The Volunteer Inn in East Devon

Good food menu. New on the day. Good service. Lunch time, so quiet.

Excellent service and super food, the only reason I haven't given 5 stars for food is that I requested a medium sirloin steak which was served slightly over, but it was still lovely, however, my banana split was absolutely awesome and completely faultless! If I get the opportunity, I will defo return!

Excellent service 5 star Food & beer top notch

Lovely Sunday roast. Very generous portion.

Had Sunday lunch here with my son, daughter in law and 6 year old granddaughter. The welcome, service and delicious food were all excellent. Special mention to our waitress who was absolutely lovely, very efficient and made us feel so welcome. The roast beef with all the trimmings was flavourful, hot and beautifully presented together with a big gravy boat of extra gravy. We will definitely be returning. Thank you.

Absolutely delicious Christmas lunch for all of us. Very tasty, generous portions, lovely flavours. The regular lunch time menu is lovely (having tried it a few times!) but we loved the festive menu. Well worth a visit. We will be back. Thank you.

Food is always great and staff very friendly

Stopped for a bite to eat en route to a funeral. Doesn't look much from the outside, but the inside was tardis-like and much nicer than expected. Food was really good too.

Popped in for a coffee.....tempted with the great cask ales. Enjoyed a ham and mustard baguette. Great service, friendly staff. Fire lit. I want to move to Ottery 😊

Family of 4 meet up, and this was central No booking but found us a table, explained 2 more on way Very polite snd helpful, chose table and brought us water and glasses and menu Came back shortly after for our drinks whilst we awaited the other guests On arrival sorted drinks and went through food options Duration between ordering and arrival of good was good, all in the home made category My steak pie mash and veg good size and good quality My wife thai curry alternative to veg korma not available good size but not quite hit the mark Two other family ordered burgers of which slightly overcooked a shame as good quality beef But to be fair majority of elements were good Desserts ordered for 3 from knickerbocker glory with extra flake (thanks) bread butter pudding and sticky pear pudding with custard Staff were all helpful and had good level of chat So worth the visit for majority of food just a few tweaks and would have made top marks

Excellent Sunday roast. Had very tender beef with good roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, home made Yorkshire puddings and assorted veg. No room for puddings unfortunately!🥲🥲🥲

Friendly welcome and helpful service. Excellent Sunday roast. Parking nearby can be tricky also no downstairs/ disabled toilet.

We eat out a lot, but this was the best Sunday lunch we’ve had for a very long time The staff were smiling and helpful. Good GF menu

Lunchtime meal, just passing through ottery St mary. On route from Cornwall to Southampton. Friendly welcoming staff. Good food. Freshly cooked.

Great little pub, friendly and helpful staff, lovely food and bitter straight from the barrel . .

Lovely pub in the heart of Otter St Mary. We were lunch htime pop ins and had a faultless, excellent meal plus drinks. Good range of beers both from pumps and directly from the stack of barrels behind the bar. Heroic effort Daisy! Thank you, you're a star!

Good selection of beer, kept well in kegs behind the bar. Food was OK and we felt not as good as when we went two years ago. We went with a medium sized group (9) and were asked to phone the order through in advance, which was fine and we did that. Food seemed to have been sitting in a warmer for a while and so served promptly but a bit below par. Not ideal for a steak ordered to be medium rare. Good beer helped though ..

We stopped in Ottery St Mary for a hot lunch. The Volunteer was not too inviting from the outside, but time was pressing so we gave it a try. Service from the lady in charge was excellent and very professional. The environment for diners was rather dark and depressing, we got the impression that this was mainly a pub for drinkers, especially working men. Food, we both ordered from the specials board. I had sole, which was nice and hot and as expected. It would have benefited from a second vegetable. My wife had fishcakes, which although clearly home cooked were very disappointing. Summary, would we return? No we would try the nearby Hare and Hounds instead.

After driving past this all week, thinking it was closed as the front door was always closed, we called in tonight as we saw someone outside smoking. Lovely pub! Shame we only found it tonight! Lots of real ales on, in good nick too! Food looks great too!

Looking for a decent place for dinner, I wandered into the Volunteer Inn. A warm reception and I was shown to a table. The menu had a reasonable choice and prices were comparable to London gastro pubs. There were a few good ales on tap. I went with the local Otter ale. First time in a while that I had seen banana split or knickerbocker glory on the dessert menu - very much a positive.

This is a vibrant locals pub which serves large portions of good food. It was good to see locals eating in the pub which is a recommendation itself. Zoe looked after us she is approachable and not standoff which is a change. We would recommend.

Very disappointing meal. We had heard good things but that must be from days gone by, certainly not now. I think that a lot of the food is straight out of a microwave. Gristley meat and overcooked (microwaved?) veg. Could do much better.

