, helpful and professional Thank you BOVEY Castle and thank you Danielle - you made it special

The confit duck I ordered was excessively salty to my palate. However, the overall quality of the food and the service provided were satisfactory.

Smith’s Brasserie has amaaaaazing views but I wanted to pay particular praise and gratitude for Corey who luckily greeted and served us the 3 nights we were there. A warm, welcoming and delightful young man with a cheeky sense of humour, engaging smile whilst always maintaining his professional standards and putting Bovey Castle’s best foot forward. He often went out of his way to make sure we had everything we wanted from procuring items not on the menu to providing us with a snug blanket when we chose to dine on the terrace one evening. Corey was very understated and charming in his demeanour but make no mistake his attention to making sure we were happy under his watch is something I will take with me. Bovey Castle and his employers should be very proud of having a staff member such as Corey on their team- customer service is a such a rare asset to behold these days hence I felt obliged to leave this review. Hope to see you again Corey and thank you! Kelly & Andrew Ireland (Brisbane, Australia)

We chose this place for our 15th wedding anniversary meal (not that the restaurant knew this) and it was thoroughly enjoyable. Great, attentive, and fast service from the team and wonderful food. No complaints here. Thank you Bovey Castle and Smith’s Brasserie for a memorable night.

Massively disappointing considering the price. Focaccia was sourdough. Got wine order wrong twice, asked for bottle of red, still waiting after food presented. Chased up. Was brought a bottle of white as bar waiter said “yeah, we’re running out of that one”. I repeated that we wanted red wine and he just froze. I suggested he brought us the wine menu so we could choose an alternative. Chose a dearer bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. He comes back with a bottle, flashes the label at my husband, opens the screw top (!) pours and puts the bottle down by me where I picked it up to check and saw it was a Malbec. (Wasn’t even Malbec on the menu!) Cost of this screw top bottle of red? £44. No one checked on us during our meal. My husband couldn’t finish his dish, said it was giving him stomach ache (both had venison Ragu pasta), mine was tasteless, I didn’t finish it either. When the restaurant supervisor finally checked on us when clearing plates, I explained the wine debacle and she said she would discount us. When I saw the bill, they’d charged us £4.50 for table water, taken £6.60 off the £44 wine and then charged us 12.5% service charge, totalling £120 (we each had a main and a side, no starters, no desserts). Second night found The Ring of Bells in North Bovey, a mile away. Food was amazing so went back the second night.

With friends we enjoyed a friendly meal in the main restaurant of the hotel. I had a simple meal comprising the burger for my main course followed by a cheese plate. My friends had a wide variety of salads, pasta and more substantial meals and all were enthusiastically devoured. Although all of the choices were very good. I am not sure I would go out of my way to eat at the hotel but if you are staying in the hotel you will be perfectly happy with the options and service available.

Went here for Sunday Lunch only to be told the Sunday Lunch menu wasn't on today because there weren't enough bookings ???? How bazaar !!! I asked to speak to a manager who explained that they don't always run the Set Sunday Lunch menu but it is clearly shown on their website!! He agreed and offered us a choice of three courses (as long as we didn't order Scallops) for the fixed menu price. We agreed and preceeded to order. The starters were okay but massively over priced. We had the Roast Beef Dinner that was really nice followed by a couple of severely over priced deserts. All in all the food was okay but nothing special at all. The setting is wonderful but really let down by clutter outside the main entrance. There were dirty bread baskets and trays piled up outside the kitchen window. Some of the flooring was lifted up on the terrace too and looked awful. This place could be stunning if it was run properly. They've got the makings of a fantastic hotel and restaurant but it needs to be staffed correctly and there needs to be attention to detail regarding the cleanliness and presentation of the public areas. Would we recommend? NO, we would however return if we heard things had changed for the better. Overall rating 4/10

Outstanding front of house staff. Food just about OK Fillet steaks were ordered by two of the group (both requested 'medium' - but both were well done, so they were on the tough side). these would normally have been returned but it was a birthday meal for my mother so did not want to spoil it. It was a good job steak knives were given to us because we needed them.

