Cornish Arms

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#3 of 37 Restaurants in Tavistock££ - £££, Bar, European, Vegetarian friendly

+44 1822 612145+ Add website

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Hours

Sun

12:00 - 21:00

Mon

12:00 - 23:00

Tue

12:00 - 23:00

Wed

12:00 - 23:00

Thu

12:00 - 23:00

Fri

12:00 - 0:00

Sat

12:00 - 0:00

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MICHELIN

What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

1,806 reviews

#3 of 37 Restaurants in Tavistock

Travellers' Choice 2024

MICHELIN

View more on MICHELIN Guide

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Details

Someone from this business manages this listing.

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CUISINES

Bar, European, British, Pub

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, After-hours

features

Location and contact

15 West St, Dartmoor National Park, Tavistock PL19 8AN England

+44 1822 612145

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MICHELIN Guide's Point of View

A mix of locals and tourists, drinkers and diners, makes for a great atmosphere at this traditional high street pub. The knowledgeable team are genuine...

Read more on MICHELIN Guide

Bib Gourmand: good quality, good value cooking

Details

Manage this business?

CUISINES

Bar, European, British, Pub

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, After-hours

FEATURES

Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Wine and Beer, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service

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4.5

1,806 reviews

Excellent

1,278

Very good

314

Average

118

Poor

Terrible

William

Portsmouth10 contributions

Exceptional restaurant

Sept 2024 • couples

A great restaurant very expertly managed with friendly staff and a superb menu. The downstairs of the hotel is divided into a bar area, restaurant area and an outside seating area. All are lovely. The staff are well trained, attentive and clearly expert in restaurant work. The menu options were exceptional including a 10 choice main menu ( starters nibbles and deserts also) and an amazing vegan menu. The fish and meat are locally sourced and there is a lovely 'catch of the day' theme to the main menu. This is a gem of an establishment with a clearly forward thinking management which takes great pride in the choice and service they offer at a very reasonable price. This was so good we booked 2 nights in a row! Be sure to book as it deservedly gets busy. So looking forward to returning.

Written 21 September 2024

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sara M

14 contributions

There Are Gastro Pubs & Then Theres The Cornish Arms

Oct 2024 • friends

It is not often I'm impressed to this degree. This is a pub with rooms that is distinctly different. It oozes warmth and cosiness, with a vein of top quality service running right through it and the two are quite intoxicating! We booked late, having returned from Spain and requested a booking for dinner, a room and the ability to bring our small dog. This was seamless and was handled exactly as it should be. We were greeted by smiles and a genuine welcome, nothing fake, nothing too much trouble. Our table was reserved by the fire as requested and an offer of help with our bags. The bar was beautifully run, its tasteful country pub vibe draws you in. The room we stayed in was very well put together, quality bedding, furnishings and muted colours gave an instant relax, toiletries with real essential oils provided, these are locally made and a big difference from off the shelf products provided by even the very best of hotels! No dog bed, cheap dog treats of waste bags were left, which was just refreshing! Not only did this room deliver luxury wise, it was well thought out and 'worked' needless to say it was immaculately clean, The food.....well this was close to perfect, the steak one of the best I have had, cooked exactly right and the sauces were 'clever' rich but not too rich, just delightful! and the onion rings were the best I have tasted . The smoked haddock omelette championed the wonderful quality fish that was used and the vegetable tart was beautifully made with a salad that complimented it perfectly. Breakfast delivers on the same level, too which is rare!! Absolute class act of a gastro pub, thank you for the wonderful experience

Written 24 October 2024

Teresa C

25 contributions

Lovely atmosphere, great service, excellent food!

Jul 2024 • couples

Food was fantastic, portion sizes are just perfect, lots of lovely flavours on both our plates. Service was also impeccable. Prices reflect the quality of the food, cookery skills and service provided - highly recommend!

Written 27 July 2024

devonshiredumpling50

Exeter39 contributions

Very pricey for lunch

Jun 2024 • family

We have been going to the Cornish Arms for a number of years and the food and service has always been good if a little pricey for a pub at lunchtime. After a recent visit I was astounded at the cost, My mother wanted fish, I know Turbot is expensive but £36.50 ?! and if she wanted some potato's and extra £4.95 so a main course total of £41.45 !!! I know James Martin is a fan and a friend of the Cornish Arms but it's not him cooking ! The bar area is starting to look tired and there is never any hot water to wash your hands in the toilets surely everything needs to be to notch to justify charging these prices. I think our visits to the Cornish Arms will be a lot less in the future.

