The Rusty Axe in South Somerset

We went for dinner here- it was fantastic! We both ordered rib-eye steak and it was the best steak we have eaten. They knew their menu completely and the atmosphere was great. We will back- highly recommended!

We love this pub. The ladies who work there are so warm and friendly. The food is fabulous with an extensive menu. We enjoyed the buy one get one free offer which was running today. A lovely pub which we really recommend.

We met for lunch this week , we all had a different meal. Absolutely fabulous 👌 we all loved our lunch and puddings were amazing, staff could not have been more accomadating, Thank you very much , we will be back soon 😊

I have just had my first experience of going into the Rusty let alone eating and I was really impressed. The location and interior are beautiful. The roast dinner was the best I’ve had and now goes to the top of the list! I would highly recommend and I can’t wait to go back another day to sample their week day menu. Wendy and the team couldn’t have been more welcoming and helpful, thank you 🙏

We enjoyed our visit to the Rusty Axe. We were welcomed by friendly staff. The food was delicious. Lots of choice from the menu. Good value for money. Would reccommened coming here.

What a find, looking for somewhere new to try close to where we live and I spotted this on the map. The food was great, we both chose different burgers which were excellent, really tasty and full of flavour The portions were great as well, neither of us could manage a pudding. We will be back to try the huge doorstep sandwiches

Went with 9 friends today. Had the most incredible roast dinner. So much of everything and cooked to perfection. Staff were lovely and so accommodating. Give it a go. You will NOT be disappointed

Booked for Dinner for my 40th Birthday. The food was incredible and as it was my birthday I had my first drink on the house. I also had a banner, a card and some chocolates and flowers which I thought was absolutely lovely!! Beautiful food all cooked fresh to order, would 100% go again

Wow what a gorgeous Sunday lunch, the best we've had for a long time, lovely and hot and plenty of meat and vegetables 😀 just amazing. Lovely place and atmosphere that also welcomed dogs.

Me and my sister popped in for lunch and tried the bacon brie and cranberry sandwich and the buttermilk chicken bacon and mayo..MY GOODNESS it did not dissapoint safe to say we were definitely full they were too good to leave, decent size portion and beautifully presented we shall definitely be in again to try the others on the list 😊

Love the Rusty, it's fantastic value for money, Shaun, Mark and Nikki work so hard to make it the brilliant pub that it has become. There's always something going on, and such a great atmosphere. All the staff are on the ball, and I think that's always evident whenever you walk in the door. Totally dog friendly, inside and out.

Wow! l was very spoiled by Micky and Shaun. Thank you after a hard 7 months l didn't think celebrating my birthday would be an option. This idyllic pub, nestled in Somerset, is a gem. Food exceptional, Lizzie was great fun and looked after us well. No one could have asked for more. The gammon was so big, you need to be hungry. THANK YOU SO MUCH. we will be back.

Good food nice pub. Limited parking available.

As usual, excellent food and drink. Always too much to finish. Lovely staff and landlords. Sean is an amazing chef. BOGOF on Thursdays, book early to avoid disappointment.

A pleasurable afternoon was spent at The Rusty Axe. My family and I enjoyed the visit. Discovering the variety and the quality of choice on the menu was indeed a bonus. Now that we have found this diamond on the Somerset Levels we will return again very soon.

A really welcoming & super friendly pub. I had the Stembridge Burger (pimped it with blue cheese!) It knocked the socks off all the top rated food blogger places I've tried in London - in taste & price!! Will definitely be going there again!

Top tier burgers, friendly service, lovely atmosphere. Highly recommend.

Would eat here again. But parking can be a problem

Excellent atmosphere. Really wonderful staff. Loved the menu and the food was outstanding. If I'm in the area I'm going there again for sure.

Very nice sunday lunch. Reasonably priced given current climate. Servace was very pleasant if a little slow. Will certainly return and happily recommend

Second visit to The Rusty Axe Inn. A lovely local pub in a great location. We didn't eat but alcohol prices are on the cheaper side for the area and the bar service superb. Really nice pub to sit in and a better beer garden for the summer.