Just a bit average at higher than average price. Service was reasonably attentive but somehow didn’t need all the staff. They completely mucked up our gluten free and vegan order and shouldn’t have done as they knew from the start… just a bit disappointing for such a special setting.

Terrible food, prawns with intestinal tract left in, stale bread, tough steak. We complained to the manager who decided to remove the staff tip. I argued that that the service was great, it’s the food which is poor. Perhaps he’s terrified of the chef, who knows. In any case do not eat here.

A good dinner reasonably priced and great service. The restaurant has nice space between tables and a great view

Wile staying at the Castle, we dined at this lovely restaurant. The food was absolutely wonderful and the service was wonderful. It was a wonderful part of our castle experience.

I took my boyfriend here for dinner from recommendation & so glad I did! First of all the grounds were beautiful & so was bovey castle. Staff were welcoming, food was lovely & enough on the plate. Glad we dressed up (although didn't have to) but thought nice to as it was a beautiful place. We stayed on for cocktails & drinks (although very pricey). We were lucky enough to get a night porter to take us back in a very nice land rover 😁 as no taxis available. Would love to come back

perfect location. Good service and food just as odered. a nice sunny june evening spent here. will certainly be back - tomorrow as currently staying here for 2 nights

Was expecting a relaxed but refined experience with some quality food. The reality is a nice setting with good service but food more like a mid to low end chain restaurant you’d find on any high street. A real disappointment; hot venison meatballs with cold (fridge cold) romesco sauce was odd, cold soggy focaccia and bland pizza not good with a Caesar Salad which, apart from the hot chicken, seemed to have been prepared sometime earlier in the day. All in all not good and at odds with the rest of the Bovey Castle experience.

Til forret valgte jeg laks på toasted baguette. Det var tre meget små stykker brød, 2-3 mm tykt, smurt med frisk ost og derpå ganske ordinær røget laks. Det kunne gå an, men brødet…. Forestil dig et stykke toast brød (mel og vand), som var toasted og lå i din madkasse det meste af dagen…. Sådan var brødet, blødt, vattet og uspiseligt. Efter at have gjort opmærksom på den ringe kvalitet, fik jer tre nye. Her var det 2-3 mm tykke brød ristet til tvebakker. Vi delte et brædt med charcutteri produkter, det var godt, men brødet som ovenfor nævnt, og det blev igen skiftet til noget der lignede tvebakker. Ikke et 5 stjernet hotel værdigt at servere den slags. Oplevelsen fik os til at afbestille morgenmad for at undgå en evt. lignende oplevelse. Der er åbenbart mangel på kvalificeret personale i UK, det var tydeligt, manglende erfaring. Dog gjorde de det så godt de kunne, var venlige og høflige.

We have visited Smiths many times with mixed results. Today the roast turkey was tough and dry. It came with 3 carrots and 3 sprouts as the only veg offering. Lazy offering from the kitchen. After we had 6 small scones and 4 hot drinks in the lounge next door. Regardless of the lovely surroundings £73 for just the scones & hot drinks is insane pricing. I stress this price did not include our meals next door in Smiths. Gorgeous hotel needs the food to be special too.

Ate here a couple of times while staying at the Bovey Castle. Food was great and the service was efficient.

Having splashed out to stay here we thought the on site food would match the superb hotel. No. Service was ok, menu ok, prices… bizarre. Who charges £20 for a pizza and the same for sirloin steak, very few in my experience. Maybe I should...

A superb dining experience within a stunning restaurant with spectacular views and wonderful staff. Couldn’t of asked for more. My young sons cheese on toast starter was a fab and unique addition to a menu and it was delicious too.

Four of us ate here ordering a mix of things and everything we had was enjoyed. Staff were attentive without getting in the way

We were staying in the hotel so thought that the brasserie would be great for dinner so we booked it for our first evening. We were disappointed as everything was over worked. Too many flavours competing on each plate

Our package included an evening meal Despite a currently typical reduced menu we both enjoyed the choices we made I could have done with a bit more lamb that’s all See my main report about the good service

We celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary at This beautiful Bovey castle and already plan to have meal at Brasserie for our 1st night. The food was delicious. And staff just lovely. I love the food presentation as it make me more excited to eat. I...

