The Masons Arms, Knowstone — Restaurant in North Devon

I was disappointed.

I’ve rated this as a 4* experience in comparison the the ‘average’ restaurant/pub, had I rated this against any other Michelin Starred restaurant it would have been lower.

It was a lovely start, a cocktail and canapés in a lovely snug. The service was warm and friendly.

We chose our meals - peppered seared tuna with oriental salad (checked the sear was light so it was basically raw/rare), followed by roast Guinea Fowl with potato gratin and veg; hubby had rabbit and ham terrine with pickles and the pork belly.

We were taken to our table, the warm unopened sparking water was on there along with butter/oil/balsamic. The water was never poured. We had bread - all very nice, shortly after while we were tucking into the bread the starters arrived, my tuna was three small cylinders, not peppered and because of the small shape not seared lightly but I’d describe as nearer medium. The salad was lovely, but the flavour was overwhelmed with seasame oil. The terrine was okay, but I’m told ‘nothing special’. Mains, the guinea fowl was a little dry, the potato was a wedge of buttery boulangere, a couple of steamed brocollini, half a roasted carrot, morels and a tasty gravy. I felt like I could have made everything to the same standard at home in less than an hour, except for the delicious gravy. The pork was okay (apparently mine in the airfryer is far superior), the potatoes very overworked so the starch made them sticky and gluey rather than light and fluffy - unpleasant to eat. There was a decent black pudding bonbon, and nice apple sauce.

In under half an hour after sitting we were 2 courses in, it had felt rushed.

We then waited around 40/45 mins for desert (we shared the platter). This was really average - trifle which was compote with cream floating on it, the tiniest cube of sticky toffee (if that was 1/4 of a full desert I’d have been very unhappy), a lovely crème brûlée type desert and a rhubarb crumble tart which had far too much thick pastry and very little crumble which lacked any crunch.

We weren’t asked if we wanted any coffee at any point. We had to go hunting for the bill because 25 mins after the desert was cleared there was no sign of anyone. After the initial rush we now felt forgotten about.

It was very off putting through the evening that the table next to us was used for trays to and from the kitchen; i get bringing trays of food out to serve tables at the same time but I’ll never understand picking dirty plates up, from a whole table to a table in the middle of the restaurant to stack them noisily before being taken to the kitchen, not dissimilar from a canteen. It was out of keeping with the situation.

I was so excited to eat here, influenced by the chefs outstanding CV and reputation, and the Michelin Star - that’s why we travelled for this. When we ‘fine dine’ we expect to be excited, try interesting and inventive flavours, have outstanding service and eat food with the technique and skill a home cook couldn’t replicate. This felt more like a Sunday lunch in a pub up the road, not anything special and in many cases food I would cook to the same standard myself . Maybe we missed its heyday 🤷‍♀️.

It’s not a patch on the Elephant which to me is what outstanding food and service...

We stayed at the Masons Arms for two nights and had a hugely positive experience in every category possible. The room was cosy but well looked after - it was clean, had good heating, good shower, comfortable bed, small wardrobe for our things, TeaPigs coffees and teas, etc. The location and building itself is charming - a gorgeous old fireplace, original stone walls, cosy seating areas, good facilities, plenty of parking, charming thatched roof, etc etc.

The food served was absolutely delicious. The chefs provided a diverse menu with lots of options and we didn't have one bad dish. The moules were local and some of the best we've had, and the sticky toffee pudding is a MUST (which the servers will tell you too!). Complimentary breakfasts have fresh baked breads and danishes, and the team are sparky and happy even early in the morning after working evening shifts the night before.

Speaking of the staff, what an incredible team they have found. Everyone was genuinely happy working there and really took the time to look after all the patrons (and their dogs). It was a true friendly family vibe. The pub owner has curated a dream team from the chefs to servers to groundskeepers (thank you especially to Paul, Patsy, and Gina for making us feel so welcome!).

My only recommendation for others staying there would be to bring board games (if thats your thing) for playing by the fire and sipping an Irish coffee. There weren't any available, but they did have playing cards!

We can't wait to come back for another long weekend to dust off the stresses of London. 5 stars from...

We booked this restaurant as we saw it in the Michelin guide.

When we first arrived we got taken to a small strange room for a cocktail or drink, the sofas wear from ikea like my first student one very outdated. All the chairs where facing in and No music so we couldn’t really speak at all felt very odd and awkward, the canapés came which was cheese straws and chicken liver parfait very 2002 but tasted ok but nothing to write home about. We were given then menus in this lounge room before we were taken to the table.the food came extremely quick before we could finish the bread

Before the meal my partner went to the loo which was pitch black with the lights not working and very old outdated feel to them, none of us wanted to visit them after that!!

The bread was delicious I think the best part of the meal! I had the steak which again was just average steak something you could easily cook at home, but not medium rare more like medium well! I did tell the lady but felt bad for saying as thought I was going to be told off! She shouted to the chef about us and nothing more was said! The fish my partner had and his mum was also bland and a good pub main we said. We didn’t pick dessert as thought would be better at home!

We did feel like we wear watched a little but I guess it was very quiet.

We left as soon as we could, not sure how it’s got a Michelin star let alone in the guide book!

A real shame as wanted it to be fantastic, we won’t be going back...