Smith's Brasserie in Teignbridge

Bovey Castle is certainly a beautiful and interesting location. However, with all their grounds parking spaces are a premium. Eventually, we were offered a space in a coned off area. A very well appointed building as your would expect for a Five Star Hotel. We began with an aperitif 'Gusbourne English Sparkling' which was superb. A absolutely delightful bar. Smith's Brasserie! Well, let's begin with the positives. Excellent welcome and staff were fantastic throughout our Birthday lunch. Extremely unimaginative menu to say the least. A nice enough starter. Perhaps would have expected freshly made mayonnaise, not from a bottle, in such an establishment. Pleasant enough bottle of rose, although there was a choice of ONE. My wife (Birthday Girl) and I opted for pasta dishes. Absolutely clueless when it comes to pasta dishes. Packet spaghetti with prawns (four small ones) and a Provencal sauce? Very little of it too. It is an Italian dish and the sauce requires mixing in the pasta. Tagliatelle, again from a packet, with some type of utterly non-descript cream sauce at the bottom of the dish. Totally unseasoned dishes. The cooking water needs to taste of the sea. Therefore, seasoned. No offer of cheese or pepper or pangrattato, nothing, and certainly no theatre. Huge improvements required I'm afraid to make an enjoyable dining experience. Dress Code: Expectations, as you would imagine were high. Staff were smart, but could have been better attired for such a hotel. Clientele: Lots of jeans and un-ironed tee shirts wondering around and dining. A pair of football shorts and dirty trainers at one table, others with feet on the chairs in the bar and the final straw was a couple arriving in towelling dressing gowns and flip flops. NO! Sorry. There's a time and a place and this is not acceptable. Unfortunately, this was a lunch to judge if a weekend stay would be appropriate for our anniversary and it simply is not good enough.

Lovely lunch and great service in a spectacular stetting, great terrace overlooking beautiful grounds, spectacular

The standard of food does not equate to a 5 star hotel .....fullstop!!! Everything else about Bovey Castle was top notch but the Great Western restaurant was not open and we were forced to partake of uninspiring, badly cooked food in the brasserie. Some of my favourite food is brasserie related with such things as moules marinieres, onion soup, beef bourgignon, coq au vin etc on the menu ...... this had no such things and was so disappointing. The service and wine list were fine.

Three of us had a great meal, unfortunately for the other the risotto was tasteless . The acoustics are not the best and there was a large noisy table which drowned out what ever conversation we had at our table

The food was tasteless - we ate here a few nights as no other choices and every night the food was awful - clearly the chefs were untrained The service was worse than slow - breakfast took almost 90 minutes and dinner over 2 hours!!! Even when trying to pay the bill you have to wait 30 minutes for anyone to come!

The food and the service just doesn’t match the location, the setting is stunning but the food and the service, just lets it down, it wasn’t busy but there didn’t seem any sort of organisation, the head waiter was walking around like a headless chicken and clearly hadn’t trained the staff probably as they didn’t seem to know how the place worked. The food was mediocre to say the least and totally laced any cares and wasn’t even as described on the menu. Totally lack of seasoning and my wife’s fish was seriously overly cooked

The menu at the Brasserie is lovely however we found many dishes lacked seasoning. I can say Sunday Roast, Salmon starter Chocolate Sunday very good. Fish and Chips a very good lunch. I would say Lamb and Steak Fillet to tough, Prawn cocktail type start needs seasoning. Service was very good, 5* for that. Only main gripe was when there no one mentioned specials and they don't update the specials board before service starts (least on one of the days we were there).

Having just returned from an expensive 50th Birthday treat for a school friend of 40 years. We were most disappointed with the poor Fawlty Towers Service and dreadful food in the Smiths Brasserie. I felt embarrassed for my friends special time away after all the emphasis I put into making his Birthday special and memorable. .

Having enjoyed dinner at the Great Western the night before, the Brasserie was a really welcome contrast. My Wife's fish & chips was the best she had ever experienced.