We came for a birthday lunch and had a brilliant time, the food was delicious and we were made to feel so welcome. We will be returning!

We just did a walk in for a meal and the guys couldn't do enough to fit us in and feed us amazing meals..

Simply brilliant across to board. Couldn't fault a thing

Family run food excellent value for money dog friendly highly recommended 👌

Went this lunchtime, served a £4.80 pint of Ruddles by a miserable dragon behind the bar. Enquired if I could possibly get Sunday lunch, the answer was simply "NO". Been here before and the food and service were exceptional but given today's experience, I won't be rushing back.

This establishment is no longer "Sparkles" the Indian restaurant. It is now back to being a proper English country pub. For some bizarre reason the landlord of the pub cannot change the Google designation of the Pub. Please contact Google and ask them to change it. It's a pub, not and Indian restaurant.

A-MA-ZING!! Here for Sunday lunch and the roast was incredible. We both had pork and the meat was melt in the mouth tender. Beautifully cooked roasties, veg, Yorkshire pudding and epic gravy. Not sure it was a great decision because the portion size is hefty but we had dessert too. Apple crumble and an Eton mess. Food coma here we come. Couldn’t recommend this beautiful pub enough. The service, the friendly welcome and crazy good food are all you need 😍

Excellent food and very helpful staff.

Nice meal when visiting family Food lovely and good service

Warm and friendly welcome. Just wish they offered a gluten free option. Great service lovely staff.

Great to see the Rusty Axe back as a pub 🍺🍺🍺

Hi guys darren here , absolutely amazing food , atmosphere is like the old days would highly recommend the rusty what a beautiful pub , well done guys u all deserve it ! Got to done

Really good to see this pub open again! It's a lovely country pub with real ale, a friendly staff and a good garden. After years in the doldrums it's now back to being a really nice place to visit. The food looked good although I was there for the beer: a well-kept pint of Tribute.

Went with the family for lunch, great staff, really good food, booked to go back for sister-in-law's 70th, but not sparkles anymore and they've got rid of those stupid flowerpots

Excellent food, service and friendly.

Had a fantastic breakfast which was freshly cooked and served by very pleasant staff. Washed it down with orange juice and delicious coffee. Will be back.

Lovely meals, friendly staff, good beer, reasonable orice

It isn't Sparkles anymore, it's a proper country pub. Nice atmosphere, nice drinks and good food. Definitely recommend.

Nice friendly pub, good outside area and a choice of real ales! Re-opened earlier this year as a proper pub. Also in the last few weeks they are now serving good pub food! Definitely recommend!

Great little pub. Not been for many years.was really clean, crisp pint 👌. Very welcoming. Will return

Disappointing. Taster night, chicken curry nothing else. No starters popudums etc

All pretty good. The breads are amazing. However we turned up to a very empty restaurant on a Saturday night when it should have been heaving. I'd have thought this place would have been better supported by the locals. It would be a shame if this doesn't work out.

The 4 out of 5 rating MUST be for the previous ownership. We stopped in for a beer on a long walk and the ales were all off, I can forgive a one off but the barman even asked me to taste them all before buying because they had had a lot of complaints, they were all off, he then asked me what I thought the problem was, pipes aren't cleaned and the barells are poorly kept was my answer. The Rusty Axe is now an Indian restaurant masquerading as a pub, they would be better off going full Indian restaurant and dropping all the real ales because they clearly have no idea how to keep them. We ordered a bottled beer and left, making the 5 minute walk to the Wyndham Arms (which was amazing by the way)

Don't understand why they named it sparkles.....

Flexible and friendly, much better attitude than the Windham Arms. Kid friendly, not just an Indian.

Newest Highest Lowest Tariq mohamad Tariq mohamad 1 review a month ago Hello hi please don't order food from aparkles at the rusty axe inn because I have worked there the they serving ready-made for 5 or 6 days old and I ask them why you guys serving old food they told me if you want to work I can if you don't Want i can live the job they didn't pay my veges as well I asking for my veges they don't even answer my call so please I am letting you know please don't order food from aparkles at the rusty axe inn Thank you

Great food, lovely friendly staff ,even treats for the dogs 😃👍

Great tasting Indian food in the middle of nowhere.

