Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Devon

Paignton – Talk of the Town (JD Wetherspoon)

I didn’t get a photo of the exterior, so I’m using one from Google Streetview instead. I hadn’t initially intended on coming here, but Ross went off on some expedition and so that gave me a chance to catch up with some things such as this riveting blog. JD Wetherspoon took this pub over in 2011 and, slightly unusually for them, they kept the name. I’ll use their version of the venue’s history:

“The original Talk of the Town was opened in 1996 by the Elisseos family. The family’s connection with this site goes back to 1945, when Alexander Elisseos bought the Argosy Café and renamed it the Actina Café. The Actina Café occupied 46–48 Torbay Road. In 1959 Mr Elisseos bought the neighbouring Bayside Guest House at 50–52 Torbay Road and converted it into the Hamby cafeteria. Alexander’s son Perry, his daughter Mrs Sandy Purland and his wife Dorothy Elisseos combined both venues in 1995–6 to create The Talk of the Town.”

I’ve been here three times now and this is a photo from a few weeks ago, one of the occasional times that it’s been quiet enough to take a photo without getting people in it. The team members all seemed friendly and on my most recent visit I could only find a table with heaps of empty glasses, but they were quickly and pro-actively removed and everything cleaned up.

This is the Scrum-Half Nectar from Summerskills Brewery, just £1.09 for half a pint. It was light and malty, smooth with a slight taste of toffee. There’s normally around six real ales available here, alongside numerous craft beers and the myriad of other food and drink they sell.

It has about average reviews on-line for a JD Wetherspoon outlet as I couldn’t help myself from checking on Google.

“Lovely place, very busy and great vibe! Prices excellent. But whoever is cooking the curry, uses way too many spices. I ordered a vindaloo, my partner ordered the tikka masala. Both were almost inedible. Way too many chillies and hot curry spices. I’m one for very hot food, and ordered vindaloo many times, but this was over the top. No flavour, just a mouth on fire. Would definitely go back for the atmosphere and service, and other food which is usually good, but won’t order the curry again between us.”

I’m not convinced that the chef out the back has much say in how many chillies are in the dish and I’m struggling to see how the tikka masala would have been so spicy that it was inedible….

“Food and service excellent but all was spoiled because of a table of 2 females and 1 male and young child who never stopped crying. The adults in the end took in turns taking young child out of building walking it up and down for 5mins at a time and while this was going on the adults were still able to order on their app beer and wine. There was no consideration for other people many who were diners having to put up with constant child crying like what happened today. I have been in other wetherspoons where only 2drinks were allowed per person where children were present. Why on earth was this allowed to go on for amount of time that it did??? We come out to have drink something to eat relax and enjoy and NOT to be feeling we sat in a kinder garden and just for the record I do have children but wouldn’t expect others to put up with what’s gone on today. Plus should you really be supplying people with alcohol that are responsible for very young babies”

Or just move table if kids are annoying… I can almost sense the Daily Mail headline of ‘ordered out of pub by staff after baby cried’ which would ensue if that was their general policy….

“Their ramen noodles bowl is actually spaghetti noodles which is not stated on the menu which caused my girlfriend to throw up “

Nice…

“I’m so disappointed that on an incredibly hot day we chose to sit at the front of this establishment with our dog to enjoy some food. I understand dogs are not welcome inside or their pub gardens but to be turned away from open seating on the public footpath in front is very shameful.”

It’s hard to see how JD Wetherspoon could be any clearer that they don’t want dogs inside or in their external seating areas, but yet some customers still think they’re exempt and then leave a 1-star review….

“I ordered egg benedict fir breakfast . The eggs were hard so the waitress said she’d get it redone. The 2nd plate arrived and the eggs were hard ! She insisted I try again and when the 3rd plate arrived . Guess what ? The eggs were hard! I was refunded and ordered a traditional English breakfast instead and the egg was runny .. yay!”

