The Stags Head in West Somerset

Super pub, run by a very welcoming landlord, serving a great pint and making for a very happy atmosphere. The bar manager has the same ethos and it felt like home from home. Good luck with developing the trade as previous management left a wake of unhappy reports.

Nice country pub, nice vibe about it.

Very enjoyable, landlord, barman, lovely pub and dog friendly! 🐕 😁👍

Super friendly service, cosy little pub and really knowledgeable about the drinks they served. Didn’t eat this time but would love to try next time as we will be back!

Great couple who have taken over Nigel and Jane. For information please ignore negative comments over a year old as these were previous owners and its transformed into a friendly local pub with great ales and atmosphere

One of the best pub foods we’ve had so far! Great ales too! The service was impeccable. Highly recommended.

Didn't eat, but the service from Ringo was excellent. Great banter. Nice to have a drink by the fire and mix with the locals. Dog and tourist friendly. Good choice of drinks.

Fabulous new owners who have turned this place around - great hospitality - great new ideas and lovely local Ales including Butcombe Original and often Hakka. Make sure you stop by and support your local - Plus - look at the views!! - Take the pooch -gluten free, vegan friendly alcohol free water available from a cask outside the door!

Popped in for a drink and a pasty after a wonder round the village. Ideal place with a fabulous atmosphere really friendly staff and my god the pasty was lovely! Highly recommend you go in when visiting Dunster 👍

Staff were amazing and place is beautiful

Great to see the new owners (and Ringo) putting new life into the old Stag. Will definitely return.

Wonderfull local pub, changed hands a few months ago. New owners Nigel and Jane have made a great start, with experienced bar manager Roly, friendly and welcoming. Open log fire, good selection of real ales, dog friendly. They aim to start food in spring of 2024.

My new fave pub. Friendly owners, good beers on tap, large snack selection, loads of seating, cards and boardgames available, TWO cosy fireplaces! Loved it, looking forward to my next trip to Dunster and whiling away a few evenings at the Stags Head. Visited Nov 2023.

great time and nice people! Is it true that the Pub is really haunted? Strange energy inside and I LOVED it. Any ghost/paranormal stories to share???

Halloween night last night was amazing and the music was great and all staff were very friendly behind the bar and everyone was happy in the great atmosphere of the party 🎉 🎉🎉 Well done to everyone who came to celebrate the night. We will be back in time Nigel and staff 🙂

Sadly no food available as yet but a great village pub with great staff

Was passing through Dunster by bus tour onwards to Cornwall and made a little visit for a Pint at this lovely, little pub in the heart of the village. I already saw on Google Maps they had a few Cask Ales wich I really fancy. I was also very pleased all of them are local Ales. Especially the Mena Dhu Stout from Saint Austell was really, really tasty (smooth!) and beats the Black Stuff from Dublin any day :p Also a good selection of local Ciders as well, didn't have enough time to try one. The bartender (owner I guess) was really friendly and helpfull, cheers to him! If you are passing through - or staying in Dunster, and you like a good (Cask) Ale, Stout or Cider, this is the place to be :)

Great pub, good choice of beers and dog friendly

New owners, great barman Ringo, looks like it is going to be great, can't wait to see how how it goes

Wow! We came upon this pub for the first time visiting the location and we were so welcomed by the new owner, she was so lovely and hospitable she even allowed us to bring in our own food because they weren't yet doing food, she provided the cutlery and found time to chat. There is so much hope for this cosy pub. Its a new one on our list that's for sure!. Please do stop off and say hello to these delightful hosts, and their beers are fab too.

Great pub, great atmosphere and great ales! Doggo friendly too! Jane, Nigel and the staff are so friendly and chatty! Will definitely make the 3hr journey again. 10/10 🍺🩷

Newly reopened. Great atmosphere. Local beers. Friendly staff. Beer garden.

Fantastic tranquil pub, staff very friendly and welcoming, lots of local ales to pick from, beer garden out back if you don't want to sit inside

Really lovely staff and place 🥰🥰🥰

Fabulous pub. So glad to see it re-open. Good luck Jane and Nigel. Great pint of QPA, thanks for the carrot cake 🎂

Based upon a letter in the window, the business appears to have gone into administration. (April 2023) No indication if it will re-open.

