Devon

<p>Corrected thank you, and yes, the proof-reader job is yours!</p>


<p>The Five Bells is in Clyst Hydon not CYST Hydon</p>



<p>Here&#8217;s some news to tempt you from your January diet: <a href="https://www.top50gastropubs.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The&nbsp;Estrella Damm Top 100 Gastropub Awards</a> have just been announced and, as ever, there&#8217;s plenty of local reasons and order those triple-cooked chips, pronto.</p>



<p>Organised by the Publican’s <em>Morning Advertiser</em>, The Estrella Damm Top 100 Gastropubs shortlist&nbsp;<em>really</em>&nbsp;matters in the foodie&nbsp;pub&nbsp;world, as it celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit of the great British pub serving awesome grub. The top spot was taken by Woodbridge&#8217;s The Unruly Pig, but if you&#8217;re not visiting Suffolk any time soon, here&#8217;s where you should be booking in asap.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-cornish-arms-tavistock-no-9"><a aria-label="The Cornish Arms (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.thecornisharmstavistock.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Cornish Arms</a>, Tavistock (No.9)</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1440" height="963" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/01/cornish-arms2.jpg" alt="The Cornish Arms Tavistock " class="wp-image-73103" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/01/cornish-arms2.jpg 1440w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/01/cornish-arms2-800x535.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/01/cornish-arms2-1000x669.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/01/cornish-arms2-768x514.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit The Cornish Arms </figcaption></figure>



<p>The Cornish Arms, a brilliant Tavi pub, is our highest performing Devon gastropub and too right too. The food and the ambience rocks, and ask anyone who lives around Tavistock and this is 100% the pub recommendation on their lips. What&#8217;s more, The Cornish Arms&#8217; owner-chef John Hooker, took the Specialist Award of <a href="https://www.top50gastropubs.com/awards/Chef-of-the-Year.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chef of the Year</a>. He&#8217;s previously nabbed the accolade from the prestigious Trencherman’s Awards. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/01/cornish-veloute.jpg" alt="Raviolo of St Ewe egg yolk, cep purée, pickled shimeji, wild mushroom velouté. The Cornish Arms " class="wp-image-73114" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/01/cornish-veloute.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/01/cornish-veloute-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/01/cornish-veloute-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/01/cornish-veloute-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Raviolo of St Ewe egg yolk, cep purée, pickled shimeji, wild mushroom velouté at The Cornish Arms </figcaption></figure>



<p>Part of the St Austell Brewery chain, The Cornish Arms takes its name from once being the last coaching house before Cornwall. Should you want to you make a night of it, there are seven rather gorgeously decorated rooms so you can stay on and explore this Western gateway town (one of <a href="https://devon.muddystilettos.co.uk/best-places-to-live/devon/tavistock/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Muddy&#8217;s Best Places to Live 2025</a>) or the wilds of Dartmoor itself. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-masons-arms-knowstone-no-63"><a aria-label="The Masons Arms (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.masonsarmsdevon.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Masons Arms</a>, Knowstone (No.63)</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="943" height="938" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/01/knowstone-venison.jpg" alt="venison dish from The Knowstone Armss Devon, top 100 Gastropub 2025" class="wp-image-73106" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/01/knowstone-venison.jpg 943w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/01/knowstone-venison-800x796.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/01/knowstone-venison-768x764.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 943px) 100vw, 943px" /></figure>



<p>Having announced their retirement in 2024, they&#8217;re still here! A Michelin-star holder for an awesome 20 years, and one of the <a href="https://devon.muddystilettos.co.uk/eat-out/top-100-devon-restaurants/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UK&#8217;s Top 100 restaurants </a>according to Hardens and SquareMeal, The Masons Arms nabbed its place in the top 100 yet again thanks to owner-chef Mark Dodson&#8217;s laser-eyed focus on local ingredients and creative presentation and co-owner Sarah Dodson&#8217;s attention to service and ambience. What a pretty spot it&#8217;s in too &#8211; a thatched 13th century inn on the edge of Exmoor, but with easy access from the Atlantic Highway. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-and-nbsp-here-s-what-s-cooking-over-the-border">And<strong>&nbsp;here’s what’s cooking over the border:</strong></h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-mariners-rock-cornwall-5"><a href="https://www.paul-ainsworth.co.uk/the-mariners/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Mariners</a>, Rock, Cornwall (5)</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/11/The-Mariners-interiors-2.jpg" alt="Top 50 gastropubs 2025 The Mariners interiors" class="wp-image-16752" /></figure>



