The Smugglers Inn in Teignbridge

We have only been once since it changed hands and it was OK last year. All three of us ordered Hunters chicken as 3 of the items that used to be on the menu had been removed ie. Gammon, Fishbake and Scampi. The chicken was extremely tough. Never had chicken so tough. Only 2 staff. Had to ask for menu so one couple walked out after waiting several minutes at the bar. Had to wait to be shown to table even though the place was mostly empty. Unless you are going for the carvery, which I believe has a good reputation, I would give it a miss.

Fantastic place. Great food. Staff were lovely. Highly recommended

Nice staff nice place if on holiday round there go there

We visited here on Mother's day as it was our first without our mum who passed in January. This was one of her favourite places and the food didn't disappoint on our visit. Thank you to all the staff

ordered harvest carvery and a signature 6 oz burger and it taste great you can watch the sheep🐑 moving and hear them while you having your meal🍽️ the scenery looks nice as well, got good air

Visited this place for the first time having passed it on many occasions when in the area. Not impressed with value for money I had a large carvery and my partner a small carvery £30.90 total only really pork or turkey was our choice as beef was too bloody for us. Vegetables were very limited no peas,beans or parsnip as seems to be the norm.with carveries.Not sure if the veg was from day before. Food overall not that tasty. Judging by previous comments the new owners are just profit oriented maybe should have visited before under the old management.

Have just returned from here this evening, very disappointed. Food was quite honestly awful, they used to do an amazing ploughman's but when asked said they couldn't do it. Have been before and has been good. Maybe an off night for them? Don't know but not I a hurry to return. Husbands meal was just god awful, steak stew pie?? Really?? Mash was bland and lumpy. I only had the so called fish cakes light bite, again bland, mostly potato, no fish I could taste and served with a pickled cucumber salad. No ambience whatsoever and at 38 quid for a small meal and main, very disappointed. Was and still is my birthday too. It seems to have lost the plot somewhat up there, shame.

Lovely meal friendly staff thanks

Lovely views and very friendly and comfortable 😊

Great food friendly staff good atmosphere 👌

Staff were lovely and the pub has got a really authentic, low-ceilinged, dark, old-fashioned, coastal-themed pubby feel to it; rare these days. The menu was good - plenty of choice, but not so much that you couldn't decide - or wonder about the freshness. I had Gurnard, which was a first, with a nice crunchy side salad predominantly of red cabbage and carrot; complemented the dish well. Fish was a tiny bit overcooked, but the kitchen was super-busy on a bank holiday weekend. Others in our party had moules and the general consensus was 'too much cream, not enough wine, but delicious'. The haddock in batter was very good too. I'd go back and have the platter of Lobster, prawns and heaps of other shellfish that I saw others enjoying - but I'd have to save up first - not that I think it was overpriced for the UK - but because shellfish is expensive. Toilets were nice and clean.

Staying local for a few days so booked for a carvery. Arrived and was told its waitress service and showed us to our table. Our young server had no idea what larger was available so we chose to order drinks at the bar. Took a while to grab someone's attention to order our food. Plate sizes where hardly any difference for XL and an adults. The kids plate was smaller. The meat portions where very generous!! I thought the veg and spuds where lovely. Beef was a bit chewy. Never seen fried stuffing balls before but they where nice too. Price is on the higher side but we didn't have any complaints really. Was a nice meal. Would probably visit again.

Smothered chicken more like drizzled chicken. One piece of chicken was tough and hardly any sauce, and the chips looked and tasted like they had been left under a light for hours. Very disappointed as it always seems busy. Staff were ok but didn't check to see everything was OK.

We always come here for a Sunday roast when we are in Devon. We have never had a bad meal!! This time needs shouting about though… We bought Grandparents here for the first time and they literally couldn’t get enough!! ..Rosties and meat were literally cooked to perfection. Staff were friendly and attentive. Prices and portions were great as they have different sized plate for different sized people. Recommended!!

Great staff and lovely hot food.