Excellent service, food and atmosphere, Went for meal, thoroughly enjoyed.

Popped in for lunch. Very pleased with everything

Rude staff! Went in for a drink during Candlelight. Sat at a table between booked diners. Went to the loo. Got back to find that barmaid had swiped my unfinished gin and tonic! No need. We acknowledged we needed to vacate table for the booked people. Hubby was looking on his phone. Next thing drink taken without asking. Just downright rude and poor service. Wasn’t a cheap round to have your drink swiped! PS That's not what my hubby said! He said drinks glasses were taken without being asked if finished. I was in the loo (getting ready to leave pub) but you did not come over and ask us to move prior to the drinks being taken. You said 20 minutes. I wasn't clock watching but assumed we would simply be asked to vacate the table when diners arrived. We know how busy it was and didn't have any issues moving on as we wanted to go back out and watch Candlelight and we had somewhere booked to eat so no odds to us at all. I can assure you there was at least one mouthful left of G&T. It was not just ice. It was only a single so hardly a long drink!!!

Stayed at the stags head last week and it was lovely. The couple running it were very friendly. We had dinner there and obviously breakfast both were absolutely delicious. Would highly recommend and will be returning.

Well worth the drive in dark. Food nice. Nice to have somthink with out chips. Nice pudding. The only thing I would say is some heating would have been nice. Very dog friendly The staff were very nice and friendly on a wet cold tue night In November.

Stayed here for my husbands birthday. We were greeted with warm and friendly staff, our room was clean, warm and a good size. Excellent shower pressure considering it being such a old building! We booked and had our evening meal and it was amazing, good quality produce, large portions and a good price! Breakfast was very good again very good quality produce. Would highly recommend and would stay and eat again.

Lovely food great Atmosphere even better staff we will definitely be coming back again and again!! Thank you the stags head

The food was less than avarage and nothing to do with home made food. Only home made was beef which was overcooked. Wont come again

I was very impressed with the food and service at this Inn. It felt like a proper traditional pub where my parents, and I were made to feel very welcome by the staff on entering the Inn. The service provided was very good, the prices on the menu for the current times were fair, and the portion sizes were quite impressive (especially the side of chips, they were a good portion size). I could tell it was popular over the lunch period of serving, because as soon as we entered the Inn, another 10 - 15 people also showed up for lunch. My only one thing of note to say, is that the toilets (specifically the gents) are a bit of a way back from the Inn. Not a problem for young or middle aged people, but I would have care for older customers. I don't know if the lunch and dinner menu are the same, but basing this review on the lunch that I had here. I would recommend anyone coming through Dunster to stop here for a spot of lunch.

A little gem lovely food helpful staff, walk up past Dunster castles water mill in to Dunster village to heaven

If you are lucky enough to be in Dunster.. factor in a meal here. Beautifully cooked and the Sunday Roast is a monster of a meal. You will not be disappointed.

Stayed the night Saturday 10th September, very friendly staff & clean room. Very strong smell of chip fat upstairs & a very overpowering use of Shake n Vac in our bedroom. Best part of our stay was meeting all the other guest at breakfast In a pitch black bar !! We were all told breakfast from 8.30 at 8.45 not a single member of staff could be found, a guest found the kettle & another opened the front door for light 😀 you couldn't make this up. After wishing the other guests a good day we left. 12th Sept owner phoned to apologise, chef poorly & he was away on holiday these things happened & to be fair it was a jolly start to our day, hope the lady chef gets better soon.

It was our first time at this Dunster pub. Every member of staff we met during our visit were very friendly and helpful. I had the steak and ale pie and my partner the chicken in cider. Very generous portions and cooked how we like it. We will definitely be back living so close.

We visited the stags head on Friday and Saturday evening both nights where busy the waiters and waitresses handled everything brilliantly service was top notch also it sounded like the kitchen staff where loving life singing and laughing having a good time but also presenting delicious and presentable food!! Wish I could of been in there with them.. we will 10000% be coming back

I ordered a lamb curry special and my dad had the famous steak and ale pie. My dad swears this is one of the best pies he’s ever had! The curry was delicious too. Staff very friendly and a lot of the locals can be found here which is always a healthy sign. Good selection of beers and the prices are very reasonable. If you want a good British pub meal, you’ll struggle to find better than this. Best food option in Dunster!