Was a baby's first birthday and christening lunch. Service was terrible. Waited 45 mins to have our orders taken, another HOUR before starters arrived. Mumbled apologies. Gave up on dessert. Received a 70% refund. Finshed our dinner by driving up to Two Bridges instead. Dreadful service, terrible attitude. Would never go again.

Good cod. Fish pie was very heavy. I could not finish it. The winter vegetable board was very good. The bar is well stalked. The staff was very courteous

Delightful. Good menu, nice setting, especially by the fire. Great service by pleasant but not too obtrusive staff.

Well appointed & laid out restaurant with friendly staff & good service. We had vouchers for the Spa experience meal which said we could order steak at the Brasserie for £5 extra, but on the night were told they weren't offering that anymore. As the Spa menu was fairly limited , we asked to have the main menu & pay the difference. The food was quite nice, just a shame there wasn't a bit more choice on the Spa menu.

Ate here as part of a spa package. Food was very average pub grub, mine was inedible as too much oil had been used in the pasta. Not awful but not what you'd expect for a Rosette winning restaurant in a 5* hotel.

A group of seven ladies enjoying a spa day - we all had a lovely lunch but one of our group is vegetarian and her meal although beautifully presented was extremely over priced. She had a roast beetroot salad which cost £18 and it looked like a very small starter portion. The rest of our meals were lovely and taking into account the location and service were priced about right.

We had an excellent dinner here, they were able to cope well with special dietary needs, presenting tasty food attractively.

After a long flight and then a drive from London, we arrived at our destination. Bovey Castle. Once we sorted our rooms, a large group of us all went to Smith’s Brassiere for dinner. Tired, jet-lagged diners were welcomed by a cheerful and very efficient staff. They immediately made us feel at home, and went above and beyond. It was delightful after such a long journey to have delicious food in a casual yet beautiful atmosphere. We took our time and enjoyed a peaceful dinner overlooking the South Terrace. We lingered quite a while and enjoyed our first night in Devonshire. Throughout the course of nearly two weeks at Bovey Castle, we dined at Smith’s a number of times. The staff treated us like welcome friends. They even knew which wines were our favorites, who preferred seafood, who like lighter meals, etc. I truly can’t say enough positive comments about Smith’s Brassiere. We will most definitely visit again.

First the good part: outstanding, friendly and attentive service. But that did not make up for the reason for going to this restaurant: The food was a major disappointment...and a disgrace for a hotel that prides itself for its other good restaurant. Starters: 1) fish cakes...are croquettes and what you taste is the potatoes (and you need to search for the fish and hardly even taste there is seafood in there). 2) ceasar salad: the dressing is sticky (and too much of it); cheese is bland and tasteless; and the wrong anchovies (they put white anchovies / marinated in vinegar onto the salad, rather than the brown anchovies that should go into a Caesar salad)Main courses:Plaice: totally overcooked. (seasoning was OK; oven potato (side dish) were seasoned well and tasted good. Fillet Steak: all sides were not seasoned at all...totally bland (a warm tomato...and a grilled mushroom with no taste at all).Kid's spaghetti (tomato sauce & meatballs): spaghetti overbooked; again totally bland, tastelessWine was good and a good value for money.

We enjoyed the food and our waitress, Sylvia was very good but the rest of the staff seemed to pay more attention to a large noisey group

Really nice staff who even though it was manic and busy over the bank holiday weekend, made sure we were seated and fed and watered. Food was really good, even a 'basic' chicken kiev dish was served impressively with a bit of a twist and seriously tasty.

The waiting staff where polite and helpful. The food matched the one rosette awarded. No rush great view we had our coffee on the terrace. Heaven.

Excellent food, including the kids menu. Highly recommend the venison pie. Service was great 1st night, but they seemed to struggle 2nd night as they were fuller. However, if staying at the hotel, book a table when you book a room. Do not wait until you check in as you may well go hungry.

This is the informal brasserie alternative venue at the Bovey Castle. The food is a mixture of standard fare such as fish and chips or burgher and chips £18 and more restauranty fillet of lamb £22 which was excellent. As well as dinner we had lunch the next day, same menu we had prawn and avocado which came without any avocado. The waitress said it comes with avocado mousse ( two teaspoonful size blobs) but she would get us some avocado if we wanted some, which she did it arrived on a plate. She added that quite a few guests asked for avocado to go with the prawns!

