Reviews in Barnstaple

Dinner taken when staying overnight at the inn. Well prepared and cooked (fish and chips for me, venison for my wife). However, I struggled with the generous portions and was obliged to leave some, which I hate doing. Service was good and staff pleasant. Nice setting with views over the valley.

The staff couldn't have been more welcoming and helpful. We were four for lunch and the meal was delicious.

We stayed at The Poltimore Inn (in the Violet Lodge) for a weekend. On both nights we had supper at the Inn. I had the vegetarian lasagne on Friday and the Butternut Squash Crumble on Saturday: both dishes were really tasty. My partner had the lamb shank with mint gravy which he said was delicious. There was a friendly welcome from the bar staff when we arrived and there were lots of locals enjoying a drink both inside and outside the pub. We will definitely stay at The Poltimore Inn again.

Good atmosphere and lamb shank was excellent

Nice enough place but service and food below par. We waited an hour to be served with only 3 couples in the dining room and then the food was mediocre. I don’t really want to hear the waitress standing chatting to the chef, they both should be concentrating.

The visit on Sunday 15th at 1300 was fine in all departments other than there was no record in the book of us. This is despite you sending me an email confirmation. There was only one person in the bar and she quickly became overrun when everybody came in at the same time.

Stunning location, beautiful views from the restaurant. We had lunch on a weekday and were not disappointed, great size portions of freshly cooked, locally sourced food. My gran said it was the best prawn jacket potato that she had ever tasted. The chicken korma was amazing, one of the best i've had. Staff are polite and friendly. We will be back.

5 star

Tasty food and plenty of it. The lamb rump and red berries pavlova were especially nice, and a hearty breakfast set me up for the day. This is a charming old inn and service was friendly and attentive. Great value for money!

We arrived there on Sunday just before 3pm to have Sunday lunch. Even the restaurant was finishing serving food we got really nice lunch. The service was professional and food is amazing. Also the view from restaurant table is breathtaking. Plenty of free parking around.

Excellent service, accommodated our request to eat promptly. Service was quick with a very polite manner. The food was fantastic, with locally sourced meats. Superbly kept ale. Thoroughly recommend.

Very good food with a wonderful view from the restaurant

Fabulous evening Perfect in every way!!

A truly amazing evening. The food and service was impeccable. It was a wonderful way to celebrate our wedding anniversary. It was our first visit but we would love to come back at some point in the future.

We have been to Maiden Arch maybe six or seven times and it is universally excellent. It simply is the best food in Barnstaple, a real pleasure and feels like a special occasion to eat there every time. Thoroughly recommend it, and great value for money for what is basically Michelin star food in North Devon.

By some distance the stand out restaurant in Barnstaple. The menu was the best we have enjoyed at Maiden Arch, with a very well balanced selection of dishes which complemented each other beautifully as the evening developed. Will be back, soon.

Delightful to sample gourmet standard food in North Devon. Each dish on the tasting menu a work of art and some intense flavours and colours. First time for a delicious Oyster from Porlock! .‘Treats’ from the attentive waiter a bonus and worth a visit. No printed menu due to IT glitch and unable to have a glass of champagne on arrival. Prosecco a second best on my very special occasion & reason for visit. Cheese course not served as delivery problem. Would like to have congratulated chef Rob and talked about local suppliers. Another time? Thank you for a pleasant evening.

Our second visit in a month and once again excellent food with a well balanced selection of exquisite dishes. There were enough tweaks and changes in the menu between the two visits that we did not feel the experience was a repetition. Occasional slips in service were more than compensated by the jolly welcome and generous spirit (we were told there had been some last minute staffing challenges). Given the small number of covers and the technical nature of the cooking the margins must be very tight- it certainly is not cheap but I believe it is good value.