Under renovation to Sparkles Restaurant (Indian cuisine)

Hello hi please don't order food from aparkles at the rusty axe inn because I have worked there the they serving ready-made for 5 or 6 days old and I ask them why you guys serving old food they told me if you want to work I can if you don't Want i can live the job they didn't pay my veges as well I asking for my veges they don't even answer my call so please I am letting you know please don't order food from aparkles at the rusty axe inn Thank you

Great food and exceptional service. We ordered food from Sparkles at The Rusty Axe for the second time since opening and once again we couldn’t fault it. The food was full of flavour and good portion sizes. The service we received when collecting the food was second to none. We were told it would be 20 minutes and it was prepared exactly to time fresh and hot! We even got a valentines cupcake to go with our meal. Can’t wait to order from you again 😊

Tried them on 3 occasions and had issues with every order! Latest curry was like water!! Went in the bin! Reported it to them and didn't even offer a replacement or refund! Small portions and expensive prices! Don't waste your money folks

Stembridge ‘Rusty Axe’. You don’t get much for your money, taste is OK I guess but in Martock you get much more (plus free Poppadoms). The number on the website is disconnected so had to phone Exeter to get the owners mobile number. May try again down the line, but Martock is easily my preference for now.

We popped in here as we were in the area.Well worth a visit.I had sizzling steak skillet and my wife a sizzling chicken skillet. Both dishes were superbFollowed by apple and blackberry pie and custard and toffee chocolate sundae. Really good foodNice placeWell worth a visit

Warm and friendly greeting. Spacious tables with good lighting. Varied menu but we both went for traditional fish and chips! Beautifully cooked, yummy! Very Covid aware, go and enjoy your visit with confidence!

Lovely place good food Very good staff Highly recommend

Sunday lunch was great, unassuming from the outside but inside the pub it’s really lovely. Four of us dined for lunch and we were all very impressed, very good quality food and presentation too!

Amazing food so underrated for the quality !!!!! Will definitely be coming back x

It doesn't take much to smile at your customers that are having a drink. Decor is lovely but awful unattentive landlady. It made us feel unwelcome.

My husband and I had been recommended the “Rusty Axe” so we decided to book for a meal and see for ourselves. It certainly did not disappoint. Great choice on the menu and the food was presented really well, quick service and extremely yummy ! We opted for three courses and could not fault the food.The bar/restaurant area is decorated very tastefully and a nice little outside area too. Extremely pleasant and helpful staff.We will definitely be returning. Highly recommend to anyone who has not visited yet ! Well done - The Rusty

Great service and very covid friendly

My niece and I booked for 7.30 last evening. It was busy when we arrived but we were welcomed and served quickly at the bar and allowed to choose a two-person table.The charming Nicky took our order quite soon and twice told us how long it was going to be, which wasn't that long. My niece chose the pie of the day - chicken and leek and I chose the tenderloin of pork with stir-fried veg and French fries. The food was delicious, well-cooked, hot and tasty. We then shared their "Two Spoons" pudding consisting of lemon torte, banoffee pie and Eton mess on one long plate - again really just "the job". All was reasonably priced and we felt welcome. We'll definitely recommend to friends and be back soon.

I stopped for lunch in between visiting cideries. I ordered the seafood starter in the 2 person verrsion as a main and it was unbeleivably good. Gambas, smoked salmon, calamari, panfried fish and roast salmon. tender, juicy, perfect flake and with a fantastic horseradish sauce. Looking forward to next visit.