<p>Still in the top five for husband-and-wife team Paul and Emma Ainsworth (in 2021 they were 5th, then down to 9th and 11th, and up to a mega 3 last year in 2024) making The Mariners the highest placed pub in Cornwall. The Mariners is the pair’s fifth site in North Cornwall&nbsp;with views over the Camel Estuary – and a firm favourite with locals and holiday makers alike. My friend reckons they make the best burgers in this part of Cornwall, and my kids love their takes on pub classics.&nbsp;<a href="https://cornwall.muddystilettos.co.uk/eat-out/mariners-rock-near-wadebridge/">Check out our Muddy review here</a>&nbsp;which I wrote when the pub first opened. It’s now even easier to stay over, with the Ainsworth’s taking over the local St Enodoc Hotel earlier this month.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-gurnard-s-head-zennor-81"><a href="http://www.gurnardshead.co.uk/">The Gurnard’s Head</a>, Zennor (81)</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2017/04/Screen-Shot-2020-03-09-at-11.25.20-e1583753156765.png" alt="Top 50 gastropubs 2025 gurnards head bar" class="wp-image-18559" /></figure>



<p>The Gurnard’s Head was back at place 61 for 2024 and slips down to 81 for 2025. If you’ve not been before, it’s not really St Ives – it’s a real Muddy favourite destination pub on the West Penwith peninsula, about as far away from anywhere as it feels you can possibly be. Serving excellent food for both lunch and dinner, with plenty of outdoor space for a quiet drink while you watch the cows march past the front door on their way to be milked, seafood and locally foraged ingredients are on the ever-changing seasonal menu – and there’s also rooms if you fancy making a proper night of it (look out for a new review soon!)</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/03/Adam-Handling-Credit-Hazel-Thompson.jpg" alt="British chef and restaurateur Adam Handling" class="wp-image-30145" /></figure>



<p>Also congrats to chef&nbsp;<a href="https://cornwall.muddystilettos.co.uk/life/people/adam-handling-ugly-butterfly-carbis-bay-cornwall/">Adam Handling</a>, at Muddy fave Ugly Butterfly, whose Berkshire pub The Loch &amp; Tyne by Adam Handling is up to position 23 (from position 42 in 2024, when they also won sustainable pub of the year too). We chatted to him about ‘what’s cooking’ last year,&nbsp;<a href="https://cornwall.muddystilettos.co.uk/life/people/adam-handling-ugly-butterfly-carbis-bay-cornwall/">which you can read here</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-woolpack-inn-stroud-19"><strong><a href="https://www.thewoolpackslad.com/">The Woolpack Inn</a></strong>, Stroud (19)</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/glosworcs/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2024/01/1-52.jpg" alt="the woolpack food" class="wp-image-56280" /></figure>



<p>The Woolpack in Slad, Stroud, has raced up the list of gastropub greats, from last year’s 34 to a delicious 19 for 2025! The Woolpack was made famous by Laurie Lee the English poet and writer, celebrated for his internationally acclaimed ‘Cider with Rosie’.&nbsp; He was a regular visitor to this local pub is buried in the Slad Churchyard. On the menu, crab soup &amp; aioli, devilled kidneys, blood orange, radicchio, walnuts &amp; salted ricotta, followed by lentils and goat’s curd&nbsp;or pork chop, rounding off with quince and almond pavlova or St Emilion au chocolat. The pub also boasts a premium bar snacks menu in the bar kitchen that includes delicacies such as sardines on toast, cheese and chutney toastie and pickled cockles.</p>



<p><strong><em>Want the lowdown on more gorgeous locals? Check out Muddy&#8217;s guide to <a href="https://devon.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/eat-out/pubs-inns/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Devon&#8217;s best pubs and inns</a>.</em></strong></p>


Which gastropubs have made the Top 100 in Devon?

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