Great restaurant with the loveliest staff. We all had the roast, including our toddler and we loved it. Puddings were fab too, especially the creme brûlée!

Hotel restaurant can be hit and miss this is a hit, really good friendly vibe, staff very good. Table was really large for 2, the nibbles really good and very generous portions. Mains nicely presented my halibut very nicely cooked. All in all a nice...

We enjoyed the food & the views! Fish portions are small but the quality was fresh. Lovely terrace to sit on in good weather.

For: great aspect, sharp decor, nice service Against: food capable rather than exciting, limited wine list, toppy prices (hey, it’s Bovey Castle...) Conclusion: you’re really paying for the surroundings, and why not? However, as a foodie I can’t get beyond 3 stars, given the prices.

Dinner was extremely overpriced together with the wine, and the food portions, although very small for the price paid, were tasty. The local staff here from the area were excellent and understood the questions asked which was a bonus.

This restaurant has a variety of food to please all. Staff are very friendly and food is excellent. They can cater for all allergies.

The food and service could not be faulted and the wine list was good. I fancy this is the best place to eat in the Hotel.

Had small family first birthday lunch here for our little one in September 2019 (we live overseas so traveled a day to get here). Service was dreadful. Waited over 45 minutes for our starters, then a further 45 minutes for main course following regular requests...

My husband and I ate here and both ordered the fillet steak. At £34 each I expected a perfectly cooked and delicious steak. What we received was a cold steak (cooked rare) and a burnt steak (cooked medium). The starters were not present as well...

Enjoyed a quiet evening sitting at a window and soaking in the pastoral view. Standard fare of fish and chips were delicious.

One of the drawing rooms featured a women's painting that wouldn't have looked out of place in the Ghost Ride at Thorpe Park! Don't look at it!The Brasserie, however, was great. A modern feel, very different to the rest of the hotel which has some great spaces, panelled walls and a great vaulted reception room. The food was ok, a very nice crab linguini and an interesting varied menu. Not cheap, but then it comes with the Bovey Castle experience and the staff are very good.

Visited for dinner during our hotel stay. We had a very enjoyable evening and both our courses the chicken dish and sea bass excellent. We ordered a mixture of snacks to start but were huge portions and after our mains just never managed to have dessert !!Would highly recommend the restaurant.

Hubby has been through the FODMAP diet testing and can’t eat fructins (most specifically the onion and garlic families). Knowing this from our booking, the manager gave us a menu where she had marked the dishes they could adapt in the kitchen. Just fabulous service. The food was beautifully fresh and delicious and hubby had so much choice. The service was brilliant -friendly and thoughtful. I wish every hotel had a restaurant and menu like this.

Me and my girlfriend were exploring when we came across this very beautiful and elegant brasserie at bovey castle.Although we had no booking or wasn’t staying at the castle, they welcomed us with open arms and let us eat there.I had the “jail ale” and local resident venison pie and my girlfriend had the honey glazed ham hock which were both beautiful and tender.To my surprise, the prices were very acceptable.We will definitely visit again.

Went for a Sunday lunch with friends at the Brasserie -after being shown to our table, waited over 20 minutes for anybody to even offer u a drink -despite 3 staff chatting to each other at the bar -place was almost empty so no excuse

First time we have had tried this Brasserie, although had a few Afternoon Teas in the adjacent rooms before.