Wanted a fairly light meal after a weekend of indulgence and Smiths did not disappoint. Lovely room with great 'fire pit' seating. Staff were friendly and great fun. Service spot on. Food was fine, a piquant salt and pepper squid and fresh tasty Tuna Nicoise. The summer pudding was great. Despite the restaurant being modern (unlike the rest of the hotel) I felt it worked well.

Went for dinner on a quiet Monday night. Food was very good and we enjoyed the setting, particular mention to the very friendly staff. A huge improvement on the previous restaurant that was here.

Why would you bother to eat at Smith's when Great Western is at the other end of the Castle. Unlike the Castle and the grounds, all preserved in original form, Smith's is a modern addition with glaring lights and horrible music. This restaurant is a slap in the face to Bovey Castle, insulting the Majesty of a bygone era. The vegan meal we ate here was average by any standard. Thankfully we only ate here one time.

We ate at Smiths while staying close by. Lovely setting a nice modern decor and fresh food cooked very well.

The Brasserie was not quite what we expected considering the traditional décor of the main hotel, it was modern and rather functional. The table tops were stainless steel with paper serviettes. It was not a cosy restaurant, but the staff were very pleasant. We had an issue with a glass of wine that was definitely not right, it was sorted immediately without any hesitation and with sincere apologies from the lovely Polish waitress. The meal was tasty and the menu was reasonable but not extensive by any means.

We dined here after dining the previous night in The Great Western and it suffered by comparison.On the plus side the goujons were well cooked and plentiful .Unfortunately my steak arrived at the same time as we finished our starter and it was over cooked.The excellent Polish waitress offered to change it but I declined .All in all a quite sterile experience in comparison with the other restaurant.

Good for lunch but not good for dinner as a lunchtime menu cannot be regarded as a good dinner menu. Should the weather be suitable there is a good outside area providing that it is clean and tidy

This is part III of our Dartmoor Epicurean adventure which included lunches at four of Dartmoor’s renowned country house hotels: Gidleigh Park, Lewtrenchard Manor, Bovey Castle, and Hotel Endsleigh.

We ate in Smith's on two evenings and generally the food was very nice, though my wife had a poor main course one evening (an under-seasoned and undercooked Fish Pie) The staff were excellent and dealt very well with the one bit of negative feedback.

Really great food! Lots of good and varied options. Beautiful views, either out on the patio or inside. Why go anywhere else away from this beautiful property?

Quick summary: good food with talent in the kitchen. Not cheap, but not outrageous prices. Friendly, professional service.

We ate at the place recently after a spa day and the menu choice was too good to choose from.

It’s a little off the beaten track, but we had a lovely, relaxed evening. If the weathers kind, have a predinner drink on the terrace overlooking the estate, and watch the Fallow Deer on the other hill.

Food ok , service well below par, not engaging , long wait ...disappointing not sure I would bother with it again.

Chef seems to believe that burgers are required by law to be served as shoe leather. This is a misconception that it would be great if he could be disabused of. Otherwise, the restaurant is very pleasant.

The food was excellent and the Manager and staff were very helpful, professional and friendly. They could not do enough for us.

We enjoyed our meal in the Bistro and we ate here twice as we were snowed in. It was reasonably priced and the staff were lovely. Wouldn't hesitate to revisit.

This brasserie is part of Bovey Castle. The staff are very attentive, the menu uses local produce, food presented and cooked very well. We weren't rushed, prices were reasonable for the location. Would recommend.

There was an extensive choice of meals and we enjoyed what we had. Staff were knowledgeable and service was superb, we didn't have to wait very long for our meals to be served. Some of the chairs looked as though they could do with a clean though.

We enjoyed three evening meals here ,excellent service ,comfortable setting ,warm and welcoming ,staff attentive and orders and meal delivery prompt. Wine menu nice ....puddings delightful .

Duplicate of Smiths Brasserie, BOVEY Castle. Needs to be deleted. Is this something you can organise please?