I’m not sure I would have had that many attempts, but I sympathise for the customer, Eggs Benedict should have a runny egg…

This seems to be a very busy venue, even though I’ve visited at off-peak times, so it must be packed during the summer months. The price point is towards the higher end of the scale, but they don’t seem to have problems filling the tables. There are quite a few power points dotted around which was handy for charging devices, although the corridor to the toilets upstairs was a bit tight. Anyway, all rather lovely and a reliable venue to visit.

February 27, 2025
Torquay – Abbey Park at Night

I thought that this looked rather lovely, it’s one of the ornamental ponds in Abbey Park, next to where the Grosvenor Hotel (as was) is located. The council showed some foresight when they bought this land, formerly part of the Torre Abbey estate, in 1924 and they paid the equivalent of over £1 million for it. Without their buying this, it’s likely that it would have been built on rather than being a little oasis of calm.

February 27, 2025
Paignton – Henry’s Bar

Ross wanted to relive his youth or something similar, so we bravely walked to Paignton (and back again) from Torquay and I hadn’t given much thought to the lunch options. I had a look at Google Reviews and Henry’s Bar was very well reviewed and I was craving fish and chips, so I opted for that. I was surprised and delighted to discover that it’s the only pub in Paignton which is listed in the Good Beer Guide, so that’s another one ticked off.

It’s not a new venue, the Torbay Express wrote an article about the new venue in November 1984:

“The cheerful bright red of Henry’s Bar heralds a new type of place to eat and drink in Torbay.

This upmarket combination of wine bar plus traditional beer-selling free house is the idea of Mr Ray Shermon.

“It is a really nice place for people to meet friends,” says Mr Shermon of his bar in Paignton’s Torbay Road.

Henry’s Bar, with its wide variety of food and drink, is certainly family-fun. Mr Shermon’s wife, Gerry, daughter Maxine, 18, and James, 14, are all involved in the business.

Even the name – Henry’s Bar, has family connotations. Henry was the name of Mrs Shermon’s late father.

Mr Shermon is not new to the food and drink trade. He bought Henry’s Bar, then La Taverna, having sold The Patio Restaurant across the road.

He and his wife have run La Taverna since July, but, after a total refurbishment taking three weeks, the old restaurant is unrecognisable.

The colour, inside and out, is a welcoming red, with red cushioned seating round the walls and padded stools of various heights.

There is a curving bar, a traditional style of carpet and attractive touches such as old-style lighting, a fan and mirrors, not to mention modern central heating.

This, combined with unusual arches, makes for a smart but comfortable atmosphere in a bar which would be ideal as a starting place for a late night outing.

Mr Shermon, who opens in normal pub hours, is aiming for an all-year and not just seasonal trade, and Henry’s Bar should attract people not only in the evening, but also at lunchtimes.

“It is a place not only for youngsters, but for everybody,” says Mr Shermon.

Henry’s Bar serves a good range of drinks, beers, a variety of wines and spirits. Mr Shermon also has a number of coolers to offer, including peach, cherry and apricot flavours.

Food is served until half-an-hour from closing time, and there is certainly something for everyone on the menu.

There are basket meals including chicken, pot meals ranging from curry to beef stew, and Sunday lunchtimes would be a good time to visit Henry’s Bar.”

There was another article in 1987 which mentioned that Tetley’s Bitter was 60p a pint and Castlemaine 4X was 70p a pint, although they were special prices as there had been a refurbishment. Steak & kidney pie was available for £1.95, pizzas were from £1.75 and a jacket potato was 75p.

Later that year there the venue was put up for sale at an asking price of £395,000 which seems high to me, I’m not sure that they’d get much more than that now, nearly 40 years later.