Came here after the 7 course tasting menu the night before at Gidleigh, so wanted something light and flavoursome. It did not disappoint, the room was comfortable, an open plan fire pit style worked well for me. The staff were great, friendly, and chatty. The food was exactly what I wanted, some salt and pepper squid which I enjoyed very much as a starter and a Tuna Nicoise salad as a main. I could not fault things, cooking and staff and service were great, thanks

In such a lovely setting as BOVEY Castle, I did not expect a noisy bistro ( not a Brasserie ) like this. The noise was deafening from a large party of kids at dinner, very loud ‘pop’ music and the general layout. We had a special night with family planned but could hardly hear ourselves talking across the table. The service was awful...a rush to get our order taken, then no service. Had to pour our own wine and could not get anyone to take dessert order or top up water. The menu was very limited and did not reflect a country style in any way and I would hardly call it a BRASSERIE. A bit of game or country style cooking would be lovely. Just rather pretentious and the staff bustling but absent. Burgers, short orders and not much more. Worth the short trip to the local pub instead, where service was warm and food delicious.

Great menu, reasonably priced, service fab. Food was delicious! Trendy and modern restaurant with a nice ambience. Good selection of specials and drinks too.

This restaurant serves a mix of comfort food and local delicacies. It’s an alternative to the other fine dining in the property.

We wanted to go somewhere a little bit special Saturday night without being OTT and this totally delivered .The food was excellent we couldn’t fault it ,The fish pie was absolutely the best I’ve had anywhere and completely GF . We received top class service in such beautiful surroundings .

We enjoyed our dinner here. Good sized portions attractively presented. The style of the decor is a little surprising being modern and rather non-descript. It didnt feel much as though we were eating in a castle.

Although quite expensive the food and service was excellent. All seemed very relaxed, had a meal in the evening and also had a drink after golf.

Very nice evening meal at Smith's and the lamb shank that i had was superb and the choice of wines was very good.

I ate there recently with family. This is a very expensive restaurant playing the fine dining game....

This is a Brasserie and whilst it may be just about be acceptable at lunch time, although with lots of faults and omissions, not worth going into it is no good for dinner.

Big prices for poor performance.

The restaurant is spacious, light and airy with great views. The menu offers great variety as well as traditional pub classics. Staff are friendly and efficient. Prices a little higher than normal country pub but not stupid. The food was prepared and presented perfectly. We had the lamb loin (x 2) the venison sausages and the chicken Kiev. All were superb. Good variety of beer and wines at reasonable prices. There’s an out door deck area that allows smoking, if that’s your thing!

Food wonderful, ate here 2nights, we had lamb and fillet steak and then fish and chips and fillet again, very filling. Steak cooked to perfection, staff very friendly

As always, the food and service here are absolutely worth all 5 stars and more. We love coming to Smith’s Brasserie for a meal, on any occasion!

We stayed at the property for 3 night and ate in Smiths Brasserie on a couple of night. Excellent food and sercice, and if you eat on the deck area beautiful views of the Hotel grounds and surrounding area.

Great team effort. thank you, all staff from Bovey Castle. We really, really love to be back, ASAP. The servers here are just wonderful and have great memories it seems.

Light, contemporary space with amazing views set in the gorgeous Bovey Castle hotel. Friendly service. Had the burger which was delicious - if not a little steep at £18. Red wine was served at a good temperature.

Fantastic, warm, welcoming. Great staff and food choices. Priced reasonably and quality was excellent

A few more details - as we were there for three nights, we had mains for two nights and for the third, we had a selection of nibbles and starters (as per meze abroad). The staff were great, as was the food.

This brassery is amazing. The staff serve you very quickly. It is very good for its price. It is very good value if you want a good supper or lunh for an affordable price.

We stayed at Bovey Castle and ate here for one night. Our starters were served cold and we complained straight away. They apologised but never offered to replace them. Our mains were served on warm plates but were still cold. I think the kitchen just can’t cope with the size of the restaurant and the wait staff barely speak English. One gentlemen literally couldn’t take our drink orders as he didn’t understand. For the prices I would have expected something very different. If you want my view go into the local village where there are some nice pubs at half the cost. Very poor experience and would never return.

We have had some lovely meals in the Brasserie this weekend. The staff were fantastic especially Sylvia who has only been at the restaurant 5 months she was bubbly and attentive without encroaching at all. The burger is always on the menu as it is fabulous but good to see some new additions on the nibbles.