Had too good to go! It was not too good to go! It should have been long gone! 1st bad experience with one of these

Really good carvery. Excellent quality and service. We will be back

We have travelled down to Dawlish and stayed around the corner. I booked in advance and they situated my family and I, in the prime seat overlooking the sea and countryside. The views are wonderful. We started off with some wings, along with pork belly as a side. The wings came out wrong, but they tasted great. The pork belly was tasty, crispy and melt in your mouth. Wonderful start. For mains, my daughter (6 years old), had pizza, I had the Sirloin Steak and my fiancé had the carvery. My daughter's pizza, looked fresh, but upon inspection towards the end of the meal, the dough was raw in the middle. My steak was ordered Medium, it took nearly an hour to come out and unfortunately the steak was well done. I let the waiter know, he took it back to the kitchen, came out and said it is going to be a while as we have to make your order all over again. No apology. About 25 mins later, it came out and this time it was Blue. The carvery; the meats were 10/10. Great produce and cooked to perfection. The sides did however let it down, frozen Yorkshire puddings and reheated roast potatoes. Upon paying for our food, the waiter asked how our meal was, which we fedback about the steak waiting time and how it came out wrong first time. The managers comment (male with glasses); "The steak was cooked fine first time and we cooked it again as a 'goodwill gesture', so there's nothing else I can do." I'm not looking for a freebie, but not even an apology, it's just really poor. As a result we have avoided going back there for the rest of our break. It's a real shame as the customer service, really let the side down. (I will highlight the young waitress with blonde hair was very courteous and the service for drinks were very prompt)

Managed to get a table even though it was mother's day and busy. Great food reasonably priced. Hot food and well presented waiters.

Lovely pub fantastic staff ,, Polite and friendly place food smelt fantastic as soon as you walk in .. going to have to try a Sunday carvery there .. I believe they do takeaway dinners aswell ....only popped in for a quick pint on way home with a friend but definitely will go back ..

Beautiful food very fresh and tasty. Great service

Top Mark's to this place Really enjoyed our time there On a very busy mothering Sunday nothing was to much trouble for them

Firstly, the waitress was brilliant. We went as a group, so the meals were hit and miss. There were no white bread baps, so they were substituted for brown ones, which I'm told were not very nice. My burger was well presented and tasty. One of our group had a steak burger, which they wanted well done, but was mooing. They run out of custard by 6.30pm, and the desserts were limited. Apparently they had a promotion on and had sold out. I ordered treacle sponge pudding, without ice cream. I got a brown sponge which was laying on a dollop of syrup. The pudding was tasteless, as were the ones my group ordered. In fact, it looked like the same sponge had been used to make up the various other puddings. I was later told the pub was under new management, so the star rating must have been for the previous owners. Would I go back there? No

Back to the Standard we were used to, well done "ALL" concerned.

Lovely place, very expensive coca cola!

The Smugglers used to have a great carvery which was one of the best in the area unfortunately a new owner has taken over and it's possibly one of the worst now. It's obvious that the new owner has cut costs massively yet hasn't cut the prices and killed it's reputation in the process. We used to go regularly but shan't be visiting again.

Worst carvery I've ever had it was cold and ran out of items and vary expensive not recommended 😞

Food cold after waiting 30mins for it

The staff were friendly enough but the staffing levels weren't enough as there was nobody present to welcome new customers, who were left waiting for a member of staff to appear. This stopped me from staying longer and eating because, what is going on behind the scenes if there's a skeleton crew on the shop floor.

Think it’s okay to serve food with mould on it. Poor service, from the manager themselves. Come if you like over salted, mouldy food and a bad attitude 😊

On entry we were met by a lot of dogs. All over the furniture. Whatever happened to hygiene in restaurants in this country?

Loved it had a really good sloppy joe burger Want to go for them wings

Absolutely loved our visit here for my husband's birthday meal. Loved that dogs are very much welcome and was pleasantly surprised to see several dogs in there with their families! The food was absolutely amazing and we both really enjoyed it! The staff were friendly and nothing was an issue when asked. Thankyou so much for a great experience

Excellent food and staff highly recommend to everyone 👌

Decided to ignore some of the reviews and come here against my better judgement, and regretted it. Ordered 1 burger, one carvery and one vegetarian nut roast carvery. Burger was average, a bunch of vegetables on the carvery were inedible. The vegetarian “nut roast” was described as “tasteless pap” by my dining companion, and looked like mostly rice with some type of seasoning - nothing like a nut roast. It was returned as inedible, and the waitress (who looked semi homeless) informed us the manager had “agreed” to remove it from our bill 🙄 Zero apology for inedible food, so one of us did not eat at all as they were completely turned off by the experience. Horrible food and horrible service.