After an ardeous day within NHS duties and family logistics, it was, again, the perfect place to feel cared for. The girls there as hosts, were just ramarkably charmingly nice and attentive. The food, BBQ Pulled Pork was just out of this world. Why am I thinking this? Maybe my previousl French training in restaurants, very high level of service within private families in the USA for five years, a holistic free service recognising people's can be destinies for then fifteen years up to 2020, care and customer service/retailing über duties for more than 11 years would indeed explain this: I know quality or not when I see so. I am known, as a critique, to be at 93% minumum accurate in such matters. A huge thank you for that team (we came today on the 10/08 at around 18:00) and ate/had coffees upstairs on the outside new wooden veranda. I needed some true TLC and that made my week! Merci !

I wanted to write this review to praise the good, of which there is much, but also to call out a significant issue. To start with the good - the food and service were excellent, with good portions of well prepared food and the staff were always friendly. On the downside I was surprised when my young son returned from a visit to the toilets to tell us that there were naked pictures on the wall. Having checked it out I was a bit disappointed to see that this was the case given how excellent and family friendly the rest of the visit had been. It seems odd in an age when even The Sun newspaper has taken the decision to end the daily objectification of women that pictures such as these should still be displayed. Tragically misogyny and violence against women is still commonplace in our society and the knowledge that objectifying nude images such as these were on display in the male toilets made my wife and other female companions feel uneasy - not to mention the inappropriateness for younger guests. At present this issue will likely prevent us from returning, which is a shame as, this issue aside, the pub is excellent.

We went here by accident because of another pub that had disgraceful service, anyway, The Volunteer, fit us in straight away and the service from the start was absolutely fantastic. The food was something else. We had roast dinners and they were superb, full of meat too! Will not go anywhere else now. Best meal I have had in a long time. To top it off we got to meet the owners and they were lovely too. Great work and well done to all. Keep up the fantastic work. 👏

Absolutely stunning Sunday lunch. Staff really friendly, food amazing, will definitely return 100%. Thank you

I give this review a 2 star because my partner was impressed with the Sunday roast, it was a big portion and he really enjoyed it. How ever I ordered the ploughman's, I asked the female waitress if it was a big portion and she said yes it is, I was extremely disappointed the portion was small with little variety on the plate and the same price as the Sunday roast which was no where near as good quality as the Sunday roast, my meal was more like a kids portion size it should be classed as a starter, they obviously do not know how to price their meals, I said to the female waitress that the I was disappointed by the meal size and she just said she will let the chef know, no apologies at all, so I will not be going back, the ploughman's I had in the pub before was huge with a range of cheeses etc.. what a ploughmans should be and a pound cheaper much better quality. If you eat at this pub do not order a ploughman's you will disappointed.

I give this review a 2 star because my partner was impressed with the Sunday roast, it was a big portion and he really enjoyed it. How ever I ordered the ploughman's, I asked the female waitress if it was a big portion and she said yes it is, I was extremely disappointed the portion was small with little variety on the plate and the same price as the Sunday roast which was no where near as good quality as the Sunday roast, my meal was more like a kids portion size it should be classed as a starter, they obviously do not know how to price their meals, I said to the female waitress that the I was disappointed by the meal size and she just said she will let the chef know, no apologies at all, so I will not be going back, the ploughman's I had in the pub before was huge with a range of cheeses etc.. what a ploughmans should be and a pound cheaper much better quality. If you eat at this pub do not order a ploughman's you will disappointed.

Arrived in Ottery and needed something to eat. This pub in the middle of the town was welcoming and allowed dogs as well. Had a roast dinner although the menu was quite extensive. We had gammon and beef, both were cooked beautifully and with he 5 roast spuds, parsnips, carrots, cauliflower cheese there was a huge plateful. Desserts were also very tasty. We would recommend a visit. We booked for the Wednesday as it gets busy.

Large bar area with TVs, nice size dining area with a table prepared for the 5 of us. Excellent choice of drinks and food. When one of the group asked about a special meal, the chef altered the meal to suit his dietary needs. All in all, highly recommended.

Lovely ladies, nice back rooms and wonderful gins So friendly with our little girl, chatting and nice juice cartoons for her. The loos are lovely and the barman so nice. Everytime we go here it gets better and better. Mike and Jackie are the best landlords, the staff are kind and lovely. The drinks are brilliant the food excellent and today's work Christmas party was just amazing.

Pub food at its very best. The Volunteer menu has all the classics and rather than trying to fancy them up it just cooks them absolutely superbly just as they should be. We had the chicken pie, the scampi and the gammon. All outstanding! And the onion rings -wow!! Unbelievably crunchy and delicious (I have never had better ones in my whole life). They have a great selection of beers (including local guest beers) and the staff are extremely friendly and welcoming. But make sure you book if you want a meal, as its reputation is clearly well known.