The interior which I felt had plenty of character and atmosphere. It was relatively quiet when we visited, but I can imagine that this gets very busy during the warmer summer months. There seemed to be some party of dog owners when we visited, but the pub does welcome dogs but has some sensible rules about they shouldn’t bark, they shouldn’t be on seats and they shouldn’t disturb other customers, which is all very reasonable. Not that this stops some customers complaining when they’re told not to let their dog on the seating, which is a selfish thing to do in any regard in my view, but the venue responded professionally:

“I can only apologise for the way that this situation was handled. We do love the dogs visiting us, but you must appreciate, that not everyone does. That, coupled with the fact that we have just been re-upholstered, has made us request that all dogs “paws stay on the floors”. This signage is scattered throughout the pub, but obviously not on the front doors, as you have highlighted . I have arranged for a new sign to be placed here too.”

This is part of the reason why companies such as JD Wetherspoon just ban dogs entirely….

The beer selection, I’m not much of a fan of Doom Bar from Sharp’s Brewery, but it is a sort of local beer given that it’s from Cornwall. I went for the Sea Dog from Teignmouth Brewery, it was malty and smooth, rather agreeable. There’s normally a wider range than just two real ales, but it felt sufficient for a quiet weekday afternoon in February. The service was efficient, polite and prompt, so I felt that we were made welcome.

The fish and chips which was served with mushy peas, all nicely presented and at the appropriate temperature. The chips were firm on the exterior and fluffy on the interior, with the tartare sauce portion being generous (this is important to me, I have a slight obsession with tartare sauce and I can’t be doing with silly little pots). The batter was crispy and had a depth of flavour and the fish itself was of a reasonable quality, so all good.

I was very pleased with the whole arrangement given that the beer choice was reasonable, the food was rather lovely, the service was friendly and the environment was comfortable. And that was 100% of all Good Beer Guide pubs in Paignton visited in one go.

February 26, 2025
The Pubs of Torquay

Well, this is the total of the pubs that we visited in Torquay itself, the eleven isn’t the total number of pubs but it does include the Good Beer Guide ones and the more notable ones. There are a couple of pubs quite close to each other, the Printers Elbow II and the Fox and Firkin, which have both unfortunately closed. On that topic, there are concerns that the Good Beer Guide listed and likely the oldest pub in the town, the Hole in the Wall, might well close soon as well.

The Clocktower offered some really affordable drinks in a comfortable atmosphere, whilst the JD Wetherspoon had the most real ales and the lowest prices in the town. The Rabbit Hole is an attempt to do something different in a troubled part of the town, the owners have recently taken over a venue that had been shut down due to licensing concerns. But, my favourite of them all, TQ Beerworks Taphouse, which had the best craft beer selection and offered a friendly and engaging welcome. All very lovely.

PUBS

Apple & Parrot

Hole in the Wall

Devon Arms

Yates

TQ Beerworks Taphouse

Viva

Clocktower

The Rabbit Hole

The Green Ginger

The Manor Inn

Cider Press

RESTAURANTS WITH ALCOHOL

The Oriental Touch

Biryani House

Harvester

CURRENTLY CLOSED

The Fox and Firkin

Printers Elbow II

February 26, 2025
Torquay – The Fox and Firkin

This pub at the top end of Union Street closed in 2023 and has now been sold, quite cheaply by the looks of it, with the chance of it remaining a pub being slim. CAMRA note that it was known for its cheap beer and community feel, including its darts team. There’s an article about the pub closing and also an internal photo of the bar area at https://www.devonlive.com/whats-on/whats-on-news/seaside-pub-flat-up-grabs-7179424. The price that it looks like they got wasn’t a vast amount higher than the £110,000 that the pub sold for towards the end of 1998.

As an aside, in 1998, The Torbay Express reported:

“The Torbay Combination League has thrown out and fined First Division side Fox & Firkin £300. And they have sent Devon FA a list of 28 players registered with the Torquay pub team, which could lead to bans from playing all forms of football until the money is paid. “Hopefully it won’t come to that, but we’ve had enough of the Fox & Firkin,” said league secretary Bill Matthews. The overall fine includes £200 for being kicked out, and £100 for not paying previous fines imposed for failing to raise sides, send in match cards and telephoning results of home games.”