Need to send staff on a 'Barista 'course.It's not their fault they don't know how to make a flat white.The staff are pleasant and helpful.But wouldn't stop off here again.

Since the smugglers were taken over, the food and service has suffered so much. Requests seem to always be an issue, the price of the low quality food is too high and the service is very poor.

Have yet to have a bad meal here. Opted for the roast sandwich rather than carvery this time and it was great! Packed full of meat!

Love the chameleon skin sofa, so chic!! Tres a la mode as they would say on the continent

Superb food with brilliant service

Fantastic breakfast THANK you Ruth for looking after us 14 for breakfast on a Sunday morning 🌅

I pre-booked a late Sunday carvery for 3pm when I was informed there would be a choice of 3 meats & a large selection of veg. I did ask whether I would be better booking earlier, however was told no it was fine as they continue serving until 8pm. My family ordered our drinks & chose the carvery however when went to the hot food area we were told the beef was sold out. Not to worry we would have pork with crackling & apple sauce, however the crackling was also gone. Disappointed but hungry we chose a slice of both the pork & turkey to go with our veg. We sat & started our meal, however there wasn't a great deal of flavour & the roast potatoes were terrible - probably the worst we've eaten - very flowery & tasted as if they'd been reheated. To make things worse two-thirds through our meal we had to remind the waitress we hadn't received our drinks - they finally arrived by the time my husband finished his meal. Disappointed, but not going to be beaten, when the waitress returned to clear our plates she asked if we would like to see the dessert menu, to which my aunt said yes. Unfortunately, this was the last straw as although we waited, the menu never appeared. We went to pay the bill at which time we saw there was a new joint of beef waiting to be carved! I politely informed the cashier we were very disappointed & he apologised for the waitress then handed us the bill. I'm annoyed with myself as well as the Smugglers as I should've refused to pay the full amount.

Wonderful family meal, arrived with a large group. Had pre-ordered. Ruth made us feel very welcome and ensured we were always topped up with drinks. Food came out quickly and nothing was too much trouble. Food itself was really tasty. Would not hesitate to come back. Thank you all for a great evening

Very nice carvery, not much choice of meat, but what we had was plenty, will definitely return.

We had always wanted to try here as we had heard great things about it, mediocre food and one of our desserts never turned up, got our money back and left swiftly.

Parsnips cut too large and therefor undercooked. Persuasive service providers against which in stock items requested. Fast food style sauces in sache's. Low quality specials of the day.

Just a beautiful place to relax and enjoy the view.

Nice staff and a friendly atmosphere

Gammon and beef only colliflower was way undercooked no greens ie peas or broccoli roast potatoes undercooked not many people there will not be returning again

Amazing food and a wonderful atmosphere 😍 👌

Hoping for a carvery but didn't fancy all the boiled veg had a filled baguette with chips which was tasty husband disappointed as 2 options on the menu were not available. The dessert my husband had ordered off the special board was a great disappointment. The mulled pear crumble was infact a mulled pear with biscoff crumb on top.

Nice place lovely location didn't have available what I wanted then had the pear crumble disappointed as it was pear with biscuits crums on top.

Smugglers Inn is a really awesome pub, the food is amazing, we had the carvery, awesome and the staff are amazing, making you feel very welcome and an amazing place to chill with great views, we will definitely be going back 😀

Booked a few weeks before as bringing my rescue GSD and wanted a spacious area to sit as hadn't had her long. Couldn't be more helpful and sat us in an alcove. Service was excellent and all staff were friendly and accommodating. Even bought my dog some scraps for the journey home. Would definitely recommend.

Booked a few weeks before as bringing my rescue GSD and wanted a spacious area to sit as hadn't had her long. Couldn't be more helpful and sat us in an alcove. Service was excellent and all staff were friendly and accommodating. Even bought my dog some scraps for the journey home. Would definitely recommend.

Benn to this establishment many times previous to the new owners, food always really good. Went last evening, food poor quality, luke warm & the meats Turkey & Gammon were again like warm, no taste & pretty sure meats been reheated with strange texture. Only one staff at bar, one in dinning room, very poor & prices now almost £16 for adult carvery. Will most definitely not be returning which is a shame as this used to be a brilliant establishment.