Following our last visit and review we returned to this most welcoming pub for a spot of lunch. Delightful young bar lady in attendance today. This town centre pub is featured in the Good Pub Guide, the Good Beer Guide and Devon Live. Real ales tapped from the cask. Good pub grub, sensibly priced and sized. Sun trap first floor level deck our back.🇬🇧🇳🇿

Good honest food and excellent service. Hot food and cold beer, local produce. This is a place well worth a visit if you want good atmosphere, separate bar and restaurant area so conversations are easy. Dog friendly.

Staff were welcoming. We had an issue with our food which took a long while to arrive, people that arrived after us received their food before us and were finished before we go ours. I’m not sure what the delay was but when the food arrived it was hot and really nice. The portions were a good size, staff were apologetic for the delay.

A1 service from booking until leaving. Gorgeous food, fantastic staff, attentive and very friendly. Food was amazing, definitely a must try. Thank you for making our Easter Sunday a good one.

A1 service from booking until leaving. Food was amazing, staff were so friendly and attentive. The ambience was perfect. It’s a definite yes from me ! You need to visit! You won’t be disappointed

Good atmosphere , excellent food , and a very well furnished Establishment.

Excellent sunday lunch, service was good, nice, friendly atmosphere and the food was very tasty, we were pleasantly surprised how nice it was, will definitely return

Had a meal today(Easter Sunday) Great food and friendly and accommodating staff.Would thoroughly recommend

Great food and selection of cask ales.

Central location, parking within walking distance, really good home cooking, inexpensive, very nice staff and atmosphere.

Brilliant local pub in Ottery St Mary. Great food, relaxed atmosphere, dog friendly. Barnaby was a top lad and was great with our 1 year old and dog. Highly recommend the local lager on tap, Tarka, from the Otter Brewery up the road.

I took the family there on Sunday, they were fully booked but managed to fit us in at 12. The Sunday Roast was amazing and excellent value as was the lemon sole which I had. All the staff were very friendly and I loved the...

Really good pub grub! We left feeling very full. Thank you

Yet another great meal today. Jacqui never disappoints. Chips made from real potatoes not reconstituted fries, what else do you want. The staff were lovely as usual and good luck to Lilly in her new job.

I've never written a review on trip advisor before but felt compelled to do so after our visit this afternoon. This was our third visit with a family of six in the last month. The staff were excellent and very friendly. Today we met the...

Very helpful, friendly staff and dog friendly. Plentiful portions, delicious food! Thank you 😊

Excellent service, very friendly helpful staff. Lovely food, reasonably priced.

Superb food, great service, lovely interior, varied selection of beer barrels behind the bar. A1 all round.

Had lunch with a friend here today, and from the lovely, cheery welcome from all the staff as I walked in, to when we sadly left, everything was fantastic! Felt very well looked after, food was lovely and staff very attentive and clearly happy to...

Went in for a pint of rattler cider.very nice friendly service from staff ! Nice to have a chat with locals ! Always busy ! Which is good ! Definitely worth a visit !

Lovely setting, great staff and an amazing afternoon lunch. Just what we were looking for on a chilly January afternoon!

An amazing meal, lovely staff, and a great atmosphere in the Volunteer in Ottery St Mary. Highly recommended, will definitely be visiting again soon.

Recommended and featured in the Good Beer Guide, Good Pub Guide and Devon Live which brought us here. An unpretentious locals' town pub with a smiling welcome from the young bar crew. Darts board, gravity delivered local real ales and very good pub grub. New...

What a great pub -Wonderful welcome very accommodating and top service by a very polite young man - food was lovely and the chef even made one of the kids something that wasn’t on the menu - and they put the darts on for us...

We organised our mature footballing xmas dinner ; 20 dinners all served piping hot but top quality food delivered in a lovely friendly way . Nothing too much trouble and even had a GF goody bag which made my night. Unfortunately one of our team...

We dropped into the pub for a quick pint after a walk. Found it very friendly and welcoming. Good choice of beer. Would definitely recommend.

We attended on 19.11.22 to spend time with family after travelling from Bolton. We had a lovely lunch and we then moved to the bar area to enjoy drinks and watch the rugby. Sadly at 4pm the barman placed a reserved sign on our table...

Good local, authentic atmosphere, good, basic food.

Lovely pub in the middle of town. Not tried the food yet but smells great everytime I'm in.

Definitely recommend the Sunday Roast

Staying close, we had Sunday lunch here. They're very friendly, very dog friendly, and the food is excellent. Tasty, well prepared, very well presented and good value too. Don't be put off by the outside - you'd probably walk by thinking it's a 'locals drinking...

