Cat & Fiddle Inn — Restaurant in East Devon

I am a coeliac so had previously rung up about gluten free options as I had seen a few reviews. Was told over the phone a lot of their menu was or could be made gluten free and was safe. Booked a table for 6 people on a Sunday night. When we arrived, it took a while to be seated as staff kept walking past us without checking if we were ok or what we needed. Once seated, unsure of whether it was table service or order at the bar, a girl then came and asked for our drinks order. We waited for the remainder of our party to arrive before ordering food. Service was slow to order once the rest of our party had arrived. I asked for a gluten free hunters chicken as stated as an option on the GF menu. Other members ordered items off the normal menu but nearly everything they chose, couldn’t be made as they had ran out. It would have been better if the waitress had mentioned what wasn’t available before ordering. A while later, another waitress came over to inform me that the hunters chicken couldn’t be made GF as it came in breaded. It then comes to question why this was even an option on the GF menu. As a coeliac if I had eaten this, I would have been extremely poorly if nobody had picked it up in the kitchen. I changed my order to a gammon steak as this felt like the safest option. Food was average, service was very slow. Our waitress was nice and pleasant. As it was a Sunday night, it was quiet, staff started to clean up around us getting the hoover out etc. understandably people want to go home after a shift but at no point did anyone check to see if we were finished with our deserts and if we wanted the bill. We went up to pay at the bar which was fine but the pricing on the bill was slightly wrong and we had to clamber over the cleaning products to get to the bar. Overall, very average. Wouldn’t return and it was extremely disappointing about the gluten free options after such a positive experience on the phone...

EDIT 31.07.22. Special mention for Michael on carvery who went the extra mile keeping a little boy happy in front of us in the queue. Michael was very professional, friendly and welcoming and like all of your staff who we've met on our visits, they are a credit to you. A lot of other establishments could do with taking a leaf out of your book! Our dog and 2 cats have enjoyed some of the leftovers and we have our 2 HUGE takeaway tubs to enjoy as well. I over heard 2 separate groups one saying that the carvery was "next level" and the other that the choice of veg was like nothing they've seen before. Thanks for another fabulous meal.

Excellent evening at the Cat and Fiddle. The staff were friendly and accommodating. We rang to book at short notice and spoke to a lovely member of staff called Sam. We went straight over to the Cat and Fiddle and were greeted and seated quickly and orders taken. There were 4 in our party and we each had different meals. I had one of rhe last carvers of the evening as they end at 8pm and it was 20 to when I collected my meal from the carvery counter. The gentleman carving rhe meat was so very polite and had excellent customer service. He even told me about meals on other days. Very refreshing to have such a lovely experience.

The food was tasty and there was plenty of it. The layout of the serving buffet allowed for space between myself and other clients who were putting veg on their plates so I felt Covid safe. The restaurant and bar area both had open airy zones so that clients could sit at the table and not be too closely packed in near others. Over all this was a very lovely experience and I am very much looking forward to returning and having another meal here.

The car park area was very large, there is another entrance for disabled access and the inside has flat areas so if you arepushing someone it makes it far...

Okay, so have read a few reviews and you might have to call me, or us, old fashioned. I would say half of these reviewers wouldn't dare set foot in the really old inns of London, where you can breathe the history, expecting to see Pepys or hanging judge Jefferies or Courtiers of good Queen Bess. Sanitise all original features or smother them in one shade of Bismark grey gloss, with just a cats whisker of paneling, no fiddling with leaded lights, just about enough left for people to wonder at the Crests on the barrel (ironic) vaulted ceiling or why the shiny grey ladies (Jacobean age) have no clothes on. What happened to the beautiful Venitian door goodness only knows, too old for a pub already over 500 years old. So what to do? Instead of making the most of the historic heritage you already have, make a sort of mish-mash: copy the George and Dragon up the road and get a trendy mixed bag of chairs, stick a homebase 'Vicwardian' pole up with some pictures of butterflies in the Baronial Hall, add a 50's banquette in tangerine, the favourite thing in the 1500's and slop another tin of Bismark grey matt on.

Now the food here always was superb, plenty of it and that nice cosy corner with a sofa by the bar for coffee.... Oh, gone. Still, food is sufficient. The ghost, we were told about the ghost, we came here a lot, a ghost made it romantic, it liked things left a certain way and if not.... Play merry hell, ghost, go for it, your 'Luck' ran out when they thought what did you know about how things should be done, we'll pay a teeny weeny lip service to heritage, old beams, paint them sludge grey, nice and fresh. Food good as ever, the rest.... Those walls have lasted and will last long after your trendy 'cat&fiddle'-poor taste...