My favourite bit they added was that they turned up to one match with eight player but four of those had gone home before the end of the game. It’s always a shame to lose a pub, especially as it’s very close to the Printer’s Elbow II which is also currently closed.

February 26, 2025
Torquay – The Oriental Touch

It might not be the height of culinary decadence, but I do like an ‘all you can eat’ Chinese. And it’s an easy sell to Ross, so on our final night we traipsed up a big hill to get to the Oriental Touch which has been trading from here for over 15 years. Before it became a restaurant, it was the Top of the Town pub.

We arrived a bit earlier in the evening to try and avoid the rush, but it was already packed primarily with larger groups. We waited in the queue for around five minutes before we were called forwards as although we didn’t have a reservation, they did have a table for two. It was slightly cramped, but you don’t really come to a restaurant like this for the surroundings. The ordering process requires advance payment before being seated, which does speed matters up at the end of the meal. I felt sorry for the waiter who was helpful but had three groups complain that the wrong drinks had been brought over. It transpired, as I listened in, that all three groups had actually ordered incorrectly but the waiter was endlessly patient.

What was it that Jay Rayner said about the best foods being brown? He’s right, here’s chicken cooked in various different ways and what more could I want?

The two counters of hot food.

The desserts section.

There we go, there’s some green to add to the arrangement. It’s called seaweed, although I think this one was just salted fried cabbage. I ordered a Tiger to go with the meal, which was smooth, light and all that. The quality of the food was generally high, the meat was tender and everything was at the appropriate hot temperature.

The height of fine dining……

I’ve never quite understood why more restaurants don’t operate on this model as it makes it much easier for the kitchen to just bring out food when it’s done and there’s a reduced demand on waiting staff. I accept the huge cost of ingredients, but looking around, most people were relatively restrained. It’s obviously working for this restaurant given how long they’ve been here and seeing how busy it was on a Thursday evening. There’s a sign that the restaurant reserves the right to charge for food which is left, but I suspect that’s a warning shot rather than something that they actually try and do. The wastage must be challenging for the owners to deal with, I suspect it’s relatively high and perhaps one of the reasons that there aren’t more restaurant like this.

There’s the odd complaint such as:

“Cold food, chaotic experience and multiple things that could actually HARM PEOPLE! My wife is a Chef and she said there are multiple things that could be harmful, like the unrefrigerated profiteroles because of the warmed up cream.”

The venue is five star food hygiene rated and I’m more concerned that a chef thinks that profiteroles can’t stand in a cold refrigerated area and the speed in which they were eaten meant that they were hardly there for long. I didn’t see anything that harmed me at least….

The meal cost £16, which I thought was rather agreeable although I found that the portion sizes were too large but I can’t really blame the restaurant for that. The on-line reviews are very positive for a restaurant set-up like this, with the service being highly regarded as well as the value for money. Although we got lucky, I think it would be sensible to book a table in advance here given its popularity. All rather lovely.

February 26, 2025
Torquay – Apple & Parrot

The outside of the Apple & Parrot, known for its live music and sports that are shown on the TV, which has been trading since 2010. The venue has door staff it seems on most evenings, but they’re open until 03:00 every day of the week which explains their frequent presence. The venue was previously known as the Royal Vic Lounge and then it became the rather decadent and fancy Cafe Royal in the 1980s.

I’m always happy with this, especially when there’s an orange slice in it. There aren’t any real ales available, but there’s been a sort of effort made to have a variety of keg beers on. The service was friendly and polite, with everything feeling clean and well managed.