Written 20 June 2024

jenc-38

Okehampton3 contributions

Nice but prices

Aug 2024 • family

I like the atmosphere, decor and outside area. Nice dogs are welcome. The food is nice but not cheap. There is a lovely menu if you dont want plain food, we only had chips and soup as the prices put off others in the party, but the sizes of portions of both were small. Not a proper sized bowl of soup which was delicious, nor enough to fill you up and the bread burnt and bitter. I feel they work hard on presentation amd all the little posh bits in or on it but fail to give good value for money. We walked out without feeling we had filled the hunger. We aren't greedy but disappointed, nice for a drink though.

Written 10 August 2024

Anne Herbert

7 contributions

A lunch to treasure

Dec 2024 • friends

The food was delicious. We had looked forward to our lunch today for quite some weeks and we certainly weren’t disappointed. Our starters (French onion soup with amazing croutons and the pheasant‘scotch’ egg) were scrumptious; my venison was cooked to perfection and my friends bream was perfectly cooked and the dressing complimented it beautifully; we both had the seasonal rhubarb trifle with strawberry sorbet and they were as light as air and the rhubarb was Al dente and not in the slightest sharp. Our servers were all very knowledgeable and attentive and always willing to answer any queries we had. Thank you- we have no qualms about recommending The Cornish Arms to everyone. First class.

Written 27 December 2024

kellyo

St Stephen204 contributions

Average, not impressive.

Jan 2023 • family

Booked for 3 people at 6pm only a handful of tables in when we arrived, sat down and was immediately asked what we would like to drink before our coats were off, we said we'd need a minute if possible, 20 minutes later, someone else arrived to obviously take our food order, a very serious unfriendly curly haired girl, I ordered drinks, she replied, ok, so your food order? We'd obviously been forgotten. We had 4 different server's by our pudding, the most professional one being the girl who's job it was to bring the cutlery. So slow, the girls especially seemed unhappy,bored, not customer friendly at all. The food. Nibbles, taramsalata and bread divine, chorizo hummus, delicious but needs bread to accompany for the price. Venison, almost too pink, chewy and metallic, burger too salty, small portion of pulled pork, almost unidentified, this was queried by the table beside us when they received theirs. Fillet steak good but overpriced for 6oz. The portions are all very small indeed for the price, I'd say almost borderline frugal, we eat high end and you get better value for money per portion. Sticky toffee Pud, standard pud, needs to be renamed Sticky banana as it is over powered, trifle, super small, tasty, but a couple of dodgy raspberries almost past best inside, weird serving of sorbet and crumbs on a separate plate doesn't work at all, the presentation needs re addressing, chocolate and salted caramel tasty. All told, not blown away, it's trying but lacks soul, personality, warmth and falls short on portions for me. High price tag for what you get.

Written 14 January 2023

TimboBoy

Paignton393 contributions

First time here and was perfection for us.

Aug 2023 • family

We spent the day in Tavistock as haven’t been there for ages. Parked by leisure centre and the charge was £2.50 for 4 hours. Went looking for lunch and the first pub was an hour wait for food and was very busy. Not suitable for children where we sat, so headed up the road. Prices slightly high but it looked welcoming. Menu was really interesting and we chose a sharing ploughman’s at £24.50. The kids had a burger and chips and fish and chips each £9.50. Good selection of beers. Prompt service. The ploughman’s was really amazing. Really thick slices of smoked ham, blue cheese, hand made bread rolls, onion chutney, gherkins and dill and a whipped butter topped with a scratching crumb. The scotch eggs were divine - hot with runny yolks. Kids food was really good quality they loved it. Just about right quantity. All in all a perfect lunch. Staff were very friendly and knew the menu if queried. Great we didn’t go to the other pub which would have been cheaper but not as good value.

Written 28 August 2023

Dave M

31 contributions

Increasingly expensive

Sept 2023 • family

Visited a few times now but I regret ( and am sorry ) to say that this place does not live up to expectations in my opinion. Increasingly expensive particularly with drinks. On my last visit I enquired about a french rosé wine and asked the barman a little more about where it was from, he said ‘France’. He also huffed and appeared displeased when I asked to see the bottle for purchase. A round of drinks was expensive, despite not having anything special. It’s only my opinion, but I would like to think that staff have some basic knowledge of what they are serving. Food is good but comes at a price which I think locals might be reluctant to pay. I’m not in the habit of leaving negative feedback but my experience here hasn’t been great.