Lovely little place, very friendly, food was fab & reasonable too.

Let’s start with the positives… Phoned ahead to book at very short notice on a Saturday night and were sat down within the hour at a nice window seat. Welcome was friendly and we were offered drinks immediately. So far so good. Menu was ‘pub grub’ as expected - what with it being a pub! And on another positive note, the prices were very reasonable, significantly cheaper than other pubs in the area. Onto the food… my wife had fish and chips and to be fair this was good quality. I had the chickpea and sweet potato curry which just a bit ‘meh’. It came with a poppadom and a mountain of rice. There was nothing wrong with it, just pretty uninspiring. We were approached a couple of times by staff to ask how the food was, and we responded accurately that it was ‘fine’. It was a little unsettling, to have (I assume) the owner/ manager approach to ask a) what we were eating and b) was it any good. The (assumed) owner and wife/co manager then sat on the table next to ours and ate their dinner, which, judging by their comments seemed a test of what the chef was sending out. I’m not sure why they would think it appropriate to test out food/ menus right next to paying customers, and it made the experience just a little more awkward. Another bugbear is the passive aggressive sign at the bar about making sure you know what you want to order before coming up to the bar. I understand that it’s a bit of a joke and meant in good spirit but its’s a little off putting. Ok for the locals, but if I didn’t know the area, it would probably make me walk straight out again. If you want a drink and a quick meal, then The Stag’s a good option. Anything beyond that, maybe consider somewhere else.

We had a wonderful couple of nights stay at the Stags Head! The hosting from start to finish was excellent and our breakfasts and dinner was very very tasty! We highly recommend and we will most definitely return again in the future. Thank you Terry and Pauline you are fantastic hosts!!!!

Invited by old friends staying in the area for lunch, but the experience didn't quite live up to expectations food & drink wise. On the positive side the sea food medley was considered excellent, as was the steak pie and mash. But how can you get a Ploughman's so wrong in Somerset? The ham was great but the one cheese variety came as a simple oversize slab (far too much, even though quite tasty), the pickled onion had seen better days but the big let down was the much anticipated "crusty baguette". About half a demi-baguette and certainly not crusty; 24 hours old if not more. Even the dog had a job chewing through a piece. Drinks about 20% too pricey, even for a popular tourist destination. I didn't complain on the day so as not to embarrass our hosts. Nothing that can't be sorted with a bit more attention to detail, which I hope happens as the characterful venue environment and friendly welcome by staff deserve more from the kitchen. And yes, I am an experienced caterer.

Great when open can't predict when to go as often shut....but when open nice pub decent ales and friendly service.

A small menu of light bites. However the portion sizes are enormous and the quality is excellent. If you're looking for a light bite in the middle of the day, I'd highly recommend

Food excellent nothing to much trouble for the staff greeting made us feel like we lived in the village 100% recommended

All 14 of us arrived after first booking to be greeted like we were royalty. The reception was first class and our tables were ready waiting for us. If you are a large party I would certainly recommend this beautiful pub. We had Sunday lunch which again was excellent, promptly served, delicious and nothing was any trouble for the staff. Overall an excellent experience. Well done.

Great food and plenty of it. Staff were all really friendly and helpful. Very good value. Definitely recommend.

Went just4 a drink told it was closed 4 food, even web says open all day .Went a day earlier was like going to crufts .lady ? Was extremely rude 😒

Lovely welcome and accommodated us even though we didn’t have a booking. The food was great and they were very attentive. They also had a delicious kids menu and options. Would recommend!

We visited here for lunch during our holiday in Somerset & was not disappointed, super friendly service as soon as we entered until the minute we left & very attentive, dog friendly & well set out with plenty of space between tables & a lovely beer garden, the food was wonderful, we had starters and a main course, garlic mushrooms & smoked salmon to start & I had the chicken and my husband had the lamb, the menu has a lot of choice, the food portions are very plentiful & cooked & presented really well with a great choice of drinks, we would definitely come back when we holiday here again & highly recommend.

