The Inn at Freshford — Restaurant in England

A very busy, sunny Sunday late lunchtime and the place was rammed at the bar. It was a long wait but the staff were so friendly and the manageress so unfailingly calm and professional that there were few complaints. The food? Well, the food was the best roast lunch I've had at a pub for a long time. They have their own smokehouse and the beef has a little extra depth of taste because of it. You can tell they smoke it themselves because they sent out a few extra slices of rare because a minor kitchen mix up.

Although the wait was long we did know about it before ordering and the coolness of the old stone interior was a welcome respite from the heat outside. Try the pork crackling. Lovely.

Totally unexpectedly the manageress announced that she was offering us free puddings because of the wait. Lovely surprise. And churlish to turn it down. Heaven forbid.

the Lemon possett was smooth an light and just the right of lemon. There was no zest in it so quite how the chef got the beautiful taste of lemon into it I don't know. I'm told that the pavlova and the salted caramel chocolate tart were equally delicious. Only crumbs left on nearly everyone's plate.

Don't hesitate to go there for the food. You'll walk out feeling that all is well...

Two stars because our experience was just over the minimum 1-star. The refurbishment is pleasant and the staff are friendly. That's where it ends.

We had a weekday lunch. Ordered rustic breads starter to share. That took 40 minutes to come (we filled the time with a full game of Scrabble). When it appeared, it was two plain brown rolls (unwarmed, and none too fresh either) with butter hard from the fridge and some over-spiced olive oil.

Another 20 minutes before two main courses arrived, both unacceptable standard.

My wife chose an "aubergine roulade". This had a single dry slice of aubergine on top, dried out through grilling. The main part of the dish was bulked out with carrots and green beans, disguised in a butternut goo. It came with french fries which were raw on the inside, and a pile of past-its-best watercress.

My pork chop was undersized, thin, charred, and full of bone, althought the black pudding mash was interesting.

Everything was served on wooden platters, terribly twee and visibly unhygenic.

We have seen three sets of management at Freshford, and nothing changes for the better, except for the degree of pretension, which exactly corresponds with the...

Plenty of tables to sit at in the large garden area, operated under a no book system ( inside tables can be booked). Everyone was very helpful even though we had to change our arrangements and timing Plenty of car parking, in the car park or on road . The food we had was excellent, although as it was early evening on bank holiday a few things were now sold out. We had fish &chips and burger, nice to see an eight ounce burger still on a menu. If sitting outside ordering has to be done inside then it is delivered to the table Service was good even though they were very busy and lovely to see the staff interacting with customers. Toilets were nice and clean, a little tight under covid rules but everyone was respectful of distancing The walk down the river opposite the pub is fabulous, lots of people enjoying the sun and swimming. Depending on time available a walk to ideford and back is a very pleasant way to while away an afternoon with a well kept beer/cider/wine (served in wine coolers) to...