Written 30 September 2023

Emma W

3 contributions

Perfect experience!

Dec 2023 • solo

Not only is the food faultless (amazing vegan options) the staff know exactly how to make a solo female diner feel safe and welcome. The fire was blazing, the music not too loud, the service considerate and helpful. I really enjoyed my first solo meal out in a long time! Try the sticky toffee pudding - I wish I could eat it all over again!

Written 17 December 2023

Steve Russell

Ipplepen15 contributions

Overpriced food, terrible service

Mar 2023 • none

Looked at booking a table here for our anniversary, the food looked good and the atmosphere from the pictures was inviting. Upon arriving My wife and I were quickly seated in the bar dining area and were asked if we wanted to order anything. We had not had a chance to even look at the menu. A few minutes later, we then ordered a glass of wine and a mains each. (mains do not come with any sides, only what is written on the menu). This arrived and so far so good. The meal was OK but 20 minutes or so later we had finished and no members of staff came to check as we ran out of drinks half way through. It was then a further 40 minutes before anyone came to remove the dirty dishes. Nearly £100 later, after a mains and one glass of wine each we decided to leave as no one seemed to care if we were enjoying our evening or not. It's such a shame when the service is not reflected for the high cost of the evening out in this place. Will not be visiting again and noticed afterwards all of the reviews on here about the level of service at this establishment.

Written 10 March 2023

paul g

Leamington Spa28 contributions

Sunday lunch heaven

Jun 2024 • friends

Absolutely outstanding food. Everyone in our party of four said that it was up there as one of the best Sunday lunches they have ever had. My wife’s roast sirloin and brisket was high-quality meats and cooked to perfection. I was over the moon to see the size of my roast pork dinner and the meat was served perfectly. All the vegetable sides were fantastic. I would be a little bit picky and say the roast potatoes are slightly below the standard of the rest of the meal but everyone else in my party was happy with the potatoes. 10 out of 10 for the service as well both when I booked on the phone and from the moment we arrived. Thank you to all the staff for the great level of service and we will most definitely return if we are in the area again.

Written 9 June 2024

sarafp2018

Bath24 contributions

Unhelpful with medical dietary requirements

Jul 2024 • couples

Extremely unhelpful and inflexible! I have kidney failure, so asked in advance via email if food could be prepared without added salt, since their menu claims that everything is freshly made etc. Reply came back "Unfortunately it is not possible for us to prepare dishes without salt. All of our meals contains salt. I am really sorry this news cause any inconvenience". Clearly is IT possible to prepare dishes without salt otherwise the 10% of people in the UK with CKD wouldn't be able to eat anything! What they meant is that they couldn't be bothered, so clearly their food is NOT freshly made to order. Very disappointing attitude - we'd been looking forward to our anniversary meal, but there are other, better places locally that DO cook your meals freshly, and that are happy to help when someone has a medical issue. CKD is a horrible thing to suffer from, and unhelpful attitudes like this make it worse. So be warned if you have any dietary requirements, that the Cornish Arms are not keen to take any trouble with your meal.

Written 18 July 2024

Kim F

Worcestershire8 contributions

Fantastic experience at the Cornish arms

May 2024 • family

Wow the Cornish arms is outstanding. The rooms and pub are beautiful decorated and very clean. We were greeted by Amy in the restaurant for Breakfast and she was very attentive and happy , also the breakfast was delicious five stars to the chef and staff would definitely recommend this pub to friends and family well done 👍

Written 28 May 2024

Ziconess

Plymouth8 contributions

Wow!

Oct 2024 • family

Popped in for Dinner after an afternoon shopping and we were blown away with the food - just fantastic. The caramelised shallot butter with the house bread was delicious, as was the pate and haddock omelette, by now we'd realised we were in for a treat. Mains of lamb, sea bass and fillet steak were all wonderful, cooked to perfection and supported by sides and jus that added depth to brilliant food. We had to then go for some afters & the sticky toffee pudding and caramel delice did not disappoint. The staff were friendly and attentive, and overall this was one of the best meals we’d had in a very long time – highly recommended.

Written 30 October 2024