I had stayed at the Stag's Head before and liked it very much. This stay was even better. The new management were so friendly and accommodating and that was hugely helpful for me, as I'm a faddy eater! It was not a problem for them. The room was cosy, yet still had a little en-suite with shower. The sheets were divine, the food was lovely and it was nice to have bottles of spring water in the room as it was pretty hot weather. But, for me, it was the friendly managers and staff that made it all the more enjoyable. Definitely going back! Date of stay: June 2022

Came here for Sunday Lunch with my husband and our little dog. Great to find a dog friendly place and was even offered a treat for her. Staff very friendly. The service was great and the Sunday lunch was excellent. Portions are very generous. Will visit again when we are in the area.

What has happened to this lovely pub? It used to be a favourite place for a Sunday drink and roast. It used to have such a warm welcome where you could relax and soak up the Exmoor ambience. It used to be buzzing and you had to book to get a Sunday table.... Has it changed hands I wonder? The welcome has gone along with the drinkers and diners. Yesterday when the sun shone and Dunster was energetic and at its best, The Stags Head was empty but for one table. There was no welcome and the staff carried on talking about their boozing night out interspersed with ripe language. Oh dear. No wonder people chose to have a drink and meal in the other Dunster establishments which were full and offered a real enjoyable experience. We won't return to The Stags Head in a hurry even though we're local and like to patronise all the hospitality venues in Dunster. No hospitality in The Stags Head any more 👎

White bait not on evening main menu, but kindly accommodated, althought soggy not crispy as should be. The fish batter was over cooked, kitched said because in dark ale. Ordered Somersete cider chicken, the new potatoes where warmer than the chicken apparently, they cooked the main meal at the same time as the starter that's why it was Luke warm. !!! Didn't get refund of main meal Disappointed

Roast dinners were out of this world

This was one of the nicest and tastiest meals we've had for a long time! The dessert was amazing too! Highly recommended!

Stupendo hotel/ristorante in stile tradizionale inglese. Camera vecchio stile, con le ovvie limitazioni di arredo antico, ma doccia rimodernata comoda ed efficace, anche il letto molto comodo. Silenzioso di notte. Cibo eccezionalmente buono, sia la cena che la colazione, personale gentilissimo e cordiale. Super consigliato!

Decided to visit Dunster Castle with my wife, then decided to make it an overnighter at the last minute. Searched and booked a room in the Stags Head pub in Dunster and were there in a couple of hours. We parked on the street outside the pub as it doesn't have a car park and were greeted by the landlord Terry. The room we chose was ready and was exactly as shown on the website. It was small with a small ensuite but as I said exactly as pictured. The bed was absolutely cracking really comfortable with a lovely warm duvet. The room was clean with tea, coffee, bottled water, kettle, hairdryer, shampoo and body wash provided. We had our evening meal in the pub after booking a table on arrival. I had the steak pie and my wife the lamb curry, followed by treacle tart and custard for me and cheesecake for the wife. It was good honest reasonably priced pub food, tasty and arriving at the table quickly and piping hot. Breakfast the following morning was also great, cereals, toast, jams, honey etc followed by a full English again freshly cooked and arriving at the table hot. Cost of the nights stay was £115.00 for bed and breakfast, not as cheap as I would've liked but I am a tightwad, and it was in keeping with the prices for the area. Like I said the room was small but it is a 15th century grade 2 listed building so there is only so much that can be done to it. It was however what we expected and coupled with the service and friendliness of all the staff and quality of the meals made our stay very enjoyable.

Lovely Sunday lunch, fantastic staff. So friendly and went the extra mile. Truly a lovely experience.

Judging by other comments most of the food served here is good but I can’t say that for the Sunday roast we had. Overly hard potatoes, undercooked cauliflower cheese (odd choice for a roast?) and suspiciously Oxo-like gravy all served on cold plates. Staff were friendly though.

Terry and his team made our party (17 people) very welcome. Lunch was excellent and nothing was too much trouble. Really enjoyed the occasion. Highly recommended

We came as a large group (19 of us). Terry was most accommodating right from the initial phone call and did his best to make sure everything was taken care of. The food was lovely and the service was exceptional. A well deserved 5 star...

Fantastic food and friendly staff

Great choice of food. Restaurant quality at uber prices. Good atmosphere and helpful staff. 3 real ales on tap which is unusual these days.