We had to use this brasserie when staying at Bovey castle as in less busy months the other restaraunt are closed some evenings .

We deliberately advised early in order to have a drink in the lounge in front of a log fire. Service was friendly and attentive and the food was very good both for quality and quantity. The brasserie is in a modern extension to the original building but is wonderfully light and with glorious views. We had a variety of fish and meat dishes all of which we would eat again. Puddings were arguably even better.

Prawn and avocado salad delicious, just what I needed for a light lunch. Staff friendly and helpful and very knowledgeable about the area.

We had booked Bovey Castle and anticipated that with a price of £125.00 per head for a party of 6 it would be a great Christmas Day Lunch experience. Unfortunately it wasn't.

The Brasserie is tucked away at the end of the hotel with spectacular views of the valley and a terrace to enjoy (in warmer weather!) The Brasserie was quiet when we went - a Saturday lunchtime - and service was swift. The majority of staff were very friendly and accommodating but one was rather miserable and aloof, hence the 4 star rating! The decor is modern and extremely comfortable with well spaced tables and a fabulous huge circular sofa around a warm fire where you could relax with a drink before or after your food. Overall the food was very good, quash and pine nut ravioli was excellent and beef wellington was super tasty (despite being shredded brisket, rather than the more traditional fillet). Prices are reasonable for a 5* hotel restaurant with most mains coming in mid to late teens and steaks late twenties. Good value for the quality. Overall, a very comfortable environment in which to to spend a couple of hours.

Enjoyed a lovely 3 course meal with wine. Good quality ingredients, well cooked and presented. Really enjoyed the evening

Excellent food drink and service. Named after W H Smith who built the house. Well worth a visit. Not cheap but a great experience.

Fabulous modern and classic dishes, served in a truly beautiful setting. Service is both friendly and professional. Smith's brassiere is modern looking with extremely tasteful furnishings and a great relaxing atmosphere. The bar area is modern and bright and has a very extensive drinks menu.

Bovey castle is a beautiful place, and this is it's more informal restaurant. It serves 'classic English Food'. In reality it serves 'good quality pub food' at double the price you'd expect to pay at any of the excellent pubs within 20 mins drive. And on top of that they whack a 12.5% service charge whether you like it or not! The location's amazing, and the service is genuinely friendly, but they're milking their setting (and mainly captive audience) and creating a bad name for themselves. Could do a LOT better!

We ate here twice on our two-night stay in Bovey Castle; once for lunch and the other occasion for dinner. The staff were really pleasant but service was inconsistent; we experienced both very quick and very slow service across both meals.

We were staying at the hotel and decided to eat in here on the first night. When I tried to reserve a table a week before we arrived, I was told the brasserie was full but to try again when checking in. This I did and was told that they could squeeze us in at 9pm. We arrived at 9pm and were shown to our table - the restaurant was half empty. We were then told that service might be delayed due to the arrival of two parties of five people just before us?!?! I could not believe that a kitchen in a 5* establishment was unable to cope with more than 14 guests at the same time. However, they obviously did struggle, as the service was incredibly slow. We had to request water three times and had a fairly lengthy wait for our meal. The food was all disappointingly average, and far too expensive for what you got. It's such a shame, as we love staying at the hotel (this was our 5th visit) but unless they do something to improve the brasserie we will continue to eat off the premises, as we did for the rest of our stay.

It was a great surprise to find a true brasserie type of restaurant in the midst of an overwhelming old castle with breathtaking views of the Dartmoor National Park - but it was real, and it proved to be a great place to have a quick lunch.

Set in Bovey Castle which has lovely grounds and if you get a window seat then you have very nice views of the moors.It was spacious and not crowded.

My husband and I visited Smith's Brasserie while we were staying at Bovey Castle. We had a deal through Secret Escapes that included dinner at Smith's.

See Bovey hotel review terrible food and no responsibility taken. Steak served cold sent back then a plate of gristle served never complain at this restaurant

Poor service, poor food. Over priced. But lovely views. Sent a couple of courses back. Will never return.