The stage area where there’s a fair amount of live music played. There’s a pool table down the stairs and more space upstairs, so it felt quite spacious, although that was when it was a quiet weekday evening in February. They don’t offer food themselves, but they have an arrangement with a nearby third party which specialises in chicken related items, the same provider as the nearby Yates. The on-line reviews are a bit mixed, there seem to be a lot of issues with their door staff, although there are usually two sides to stories relating to those.

I rather liked this venue, it felt safe and had a certain amount of atmosphere without getting too vibrant. The drinks range was reasonable, the service was friendly and things felt generally clean and organised.

February 26, 2025
Torquay – Harvester

I can’t recall eating at a Harvester before and after checking, there aren’t any in Norfolk with the nearest being in Lowestoft and Ipswich. And, when I heard that every meal comes with a free all you can eat salad bar I was entirely sold and it didn’t much to persuade Ross who eats too much salad.

I had downloaded the app in advance of the visit and it was this offer that tempted us. It’s advertised in the venue itself, but they do need to see the app to be able to scan the code which I can imagine annoys a few people. Fortunately, I was prepared and ready…. We were seated promptly but our order wasn’t taken for over ten minutes, which seemed a lifetime when the thought of all you can eat lettuce was on my mind.

The salad bar and there was also bread, butter, dressings and most importantly of all, olives. Indeed, I managed to get through all the olives in the container which I was quite pleased with, I like to complete things. Now, if there were pickles as well then this might have gone up just another notch…..

My third salad bowl with some of the olives all covered in a Caesar dressing.

The main event, the half roast chicken with fries and sweetcorn fritter type things. I had the naga chilli dip as I like a bit of spice, but I also just brought the bottle over as well to add to the whole arrangement. The chicken was tender, moist and plentiful, with the fritter things adding texture to the meal. The chips were also firm on the exterior and fluffy on the inside, with everything at the appropriate temperature. I went for a pint of Stowford Press as some variety from having beer. It wasn’t the best cider I’ve had, but it was entirely drinkable.

Looking at the on-line reviews, they’re high for a chain restaurant, so it seems that most customers leave happy and content. I had a little look through the reviews and there was one customer that was apparently near to a panic attack because of the service…. Anyway, I liked the restaurant’s reply:

“I am very sorry to read that you did not enjoy your visit with us and even more sorry than you felt you couldn’t either ask to speak to the manager to discuss your concerns or contact us directly after leaving rather than posting your comments on, not just 1 but 2 social media platforms.”

They have a point….

“Today, after my family had dinner, Jamie started sorting out our plates. While he was stacking up the plates, he asked me if I could put my leftovers on top of the plates. And I was like, “Sorry?” He just repeated what he said and added “because I don’t want to touch it (pointing on my leftovers).” He already sorted out our used utensils, so I had no choice but to pick up my leftovers barehandedly… I just felt like it was rude”

That’s sub-optimal to be fair to the customer….

“Was greeted by a very stuffy, sarcastic member of staff who enquired as to whether I had booked. I said I hadn’t and did not realise that you needed too as I just walk in my local Harvester. With a snort, she retorted well Torquay is a major holiday destination in the summer and you can’t just walk in. No problem, I’ll walk right out again.”

I suspect the restaurant wasn’t too concerned….

“Told staff allergic to jalapenos make sure none on nachos still found one hiding under salsa brought it up with waitress she couldn’t have cared less complete joke !!!! Rest of food was of good quality. Maybe they should show an interest in customers food requitmrenents as eating this jalepeno would have put one of us in hospital”

Highly undesirable, although the restaurant was hugely apologetic.

The team member apologised that she forgot the checkback (pro-actively, I didn’t complain) but I think she was Polish, so I decided that she was inevitably forgiven for that as I’m just a bit pro-Polish. The surroundings were generally clean and the venue was surprisingly busy for a weekday lunchtime, so they’re clearly doing quite a lot right. And because the salad bar had all the olives I could eat, I was entirely happy. I’d go again, the whole set-up was actually better than I expected and it’s a much more popular venue than I had anticipated.

