The best restaurants in England

Brilliant family enterprise, serving lovely food with a willing smile... Will call in again when I'm down again. Such a pleasant team of staff...

Second visit to this attractive cafe that sits behind one of the main carparks on/near the towans. We chatted outside as they got ready to open and then found a comfy seat inside with a great view. Ordering was easy, the menu is small but has something for everyone and they also cooked us a dish not on the menu which I always find is the mark of hospitality and good customer service. Food was fresh, hot and the St Ewe eggs were delicious!

Really enjoyed our Sunday lunch, in our humble opinion, one of the best Sunday lunches we had.

Booked ahead, I'd heard weekend bookings are advisable; the phone was answered promptly and politely. We were greeted by smiling staff, offered menus and Louise and Claire were happy to advise and answer questions about the menu, they a good knowledge of the menu. Drinks were table served, enabling us sit back, relax and enjoy family time. I ordered Prawn Gambas, which was absolutely delicious and a nice portion size. For my main I asked if chicken could be changed to prawns, it could... Proving the food is freshly prepared unlike other local establishments. For desert I chose the christmas crumble which was seasonally spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg... A good portion of Christmas in a dish! The table was cleared efficiently and timely and we were left to chat and socialise without feeling rushed. There was gentle background music which wasn't too over powering. The refurb of the pub is lovely, decorating and painting is done to a very high quality... Wish I had their decorator's details! Alcohol free fruit cider was available for myself, and Peroni on tap was a nice Suprise for my father. Parking is adjacent to the pub and had plenty of space. Overall this is a welcome addition to the local area, higher quality and more freshly prepared than the usual pub chain menus I'm confident the new owners will make a great success of The Claire & Hounds.

Love everything about this place. Pub vibe downstairs, food upstairs. Lush terrace, super friendly. Thanks!!

Great spot with a bar and in-house distillery! Cocktails were outstanding, and the food was delicious, though portions were small and priced on the higher side. Still, a fantastic experience overall. 4.5/5 stars!

Great breakfast place although limited seating inside as the place is quite small. That said the food was very good and well priced

It was quite when we went due to it being a Monday night. Restraunt staff were absolutely brilliant!

Decided to book a table after enjoying a takeaway from here. We were so disappointed in the level of service. When we walked in, a waiter was seating a table of 4, he took their coats, made a fuss of them, the usual stuff. A different waiter dealt with us. When I said I had a booking for a table of 2, he mumbled something I thought I hadn’t quite heard properly. But I had heard perfectly well. When I said “Pardon?”, he waved his hand in the direction of the toilet & said “In the corner.” No friendly smile, no offer to take our coats, no taking us to our seat, basically no service whatsoever. When the poppadoms arrived, they checked on us a ridiculous amount of times to see if we were ready for mains, to the point it made my daughter feel very uncomfortable, like she had to hurry up. Once the mains arrived it was back to ignoring us so although we wanted to order more cocktails, trying to catch the attention of a waiter was impossible so we only had the one. It wasn’t the greatest so no loss there. The food was delicious, the sag aloo was a little bland but the rest of the food, I can’t fault. It really is as good as people say. When we left, nobody said goodbye or thank you for coming etc, I have honestly never felt as unwelcome in a restaurant as I have in the Spice Merchant. Awesome food, terrible service ruined our evening so won’t be going back I’m afraid.

Excellent food and very friendly pub

Popped in for a quick pint Sunday afternoon. Nice beer, friendly locals and great old building. Just a shame it's not my local!

Food was amazing! Really yummy.... best indian food ive had in a long time!

Amazing food, always fantastic to eat here.

The local 'Aldi' of the garden centre world which also has an okay tea room. Great value for money. Christmas trees available in Nov-Dec.

Went for the fourth time to this very special and friendly restaurant. The food is always delicious and it really feels like eating in Italy! Can't wait to go back.