My friend and I had a spa day and lunch at Smith's Brasserie was included. The restaurant is very comfortable inside and we were seated with excellent views over the grounds and countryside.

We booked the brasserie at Bovey Castle for a treat whilst on holiday. The hotel is stunning, both in setting and quality, so we were looking forward to eating there. The room was v tasteful and had large windows letting the surrounding countryside flood into the room.

This restaurant had all the features and tools to get a five star review unfortunately the service was poor after half an hour I requested bread. The music was so low I could hear about five conversations going on there were children everywhere when you spend a hundred pounds for main and dessert I expect a lot more the portions were microscopic I had belly pork with a quinell of mustard mash one chanteray carrot cut in half and about 20 peas my dessert was cheesecake with a base of less than 2mm .

Smith's brasserie ligt aan de zijkant van het Bovey Castle. Het is een hele mooie zaak, licht en ruim, met prachtig uitzicht. Het begin is dus goed.

I have already rated Bovey Castle and put a short review of Smith's Brasserie in it but as you have asked for a seperate review it is as follows

Stayed at one of the lodges within Bovey Castle grounds so ate at Smith's Brasserie on two evenings( the lodge was amazing)

Excellent part of the lovely hotel with light and bright room and great food. Good atmosphere. We had a pre wedding night dinner and they really made us welcome. Good wine selection too.

This restaurant adjoins Bovey Castle and therefore should be an excellent brasserie. However the food is - at best - just ok but against a price range that I would expect to see in very good quality hotels. Not only is the food overpriced for what it is - dry apple pudding or non triple cooked chips masquerading as triple cooked chips but at this price range I don't expect cheap frozen burgers to be served to children. Not worth the time or effort by any stretch.

We are at Bovey Castle, it has a fine dining restaurant, so we expected that the quality of the food in their brasserie to be in some way under the same culinary supervision. Based upon our experience, nothing could be farther from the truth.

scanning recent reviews they are a bit of a mixed bag but I have to say that our experience was very good - it pretty much meets the expectation of a Brasserie with good quality well prepared if perhaps a bit unexciting fare - it's by no means a grand room and I would say the prices are a little on the high side but as part of a very grand hotel it's probably about what you'd expect. I wasn't adventurous - fish and chips as the main course - it was prepared and served really well. We enjoyed it

Visited as part of a spa day. Polite staff who sat us in a lovely window seat overlooking the garden. Gave us plenty of time to look through the menu. We chose the scotch egg and prawn cocktail as our starters with the pollock and pork as our main courses. Each plate of food was delicious and served timely but without us feeling rushed. We decided to share the apple cake as a pudding as to be honest we were both very full but just couldn't resist. All in all a fabulous meal.

Our stay at Bovey included dinner at Smith's Brasserie. The hotel is stunning, sadly the same can't be said of Smith's. Service was patchy with one excellent waitress (Portugese and lovely), the rest were a little bewildered. We had to wait some time for drinks orders to be taken and, when the food arrived, it was all a bit ordinary. Starters of Caesar Salad and Pear and feta Salad were ok, but not outstanding. My main course of Thai Green Curry was possibly the blandest meal I've had in a long time,lacking spice, heat, flavour and seasoning. My wife played safe with the Fish Pie which was equally unremarkable. Overall, the brasserie was similar to a very average chain, pub restaurant and it's a shame that it's not on the same level as the rest of this beautiful hotel. Will try the Great Western on our inevitable return

Okay but expected more and better quality food as it's seem very low quality high street offer..... not fresh

Had a really nice lunch at the weekend. Had a salad and eton mess. The food was really nice, the setting was beautiful and the staff were excellent and very helpful. The menu was good and we will definitely be going again.

Quality lunch, in a superb environment with happy and well trained staff. Nothing left to chance. Good choice on the menu, something for everyone.