Most excellent! Outstanding Otter Bitter and a lovely meal all presented and served with great attention to detail. The chicken was superb and beef burger delicious! Loved the complimentary home made end of meal chocolate taster. So good I couldn't find a reason not to tip. A very rare occasion indeed! Highly recommended and we will certainly return.

Lovely local pub with welcoming staff and a nice atmosphere

Great food, cozy fireplace, sunny deck ,

Great beer and food. Did I mention the beer is great? 😃👍

On holiday and chose this pub by previous reviews. Very efficient friendly service. Food was good and reasonably priced. Would revisit.

Great atmosphere and a great meal. Plenty of local beers and ciders to choose from.

A very lovely local pub which I must visit again for food....

The details of my experience. Came in for lunch food was beyond amazing the taste was just so gooooooood . So I booked for tea too with my misses . Again food was superb . Thank you

A Saturday night and it was so full that they weren't sure when a table would be free. The front bar was full of locals and a massive and extremely well behaved dog. A table became free and I had the barrel of shell on...

First class and dog friendly establishment. Excellent food and real ales.

Lovely tasty home cooked meals, always a fabulous choice and delicious specials board too. Always a good generous portion. Lovely atmosphere and great staff.

An absolutely outstanding place. A really warm welcome, attentive and friendly staff, and really great food and drink. I can't recommend the Volunteer highly enough.

Superb , good company, good beer, good food

Very nice dishes. Everything was fresh and tasty. Biggest highlight was the lady that served us. I'll miss out the part where I talk about the price because I'll get teary, but overall it was great.

An absolutely shining star in the middle of the village. Service was impeccable, food stunning and very reasonably priced. A must do!

Great friendly pub with plenty of great drinks. Food looks incredible (wasn't eating)

Brilliant lunch. Great staff. Great beer. What more do you want. Definitely recommended. Even my wife and her sister liked it

Friendly staff, Hot Chocolate a meal in itself, good tuck!

Fish - great crispy batter, chips terrible sent them back second lot just as poor - soggy and burnt - not sure how they managed it! It tasted like reheated soggy old chips. Liver & bacon worst my husband had ever tasted, liver overcooked and...

You are very limited with places to eat in Ottery St Mary on a Monday night so pleased to have found The Volunteer. Positives very nice staff. All of the starters well received. My homemade fish cake was very good. Mains all went back with...

Great beer served from huge barrels behind the bar. Good cider, too. We had lunch and it was really lovely food. I had a chicken and bacon salad- fresh cooked chicken breast with crispy skin on and crispy smoked bacon. Salad dressed well with vinaigrette and a flower on top. Very pretty. My husband had a melted chees and chutney baguette which he said was lovely. Great service and not too over-priced. Would go out of my way to come again..

You can tell the effort Mike and jackie put in here and food always good and home made chips yummy! Makes a change now. Everything is great each time

Rang on the off-chance of a Sunday lunch.. Omg.. It was amazing.. We all had roast beef which was delicious . Would definitely recommend it to anyone!..

Brilliant little pub ,great food

The landlady and landlord gave me shelter in a time of need. They offered be food and something to quench my thirst. I will be back again to thank them. This time with a guitar and a good few nice songs to sing for them and their nice patrons.

The staff were so friendly, they really can’t be faulted and the food was delicious!!! The Landlord was incredible and full of advice about local products especially the local rums! Can’t recommend enough

Food quality lovely. Very welcoming attentive staff. Lovely atmosphere. Thought it couldn't get any better. Price of bill was very good.

Excellent food great little pub Staff are brilliant

The chips here were home made and the best I have ever tasted. Glad we found this place whilst passing through Ottery st mary.

Excellent customer service and the food great

After going into 3 or 4 coffee shops in the town who didn't really have much to offer someone who is gluten intolerant, we came across the Volunteer Inn. The meals were reasonably priced and the chips were home cooked and the best I've ever...

Visited here last evening in a party of 21. The meal was pre-ordered as it was a cancelled Christmas Celebration. We were all welcomed warmly, service was very prompt, the food was outstanding, presentation exceptional, an highly recommend the Volly!

Lovely pub staff ate fantastic and its a friendly place will definitely be going back

In Ottery for our weekly shopping we experimented and visited for lunch, having not visited the Volunteer Inn for some time. It has changed little, the underinvestment still obvious, the semi-completed building work out the back now only visible from upstairs as the view from...

Needing somewhere for lunch we detoured off the A30 into Ottery St Mary. The first pub we found was the Volunteer. We were greeted in the most warm and friendly manner by the landlord (we assume). Sandwiches were excellent and quickly served - we were...

Loved the food. Loved the staff.

Only popped in for a quick drink and chat with a friend. Oh so friendly and welcoming. Really charming lovely little pub. Very dog friendly. Will come back to eat another time.