Visited the Smugglers with friends for a catch up over breakfast with a beatiful view! Food was delicious and plentiful!! One of our party has a gluten free diet which was catered for perfectly!! The staff were friendly, attentive and nothing was too much trouble!! Will definately be back! 😃

One of the best (if not THE BEST) carveries in Devon! Great setting overlooking the hills with the sea in the distance. Great variety of veggies and 3 meats - great flavours!

Lovely dog friendly place. Outstanding service especially from harry. Delicious roast options at a good price ...cheaper for oaps 10 out of 10 from us.

A great meal,friendly atmosphere and staff ,having never been there before I would strongly recommend the place to any friend .Merry Christmas 🎄

Had the Christmas Lunch menu 3 courses with our breakfast club. What a great service very well organised by the staff, and the meal was great. Steve the Chef served us up a piece of beef that was perfectly cooked and melted in your mouth. The veg were great, fresh the creamed leeks and Cheese cauliflower were worthy of a Michelin star restaurant.

We had a lovely carvery and the staff are absolutely wonderful l would recommend it and it is reasonable priced

34 members of Dawlish AFVBC had our Christmas lunch today and it was amazing. The waiting staff, Ruth & Dom, were on the ball, nothing was too much trouble and the food produced by Chef Steve and his team was excellent. The atmosphere was great and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. Well done everyone 10/10 👏👏👏

Excellent carvery. All the meat and vegetables were lovely.

Dropped in for a spur of the moment light lunch, our first visit after it has been under new ownership. Looking at the large carpark on arrival it was obviously a busy lunchtime service. We were warmly greeted by the 2 members of staff behind the bar and decided to eat there in the comy chairs infront of the log fire. The bar was extremely well stocked with tasty local Ales, ciders, premium lagers etc & refreshingly for Dawlish a decent wine list. The bar staff were very knowledgeable about the wines & Ales on offer. I chose the lightly seasoned squid peices with a dressed salad & warm chiapata bread my wife had the garlic mushrooms starter as a main with a side order of chips to share. The food arrived exactly as described and pipeing hot. We were both pleasantly surprised at the portion size and left feeling very full after initially wanting a light bite! Throughout, the service was warm, Friendly & informal even though there was a steady stream of customers arriving for the busy restaurant. The venue in general and toilets were all spotlessly clean. We are looking forward to visiting again soon for dinner and have heard great reviews about the breakfast buffet. We would thoroughly recommend a visit and check out there website.

We had pre booked a Christmas dinner for nine of us and were required to pay a deposit, followed by full payment before the meal. Why a credit card number couldn't have been taken is a mystery. The pub had details of the courses we had ordered but we still had to wait almost half an hour before the starters were served. One our number had not ordered a starter but changed his mind only to find they could not provide one. Why not? There were no decorations up in the dining room, which rather spoiled the atmosphere. They had my favourite cauliflower cheese in the carvery veg, but some of it had thick stalks which were not cooked enough. Similarly with the roast parsnips. The roast potatoes were not great, not roasted enough. The carvery food had been on the hotplate for too long and was not particularly hot. The cutlery for the starters was taken from a separate table and given out individually to those of us having starters. Why did the waitress not put them on a tray and bring them all over at the same time? This comes down to poor training. The service by our waitress, Kira, was very good.

We got a last minute booking for eight of us yesterday, including two youngsters. We were warmly greeted and Ruth looked after us great. Particularly attentive to the two youngsters. Tasty food, swiftly served and allowed us plenty of family time to catch up. Masses of parking too and a warm welcoming fire. Happy family!

Went here for breakfast as we were leaving Dawlish that day. Welcomed as soon as we walked in. Showed where all the tea, condiments are and helped our selves. One of the best breakfasts we have had in a long time, we do a lot of weekend days out. Food was hot and not your run of the mill sausage. Probably the best value for money in the area. Other half told the lady we would be back for a breakfast when we back in the area.

Best breakfast 🍳 around Ruth couldn't do enough for us great food lovely views great service we will be back

Lovely spot, beautiful views. Good food, carvery was excellent, good choice of meat and veg very friendly and helpful staff.l, Ruth, Kia & Jay. Fab chef Nick.