Considered as a local (we are about a mile and half away) we decided to walk over to the Rusty Axe in Stembridge. That’s 6 of us 2 adults , 4 kids (6,6,7,4). Kids were exited of we went. We arrived at 1145 we had checked it was open before we set off, 1130 was on the web page. On entering we noticed we were the only ones there, family took their seats I went to the bar. I was told that I would have to wait as the till had not come up. Not a problem. We then sat for a further 10 minutes during which the girl I had spoken to earlier returned dressed in a coat and with out a word walked past and departed the pub. We sat for a further few minutes, no one in the bar. We decided to leave a few minutes later and walk back to the Rose and Crown in East Lambrook, where we received a hearty welcome, played board games and had a great post walk pint, crisps and coke with the kids.Very disappointing re the Axe, no welcome, no atmosphere, no service. In all not worth the walk or time on this occasion. There other options in the area, they need to up their game

My partner and I enjoyed an evening here at the Rusty axe for a Valentine meal.The tables were beautifully set out highlighting the Valentine theme.We received a very warm welcome from front of house, we were well looked after throughout the evening.The Valentine menu had a fantastic selection to choose from.My partner and I very much enjoyed what we chose from the menu. Our meals were presented beautifully and cooked to perfection.Sue the landlady is very well known for her amazing cooking so we knew we were going to receive a delicious meal, but I can safely say this was the most tasty meal by far.Thank you to Sue and the team, keep up your super work, we will definitely be back soon.

Excellent meal from start to finish

We decided to visit based on previous reviews and recommendation, and weren't left disappointed. A friendly welcome upon arrival and excellent service throughout. Food portion size was plentiful and very tasty with multiple options to choose from. We went for the roast beef and roast pork, both cooked well, with a sharing plate of veg which again was thoroughly enjoyable. Would highly recommend.

Went in on Boxing Day to have a couple of drinks with some friends and family, unfortunately the bar staff was terrible today! Took forever in serving drinks and The terrible part is serving other customers before us as they just walk through the door or just walk up to the bar considering was there waiting 10/15 minutes for a drink is terrible service in my opinion!! I will not be coming back here to support this pub unless they improve their methods!! #supportthewyndhamarms

Excellent fabulous Christmas Day lunch x

We went for lunch on Sunday with friends, from the moment we entered the pub, we were greeted by a lovely friendly young lady, who took our drinks order, we were then escorted into a beautifully decorated dining room. The menu was varied and the food, the presentation of the food, quality and quantity was absolutely beautiful. Clean plates all round. Would definitely recommend and we will certainly be going again.

What a great little hidden gem very tastefully done Very attentive staff Ordered mix seafood platter for two excellent Followed by homemade steak and ale pie for myself and salmon on noodles both excellent Will definitely go again and highly recommended

Last week a group of 17 of us went to The Rusty Axe, it was very COLD in the pub. Having previously booked, I left a message (last Monday) to say how many would be going for a lunch time meal on the Wednesday. An hour before we were due to arrive I had a phone call to ask how many to expect - nobody had checked the message. It appears that the blame is always passed onto somebody else for everything possible. The service was very slow, some asked for coffee and never got it. Later we were told the machine wasn't working and their other one only did one cup at a time ! One person asked for water and was told, no, they didn't serve water. Although the food was on the whole good - apart from chicken bones in a salad !, 17 people will not be going again - plus those we tell of our experience which includes several groups from our U3A.

My partner and I visited for a two course Sunday lunch. The roast was absolutely delicious! All home cooked, tender meat and vegetables cooked to perfection; all served to us with a smile! And our desserts were incredible (and again, home cooked, which is extremely rare to come across!) I’d highly recommend a visit you certainly won’t be disappointed.

Popped in for lunch as we had a spare hour. The place had a friendly atmosphere and was very clean and smart. The food was excellent with good portion sizes and prices were reasonable. Would definitely go back.

Passing through and stopped off for a light lunch. Clean, friendly, good service and excellent menu and provision. Not phased by my arrival on motorbike with wet kit. Clean and good toilets. Easy to miss, especially if travelling from Stembridge :right on a junction/bend. Car park. Will return! Board of activities and special offers /events.

