The Hele Bay Pub — Restaurant in North Devon

We visited the pub with a friend and two small children, under the impression they were child friendly. (They have soft play afterall) we had two small children of our own so you can imagine with two under 2 and two at 4 years old we had a little difficulty keeping them in their seats. One did make a run for the door on one occasion.

When we arrived we were told we could sit anywhere, then an older lady took us to a small four seater table with another table near by and was asked to sit there with barely a backwards glance. We asked if we could sit at a larger table with a corner bench seat, thinking it would be easier to keep the children contained. They said yes, but the older lady complained that she hadn't finished cleaning the table and sounded like she was warning us to keep it clean. We understood her frustration but I really should have asked her in hindsight if we were welcome there.

Not to give a blow by blow account of what transpired next, but the lady that was serving us was doing her best not to be passive aggressive as we arranged what the kiddies were having to eat and drink and my husband spotted the staff looking at our table and generally shaking their heads at us. There was a spillage and an accident with a glass that I began to pick up. But instead of the staff being understanding and accommodating the staff member said and I quote “you’re going to have to move, we are dog friendly.” And that was it. They made us feel unwelcome from the get go and I can safely say they are not kid friendly. We did our best to keep the kids on best behaviour, with lockdown they were all over excited at meeting for the first time and being anywhere other than at their own kitchen table. I would suggest that they replace the children’s menu with a “dog menu" as they certainly aren’t child friendly. When that happened we paid for the drinks we had and left. It was...

So let's just be clear here, this will be a 2 part review. One for the pub and one for the food. Firstly, the pub. As soon as we found out England were playing Germany, we booked a table for 5 people and stipulated we wanted to see the t.v., the lady said "I'll put you right in front of the tv!" So that's 5 days in advance. When we arrived, we were seated at a table for 4 round the corner from a projector screen. I mentioned to the manager our booking and she said "there's the screen... " only 2 seats could actually see it " were fully booked, what do you expect!" Once the match started, we discovered the screen was showing about 2 minutes behind the main screen which everyone else was watching, and from where the sound was coming from! So we could hear what was happening 2 minutes before we could see it! Totally unsatisfactory, everything from the welcome of the manager to the table placement to the dreadful PA setup! The only thing that brings this review to a 2 star was the food. Whilst expensive for what it was, the food was actually ok, and the service from the waiting staff was really friendly and efficient. I really can't recommend this establishment at all, whilst the food was "ok" it was overpriced and didn't make up for the dreadful reception from...

Personally I wouldn’t recommend this place and will not be returning. Firstly, we rang up that day to book a table for 6:30 but when we arrived they didn’t have our reservation. They did find us a table though.

When we first arrived at the place, we were very confused as the pub/restaurant didn’t match the website… it was very strange. It was also very rowdy which is absolutely fine but it didn’t feel very welcoming.

Service was quick and the waiters were ever so polite. Boyfriend ordered the ribs, which were not edible and he eats anything and everything! Full of gristle and general appearance wasn’t appealing. I had a cheese burger and chips. Chips were lovely, onion rings were very greasy (pretty much wet and soggy) and the burger was cooked but slightly underdone and not very warm. We ended up leaving early as it wasn’t an enjoyable experience.

Overall, I would not recommend this place. We are very easy going and not overly bothered about things but I felt like I needed to review this to inform others.

After coming home and reading the reviews, most people have had the...