The Exmoor Forest Inn — Restaurant in England

Reading all the 5 star reviews we were so excited for our upcoming booking for my husband’s birthday. Things started to unravel the moment we arrived. It felt like we were in an episode of Fawlty Towers - I’ve never experienced anything quite like it!|I want to make it clear that the staff were not rude at all - but multiple diners were asking questions about the menu and they had no clue. No clue what was on the menu or what it contained. One diner asked for a jug of pouring cream and the waitress didn’t know what it was “it’s cream, in a jug that you pour over pudding”she said “is that the white stuff?”. My starter arrived and was called “the sourdough thingy” and was put and left at the other end of the table. My husband’s starter tasted mainly of vinegar. When we asked where our drinks were we were told that they’d written our order down and then put it in their pocket and forgotten about it. Two members of staff had a disagreement about a billing error in the middle of the dining area in full earshot of everyone. One poor woman just wanted to be left alone to eat her Sourdough thingy at her own pace and they kept trying to clear it away. In the end she was so exasperated she said “just LEAVE my sourdough alone!”. “Do you have a Malbec?” “A what?” “A Malbec - it’s a type of wine” “oh dunno sorry”. We intervened - they do have a Malbec - they sell it by the bottle. |My toes began to curl and I needed to leave but my daughter was desperate for pudding. I ordered Affogato and was served a scoop of ice cream with three biscuits. “Does this Affogato come with a shot of Espresso?” “Oh….. yeah… I think it should. I don’t know how to make it though - let me see if I can find someone”. Returns five minutes later - everybody has apparently left her and nobody knows how to make espresso - by the time I get it, the others have finished and I pour my coffee over my melted ice cream and have to get up and leave because I can’t bear it any longer. I’m hoping someone else from this evening puts in a similar review to back up my story - because otherwise I just look like I’m making this up amongst a sea of five star reviews. When you’re paying that much for dinner though - we...

We stayed here for a couple of wet April days and loved it. Best described as warm, cosy, welcoming - that covers both our room and the service. ||Our large double felt recently refurbed; great shower and bath, comfortable kingsize bed - decor wasn't Insta flashy, just old school classy room design. ||It felt like good value to us for dinner, bed and breakfast, especially having recently been awarded a Michelin Green Star for their focus on provenance and sustainability. The food is good, no fireworks, just great ingredients cooked extremely well. The steak goes down as possibly our best ever - in fact it may have spoiled us for any other steak in the future - and having travelled just 12 food miles in its life and lived an organic and blameless life, you can feel pretty good about being a carnivore. Local Wicked Wolf Gin is a great way to start the evening, but the wine by the glass could do with an expert eye on it; we tried three different options and thought it was all pretty average. ||The team are friendly and efficient (providing ice in a cloth when my husband clocked his head on beam and drying our wet waterproofs and boots in the boiler room); Christina who was managing the place whilst we were there is a really excellent human being. Exmoor always feels like one of Britain's hidden secrets and The Exmoor Forest Inn is a perfect spot to start your exploration. We will...

My wife and I have just got back from a three night stay at the Exmoor Forest Inn, and I am sad to say that it was one of the worst experiences we have ever had. Basil Faulty would make a better job of running a hotel that whoever claims to run this place!||The level of customer service offered by the staff is chaotic and unprofessional. I ordered the same breakfast three mornings running, and every-time there were items missing from the plate. It appears to me that the cook didn't have any idea what the breakfast menu was supposed to be. Either that our he simply didn't care! On the last morning of our stay, I had the misfortune to order scrambled eggs with my breakfast. They were totally inedible, and resembled something more akin to vomit. ||My intention was to fish the River Barle which flows in front of the hotel, and which they claim to own a stretch of with day-tickets available. When I enquired about the availability of the fishing, no member of staff know anything about the availability of fishing. This either means their own website is a lie, or again staff have not been fully trained or are simply incompetent!||Needless to say, my wife and I will not be staying at this most shambolic of hotels ever again! I would recommend anyone thinking of staying there, to ignore the glossy photographs, and...