As a regular group of walkers we have been coming to Somerset for 6 years now. I had planned a walk around East Lambton and found this on the route. I phoned ahead , as we are 16, to ascertain if we could start here with coffee. Sue , the landlady said no problem. We also pre ordered lunch. This pub was a genuine local with a warmth and welcome you rarely find these days, most being ‘ food’ and that’s it. The beers were excellent and with a good range, the food was plentiful and more importantly very good. Prices were reasonable and Sue and her helper were excellent. A good sense of humour and above all excellent value for money. Highly recommended and one of the best, if not the best, we’ve been to in Somerset ... and that’s a few!

We were recommended by a local and I can see why. We hadn't booked but were warmly welcomed. Sunday lunch menu and well as the normal menu. The Sunday lunch menu you can have one, two or three courses. Mum had the salmon and I had plaice filets both were came with new potatoes and a lovely vegetables which come separately and you serve yourself. Pudding we both opted for the caramelized banana brioche bread pudding which was fabulous. Local Somerset apple juice. Friendly locals. Would return if in the area again.

Very cosy with a good beer garden out the front of the pub.

In a special 380ml coca cola glass of Coca Cola etc (if they fill it up?) its £3.50 or £3 at happy hour. It turns out that an ACTUAL IMPERIAL PINT (568ml) costs £5.23. An insult of intelligence as the person at the bar tried to justify the "premium" coke and the fact that "its chilled". It was on the pump and just tasted exactly the same. The prices for a PINT GLASS that was FILLED to the BRIM in FOUR other Local establishment varied from £2.60 to £3.00 and one of these was from bottled coke. If you can find a more expensive "pint" please comment below...

A lovely relaxed dinner .food and service superb.would definitely go back again

Good food, good beer, a nice atmosphere and very friendly staff.

It's better than the Wyndham Arms™

Amazing food. Definitely 100% quality and everything freshly cooked. Very friendly helpful staff.

Staff welcoming but found large number of customers at one time a little daunting. Food a little restricted for lunchtime. F&C 's very nice also vegetarian tart.

Much improved under new management terrific fine dining offering

Good food, friendly staff would definitely go again soon

A nice local pub. Friendly and helpful staff. I was told that they do great food so I tried to book for Sunday night. I was told by email that there would be no problem as long as I called to confirm. Unfortunately when I did that I was told that it was not possible. Apparently there is a minimum group booking size for Sunday’s. So I can’t comment on their food. Nice pub though n

Took my daughter's hen party to this lovely pub for lunch yesterday. Great menu and good value. Good service with a friendly smile, which always helps!

Food out of this world. So glad we found this place. Friendly staff. Can't wait for next visit.

Lovely Sunday Lunch, good service, will happily return

Popped in for lunch with some friends - a very warm welcome and a good variety of meals on menu - excellent decor and all three meals of a high standard and very tasty. Service a little slow but food all cooked to order and worth the wait

Visited the Rusty Axe at the weekend for a family meal. The food was nice and it is reasonably priced.

Yes most enjoyable evening and good quality food friendly

Popped in for a pint and had an innocent look at the menu and the Caramelised chilli pork sounded so amazing we had to have it. It didn’t disappoint and was so tasty,

This is the second time we have had Sunday lunch at the Rusty Axe and we were once again impressed! I can thoroughly recommend the roast beef but to be honest everything else looked good as well. I think it is reasonably priced and the staff are very friendly and efficient. There is normally a good choice of real ales as well. We will be back!

We have now been 3 times since Christmas and the food has been fabulous.... consistently delicious...... best around by a long way as we are always so disappointed when we go out for a meal

Had delicious family lunch on Saturday. Menu not massive but still offered a reasonable variety to please most. All meals freshly prepared and presented very attractively. The quality of the ingredients was excellent and portion sizes generous. Very impressed that the steak was genuinely cooked as rare, it is amazing how seldom restaurants manage to get this right.

This was our second visit after the kitchen re-opened. The first was ten days before Christmas when we enjoyed a light lunch. Poached eggs (properly done free-form) on nicely toasted bread with watercress and three rashers of decent back bacon. The other dish was a massive ploughman’s including a farmhouse cheddar with its muslin rind. Both were attractively presented, tasty and well executed.

Not much choice in lagers but very friendly staff and locals