As I came to write this review, I spotted another one just posted - if only I'd known sooner how bad the brasserie is... My wife and I had booked a lunch there having stayed previously and thoroughly enjoyed the fine dining in the main restaurant. But the two eateries are so different, like chalk and cheese, it's hard to think they are in the same establishment! The food wasn't up to much and before we had finished, the staff started moving furniture, scraping it along the floor: apparently they were setting up for the evening - well, they should either wait or lift the furniture to avoid disturbing their guests. Also, I know it is becoming increasingly common, but I really hate places that automatically add an "optional" tip, which we didn't notice until after we'd left. I'm so mad that we gave them a tip for a very dissppointing experience.

Having visited several times before I was pleased to be invited to join friends for a Birthday Lunch at Bovey Castle. I was greeted with the usual polite and friendly attitude that I had come to expect there. I met my friends on the terrace and was enjoying a pre lunch G&T;, enjoying the peaceful surroundings and the wonderful country views when our peace was shattered by the arrival by a group of "Younger" parents and their offspring. The children, aged from 4 to 10 I suspect, were allowed to run around and create a noisy mayhem totally unchecked. The fault of the selfish parents, not the staff. We went to out table ay 1305, having booked for 1300 only to be told that there would be a considerable wait as a large party had just arrived. The six children were sitting, un accompanied, at a table next to ours and the parents at a separate table a few yards away. The children were constantly leaving the table and the restaurant and getting under the feet of the waiting staff. Our wine arrived promptly and there was a wait of about 30 mins for the starters. These were acceptable. 45 minutes after the arrival of the starters our main courses were served. They were not good and were poorly presented. Our charming waitress was embarrassed by the long wait, and actually by the food that she was asked to serve ! The moral of this story is : Do NOT visit Bovey Castle, especially Smiths Brasserie, during the School Holidays.

We attended the 'locals' night - Harvest fare, a table booked for 8 of us, all looking forward to a lovely meal, [we had attended for the 'spring lamb' event and wanted to return]. Disappointment first class, an extremely cheap no choice menu, no vegetarian option, lack of interest in servers, only one other table taken! We had to ask for vegetarian meal, which seemed to cause an upset with the kitchen! puddings offered were chosen, the sticky toffee pudding was so overcooked you couldn't put a spoon through it, we complained - fell on deaf ears - however after it was returned to the kitchen a replacement was offered. The bill arrived only to find the we were overcharged on the puddings, this was raised with the server who made a scene, and said it would have to be redrawn, the second bill arrived and as the service and meal was poor we deducted some of the 12.5% service charge, the server returned again and made a scene at our table saying we hadn't given enough!! we explained our reason, again the comment I will have to draw another bill now. All of the above made our evening a very disappointment - this is a 5* establishment - we wrote to Bovey Castle, who have yet to reply some three week on..... come on Bovey get your act in place reply as least!

See my report on Bovey castle but sorry I thought this restaurant was poor. Food was expensive. For its quality. Tasteless

We ate here twice. Both times the food was excellent. Good atmosphere and the service is spot on. Try the duck delicious

Avoid this restaurant. It is pretentious, but when I ordered a medium- rare cooked hamburger I was told the quality of the meat would not allow that. I ended up ordering a medium burger and getting a small burned dried-out piece of meat with one slice of tomato on a bun. For 14 pounds. When I returned the burger to the kitchen the same sorry excuse for a burger was returned to me with the message that this was the only way the chef would serve it. It was then left untouched on the table for me to stare at. I did not want to make a scene after the waitress came up with excuses about the quality of the food, but this was the only part of Devon that disappointed me so avoid Smith's at all costs!

If you are staying at Bovey Castle, you have 2 choices for dining and this is one of them. While the atmosphere is casual, the food is made to order and quite good. We ate lunch there once and dinner 3 times. Service was always excellent but they do prefer you make a reservation even if you are staying at the castle. Staff is Polish and Romanian for the most part and very friendly. I can't imagine anyone at Bovey Castle being in a rush so waiting for the food did not bother me especially with a Devon Red cider in hand. We found the sandwiches and hamburgers excellent. The duck confit was also surprisingly tasty as was the cottage pie and salmon. We gave the Eaton mess a try too as well as the ice cream. All in all it was pricey but did not disappoint.