We celebrated my Grans 93rd Birthday on Saturday 25th November and from booking to leaving was a great experience. We come a few times a year and it is always great. The staff are amazing, so friendly and helpful. Jay, Kia and Ruth served us today and they were exceptional. Nothing was too much trouble and we were a bit awkward haha! They are an absolute asset to your team. I work in a pub in Cornwall and I know how hard it is to get good staff, so you are very lucky with these 3, they are great. The food was lovely and generous portions. We will be back soon. Please make sure that Ruth, Jay and Kia and the chefs get this feedback as they really deserve it. Great place :)

What a location, such amazing views of the Dawlish coast.. we used this as a meeting point for our friends in Newton Abbot and we were treated to an amazing lunch carvery, the turkey just melts in the mouth… I also had the banoffee for desert which was lovely. Well worth a visit

Best carvery I've had, very tasty and well cooked. Portion sizes good and staff were very friendly and efficient. Look forward to going back

Called in, on the way through Dawlish. Had a carvery.Food was delicious and recommended.Only complaints I have is the barman was not very assertive on way in and I ordered a fresh orange topped with lemonade....got to near the bottom of glass and seen something black at bottom.Poured juice onto place and found that the orange had growth.Pointed it out to waitress.

Average over priced food, run down interior

Large portions making it a pricey night out . £16.00 for a carvery

Absolutely fantastic breakfast! It surpassed our expectations. There was a variety of standard breakfast options and the food was replenished regularly. I will definitely try this again when i next visit Devon.

Nice pub overlooking the ocean, does carvery daily, only had a2

Met up to spend time with family for an entire evening. Fun, casual, relaxed environment! Staff was super friendly, there just enough to provide service and meet our needs but not in our way.

This place has really gone down hill. Food is frozen, probably caterfood, certainly not fresh . The meats on the carvery are not locally sourced , more likely from a supermarket . Need to up their game massively . Won’t be returning . Customers are paying good prices therefore should be receiving good quality food

Lovely food and very helpful staff. Well worth a visit.

I brought bacardi and coke and got charged £7.60 did not give me the option of a dash from the taps or didn't bring the bottle coke to table so we could pour your own they just put the coke in glass, i thought that the meals were over priced including the desserts at £7.95 , i would not recommend this pub , i did hear they were recently taken over

Could do with a bit of a re-fit. Food decent, but baguette was undercooked. Potatoes were spot on though and beer cooked to perfection.

Staff were friendly and attentive Carvery was good but carrots were a bit undercooked

I have deleted my previous five star review as I've been so disappointed on my past three or four visits. I've been visiting regularly for over 30 years and what was once a really enjoyable experience has changed. The restaurant feels slightly run down and grubby and the food has increased in price but is not of the quality it once was. The service is still excellent although i would rather not be addressed as Honey Hun or Darling. . I will return but it won't be on the frequent basis that I used to.

Amazing food, waitress was very friendly and good at her job, my brother in law loved the mussles, best he has had

Beautiful carvery in a beautiful setting. Haven’t been here for years and it didn’t disappoint. Staff were really helpful and friendly

Very disappointed with the haddock an not one single prawn in the fish pie. It used to be really good in there but not keen to visit again

Absolutely fantastic food at very reasonable prices with the best view on sunny day from the balcony. Highly recommended for any meal of the day.

Stopped off to use the toilet and grab a sandwich but was tempted by the daily carvery and I wasn't disappointed. The food was lovely and the service was amazing. Incredibly polite and helpful bar and waiting staff and the carvery chef was pleasant too. I sat under the outside canopy and had beautiful views of the sea and surrounding fields. The pub itself was very clean and tidy and had a nice cosy atmosphere. Will definitely visit again soon and would definitely recommend to anyone.

The food was bad and my familie did not like it better to go to McDonald’s instead dont go here

Excellent beef topside on the carvery, pink and tender! Great veg selection too

Lovely desert but carvery needs improvement!!

Enjoyed a tasty meal with my husband and friend in a convivial environment.Friendly staff.

Good meal, but we were not told it was quiz night, and as we were not taking part, we felt we had to leave at 7.30, which was a bit early!

Chilled atmosphere, helpful staff, great food and a reasonable beer range. Scenic views from the back of the pub. Lots of parking. Easy access 👍

Good selection of gluten-free food burgers is very good . The carvery is very good and also has a gluten-free option. nice views and friendly staff. Reasonable prices . Large car park.

Brilliant food and service and lovely views.

We went to the smugglers inn for a meal with our grandson and his girlfriend and must say was very disappointed the carvery was warm and decided to have the selection of cold meat salad for £15 it was never worth it one piece of turkey and one piece of beef will never return to have another meal there

A lovely place. Food was YUMMY. Will be back!