February 24, 2025
Torquay – Biryani House

This was one of the highest on-line rated Indian (I’ve defined this as Indian, but I accept that they also describe themselves as a Bangladeshi restaurant) restaurants in Torquay, located in the Torre area of the town. We were welcomed warmly when arriving and although there’s limited seating inside, we were offered a larger table between the two of us, which I always think is a nice gesture. Although, other than the two diners already there when we arrived, there were no-one else dining inside for the rest of the evening and I had thought it might be a little busier, even on a drizzly Wednesday evening in February. In recent years, this has gone through all manner of name changes and it’s been Lucky Choice Chinese, the Hong Kong Express, the Thai Kitchen, Kim’s Kitchen, Thai Chef and then from early 2024, Biryani House.

The menu.

The poppadoms which met my expectations, I very much like pickles in the little selection of dips, exciting options such as lime pickle are missing from this line-up too often. So, as I’m easily distracted, I asked Google what dips and chutneys should be served in an Indian restaurant and it came back with:

“Mango Chutney: This sweet and tangy chutney is a classic pairing with poppadoms. Its fruity flavour balances the crispiness of the poppadoms.
Mint Raita (or Mint Sauce): A cooling and refreshing dip made with yogurt, mint, and sometimes coriander. It provides a nice contrast to spicy dishes.
Onion Chutney: This often features finely chopped red onions, and it can vary from sweet and tangy to spicy. It adds a sharp and flavourful element.
Lime Pickle: This is a very strong and spicy pickle, that adds a very powerful sour and hot flavour to the poppadoms.”

This is effectively what this restaurant offered, hence my satisfaction.

It’s always handy to have vinegar to hand in an Indian restaurant. I fully understand their practical benefits, but I didn’t much like the plastic covering over the tablecloth. I had thought that this traditional look was because they’d been here for years, but this is all newly set out as they only relatively recently took over.

There was some Bollywood entertainment going on. The Tiger beer tasted as expected, it always feels more acceptable when having south Asian food.

I went for the chicken jalfrezi, coconut rice and plain naan. The portion size of the curry was generous, with plenty of tender pieces of chicken breast. There was some spice in it, although for my own taste I would have liked more, and it had a depth of flavour, a very serviceable curry. The rice was fluffy and coconuty, but the naan bread was a bit moist and seemed more microwaved than cooked in a traditional Tandoor oven. Not that I’m expecting a small restaurant in a Torquay suburb to have a large Tandoor oven going, but it should have perhaps been a bit firmer.

The interior of the restaurant and it’s fair to say that they haven’t aimed to be on-trend here. Although we hardly stretched the kitchen with our order, they did get a couple of delivery orders through when we were there.

There was a free Sambuca shot at the end, which I of course accepted, and I was surprised that Ross did as well rather willingly. The couple at the table next to us had struggled through theirs and I heard them comment privately it tasted cheap, but I thought it was quite smooth.

Anyway, I thought this was a competent restaurant and I very much liked the welcome which I thought was authentic and warm. Ross was less impressed when the owner tried to help him put his coat on, but I know other people who would have liked that very much. One other positive is that they open during lunchtimes, something that seems to be quite rare at Indian restaurants in the UK. Anyway, all rather lovely and I hope that they do well.

February 24, 2025
Torquay – Hole in the Wall

These photos from the dying days of my last phone really are terrible, but there we go….. This pub has received some national attention recently as it’s Good Beer Guide listed, but as things stand, it’s going to close in a few weeks. We were told by a customer in the previous pub that this was its last night of opening, but that appears to have rather jumped the gun somewhat as it doesn’t close until April. They put on Facebook:

“As many of you are already aware, the pub has been going through some financial difficulties recently, putting us at serious risk of closure. We have been given until mid April to get our affairs in order so we will hopefully, at the very least, be trading as normal until then. Many thanks for your patience and understanding, we hope to see you soon!”

