The Pig at Combe - Devon

We visited The Pig at Combe for lunch to celebrate my wife’s 40th birthday. Living locally, we had been looking forward to trying it for a long time, but sadly the experience was underwhelming. The food was inconsistent. My daughter’s starter didn’t seem fresh, while mine and my wife’s were only okay. My main course (pork) was excellent, but my wife’s beef was not cooked as requested and had to be sent back, and the vegetables were undercooked. When done well, the flavours and ingredients were of high quality, but overall the execution was mixed. The setting is lovely, but on the day we visited the fire was lit despite it being a warm, rainy, and humid day, which made the dining room uncomfortably hot. Service was passable but not attentive, with some mistakes along the way. The worst part was discovering on departure that one of our umbrellas - a good-quality one we’ve owned for 15–20 years with sentimental value - had been taken from the stand by the front door. When we raised this with staff, no real effort was made to help or resolve the situation. We were simply told we could “borrow” one of their umbrellas to reach the car. While I appreciate belongings are our responsibility, I expected more concern and assistance from an establishment of this calibre. Overall, what should have been a special celebratory meal was let down by inconsistent food, inattentive service, and poor handling of a disappointing situation. After looking forward to visiting for so long, we sadly don’t plan to return any time soon.

I don’t usually write reviews, but after our experience I felt compelled to mainly because we left feeling disappointed and, honestly, a little short changed. We had recently celebrated our wedding at The Deer Park (also local), and although we tried not to compare, it’s hard not to put venues of a similar calibre side by side. Unfortunately, The Pig at Combe just didn’t measure up. Our visit was a thoughtful and generous gift, a £120 voucher for a three course meal from the 25 mile menu. We were touched by the gesture and arrived with high hopes. The drive up is undeniably stunning and the house itself is full of rustic charm. Sadly, once seated, the experience began to unravel. We were placed side by side at a table for two. When my wife moved her chair so we could sit opposite one another, she was asked to move back in case she blocked staff walking through. It felt unnecessary and set the wrong tone. When we arrived, we were also very upfront with the staff, we explained that we didn’t intend to spend beyond the £120 voucher, which we thought was more than enough for two people. We advised them that it was a wedding gift but the response wasn’t overly exciting. The only person who seemed to fully understand this was a young blonde member of staff, who was warm and attentive. The others, not so much. For food, we ordered scallops and pork belly bites to start, followed by pork chop and chips, with one beer and a small Diet Coke. With £120 to spend, we expected to comfortably enjoy three courses but we quickly realised how steep the prices were. Sides of vegetables were £6.50–£6.75 each, which felt excessive. We were offered half a slice of bread (with oil and salt pushed across, but no butter), and it wasn’t clear if this was complimentary. The starters were fine, but nothing remarkable. The main course was disappointing, we declined the pork pink which is how they normally serve it and asked for it cooked through, but it was still bland. The chips were no better than those from a local takeaway. We were then offered a dessert which we had calculated that we were £105 into our voucher leaving £15 for a dessert even if we had to share. We asked and the waitress came back to say that’s it’s up to £118, naively I didn’t question it as couldn’t wait to leave but have since woken up feeling cheated. The waitress put it through and then asked if we would like to see it but a little too late. On reflection, I suspect we were charged for the bread and possibly even the tap water. A discretionary service charge had also been added without discussion, which I would have removed if given the choice. Staff were polite but unengaged overall. Definitely felt like a number. The service and food simply didn’t match the reputation or the prices. It left us feeling let down, especially given that this was a generous gift from dear friends who spent their hard earned money with the best of intentions. I sincerely hope they don’t read this review, as the

Yet another fabulous meal at "The Pig". As always the menu is varied and different. Also the service was great, with knowledgable staff. Being GF, desserts are always tricky, as many are pastry based. At the Pig, realising the issue they offered me an off-the-menu GF Apple Crumble - delicious!! I have always known that the food at the Pig was locally sourced and always fresh, but had not fully appreciated how local and how fresh. After the meal while walking through the grounds I talked to a couple of the gardeners who said they had been specially asked to pick the apples for our Apple Crumble. Zero road miles and Ultra fresh. Finally, when you visit The Pig, walk around the extensive kitchen garden and marvel at all the produce being grown.

One of the most beautiful hotels I have ever stayed at. The room was comfortable and luxurious and the staff were so friendly and accommodating. The bar stayed open until the last guest was ready to go to their rooms, cake was served in the drawing room after breakfast. Every morning at 11am there was a garden tour where you could see where all the produce for the kitchen was sourced and the Folly had the best pizza in a beautiful setting. The Arabian horses grazing in the pasture in front of the hotel made the whole experience feel magical.

I never thought spending £1,000 could be so difficult! I want to book a short stay at this hotel but wanted to first ask about the rooms, Specifically could we have one of the rooms in the main house as shown on the website However It is not possible to ring the hotel directly but you are redirected to a call centre. However no one replied both times I tried to get through so I tried the chat facility. The only answer I could get was some rooms are in the main house and some are in the stable block! A frustrating morning of trying to book what should be a treat for a wedding anniversary. So much for the personal touch.

This hotel is fabulously placed in the Otter Valley amongst stunning countryside. The hotel itself appears to be very well organised, putting the customers at the heart of it all. Most of all I liked the attention to sustainability, including a really interesting kitchen garden and amazing toiletries. We had dinner in the restaurant one evening and the food was absolutely delicious, such an interesting menu. We stayed in the Hayloft which was massive and very comfortable, with a roll top bath and the largest waterfall shower head I’ve ever seen. The only quibble was when we needed to charge our Tesla and the staff member on reception couldn’t provide the right connector. Apparently they are there somewhere. But overall a wonderful place to celebrate our silver wedding.