Went on Sunday lunchtime so only food was a pre ordered roast dinner so expected perfection with other good reviews. Veg undercooked which granted may be a personal choice but anaemic roast potatoes are not. We were on a really unpleasant table despite there being...

Fabulous food and very friendly staff and also dog friendly 😀

Excellent pub. Great pub grub and brilliant staff

We stopped at The Stags Head for a spontaneous lunch and we loved it. The staff were amazingly friend and welcoming even though we had no reservation. We had a nice table by the fire and enjoyed two generous ploughman's with drinks and coffee. Nothing...

Great food, good service. Worth a visit.

Clean and friendly pub great pint

Did not have a reservation for a Saturday night, but our host managed to squeeze us in (including our dog), food was outstanding and complemented with very friendly and competent staff. Would highly recommend this dog and family friendly pub, has a nice and comfortable down to earth atmosphere.

Can't recommend this restaurant enough. A warm welcome when we arrived and wonderful service throughout the evening. Good selection available on the menu and the food that we ordered was excellent - piping hot and plenty of it. This restaurant is definitely worth a visit.

Family meal with children good food for all served by friendly staff. good value for money. Wish they had ginger beer tho. You must ask what the letters on post are

Good quality food at a very reasonable price, just cant predict when they will be open or closed. We stayed opposite but sometimes they never opened

Was recommended to eat here by our hotel, wasn’t disappointed, good quality pub grub, very welcoming and nice ambiance. Would definitely visit again and recommend others to eat there

Call in no booking Welcomed and advised due to an issue menu had to be shortened and took us through what was available. For myself ham,egg and chips- there was plenty of ham and good sized plate of chips, only 1 egg (i am used...

Great food, great hospitality will definitely go back another time

Excellent meal, outstanding Cheese Board!

Excellent food good size menu service and staff were very good will go back next visit to dunster

Have been going to the Stags for over 20 years now and was nice to go again. Staff were very friendly and attentive and it was very clean and tidy. The only thing that let it down for us and it is very minor as...

Loved our visit. Lovely building. Cider & wine excellent & very good pub grub. All made even better by the excellent young team of people who served us.

Lovely pub and very nice food, nice beer garden and the staff were friendly and welcoming. Definitely recommend.

Called in on the off chance of getting a table for this evening, they managed to squeeze us in but it never felt like we were, "that extra table that was just squeezed in" . The service was very friendly and efficient and the food was exceptional. highly recommended

Perfect English old style pub. Booked a table here for lunch after a long walk. Great little garden with lots of well spaced tables. Excellent menu with a few not so run of the mill dishes. I choose the push macaroni cheese - perfection on...

Amazing food!!! I have ate here several times now and have thoroughly enjoyed the food and experience each time. Owners and staff are lovely, friendly and attentive and offered my father in law an indigestion tablet as he wasn't feeling too well. Pet friendly. I would definitely recommend coming here!

Great atmosphere, with live music from Minnie Hates the Hoover. What's not to like!

Lovely, friendly traditional pub

Well located on the high street and friendly staff but the food was below par. It filled a hole but I wouldn't return. To be fair to the Stags Head, we found this to be true of most eateries in Dunster - you may want...

Food was good service not as good as food

Fab relaxed place very attentive staff, dog friendly and food was lovely. Went twice on our recent holiday in Dunster. Thanks for a fabulous service! X

We managed to get a room last minute at The Stag’s Head for a night away. The pub is in a good location for the Castle and the centre and has a nice traditional interior. All the staff we encountered were friendly and helpful and...

It's okay. Not special, but straightforward pub and grub.

Very atmospheric, in line with the village itself. Food is pretty good - we enjoyed prawns starter, lamb cutlets well prepapred. Sirloin steak was less impressive, just good. Treacle tart at the end was really delicious. Overall highly recommended.

good food, very friendly, dogs welcome

My family and I came here on the last night of our stay in Dunster. Delicious food, good options for adults and children, friendly and welcoming staff. It had a lovely cosy, country atmosphere. I would definitely recommend to anyone visiting the area for lunch...

Just go and have a look in and explore it's up to you what you think

Had a great time. Lovely old building with a nice bit of quirkiness. Really nice people running the establishment, would really recommend a visit. Thanks.