One of the issues perhaps linked to that is that the venue can only take cash payments at the moment, but they helpfully alerted us to that on the front door which led to a trek around Torquay looking for cash machines. Unfortunately, the big bank buildings we walked by to return to the main street have mostly closed which made this into more of an expedition than we had anticipated.

Some of the offers are visible and this is a large venue with a separate restaurant and bar area. Although the Devon Arms next door has a different opinion, it’s thought that this is the oldest pub in Torquay and it’s in the heart of the old harbour area. The pub give themselves an opening date of around 1540, although there’s not any factual evidence to prove this exact date, but it is definitely quite old.

In June 1905, the Torquay Times noted:

“In Exeter, within living memory, there was a public house called “The Hole in the Wall” as we have here in Torquay. Our local inn, bearing this quaint name, dates from a very ancient time, as did the one at Exeter, and Torquay people know its position, on the left of the steps running to Park Street from the Queen’s Hotel. It is evident that there were other taverns dignified with the same title, and how a tavern received such a peculiar sign-board, may be gathered from a quotation from Bishop’s “Brighton in the Olden Time,” with reference to an old inn which was called “The King and Queen.” a peculiarity of which was, that it possessed a “hole in the wall.” Bishop, in the work just quoted, says: “The King and Queen” was never a soldiers’ house; but it is probable that in the early part of the century it took more money from soldiers than any other house in the town. ‘Stolen kisses’ are said to be the sweetest, and, on the same principle, the connection between soldiery and ‘The King and Queen’ being a secret, libations were, probably, the more indulged in. The fact is, there was a small “hole in the wall” which separated the barracks yard (formerly at the bottom of Church Street) from the back of the ‘King and Queen!’ and though this, on a given signal, liquor used to be passed in any quantity. The hole had been there from time immemorial. It was about ten inches square, and on ‘The King and Queen’ side was covered by an iron door, and is said to be seen, even now (1902), in the present pantry of the hotel, which was formerly the ‘tap’ cellar. The hole doubtless owed its origin to some thirsty inventive genius. There was only a wall between him and his beer, and, happy thought! if he could not get the latter over the wall, he, at least, might get some through it! But ‘the best laid schemes o’ mice and men gang aft angley.’ Whether the secret was “blown,” or other causes militated against the hole in the wall, at least on the barracks side, was effectually closed some time previous to the barracks being removed.”

Even in 1905 they thought that the name was quaint.

The front yard, no doubt a pleasant seating area in the warmer summer months.

The service was friendly and immediate, with the team member alerting us in advance that they were only accepting cash, although their signage was evident to minimise any issues. There were three real ales available, the Ferryman from Exeter Brewery and the Dartmoor IPA and Jail Ale from Dartmoor Brewery. There were also pickled onions on the bar, something which should be more commonplace in pubs.

Vaping, not dancing…. As can be noted from this video, there was some live music going on when we were there and although that doesn’t normally excite me, it seems to be in keeping with the pub’s character and atmosphere. The pub was busy when we visited and we were lucky to slide into this table, and slide was what I had to do to get in. There was plenty of decoration on the walls, including some guns, as is visible in the above photo. There are tales of smugglers using this pub over the centuries and it had that feel of a traditional coaching inn where exactly that sort of behaviour would have taken place.

Ross went for Staropramen, which was one of his more sensible decisions, and I went for the Dartmoor IPA from Dartmoor Brewery. This was a rather decent beer, smooth and full bodied, with a depth of flavour.

The menu and the prices were reasonable given the location that we were in.

I liked this pub with its cobbled floors and it had the most traditional feel of any of the pubs that we visited, the only one which actually felt like an authentic coastal pub as some of the other venues were just generic sports bars that could have been located anywhere. Its presence in the Good Beer Guide seems most justified to me and it’s concerning for the residents of Torquay, and indeed on a much wider basis, that this pub might be closing soon.

February 24, 2025